“He nodded and leaned down to kiss me. I let him, Dad be damned.”

“We’re here to see Connor,” Dad said.The woman nodded and hit a button on the control panel. “You’re set to go down.”“Thank you, Marshie,” Dad said. He motioned us over to a door beneath the staircase.Nick leaned in. “ ‘You’re set to go down’?” he echoed. “That’s comforting.”

“He turned to me. “Call me later?”“Yes.”“Promise?”“I promise,” I said.And then he leaned down and kissed me. And this time it wasn’t Romeo kissing Juliet. It was Quinn kissing Delia. And that was even better.”

“He leans in closer and closer until his breath caresses my mouth. I’m paralyzed. I swear he’s going to kiss me. I swear I’m going to let him.”

“He leaned down and kissed me slowly, with the ironic leisure of someone who had nowhere to go.”

“I really need to remember to block my thoughts.""Oh, come on," he pulled me closer towards him. "Why are you so scared?""Because the second that I let this conversation happen, I'll be letting my walls down. No matter what answer you give me, you'll have some sort of power over me, and I don't want that." I pushed past him, plopping down on the bed, not bothering to remove my boots.I could feel the mattress sink beside me. Ian ran his fingers through my hair. "Come here," he spoke softly. "Please." I pushed myself into a sitting position, and moved closer to him, leaning my head on Ian's shoulder. "I like this, a lot. It feels nice." Ian lifted my chin so that I was forced to look directly at him, and then he leaned in to kiss me.”