An unexpected snicker slipped out. He always made her laugh. “Not your looks or your cooking?”
“That too.”
A heavy silence descended and Dani bit her lip. This was when he should have left the room gracefully, so they could both pretend to forget this interlude and get on with their day. Only he didn’t.
This was when she should scoot by him with a lighthearted smile and escape to her room, grabbing the pajama shorts and t-shirt currently balled up pointlessly on the floor. Only she didn’t.
“What are we doing?”
Her dreams must be affecting her decision-making skills, but what was his excuse? She glanced up into his eyes and her own widened at his hungry expression. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“How am I looking at you?”
They’d lived under the same roof for the last twelve months, and in all that time he’d never done anything that would lead her to believe he wanted more than friendship. He joked and teased, but he was still there for her whenever she needed him. He’d always been affectionate, even flirtatious. It never meant anything.
If she ever imagined he was more interested now than he had been back when they’d first met all those years ago, or that the love she felt for him went deeper than friendship, she could still never go there. Relationships were too risky and losing him was unacceptable.
So why wasn’t she pushing him away the way she had in the past with a lighthearted wink and smile? Why did it feel like she couldn’t, even if her life depended on it? Her head was spinning the way it did after a few shots of liquor, making it impossible to think. This couldn’t be normal.
“How am I looking at you, Shortbread?” he asked again.
“Like you’re crazy,” she said weakly. Like you want me as much as I want you. “Are you trying to tick me off by not leaving?”
“You’re not angry.”
“I’m not?”
He shook his head, his expression as dazed as hers must be. “If you were, you wouldn’t have your arms around me.”
When had that happened?
“I mentioned being in shock.”
“You did.” He bent his head until his lips were a breath away from hers. “Because of a mutant spider that disappeared as if by magic. Maybe that’s what this is, Dani.”
“You don’t believe in magic.”
“What if I woke up dreaming about you? About this? What if I’m still dreaming?” he asked softly, almost to himself.
There was no way he could know how much she wanted that to be true. Giant spiders, public nudity, secret fantasies coming to life—none of it sounded like her reality. “Am I dreaming too?”
“I wish this was your dream.” His admission was deep and seductive. “All I know is it feels like mine. Or that time your buddy Bailey brought those brownies over. We both know you wouldn’t let me do this if we were awake.”
“Do what?”
“Touch you the way I’ve been dying to. See you looking at my lips as if you’re wondering what they’d taste like. Can I give you a taste, Dani? Just one before we both wake up?”
Chapter Two
He’d been dying to touch her?
He was right, this had to be a dream. Which meant she could climb Liam like a tree and finally know what it felt like to kiss him. She’d never even done it in her dreams. His beautiful mouth always eluded hers. He wouldn’t like the descriptor, but it was true. She’d thought it the first time she saw them. Beautiful, sensual lips with a smile that felt like coming home.
Her desire was so potent she wasn’t surprised to see it reflected in his eyes. “I don’t know why this is happening now, but do it,” he rasped. “Put me out of my misery, Dani. Please.”
Only a dream.
She grabbed onto his damp hair and tugged him down that last inch, pressing her lips against his a little too firmly, feeling teeth cutting into her upper lip. His laugh was intoxicating. “Let me.”
Dani would have sworn yesterday that she knew everything about him. All the details that came from sharing a life together. She knew the way he liked his coffee, his moods and expressions, the sound of his laughter. His steps on the stairs. She knew what laundry detergent made him itch and that she could drive him bonkers by leaving a sock on the floor or not folding her clothes right away, because Liam was a closet neat freak.
She’d heard about the time he’d hopped out a window during a final exam in high school to meet a girl, and how he felt the first time he’d had his heart broken. She knew that it wasn’t the chemistry or even the skill involved in cooking that made him love it—though that was a factor. It was the effect it had on people. Nurturing was in his bones and feeding people brought him joy. He’d shared that, and so many other parts of himself with her throughout their friendship, but the kiss came as a complete surprise. She’d had no idea he could do this.