“Do you want me to touch you, Brick?” she asked again in a silky whisper.

He was crowding her with that big, wonderful body of his. Looming into her space and still not touching her. As much as it pissed her off, his willpower, his desire to do the right thing, was a goddamn work of art.

His eyes were squeezed shut. His entire body was rigid, like a trap set to spring.

And then he nodded.

She sucked in a breath, not daring to blink. “Say it,” she said softly.

Life went on outside the little alley. Tourists window-shopped. Baristas brewed coffees. Birds dipped into the water, hunting silvery flashes of fish. But none of it mattered. None of it existed. The only thing she cared about was the hum of Brick’s body mere inches from her own. The scent of him burrowing its way into her brain.

“Yes.”

It was a broken rasp.

And it set them both free.

She didn’t give him a chance to rethink, to change his mind or regroup. To rebuild the walls she’d managed to knock down.

Remi slid her palm over his belt buckle and lower. When she cupped his erection in her palm, he shuddered against her like a man destroyed. Again, he dropped his forehead to hers. His hands fisted on the wall on either side of her head.

She felt strong, powerful. And when she pressed her palm against his rigid shaft, when he trembled against her, she felt like a goddamn goddess.

“Fuck,” he groaned, thrusting into her hand.

One tight fist struck the wall in slow motion.

It wasn’t enough. She needed to feel him in her hand. Needed to grip him, hard.

But when she reached for his belt, he stopped her. “No.”

“Huh?”

“Remi, baby. If you take my dick out, I’m going to fuck you in a dirty alley.”

A fantasy. Not being seen as some fragile little thing in need of coddling. To be taken. To be needed. To push him so far he could no longer take care.

“I see no problem with that,” she said. Her breath was coming in little, short heaves.

“I do. Breathe,” he reminded her.

“You breathe.”

“We’re not doing this here,” he said firmly.

“Then where?”

“Not here.”

“But somewhere? Soon?”

He dipped his head until his mouth hovered just above hers. “Yes.”

She was dizzy with it. One word, and he’d made her feel like she was exploding into a thousand pieces. “Will you kiss me?”

His lips parted, and she breathed in his exhale, wanting every piece of him she could have.

“Tomorrow,” he said.

“Promise me?”

“I promise.”

* * *

She woke in a mood brighter than the morning sun. An hour before she usually dragged herself out of bed, Remi bopped into the kitchen.

“Ooh! Bear claws,” she said, pouncing on the box of baked goods. “What’s the occasion?”

It was only after her first bite of sugary goodness that she started to read the room. Her parents looked…sad.