Page 22 of Little Wing (Shades of Fairhaven #1)

M y breath caught at the sight of him leaning against the door frame.

I did not expect to like that as much as I did.

Those romance readers were onto something there.

Silas was dressed in a dark blue T-shirt with Little Wing’s logo on the breast pocket and black joggers with white sneakers.

I couldn’t look away from the way the thin material moved over his flexed muscles.

Right—they finally got the keys to Little Wing.

With Silas and his brother prepping for the grand opening, I assumed he came directly from there.

Unable to respond with even remotely the same level of suave flirtation, I stepped back to welcome him inside. My eyes shut briefly as he walked past me, taking in the comforting fragrance of leather and pine that I could only define as… Silas's scent.

I didn’t want to risk people mistaking the store for being open, so I quickly locked the door and flipped the Black Cat “Yay! We’re Open!” sign to the other side “Sorry! We’re Closed!”, before turning to find Silas propped up against the checkout counter.

“Hi," I said softly despite us being the only people in the store.

“Hi,” he smiled, his voice low and gravelly. “Sorry for barging in, but I was in the area and…” he trailed off, running his hand through hi s chocolate curls as he pushed off from the counter. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Oh…” My sigh sounded very much like a whine, but how could I hide how I was feeling when it appeared to be mutual?

My gods, was I sending telepathic signals his way all night long?

I looked around for a moment to check that his words were in fact meant for me.

When my eyes landed back on his, my heart skipped.

Desire swirled in his silver eyes, and it only amplified my own.

Words that I’d once fought to hold back slipped out my mouth with ease.

“I’ve been thinking about you, too,” I admitted.

The half-fanged grin that crept across his lips sent shivers down my spine. I had gotten used to seeing it, yet tonight his expression held a promise that warmed my core.

“Can we maybe go out for a drink or something after you’re done?” he asked, a soft vibration in the timbre of his voice.

What was I going to say? No? I quickly nodded and walked past him to the other side of the counter, mentally checking off my closing procedures.

It bought me a few more moments to settle my slow-beating heart that pounded deeply whenever I was in his presence.

Without a word, I stepped from behind the counter and walked past Silas, my hand brushing against his arm.

The air in the room felt heavy, like a storm was on the horizon and each little glance and touch between us was a bolt of lightning, threatening to strike.

I knew he could feel it, hear it, just as I did.

Without asking, Silas followed me. I could feel his presence making the hairs on my neck stand. Before I could even make it to the breakroom to grab my purse, I pivoted and stepped backwards into the Shakespeare nook, where I had nowhere to move to but against the shelves, against the ladder.

What was I doing ?

And why did I like watching Silas approach me like a predator stalking their prey?

His eyes burned brightly as he closed the distance between us.

He held my gaze, and I was unable to look away.

We could have left the store and gone to Kait’s for a drink and another intimate talk, but I did not want to leave this store without having a moment alone with him.

Truly alone. The past few weeks had been driving me wild with need.

The innocent flirting turned to teasing via text had this meeting feeling like a promise, like the things we hinted at, hoped for, would finally be delivered.

“I can’t fucking take this anymore,” he uttered hoarsely.

He was standing so close that I could feel his lips against my cheek as he spoke.

As he moved, his freshly trimmed facial hair tickled me.

“You’re in my head, Lotus. You were there from the start, but now I want more.

” He sounded pained, hungry like if he didn’t soon crawl inside my skin he’d waste away.

“You’ve given me a peek and I need more, don’t you? ”

I nodded and braced my weight against the ladder behind me. “Y-yes.”

“Say you want me to kiss you; say I’m not just driving myself crazy thinking there’s something here,” he groaned, trailing his calloused hand up my arm and to the back of my head, where he tangled his fingers in my hair. He tugged lightly to slant my head in the direction of his lips.

The aching need between my legs made me want to rub my thighs together, but I couldn’t when it was Silas’s leg between mine that kept me from moving. I settled for pressing up against his knee. I needed him to touch me, kiss me, give me the gift of friction to free me of this torture.

“Please… just fucking kiss me already. ”

Lips crashed against mine in hunger, moving with intent to taste and consume the want that neither of us could deny anymore.

