touched and I let my legs part, so he was mostly lying on top of me. Our hearts beat against each other in a silent declaration. All my life, I’d felt out of step and either ahead or behind everyone else. We shared the same rise and fall in our careers. We had the same goal when it came to making the best movie possible. We looked at risk and rewards through the same lens. Even if he tended to be more daring than I was, we still put everything we had on the line when it was something that mattered deeply to us. We stepped up for our loved ones, even when it was difficult. And we’d both loved someone who refused to love us back. Salinger was the only one I’d been in sync with for a long time. I felt understood by him and deeply connected to who he was now. He got me, and didn’t ask for more than I could give when I barely had a grasp on my actions and emotions myself.
“I do want you. It’s scary how much. That’s why I constantly keep a distance between us. I don’t want to rely on anyone for anything after what happened with my ex, but you made me realize that it isn’t possible. This movie never would’ve had a chance without you. And I never would’ve realized how much I was missing by being so ridiculously careful and closed off because I was hurt in the past. Not just by you, but by him as well. Holding onto so much hate was destroying me, and I couldn’t see it. You helped me let it go. You helped me heal. So, don’t think I don’t need you, Salinger. You turned my world upside down more than once, and every single time it’s made me a stronger person. I don’t know where this thing between us is going, but I do know I feel empty and alone when you aren’t by my side. I’ve gotten used to having you save me.”
He dropped a kiss on my lips. It was hard and fast. His eyes shone with something that looked a lot like love as he told me, “I wouldn’t be able to save you now if you hadn’t saved me first.”
I wondered if he could see how I felt about him as clearly as I could see his devotion and infatuation each time he looked at me. I hoped so, because I wasn’t quite ready to say the words yet. That was a big step, and while I could admit my life was better with him in it, I wasn’t in a rush to hand over my heart. I wanted to take the time to make sure he would be careful with it if I gave it to him.
If I couldn’t tell him how close I was to falling for him, I could at least give him a hint with my body. There was more than one way to surrender to a man who wanted you more than his next breath.
I kissed him back, putting everything I felt into it.
It was a kiss that was laced with passion and desire.
It was a kiss touched with appreciation and gratitude.
It was a kiss flavored with hope and expectation.
There was even a hint of regret because it had taken a long time to get things right between the two of us.
Salinger lifted his head, eyes looking a little glazed over by lust as he asked, “Do you want to go back to your townhouse? We don’t have to stay in a place that’s turned inside out.”
I shook my head and moved a hand so I could smooth out the furrow between his eyebrows. “No. You always come to me. You always follow my rules. It isn’t fair. I can be where you are. I can be in the middle of your mess. It doesn’t scare me. It doesn’t bother me. I’ll help you clean it up and set everything right. I want us to try our best to be on equal footing from here on out.”
He nodded briefly, then lowered his head to drop a sweet kiss on the end of my nose. “Equals. I like that.” He moved to devour my mouth again, smiling against my lips as I struggled to breathe through the sexy onslaught. “And I like you.”
I laughed a bit breathlessly and shifted my hands so I could trail one across his muscular back and down