Lib Novel Page 25
“Would it change anything if it wasn’t?” I whisper.
“You want this cold, bitchy image so bad and that tells me that maybe you’re not.”
I must have been so engrossed in him that when I take in my surroundings, I notice we’re in the middle of the lake.
“Bring me back.” I shoot upright, causing the boat to wobble. Someone could see us.
Anxiety hits me, boxing me into a dark corner. If Felix finds out.
I can’t… I…
My throat clamps up, and a cold sweat breaks out over my body. A full-blown panic attack swallows me in its merciless depths, making it hard for me to regulate my breathing. My pulse spikes, and I get dizzy as black spots dance before my eyes. I haven’t had those in a while.
Dane drags me onto his lap, taking my face in his hands.
“Abigail.”
My pulse normalizes as he puts his arms around me, holding me tight.
“I got you. Breathe in, breathe out.”
His soft voice calms down my frayed nerves, soothing all the anguish.
“Just like that, sweetheart.”
“You’re awfully good at this,” I say once I have myself better under control.
“What triggered it?”
“We’re not friends.”
“No. Friends don’t think of kissing, and I want to do so much more to you. With you.”
Me too.
I clear my throat. “You’re conveniently forgetting about my boyfriend.” I push myself to say that, but if we don’t find a way out, Kaden and I are going to be so much more.
He arches a brow, calling me out. “I don’t know which one of us forgets that more when you’re with me.”
His eyes burn with a hunger I want to feed off of. He has lit a fire in me, the searing flames of desire and temptation lick at my skin.
I thought that this would never happen to me. But I can’t give in to this attraction, I remind myself. Yet, I can only guess how good it would feel.
No, that would be catastrophically bad.
Stop entertaining this madness.
“Why are you here?” I ask to cut off my thought process only to showcase my interest in him.
“How do we go from talking about me and you to this heavy shit? I thought I had better game,” he huffs exaggeratedly.
I giggle at his fake incredulity—his playfulness is something else.
“Friendship is all I can offer.”
“Fine. Let’s be friends then, princess.”
I shift into a cross-legged position and rest my cheek in my palm. His eyes are fixed solely on me, and that’s an addictive sensation. No one has ever made me their focus of attention.