As Silas moved his hand gingerly through my hair, his tongue glided against my lips to be welcomed deeper into my mouth.

He groaned into it and pressed himself closer against me until our chests were flush.

The sensation of his lips on mine and his hands exploring what they could over layers of clothing was intense.

It was heat. It was desire. My skin prickled and I couldn’t hold back a whimper.

Freeing my hands from the ladder behind me, I slipped my arms around him.

I needed to touch him, to run my short nails down his back and beg him for more.

“Lotus,” he uttered my name, like ecstasy on his tongue.

Though I felt him stiff between my legs, Silas continued kissing me.

Our tongues danced together, gently pressing and licking and seeking closeness before he pulled away to run a trail of want-filled kisses over my jaw and down to my neck.

Moving lower and lower until he gently pushed the collar of my shirt low enough to kiss the scar on my collarbone.

I couldn’t help but arch into his touch.

“I’ve been losing my mind,” he panted, grazing his teeth gently over the same spot he kissed just moments ago. As he planted one more kiss on my collarbone, he brought my wrist to his lips, admiring the dark veins branching up my inner arm before kissing the scarred flesh there as well.

It was such a gentle gesture that said so much without words needing to leave his mouth. He saw me—he heard me.

With one final kiss against my wrist, Silas brought his hands to either side of my face, cradling me in his embrace.

And as he stroked my cheeks with his thumbs as he did before, I felt my makeup smearing beneath his touch.

While I did tremble knowing he was seeing so much more of me up close than ever before, I breathed steadily watching his lips twitch not in disgust, but like he discovered something that dazzled him. And that something… was me.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, giving my cheek one more caress before he lowered his face back down to mine. The kisses were slower, deeper, our tongues once again acquainted. A steady fire that could blaze into an inferno if we gave in completely.

I would have let him take me against the books that surely looked on with lust, but before my hand could travel to the front of his not-so-loose joggers, Silas pulled away and immediately brought his hands back to his hair.

He blew out forcefully and chuckled. The sound was every bit low and just… male.

Why did he stop? Did something happen?

“Are you okay?” I managed, swallowing hard. “Why did you stop?”

When he took my hand and helped me away from the ladder, I watched his eyes darken and his jaw clench.

“The last thing I want to do is stop, but if I keep going then I won’t be able to stop…”

“What if I didn’t want you to stop?”

He pressed his lips against my forehead, letting his hands slide down to my hips. Giving them one firm squeeze, I shuddered. “When I fuck you for the first time, it’s not going to be here, understand? I intend on taking my time with you. I want to taste every inch of you.”

I fought the urge to pull his face down to mine again when the tingle of my well-kissed lips finally settled.

The hunger I saw in his eyes was still there, but the primal pull I felt toward him had dulled into a longing that didn’t feel as immediate.

It felt… safe. Like what we were both craving was not just a moment that would soon escape us.

What Silas wanted to do with me, to me, was yet to come.

“I did actually have something I wanted to ask you before we,” he chuckled as he trailed off and cleared his throat.

“Tomorrow—we’re having a small pre-launch get together.

I was hoping you’d maybe want to come with me.

” He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, like what he asked was something so incredibly casual instead of one of the most exciting things I’d ever been asked.

“You know, not something you have to do, but I just thought that maybe…”

“Yes,” I quickly responded with more enthusiasm than I anticipated.

“Good, good,” he inhaled deeply and pulled me against him with his arm around my waist. “Would you like for me to pick you up? Send a car?”

“I could meet you there,” I said, looking up at him. “Just send me the details.”

Silas’s eyes looked me over once again, darting around my face and landing on my still-swollen lips. He traced his finger along my cheek and smiled, settled and calm. “I didn’t even know you had such cute freckles on your cheeks. I hope I’ll see them all one day.”

His attention on me had me feeling more naked than I had ever felt, even with clothes and makeup still on—if just barely.

Silas saw right through me. His fascination wasn’t hostile or demeaning, and for the first time since Luca threw that makeup at my feet, I truly considered the possibility of tossing it aside.