The elevator dinged and the door slid open. I stepped off, suddenly realizing that I’d pushed the button for my floor without considering what Chase would want to do now. The thought made my heart pound. What would happen next? Would our time together end once he saw me to the door? I didn’t want it to end. I would have happily sat and talked with him all night.

Just then, Chase let out a small laugh. When I looked at him, he grinned and shook his head. “Want to hear something weird?”

“Sure,” I said, relieved he was still talking. I moved toward my front door and didn’t bother to remove my fob from my pocket. Leaving it tucked away meant there were still possibilities for the evening.

“Usually it takes me a while to warm up to people, you know? I don’t spill my guts all over a person I just met. But you? Hell, I was telling you I was bi about seven seconds after I met you, and that’s the thing I keep closest. What is it about you that makes me want to tell you everything?”

I froze, just staring at his beautiful face. Hadn’t I thought nearly the same thing? I hardly ever shared my personal life with anyone, never mind someone I just met. But Chase had inspired confidence in me that I couldn’t explain. To know he felt it, too, made my heart pound and my breath catch.

“Eli?”

“Same.” The word didn’t make much sense and I could tell from his furrowed brow that Chase didn’t get it either. I managed a rough breath, then another one that came easier. Reaching out, he met me halfway, wrapping his fingers around mine. “What I meant was, I feel the same way. I don’t usually open up either, but then you make me want to.”

Chase’s breath hitched and he took two quick steps into my space. His gaze zeroed in on mine, intense and steady, his pupils dilating. He licked his lips. “That’s gotta be good, right? That we both feel it?”

I nodded, unable to speak, totally caught in those hazel depths.

One more step and Chase stood no more than an inch away. He shifted his hold on my hand, pulling me a fraction closer. He lifted his other hand, and ever so slowly, placed it against the side of my neck. He traced the edge of my jaw with his thumb. I felt the smooth skin and the small callus and didn’t bother to fight the shudder.

His eyes darkened. “Can I kiss you?”

I didn’t answer with words. I threw myself at him, lifting onto my toes to bring my mouth into alignment with his. It was fierce, the pent-up emotion pouring from my lips. Chase seemed to understand, to feel the same, because he gave back as good as he got, pulling me impossibly closer. He fit one thigh in between mine, pushing and pressing, and I rode that friction, whimpering into his mouth.