“You’re an amazing person,” she says quietly, looking right into my eyes, and the thread gets even tighter, tugging at my heart.

I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “I have my good and bad days, just like everyone else. But I try to appreciate life as it comes and cherish the good moments.”

Silence falls between us, and as our gazes hold, I feel Hannah’s pulse pounding in the veins of her wrist. It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to bring her wrist to my lips. The need to taste her skin there, to feel her pulse against my mouth, is almost overwhelming.

As if realizing how long we’ve been staring at each other across the table, she gently pulls her hands out of my grip and adjusts in her seat. “Sorry, I got us way off track, didn’t I? This was supposed to be a fun game.”

“I’m not complaining,” I tell her with a smile. “I like the detours our conversations take.”

Although she flashes a smile back, it doesn’t stay on her face for very long. But even as I can sense her retreating a little, the thread between us is still there, still pulling at my heart. Maybe things got a little too intense too fast for her, but I wasn’t lying when I told her I wasn’t bothered. Or when I told her that there wasn’t much I didn’t feel comfortable sharing with her. There’s something about this woman that makes me want to lay myself bare, to offer up parts of myself I usually keep hidden.

“If I remember correctly, I think it’s your turn,” she says.

“Alright, then. Truth or dare?” My voice drops lower, and I arch a brow at her.

Hannah hesitates, biting her lip again in that way she has that drives me crazy. I can’t help but see her beneath me in bed, her plump lip locked between her teeth as I slid into her. The memory is visceral enough to make my muscles tighten with want.

“Truth,” she finally says, pulling me out of the vivid memory. “But maybe keep it simple this time?”

“Hm, okay. What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue. Yeah, very unique, I know,” she says with a self-deprecating look, and I laugh with her.

We take several more turns, both of us opting for truth every time, but that’s probably for the best. The only thing I can think of to dare her to do is to kiss me—or more—but we’re not really in the best environment for that, although part of me doesn’t give a damn about our surroundings. Maybe she doesn’t trust herself with a dare, either.