Page 21 of Silver Linings

She tugs, and it pulls me closer and—shit.

That fact she fits against me perfectly is not something I need to know.

This close, I can feel the softness of her skin, feel her hair tickling my chin, smell her apricot-scented shampoo, bright and fresh.

If I don’t get out of this position soon, it’s going to get awkward for her and embarrassing for me.

But something in me aches to hold on, to allow myself this one thing, whether I deserve it or not.

“Give up, Harlan,” she pants.

“Not a chance, Skylar,” I echo, my breath ruffling the loose strands of hair framing her face.

She rotates her head to the side to look up at me, mouth mere inches from my own. There’s a hunger in her stare I’m certain is mirrored in my own.

I look down at her, gaze darting to her parted mouth. My breath puffs in and out in rapid succession, a silent question in my eyes.

A line that shouldn’t be crossed.

A line I’ve been thinking about crossing for weeks.

A line we both want to cross.

She gives me a “it’s about time” look, along with the slightest nod of her head, tilting her mouth up to me just a fraction closer in invitation.

I begin to lean down infinitesimally, giving her time to change her mind—or maybe giving me the time to talk myself out of a selfish decision. But the combination of her scent mingling with the feel of her body on mine is making me dizzy and stupid.

Our mouths are nearly touching, and?—

BUZZ!

The loud vibration of her phone against the counter rattles us out of the moment, and frustration and relief war against each other.

We’ve pulled apart by a couple inches, no longer in the danger zone, when I reach for her phone behind me.

Finance Fuck

Hey! I had a great time with you the other night. I’d love to take you out again. Are you free this weekend?

I straighten to my full height and hand her the phone, pretending I didn’t see the message. She starts to type out a reply. Is she accepting the date? Suggesting a place for them to go? I can’t read the look on her face from the corner of my eye, trying not to make it obvious I’m snooping.

What the fuck am I doing?

How did I conveniently forget she was seeing someone?

Kissing her when she’s still involved with John would be a mistake, and one of the many reasons I’ve been trying to keep my feelings under lock.

The last thing we both need is for this to get complicated because I couldn’t keep my hands to myself and then have to see her all the time at The Langham.

Fairbanks’ no fraternization rule was starting to make more sense.

Things already feel awkward, and we didn’t even kiss.

She fiddles around on her phone while I resume painting my section.

Twenty minutes pass by in awkward silence and ignoring the almost kiss. Night has fully descended, and it’s edging close to ten at night when Silver finally breaks our silence.

“What’s your favorite movie? Don’t say Die Hard .”

“ Die Hard 2 .”

“Okay…what would you take with you to an abandoned island?”

“Flint.”

“What is your deal?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I avoid her gaze.

“Yes, you do. Half an hour ago, we almost kissed, and now you’re completely shut down.” We’re still standing behind the register counter when she faces me head on, hands on her hips and paint forgotten. “Look, if you changed your mind, that’s fine, but don’t be a dick.”

Fuck.

“I…I saw that John texted you, and he seemed like a nice guy, so I thought…I thought I should back off if you were already taken, not complicate things further.”

“Taken? This isn’t the fifties. No one is staking their claim on me. Maybe you should ask before jumping to conclusions.”

“I-I—” I stutter out before she cuts me off.

“If you had just talked to me about it, I would have told you that yes, John is a nice guy, but it won’t work out between me and him in the long run.” She’s definitely edging on angry. “But instead, you made an assumption based on one night out. A night where you barely spoke to me, by the way.”

I don’t know what to say, everything I’ve said already was just digging me deeper.

“Look, it’s fine. We can just call it. You’ve been running hot and cold since I met you, and it’s been giving me whiplash. If this was something you wanted, you would have made a move, because I made it more than clear I was interested.”

Was .

“Let’s clean up for the night. I won’t let this make things awkward. Like you said earlier, we’re adults, and this store is important to me, and nothing is getting in the way of that.”

Panic claws at my chest. She turns to walk out from behind the counter, away from me, when, for the second time tonight, I don’t think—I react, unable to let her walk away.

I reach out my hand and hook my finger into the belt loop on her overalls before she can get too far away from me. With a sharp tug, I pull her back and use my opposite hand on her hip to spin her towards me. She looks up at me with confusion.

“I don’t want to call it.”

Without thought or hesitation, I crash my lips down onto hers.

Shock quickly melts into enthusiasm as she leans into me, fingers digging into the tops of my jeans, brushing bare skin to tug me closer.

I groan into her mouth from the slight graze as my lips move against hers in a fervent rhythm.

Running my tongue against the seam of her mouth, I beg for an entry she grants in earnest, and I delve in deep and fast.

I’ve never tasted anything as sweet as Silver James, and it makes me dizzy. Every moment since I met her has been a powerline of our collective currents, building and buzzing, bringing us to this moment, drawing us closer together until we lit up with electricity.

I slip my hand up through her silken tresses, tilting her head back with my thumb under her chin to deepen the kiss. I nip on her lower lip to test and tease, and she lets out a soft moan that makes me half-hard in an instant.

Stroke for stroke, she meets me in challenge, rolling her body against mine in a need to be closer, and it’s a desire I’m more than happy to assuage. I hook her arms up around my neck and reach underneath her thighs to hoist her up around my waist before depositing her onto the counter behind us.

She lets out a soft squeal at the sudden movement, but I swallow it with another bruising kiss, stepping into the space between her legs and resting my hands possessively on the tops of her thighs, squeezing and stroking.

I kiss a path down her jaw and onto her neck, lavishing the pulse point at the base, feeling it thunder against my attention.

Silver rolls her body against my hardening length in retaliation, forcing me to grunt out against her neck.

“You’ll be the death of me,” I growl, breathing rapidly.

I hear her chuckle in my ear right before she bites down on my lobe, nearly buckling my knees, and I pepper drugging kisses on a path back toward her mouth. Our hands leave paint marks on each other’s bodies, clothes—the counters.

I’ve spent weeks trying to push her away, and I can’t remember why. The taste of her mouth, the feeling of her skin burning against my palm, it feels like we were always meant to end up here. Like a moth to a flame—unavoidable. I want to burn in her light .

With the most monumental effort of my life, I take one last, long pull from her mouth, and she whimpers at my retreat. Forehead flush against hers, we try to catch our breath and fail. I’m smiling softly like an idiot as I lean forward, unable to help myself, and steal one more long kiss.

After a moment, Silver breaks the silence. “What’s your guilty pleasure?” Her fingers play with the ends of my hair in a maddening rhythm.

You , I think. “ Great British Bake Off .”

She pulls back and looks at me with amusement.

“Such a mystery, Mr. Wells.” Mirth lines her gaze. “Though I do suppose Paul Hollywood is kinda foxy.”

I toss my head back, laughing loudly, and when I look back, she’s smiling at me with a sort of wonder.

I think I’d do anything to keep her looking at me like that.