“Phoebe may’ve had a… crush on me at one time, but she knows I’m not available.” He leaned over me, placing one hand on the bed beside my hip. We were so close I could feel the heat rolling off of him. Shifting closer, he picked a strand of hair off my shoulder and wrapped the thick curl around his finger. I froze. “And you misinterpreted what you saw. Her gift… well, you know it’s been getting to her. I was draining some of it so she wasn’t feeling everything. I’ve done it for years.”

“But you guys were so close…”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t what you thought.” His lips formed a crooked smile. “She’s not the one I want to be close to.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Confused, I pressed my hands against his stomach. I wanted him… to touch me like he had in the cabin, but he’d said it was hard to even be friends with me. How was this making it easier? But I couldn’tdidn’t want to stop him. Hayden’s warm breath danced over my cheek and his eyes held a lot of depth. I thought I could probably get lost in them if I wanted to.

“And it’s been hard being just friends with you when I want to be more than that. Seeing you every day, wanting to touch you…” He stopped, looking thoughtful.

“What are you thinking?” I breathed.

“Well,” he drawled. “I’m thinking something really crazy right now.”

“What?” I moved my lips closer to his. I’m not even sure if I was aware of doing it.

“I’m thinking about kissing you,” he said, “and touching you. It’s all I can think about. It’s why it’s been so hard being around you.”

My heart jumped in my chest, and then sped up erratically. The thick tension hit a new all-time high. Surprisingly, I found that I still had the ability to speak. “That’s really crazy.”

“Yeah.” He dropped my hair. “Crazy stuff.”

“You should really think about something else,” I advised, even as I moved my hand up the front of his shirt, stopping over his heart.

Hayden placed his hand on the small of my back. That touch wiped away the logical part of my brain. “What are you thinking about?”

He was close, way too close. The scent of soap and spice filled my senses. I let my eyes drift shut. “Kissing you,” I admitted in a low voice.

“I wish you hadn’t said that,” he said, unbelievably still.

“I know, but you started it.” I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. “We shouldn’t do this. I don’t know if I can.”

“You didn’t kill the plant, Ember.”

“But that’s just a plant. It’s different. I can’t”

Hayden kissed me.

Chapter 24

Chapter 24