Give Me Something by Elizabeth Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

he kissed me.  His fingers made their way through my hair, to the back of my neck.
    “ I've been thinking about...” His fingers strummed along my neck as he moved his thumb under my chin and tilted my head up.  “Us.”
    I flattened my palms against the door, bracing my wobbling knees. “Us?”
    “Yeah.  I've been thinking about that kiss all day.”
    “ Really?” I anxiously replied. “I thought it was fake.”
    “ There's nothing fake about me and you, Rae.” He pressed his forehead to mine.  “It might have started with false intentions, but I felt something.”
    OMG. This is happening!
    “You did?” I asked as the air was sucked from my lungs.
    “ You didn't?”
    “ I... I... Yes.  I felt something.”  I watch as his tongue traced the corner of his mouth.  Please kiss me.  For real.  I rose up on my toes, eager to close the gap between us.  “I always feel something with you, Nick.”
    I saw a grin spread across his lips.  As he hovered only inches from me, I felt my pulse race in anticipation. Kiss me. Kiss me.  Kiss me. I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to land on mine, to confirm everything I'd always thought that we could be.  Seconds seemed like hours.  I couldn't take anymore.  I opened my eyes just as he was pulling away.  He removed his hands from the door.  “We can't do this.”
    I fell back into the door, deflated, and closed my eyes again, hoping that when I opened them again he'd be back in front of me.  Instead, I felt Nick grab my hands and pull me away from the door.  I could feel the warmth of tears in the corners of my eyes when I opened them to follow him.  I tried to quickly wipe them away before he saw.  Real tears were the worst.  They were a sign of weakness and I didn't have time to be weak.
    “Don't cry,” he said as we sat down.  “It's not that I don't want you, Rae.”  He wiped the tears from my face.
    “ Then what's the problem?” I asked, grabbing his hand and pressing it to my cheek. “I've wanted to be with you since that night.  Do you remember?”
    “ Of course I remember.  I wouldn't forget something like that.  But, we can't, we shouldn't...” He shook his head.  I wasn't sure which one of us he was trying to convince. “Right now.  We've got a really good thing lined up with Tucker.  It's too big to risk.  We can't get sloppy and complicate it.”
    I was pissed.  This was the second time to night that I've had an almost kiss.  First Tucker's graze at the ball field and now Nick.  “Sloppy?”
    “ Yes.”  He brought his other hand up, cradling my face. “If you and me are going to be together, I want it to be for real.  Without any outside interference.  Let's finish this job and then we can give it a real go.  Okay?”
    Even though I wanted nothing more than to just be with him, I knew he was right.  We had to get the money and get rid of Marco Belletti.  “Okay.”
    “Okay.” He dropped his hands from my face and pulled me into his chest.
    “ Nick?” I said, not wanting to disturb the amazing feeling of being in his arms.
    “ Yeah?”
    “ After this we're done, right?”
    I felt him squeeze his arm tight, securing me to him. “Yes.  I promise.”
     
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    Two days.  That's how much time had passed since I'd heard from Tucker.  Nick's promise of being together almost made me forget about not hearing from him.  When Tucker showed up at the coffee shop I worked at, I was surprised by the instant flutter I felt in my stomach when I saw him.  I chalked it up to the nervousness that now accompanied any thoughts of completing this job.  The way he walked into a room was enough to make any girl excited to see him.  I stood behind the counter and painted on a smile as he approached.
    “Hi,” he grinned as he rested his hands on the counter and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.
    “ Hi,” I whispered, taken a back by his direct PDA.  “I thought maybe you had forgot about me,” I