“Okay. But call me if you want me to come pick you up. I’ll only be a few blocks away,” I said.
She looked between me and Brogan again, and then gave me a wink. “I expect a detailed report on my desk tomorrow,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lainey Taylor Rule of Life #46
A girl should be properly kissed in the snow at least once in her life.
The air was thick with the promise of snowfall as we stepped out into the dimly lit side street. Frost glistened on iced-over car windows, and the only sound was the occasional truck passing by and the soft clomps of high heels on the pavement.
Brogan walked close beside me, his arm brushing mine a few times. Each time it happened, a fresh set of goose bumps cascaded over my skin, and the deeper I fell into the trap of getting my hopes up. Which was completely silly. But no matter how many times I told myself that he was my boss, that didn’t hit a magic off switch to my wanting him.
His voice finally cut through the silence as we neared his building. “Your friend seems like she’ll give Jace a run for his money.”
I smiled and pulled my coat tighter around me. Zoey always spoke her mind, never was able to lie to save her life—something that got me into a lot of trouble whenever I asked her to cover for me when we were younger. “You could say that.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes more, then Brogan spoke. “I started getting tattoos when I was seventeen. My friend’s brother owned a tattoo parlor a few blocks down from my boarding school, and I’d sneak out after curfew and get inked. It was a way to get back at my parents.”
I kept my gaze focused straight ahead, not wanting to break the spell of the moment. He was sharing something with me, and I wasn’t willing to let this slip through my fingers like grains of sand.
“Which one is your favorite?”
He pointed to the one on his wrist, the one I’d been drawn to since the first day I met him. “The ellipses. To me it means that my story isn’t over. And no matter what obstacles come my way, I can always change it.”
“That’s beautiful.” The hot flush of embarrassment crept up in my cheeks. I was sure he didn’t want his tattoos to be called beautiful, but they were.
“I’ve never told anyone that before.”
Brogan stopped abruptly and an intensity washed over his face, hardening his features, and I was sure that he was going to shut down, stop the whole sharing is caring thing we had going on.
“You make me want to do all these things I’ve told myself I can’t have. It’s fucking scary.”
“Like what?”
He smoothed his thumb over my cheek. “Like have a relationship that is based off of feelings, not convenience.” He leaned in, and his lips swept over my skin, feather light.
I let out a shaky sigh and closed my eyes. My mind went in a tailspin, trying to make sense of what was happening. This was a complete one-eighty from last week’s events. I liked this version much better.
His hands worked up my sides, down my back, cupping my ass and pulling me closer to him. “I want to claim every inch of your skin.”
My breaths came in tiny pants as he caressed my body.
“I knew last week was a mistake the second those words came out of my mouth. I want to trust you, but it’s hard. I’ve been burned in the past.”
I nodded. “What else do you want?”
“What?”
“You said you want all these things. That’s plural. You’ve only listed one.”
“Always the rapt listener.”
Flecks of cold bit at my cheeks, and I looked up to see snow falling. It was the wet kind, big flakes that would surely melt as soon as they hit the ground. We didn’t move, still staring at each other, one block from his apartment. “I want to wake up to you in the morning. I want to share my day with you. I want to know you in every way possible.”
I didn’t even know how to respond besides dissolving into a puddle of goop on the sidewalk. My chest felt heavy due to the fact that my heart had grown ten sizes. “I…wow.” How could I even respond to that?
The fabric of my thin jacket clung to my skin as snow began pelting down harder. Brogan held my cheeks with both of his hands, and his eyes searched mine. “I crave you,” he said. “Everything about you.”
I nodded, still stunned into silence. My need for him pulsed strong, low in my belly.
His body pressed against me, his hands snaking through my hair as his lips hovered inches from mine. As soon as our lips connected, my body melted into his, now completely under his spell. Everything else fell away, not even nearly as important as the need to taste his lips, to sweep my tongue over his, to get a reaction from him.