Page 37 of Cheshire

“Eliza.” I wanted to tell her everything, lay it all out bare. But words didn’t come easily. So I showed her.

I tugged her against my body, tipping her chin up. As badly as I wanted to kiss her, I wasn’t sure she’d want that in front of everyone. Instead, I let her see the desire I knew had to be burning in my gaze.

“Tell me,” I rasped. “Tell me you’re mine.”

“Cheshire. I want to be with you. If you want to call me yours, then I think I’d like that. A lot.”

“God, Eliza…” My lips twisted into a half-smile as I fought the beast of desire gnawing at my restraint. I wanted her. Here. Now. But my sweet little innocent Eliza deserved better. I whispered her name again, my breath ghosting her lips. It was a tease, a taste of sin I wasn’t sure we should indulge in. But damn me, I wanted it.

Her scent wrapped around me, all sweet and floral, out of place in the grit and shadows of the clubhouse. My chest was tight, wound up with a mix of need and something else -- something that felt too much like… love. But it was far too soon for the L word.

She leaned against me even more. Staring up into my eyes, she parted her lips, as if begging for a kiss. Then she damned us both by uttering the words.

“Kiss me,” she said. It shredded the last of my control. I was the club’s Vice President. I was supposed to be all cool calculation and strategy. But none of that mattered right now, not with her voice threading through my thoughts like a siren’s song.

I captured her mouth, gave in to the heat. It was a searing connection that branded me, scorched away the shadows. Her lips were soft, warm, and all the warnings in my head turned to dust.

I didn’t care who might be watching. Didn’t care that we weren’t in the privacy of my room. I needed to taste her. To own her in whatever way possible.

“Eliza,” I muttered against her mouth, tasting her sweetness. Her hands, tentative at first, found the edges of my cut, pulling me closer. And I was lost in her.

Heat. It was all I felt, all I was. Eliza’s lips under mine, her breath mingling with my own. I was teetering on a cliff.

“Charlie,” she whispered, and that’s when I snapped.

I jerked back, gasping for air like I’d been underwater too long. My heart hammered against my ribcage, every beat screaming at me to take her, claim her. But I couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Not like this.

“I can’t lose control, Eliza. Not with you.” The words came out hard, edged with desperation.

She blinked up at me, confusion clouding those big eyes. They were wide, too damn innocent. I saw longing there, a mirror of my own. With anyone else, I might have tossed them over my shoulder and carried them off to bed. But not with her.

“I need to protect you,” I said, forcing the words out even as my body screamed to close the distance between us again. “And that means keeping a distance until we’re out of danger. I can’t risk screwing things up because you’re on my mind even more than you already are.”

“Distance?” she asked. She watched me, her face unreadable. “Out of danger.”

Her brow furrowed, and my fingers itched to reach up and smooth the worry lines. But I’d caused them and didn’t have the right to reach for her. Not now.

Her hand shot out, fingers clutching the edge of my cut. I stared at her fingers, where they gripped the leather.

“Eliza.” My tone held a note of warning. I was so close to losing it.

“Worried?” Her eyes were wide, searching mine -- seeking truth or lies, I couldn’t tell.

“Yes,” I admitted. She held my gaze, and I knew I was losing the battle. “Damnit. Listen, Eliza. This isn’t a good idea.”

No matter what I said, she didn’t release me. If anything, she seemed to hold on even tighter. A part of me was glad, because I honestly didn’t want her to let me go.

Before I realized what she was doing, Eliza closed the gap between us, pressing her lips to mine. “What if I don’t want to wait? What if waiting means we can never be together?”

I had always known she was brave. Bold. But this? This was something else. I’d never thought she’d be the one to initiate a kiss, much less ask for more.

“Eliza…” My throat tightened. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

She was right. Every damn word.

Holmes. That bastard. If things went south, this could be my final mission, the one that put an end to me. She was looking at me, eyes blazing. Daring me to choose. Live for now or die waiting. I’d never been one to back down from a challenge, and I wasn’t going to start now.

“Fuck.” My voice was nearly a growl, low, torn from deep within. “Lead the way.”