CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

BRANDON'S POV

Natalie's fingers tangled in my hair as she pulled me closer, her lips moving against mine with a fervor that equaled mine. I could feel the uncertainty on her tongue, her heartbeat fast against my chest, but there was something else there, something deeper, something that felt a lot like the emotions I was trying so hard to deny.

I didn't want to let her go. I didn't want the spell cast between us to shatter. It was finally too much, and with a sigh, reluctantly, I pulled back to lay my forehead against hers as we both worked for breath. Her lips were swollen from kissing and I had to admit that she looked sexier.

We both just stood there in silence for a moment. The sound was that of ragged breathing, the only feeling that our hearts thundered to a matching rhythm. Lying there with my eyes closed, I was half-afraid that if I opened them, one blink and this moment would shatter, sending us hurting with a rude crash, back into that gosh-awful reality we had been living.