Page 20 of Off-Limits Bad Boy
“Right, because a little cold has stopped me before,” I joke, but the words fall flat even to my own ears.
She's watching me now, her lips parted slightly, cheeks flushed with a blush that sends my imagination spiraling. Would she blush like that if I was losing myself in her body?
But I've got to remember who she is and that she’s vulnerable from whatever went down with Ryan. She’s off-limits as my best friend’s sister, and somehow she’s completely under my skin in ways I can't afford.
“Kade,” she whispers, reaching out tentatively with curled fingers as if she might actually touch me. Her hand hovers in the air, and it takes everything in me not to grab her hand, to pull her in and finally taste the lips I've been fantasizing about since forever.
“Yeah?” I reply, my voice low as I fight to keep it steady and even.
“Thanks for being here. And... for everything.” Her gratitude hits me harder than any confession of desire ever could, and I know now that I'd do anything for this girl. Anything.
“Always, Em,” I say, the promise lighting up her eyes as she watches me.
We sit there in silence, the tension as thick as the cheese on our pizza. I want her—God, how I want her—but not like this. Not when she needs a friend more than another complication.
“More pizza?” I ask, desperate for a distraction from the way she bites her lip and looks at me like she might just be starting to see me as more than her brother's best friend.
“Sure,” she says with a nod, though neither of us moves to reach for the box.
I’m too caught up in the way she’s looking at me, the obvious hunger in her eyes, and the warning on her beautiful, kissable lips.
Chapter Nine
Emma
I'm holding my breath.
I swear the space between us is electric, charged with a current that pulls me in like a magnet. Kade’s dark eyes are locked on mine, and I feel heat flood my cheeks.
The air around us smells like his cologne, his thick scent, and it’s hard to take a deep breath without inhaling the deliciousness that is him.
“Kade,” I whisper, the single word an invitation, or maybe a plea.
He leans in closer, inch by nerve-wracking inch. “Emma Riley,” he says, a hint of playfulness in his voice as his breath tickles my lips so excitingly my heart pounds impossibly hard.
My chest rises and falls in rapid succession, but I can’t seem to catch my breath. My heart races as if trying to escape the cage of my ribs. He's so close now, I can almost taste the tang of pizza sauce on his breath.
He’s intoxicating, dizzying, and I want more. I shouldn't, but I do. More than anything.
And then some voice in my head reminds me that this isn't just Kade.
This is my brother Alex's best friend.
The one man who knows exactly how to get under my skin with his cocky grin and relentless teasing.
I need that guy back—the one who drives me crazy in a completely different way. The one I’d been trapped with and wanted to pour grenadine over the head of. The safe one.
“Stop,” I say, placing a hand against his chest. His heart beats steady under my palm, and I want to hate it for not matching the frantic rhythm of my own. He has such an effect on me, he but seems far too calm and relaxed while I’m struggling to think and breathe normally.
“Stop what?” Kade asks, his brows knitting together in confusion... or maybe frustration.
“Stop... whatever we're doing here.” My voice sounds more desperate than I intend, betraying the confusing mix of emotions he stirs within me.
“Emma, you know I can't—” He starts, but I cut him off.
“Go back to being annoying,” I whisper, my voice firm even as some part of me begs him to break this rule. “I need your infuriating humor, your rudeness.”
“Rudeness?” The corners of his mouth curve up in that signature smirk that makes me mad and hot all at once. “You mean my charming wit?”