Daniel's breath slid over her lips—warm, teasing, impossibly gentle.
Anna felt her heart pounding so loudly she wondered if he could hear it. Her fingers curled lightly against his shirt, more out of instinct than intention, as if her body needed something solid to anchor itself to.
"Anna…" he murmured again, her name falling from his lips like a caress. "Look at me."
She lifted her eyes.
The moment their gazes locked, something inside her trembled. The intensity in Daniel's eyes was overwhelming—heat, tenderness, longing all tangled together, aimed entirely at her.
Slowly, deliberately, his hand slid from her waist up to her ribcage, resting just beneath her arm—not inappropriate, but close enough to make her breath falter.
Her eyelashes fluttered.
Daniel's lips hovered a hair's breadth from hers. "If this is too much…"
"It's not," she whispered, surprising both of them.
His fingers tightened—just slightly—at her waist.
