Page 55 of Dissonance

“Careful,” he teases, and I can hear the almost-smile in his voice.

By the time we reach my floor, my pulse is faster than I’d like to admit. He follows me to my door, leaning against the wall as I dig through my bag for my keys.

“Thank you for dinner,” I say, gripping the metal a little too hard. “It was nice.”

It was nice? Could you get any more cliché, Thea?

“It was,” he says, voice a low rumble I can feel in my toes.

He pushes off the wall, moving closer, his gaze dropping to my mouth. I can’t help it, I wet my lips, throat tightening as his eyes darken.

“Thea.”

“Yeah?”

“Go out with me.”

“Isn’t that what this was?” I laugh. “A date?”

“Kind of.” His head tilts, hand lifting to tuck that same strand of hair back. “But I mean a proper one.”

I search his face, my eyebrows pulling together as I look for something that will make all this make sense. His eyes give me nothing but certainty. “Twelve years, Lockie, and we’ve never—” I stop, shaking my head. “Why now?”

“Because I want to.”

That’s it. No more explanation, nothing to argue with.

“Humor me,” he adds, stepping closer. I can smell the trace of soap on his skin, and I find myself taking a deep breath of it.

“Okay,” I concede. “A proper date.”

His thumb brushes my lower lip, once, fleeting, like he’s allowing himself this one small thing and nothing more. My eyes flutter shut, waiting for the kiss I know he’s capable of. Instead, his mouth presses softly against my cheek.

“Goodnight, Thea.”

And then he’s gone, leaving me standing outside my apartment with my heart racing and my mind spinning and no idea what just happened.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lockie

Twelve Years Ago, Miami

Condensation clings to the walls, the shower door, the mirror, steam thickening around the bathroom from how long we’ve been in here. I brace my hand against the tile, her soft, naked body pliant and pressed to mine under the spray. Her breaths are uneven against my mouth, soft pants swallowed by the rush of water as I kiss her again. My other hand slides along her spine, following the curve of it, feeling the way she melts into me.

“Jesus,” I murmur against her lips, voice rough.

She laughs, lips trailing along my stubble, nipping near my ear. “That good, huh?”

“You’ve no idea.”

But I think she does, because the look in her green eyes says everything. My fingers ghost along her jaw, catching droplets of water before they fall, and for a second, under the spray, shut in a suite with a woman I’ve only known a few days, I let myself think it; this doesn’t have to end here.

I don’t do this. Don’t linger past the night, never mind a full weekend tangled up in someone like I’ve forgotten how to exist without them. But her?

Christ, I think I could.

“What’s your name?” I hear myself asking, hand moving to the junction between her legs.