Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
When my mouth finds hers again, I stop pretending I don’t want this.
That I don’t want her.
That I haven’t wanted her since the moment we were introduced.
The kiss unfolds gradually. There’s no rush or desperation, just the careful exploration of something new and fragile, something neither of us wants to break. Heat blooms where her lips meet mine, spreading outward in ways I didn’t expect, settling in all the dark corners it shouldn’t.
She melts into the kiss just enough to let me know she wants this too. When her mouth softens beneath mine, everything inside me draws taut, held in that dizzying space between restraint and surrender.
It’s been too long since I’ve felt anything close to this. Too long since I’ve even allowed myself to feel it. And that’s exactly why it scares the hell out of me.
I tilt my head just slightly, deepening the angle, needing to taste more of her.
“Daddy?”
The moment detonates with the sound of my daughter’s voice.
“I had a bad dream,” Elody calls out.
I break away from Kia so quickly the world tilts.
“I’m coming, honey.”
Even though my voice is steady, my body is not.
I’m on my feet and already halfway across the room before I realize it, as if putting distance between us might erase what just happened. My heart slams against my ribs, and it takes a second to notice that my hands are shaking.
After making my way down the hallway, I stop just short of Elody’s door and press my palm against the wall before bowing my head. I drag in one breath and then another. The air feels too thin, like my body is still trying to catch up with that kiss. The cold surface beneath my hand keeps me grounded and from doing something catastrophic. Like turning around, going back into the living room, and hauling Kia into my arms.
The urge is almost overwhelming.
I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen.
It was a line that never should have been crossed.
The real danger isn’t the kiss itself. It’s knowing exactly what she tastes like, and realizing I don’t trust myself to stop at just that.
19
Kia
I lie on my back and stare up at the ceiling, listening to the quiet creep in around me. Every time I close my eyes, the memory of Laiken’s mouth drifting over mine replays behind my eyelids. None of the kisses I’ve experienced up to this point have felt like that. It was slow and teasing, making me crave more.
I’m not even sure how it happened. One minute, I was offering comfort and support for everything he’s going through, and the next, his lips were on mine. As much as I want to pretend it didn’t happen, that’s not possible. It’s like ignoring a crack in the foundation and hoping the house doesn’t collapse around you. I can already feel the weight of it pressing down on me, the knowledge that things like this don’t simply disappear because you want them to.
The shocked way he looked at me afterward tells me everything I need to know about the situation. Whatever he felt in that moment, regret eclipsed it almost immediately.
Unsure what to do after he disappeared down the hallway, I’d stayed put and waited, wondering if he’d come back and want to talk about what happened.
He didn’t.
I’m afraid of what this lapse in judgment could cost me.
This job is the only stable thing I have right now. The one solid piece of ground under my feet. Losing it would mean more than the loss of a paycheck. It would take away my new sense of security and the delicate balance I’ve worked so hard to find.
I roll onto my side, then onto my back again, restless and wound tight with nerves. It doesn’t take long to realize that sleep isn’t going to come easily. The weight of responsibility presses in from every direction—Elody, this job, my future, and the quiet truth growing heavier inside my body.
Eventually, I stop pretending and sit up, drawing my knees to my chest. I can’t undo what happened with Laiken, but I can own it. Just a simple heartfelt apology with a promise that it’ll never happen again. That I understand the boundaries along with the need for them. I’m not here to further complicate his life.
Hopefully, that’ll be enough to rectify the situation. And then we can put the kiss behind us and move forward as if it never happened.
Decision made, I throw off the covers and pad across the hallway. His door isn’t quite closed, standing ajar an inch or two. I hesitate, lifting my hand to knock. Before I’m able to do it, a sound slips through the crack. A sharp inhale and then something garbled followed by a thump.
“Laiken?” I whisper, pushing the door open just enough to see inside.
Moonlight spills across the bed, painting everything in shades of silver and shadow. It doesn’t take long for my eyes to adjust and find Laiken tangled in the covers. His brow is furrowed as he shakes his head. His hand fists the sheet as his chest rises and falls in quick, uneven breaths.