Page 31 of Code Violation

I look down at where we’re connected, even though the duvet is covering us both.

“I call you Knockout for a number of reasons.”

“Tell me what they are,” I quietly demand.

He thinks about it for a second before shaking his head again. “I don’t think that would be a wise move for either of us, Ves. Not at the moment.”

My mind races, a plea for him to confirm our mutual attraction dancing on the tip of my tongue.

Would I sleep with my ex-boyfriend’s brother? I’m not sure. But the fact that I’m questioning it now reveals the way my inhibitions crumble each time I’m in his company.

Silas swallows thickly as we both continue gazing at each other, lost in a world of jumbled-up thoughts.

“Tell me about your family.”

I pull back an inch, smiling again. “You already know I’m practically estranged from my parents since both of them are assholes, and my sister, Naomi, lives in Cincinnati.”

He nods subtly. “True, but I wouldn’t say that’s in-depth knowledge, would you?”

I wiggle my brows at him suggestively. “What else do you want to know?”

Silas blushes, and, damn, I didn’t expect a six-foot-five hockey player with his feet hanging off the end of my bed to embarrass so easily.

“You’re kind of cute—you know that?” I tease. “Oh my God!” I pinch his right cheek lightly. “You’re turning pinker.” I deepen my voice until it’s gruff and manly. “Does the big bad hockey player have a sensitive si⁠—”

A rough palm cups my own cheek, cutting off my mocking ramble.

“Yes, Vesper. This big bad hockey player has a sensitive side, and he does blush when he’s lying next to a girl he …”

Silas chews on the corner of his lip, and I stay very still and quiet, desperate for him to finish his sentence.

He closes his eyes and sets the words free. “A girl he likes.”

Blue irises reappear, but they’re darker than before, a weight of intensity turning them almost navy.

“You like me?” I ask. “As in more than a friend?”

A deep crease forms between his brows. “You have no idea how much more.”

I pull closer to him, desperate for him to kiss me, just so I can see what it’s like.

Silas drops his hand from my hip but cups my cheek tighter. “But I’m not about to lay it all on you tonight, Ves. You’re going through a lot.”

My eyes fall to his mouth. “Do you want to kiss me?”

A pained noise leaves him, and I can’t help but find it funny.

“I’ll say it again—you have no idea how much.”

I have so many questions, a burning need to explore whatever this is between us urging me to push Silas harder in the hope that he will seal his mouth over mine, even if it’s to just shut me up.

“Do you wish that you had a bigger family?”

His question hits me square in the chest, but not necessarily in a bad way. Other than Drew and my sister, there are very few people who have taken a genuine interest in my life.

Everything this man does for me is with kindness and care. Thirty seconds ago, he could’ve kissed me—and likely taken things further—but he didn’t; he held back.

How many men would demonstrate that kind of restraint? Not the guys I’ve known in my life so far—that’s for damn sure.