Page 119

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Mark Bell
All right. I’m officially on the Cain and Mollie train. He SMILED at her.
Comments:
Kerry Winsor: I didn’t know he knew how to do that!!! Time to start a bet.
Tammy Jane: Fifty bucks that it happens in a week.
Mark Bell: Fifty bucks something’s already happened.
Kerry Winsor: Fifty bucks for it fizzling out within a few months.
I thoughtI knew many things. How to drive a car. How to pay bills.
How Cain Smith worked.
I wasverywrong about one of them.
My mind was a confusing mix ofis this real?AndI thought he hated me.And finally,shit,he’s an incredible kisser.
Just minutes ago, this was the last thing on my mind.
And now he was kissing me. He was in my space, filling my lungs with a scent I couldn’t place. His hands cupped the back of my neck, and it hit me that this might have been the best kiss of my life.
All my kisses with Trevor had me molding into him. He wanted me pliant in all aspects of my life. But with Cain, I pushed against him with the same force he gave me. I was the one to run my tongue over his bottom lip. I was the one with my fists in his shirt to bring him closer.
But he was on the move too. A door opened, and instead of staying in the hallway where anyone could see us, we were now in a dark closet, the door shut firmly behind us.
That was when his tongue clashed with mine. That was when he hiked my leg up and fully pressed into me.
We needed to talk about this. We shared ahouse.Technically, he was myemployee,but my brain was filled with an unhelpful mix ofmore,please,andnow.
Cain’s mouth left mine, but he placed a kiss on my jaw. “I told you that you would regret that.”
“I regret nothing.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. I was out of breath. I went in for another kiss, but he pulled away.
“Don’t you have a date with Lucas?”
“No,” I hissed. “I was coming to ask you to help me out of it, you idiot. I guess this is one way to do it.”
He narrowed his eyes, a sight barely visible in the dim light of the closet. “And you’re—you kissed me back.”
“Yes, I did.”
“But—”
“We can talk it out later. Right now, I want you to kiss me again.”
I hoped he wouldn’t turn me down. I wasn’t ready for the awkwardness to settle in. I didn’t want to think too hard about this. For the first time in far too long, something feltgood.I wanted more of that feeling.
Cain’s lips returned to mine, and all tension left my body. I ran my hands through his hair, pulling him to where he fully pressed into me.
My weight settled against the wall behind us. I didn’t feel crowded, but surrounded by something safe. Someonesafe. I’d stood up to Cain, been myself, and he was still here kissing me.
This time, he pushed it further. His teeth sank into my bottom lip, and I let out a moan. Heat pooled in every part of my body, something I’d been missing for far too long. With Trevor, things like this had felt like a chore, something to get over with so we could say we had a healthy sex life and move on.