his eyes, but I left my hands on his chest. I felt the steadiness of his heartbeat, the strength of his powerful chest, and I let myself be comforted by his words. Even though I could still feel that fear deep inside me, the one that told me not to trust someone like Soren, I simply couldn’t resist his pull.
It wasn’t long before my gaze was drawn to his lips. Before I could stop it from happening, not even fully in control of what I was doing, I was pushing my feet off the ground and going up on tiptoes, my breath catching in my throat.
I can’t.
I won’t.
Those thoughts exploded in my mind, lightning against the dark canvas of night, and I dropped my heels abruptly down to the ground. Sighing, I looked down at my feet, the thoughts inside my head crashing against each other. Even though I needed to put some distance between us, I couldn’t quite bring myself to step away, so I simply laid my head on his shoulder once more.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I don’t know what’s happening. From the moment I first saw you, I’ve been feeling like...” I bit my lip, not sure I should say these things, but I seemed incapable of stopping myself. “I don’t even know how to explain it, Soren, but I feel something deep inside me. And I’m too exhausted to keep pretending it isn’t there.”
“Maya…” he whispered back at me, but I didn’t let him get a word in. Now that I had begun my confession, I wouldn’t be able to stop. Nor did I want to any longer. It felt good to take that weight off my shoulders. To be honest.
“Now that Dylan’s better, I can’t fight it off, can’t keep denying it,” I admitted, and his heart speed up under my fingers. “I want you, Soren, I really do, but...I can’t. This is too dangerous.”
With that, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to push away from him. Already, my skin felt cold at the loss of his embrace, every fiber of my being aching for his touch.
“I had no idea.” His tone was layered with shock, his eyes slightly wide with surprise. “You feel the same way about me? I thought that…” He shook his head and chuckled to himself. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that.”
“We better go back to where we’re supervised.” My self-control was eroding with each passing second, and it was only a matter of time until I finally gave in to the swirling desire that had come alive inside me. That, though, couldn’t happen. “If we stay here, I’m going to do something I’ll regret.”
Soren just grinned. “How do you know you’ll regret it?”
I responded with a smile, one that spread across my lips like a gentle balm. God, it felt good to be smiling like this. Soren had a point, but I still wasn’t ready to acknowledge his question.
“You don’t have to answer that,” he said, his grin easing softly. “And you don’t have to worry, Maya. I’m going to respect your wishes. Being sleep-deprived is as bad as being drunk, so I’ll let you reconsider when you’re sober.”
“That’s certainly gentlemanly of you.” I chuckled, unable to shake off that comfortable feeling of being around him. It was like being wrapped inside a warm blanket, my feet propped up in front of the fireplace while a storm raged outside.
“I don’t want you to do anything you’re not completely sure about,” he said, his expression open and genuine. “More important than that, I want you to know that this doesn’t change anything. You’re under no pressure here. Whatever happens between us—or whatever doesn’t happen—I’m going to make sure Dylan has the best care in the entire planet.”
“Thank you, really, I…”
“In fact, I don’t think any of those ‘dangerous’ things you mentioned should happen until Dylan gets better.” He laid his hand on my shoulder. His touch was smooth, devoid of any suggestiveness, but I still felt electrified, desire roaring through me.
“If you keep on saying all these considerate things, I won’t be able to help myself.” I looked into his eyes, using all my willpower not to be lured in by his lips again. “So we better go back.”
“We should.” Nodding, he placed a hand on my lower back and led me out of the garden. I ambled through the cobbled path as if I were in a daze, barely believing all that I