Chapter 2

Dahlia's POV

The bass from downstairs thumped through the floorboards like a second heartbeat. Laughter and the clink of bottles drifted up the stairs, muffled but constant. My twentieth birthday party was still going strong, while the rest of the house remained completely oblivious to what was happening in this dark room.

"Dahlia..."

Kayden's voice came out low and rough as he pressed another kiss to my neck, his hands resting firmly on my waist. A shiver ran through me, and I instinctively moved closer, afraid that even the smallest distance between us might somehow make this moment disappear.

He paused and lifted his head to look at me.

"Tell me to stop, and I will."

I shook my head immediately. "Don't you dare."

A faint smile tugged at his mouth, but the seriousness returned to his expression almost at once.

"You're sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything." I held his gaze, my heart beating so hard I wondered if he could feel it beneath his hands. "I want it to be you, Kayden. I've always wanted it to be you."

For a moment, he said nothing.

Something in his expression cracked. Then he leaned down and kissed me again, more gently this time, as though my words had touched a part of him he had spent years trying to hide.

I had imagined kissing Kayden more times than I could count. During lonely nights, during gatherings when I caught myself watching him from across a room, and during some rare moments when he smiled at me without realizing how easily he could ruin my entire day with a single glance.

But none of those fantasies had prepared me for the reality of having him this close.

His fingers brushed my cheek, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. The tenderness of that simple gesture nearly undid me. This was Kayden Voss, the man who could silence a room simply by walking into it. He was the man everyone wanted a piece of, yet here he was, looking at me as if he were trying to memorize every detail of my face.

"You're making it very difficult for me to think straight, princess." He murmured.

I smiled shyly. "I didn't know you were capable of that."

His eyebrows rose. "Oh, really?"

"You're always so confident. So sure of yourself." I touched his cheek, enjoying the way his expression softened beneath my hand. "It's nice knowing I can make you nervous too."

He let out a quiet laugh and caught my hand, bringing my knuckles to his lips.

"You have no idea what you do to me."

The words sent warmth rushing through me. Before I could respond, he kissed me again, and whatever teasing reply I had prepared disappeared completely.

We moved toward the bed without breaking apart for long. When he finally drew me into his arms, I rested my hands against his chest. He looked down at me, and I suddenly became painfully aware of how close we were and how much I had to lose if this night turned out to mean nothing to him.

"Kayden?" I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Will things be different between us after tonight?"

The question escaped before I could stop it.

His expression grew still. For a second, I thought he might pull away or remind me why this was a mistake. Instead, he brushed his thumb across my cheek.

"Let's not ruin tonight by worrying about tomorrow."

It wasn't the answer I had hoped for, but I held on to the gentleness in his voice. Perhaps he was simply as frightened as I was. Perhaps he needed time to understand what had happened between us, just as I did.

I nodded, choosing to believe that whatever came next, we would face it together.

He kissed my forehead before looking into my eyes again.

"You're beautiful, Dahlia."

My cheeks warmed. "You don't have to say things like that."

"I'm not saying it because I have to." He brushed another kiss against my lips. "I'm saying it because it's true."

I had spent years hiding my feelings, convincing myself that the affection I felt for him was something I would eventually outgrow. And on the days when I believe he'd never look at me, I had told myself that one day I would meet someone who would look at me the way I had always wanted Kayden to look at me.

But lying there in his arms, with his fingers intertwined with mine, I couldn't imagine wanting anyone else.

When he kissed me again, I answered without hesitation. The nervousness that had followed me into the room gradually gave way to something warmer, something that made me feel safe enough to stop questioning every little thing. He was gentle with me, pausing whenever I grew uncertain and giving me time to find my confidence again.

"You're okay?" He asked quietly.

I nodded, squeezing his hand. "I'm okay."

"Tell me if it hurts, okay?"

"I will."

He studied my face for another moment before pressing a tender kiss to my forehead. That small gesture meant more to me than any grand declaration could have. It made me feel as though he wasn't simply caught up in the excitement of the moment, as though there was something between us worth being careful with.

I reached for him and pulled him closer.

"Stop looking at me like I'm going to break." I whispered.

One corner of his mouth lifted. "I happen to like you in one piece."

I laughed, and he smiled against my cheek. For a little while, we forgot about the party downstairs, about Mitchell, and about all the reasons we had convinced ourselves that this could never happen.

There was no audience, no expectations. There was only Kayden and me, two people who had spent far too long pretending that the feelings between us didn't exist.

As the night deepened, the kisses grew softer and the space between us disappeared. He held me close, and I let myself believe that I had finally found my way to the person my heart had chosen long before I was brave enough to admit it.

When the moment came to take that final step together, I looked into his eyes and saw the same uncertainty I felt reflected in them. I was nervous, but I didn't want to turn back. I trusted him enough to let him see that vulnerability, and he answered by holding me a little closer and reminding me that I could change my mind at any time.

I chose to stay.

The rest of the world seemed to fade as we surrendered to the feelings we had kept buried for so long. There were whispered words, tender kisses, and quiet reassurances that made the unfamiliar feel less frightening. I held on to him, discovering a closeness I had dreamed about for years but never truly believed I would experience.

For once, I wasn't Mitchell's best friend standing at the edge of Kayden's world. I wasn't the girl secretly admiring him from a distance, wondering whether he would ever see me as anything more than his little sister's friend.

I was simply Dahlia.

And tonight, he was mine.

Much later, when the music downstairs had softened and the party had begun to lose its energy, I lay curled against Kayden's chest beneath the sheets. His arm rested around my waist, and his fingers moved lazily over my hand as though neither of us wanted to acknowledge that morning would eventually come.

The room smelled like sex and his cologne. I closed my eyes and pressed a soft kiss to the center of his chest.

He glanced down at me. "What's that for?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" He gave me a skeptical look.

I smiled and settled against him again. "Can't I kiss you just because I want to?"

"You can do whatever you want, princess."

His answer made my heart flutter.

I traced a small pattern against his chest, gathering the courage to ask the question that had been sitting at the back of my mind.

"Do you regret it?"

His fingers stopped moving.

I immediately wished I could take the question back. I didn't want to spoil the quiet happiness surrounding us, but I needed to know. I needed something I could carry with me when we were no longer alone in this room.

Kayden tilted my chin until I was looking at him.

"No." He said, his voice firm. "I don't regret tonight."

I searched his face, hoping to find something more in his expression. A promise, perhaps. A confession. Anything that would tell me I hadn't made a mistake by giving him the part of myself I had guarded for so long.

Instead, he kissed my forehead and pulled me closer.

"Rest a bit, I'll help you clean up later." 

I wanted to ask him a few more questions, but I was afraid of the answers I might receive, so I stayed quiet.

I closed my eyes and listened to his heartbeat beneath my ear, letting its steady rhythm soothe the doubts I couldn't quite silence. His arm tightened around me when I shifted, and for one foolish, beautiful moment, I allowed myself to believe that he was holding me because he didn't want to let me go.

I wished, fiercely and silently, that time would just stop, right here, right now, with his heartbeat under my ear and the ache of him still between my legs and the knowledge that, for this one night at least, the man I’d wanted for years had wanted me back just as badly.

Just a little longer. Just this. Forever.