“
What else do you want to know?” “I didn’t know I wanted to know. But it isn’t—they aren’t things I can just ask you,” she sighs and turns to face him. With his hands on either side of her, he has her penned in, and she’s just as close to his mouth as she was in the foyer. Her gaze flickers from his eyes to his lips and back again as she says, “If I could have asked you, I would have by now.” “You can ask me now,” he whispers, leaning in, his bottom lip deftly sweeping across hers as he turns his head. “Austin—” “Ask me,” he says, his lips grazing her cheek as his head dips lower and his mouth hovers near her neck. She presses herself into him, arching up just enough to let his lips press against her skin. She feels bold and daring and his lips are so soft. “Harper,” he says breathlessly. “Ask me.” “Do you—” Harper’s voice quivers from his mouth on her neck and her head spins, filled with a dizzying lust. She slides a hand into his hair to still him long enough to get out the words she needs. “Austin—Austin, do you want me?” A groan breaks free from Austin’s throat as his teeth scrape along her neck, and Harper’s hand fists reflexively in his hair, pulls him closer. He litters slow kisses along the low-slung neckline of her tank top, beneath the strap as it slides off her shoulder indulgently, each one eliciting a whimper from Harper that spurs on the next move of his lips. When he reaches the hollow beneath her ear, he whispers, “Always.
”
”