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“Is it just me?” she asks softly. “Feeling this way?”

My breath catches.

It feels like my hopes are balanced on a tightrope, and the wrong step could send them plummeting.

Though I think I know what she’s asking, I have to ask. “Feeling what way?”

Uncertainty flashes in her eyes. “Like… there’s something between us. Like…” On a quick breath, she closes the distance between us and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “Like I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the day we met.”

Oh.

Yes.

But.

Cupping her cheek, I stroke my thumb across it. “I do feel that way, Tate. You have no idea. But you’ve been through so much?—”

Her brows pull together as she jerks her head back. “I’m an adult, Erik. Old enough to know how I feel and what I want. Yes, I went through a terrible experience. But so did you. And I talked to Jade, and Sarah, and everyone else. I know what they went through. It didn’t mean they weren’t capable of deciding who they wanted to be with. And when.” She pauses. “Unless you don’t feel?—”

Shit.

She’s right.

Who am I to make decisions for her?

Iknowhow strong she is. I saw it firsthand.

And if it worked out for Matt, and Dante, and the rest of my teammates—why can’t it work out for me?

Am I really going to push Tate away when she’s sitting right here, telling me she’s interested in me? When she showed more courage than I did by kissing me?

“I do feel the same way, Tate.” Reaching out, I brush a wisp of hair behind her ear. And itisjust as soft as I thought it would be. “I want more with you. More than just being friends. I want to kiss you. Spend as much time with you as I can. See where things between us go.”

Tatum’s eyebrows unknot. A hesitant smile pulls at her lips. “You do?”

“I do.” This time I’m the one leaning forward, closing the distance between us.

And this timeI’mthe one kissing her.

First it’s tender. A slow exploration. I taste her lips, nipping at them, stroking my tongue across the sensitive skin.

With one hand on her cheek, I let the other drift to her back, resting at the base of it. I tug her closer, my hunger for her growing as I revel in the feel of her mouth and the brush of her breasts against my chest.

Tatum makes a soft sigh—half moan, half whimper—and I think the small sound just might be the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.

Her fingers dig into my biceps, clutching at them as she gives herself over to the kiss.

To this perfect kiss that puts all others to shame.

I tease her mouth open to dip inside, caressing her tongue with mine. She tastes like cinnamon and honey and an indescribable flavor that’s distinctly her.

Desire rages through me, my body begging for more. I’m achingly hard, and there’s nothing I’d like more than to drag Tatum onto my lap. To notch myself between her thighs, feel her welcoming heat against me, opening and inviting me in.

I’d love to peel off her clothes and kiss every inch of her incredible body. Discover the color of her nipples, take them into my mouth, lap and lave at them until she comes from that alone.

Fuck. I want everything with her.

This feeling.