Of course, it was foolish of me to think we could just sweep this under the rug and act like the kiss didn’t happen. And apparently, this needed to be addressed right this moment, regardless of the fact that it’s past midnight.

With a sharp exhale, I head for the door. I dug my own grave. Time to own it.

The first thing I see when I open the door is the size of Aaron’s pupils, strangely. They’re wide, the amber of his irises only a faint circle.

“Hi—”

“What was that?” he interrupts, standing stiffly on the front porch. He doesn’t push to come inside, but the seriousness of his voice does all the heavy lifting.

“I…” The words don’t come, maybe because they’re nonexistent. I can’t explain why I kissed him. It was instinctual, and it was also a mistake.

“You can’t just do that,” he says.

My eyes close. “I know, I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“What won’t?” His brows are drawn in confusion.

“The kiss.”

“What?” This time, he does take a step forward, and I don’t stop him from walking in. We need to address this at some point, so I guess now is as good a moment as any.

“I’m not talking about the kiss, Wren.”

It’s my turn to be confused.

“You can’t just kiss me and leave like it means nothing,” he says, taking another step my way. His scent reaches me, and I stop breathing.

He doesn’t care that we kissed. He cares that I left.

“Aaron, I—”

My sentence is interrupted by his hand reaching for my cheek, his touch so tender all of a sudden, I feel my heart fall to the floor.

“Don’t do this,” he says, his soft breath touching my lips. “Don’t shut me out.” I exhale shakily as he whispers, “Not when I know you want this too.”

I swallow, eyelids fluttering. Of course I want this. Who wouldn’t, in my position? This man makes me feel things I never thought were possible. He makes me feel beautiful. He gives me warmth. He lights me up.

The delicate press of his lips against my temple makes my legs weak, and all at once, the beautiful promises I made to myself a minute ago to stay away from him fly out the window. Is this even avoidable at this point? My body is in a frenzy. It wants and wants and wants, consequences be damned. I was strong enough to break away from this once, but I don’t think I could do it again.

I’m not alone in this. Aaron’s heart is beating fast under my hand—one I hadn’t even realized I’d placed there.

“What’s going on inside that beautiful head?” he whispers.

“A lot,” I sigh.