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Her confidence is on display when she sits on my lap and settles her arms around my neck. “You brought me here for a reason. How about a kiss, Christiansen?”

13

Nick

I can’t sayI’ve been an angel, but damn, she brings out the devil in me.

Cupping her face, I kiss her, not because she asked me, but because I’ve spent the better part of our time apart thinking about doing just this. This kiss is gentle, slow, a reconnection like our night has been so far.

Our eyes open after our lips part. She readjusts on my lap and then leans her head against mine. But I can’t keep my hands off her, so I kiss her again, this time in a frenzy to make up for every kiss we missed this past summer.

Natalie has a fire inside that burns embers as fast as dynamite and then flares again before they have a chance to cool down. I’m almost afraid to look away for fear of missing out. The romantic approach I had planned walking back to the hotel goes up in smoke.

Pulling back, I run my hand along the back of her neck, and whisper, “What are we doing, Natalie?”

I lean back to look into her eyes, searching her blues for any sign that I’ve crossed a line. There’s nothing but green lights found in her blues signaling back at me. “Picking up where we left off.” Her lips crash into mine, and her arms tighten around me as if life itself hangs in the balance.

Though I love hearing those words from her, maybe I asked the wrong question. “What happens tom?—”

Through panting breaths, she says, “Don’t stop, Nick.”

I push my concerns to the future and live in the present. With the first kisses captured, I intend to do dirty things to that mouth of hers with the next. I send her to the cushions, and her back lands on the soft velvet. When I slide over her, her legs butterfly open for me, then wrap around my hips.

I kiss her mouth and the underside of her jaw, her neck, and trail down to the top of her chest as it rises and falls. Her quiet moans and heavy breaths build, gaining voice as I grind against her. Her legs hold me while her heels spur me on.

Sliding my hands under the hem of her shirt, I rub the tips of my fingers in delight from the softness of her skin. I kiss her shoulder and see a wave of goosebumps rise across her forearms as the slightest of shivers is felt against my middle as well. “Are you cold?” I ask.

“No.” A grin with secrets to uncover graces her face. “Quite the opposite.” Dragging her nails lightly over my scalp above my ears, she continues to smile. “I might not have said it before, but I want you to know that I’m glad we ran into each other.”

“Date number one was that bad, huh?”

Laughter wracks her shoulders as she looks away. When her eyes return to me, she replies, “Date number two is so much better.”

I lean down to kiss her again, kissing my way to her ear. “Why?”

Her lips press to my jaw, then she teases my earlobe between her teeth before she places a kiss on my neck. “Because that wasn’t a match made in heaven.”

Tilting my head to the side to find her eyes, I find her laden with some heavy emotion I can’t decipher. “And we are?”

“That’s why I’m here, Nick. To find out.”

Our mouths meet, and gentle kisses turn erotic when our mouths open, and our tongues reunite, continuing a dance we began in Avalon. She tugs at the collar of my shirt, weaving her hands between us and manipulating the top buttons until they release. As much as I don’t want to escape the hold this woman has on me, I stand and scoop her into my arms.

Our mouths still attached, I almost trip over the coffee table but manage to stumble over to the bed. Her fingers fumble on the remaining buttons of my shirt until she gives up the battle and rips it open, sending them bouncing across the carpet. “I’ll buy you a new one,” she states unapologetically.

I toss her on the bed, making her laugh, and stand at the foot of the mattress with my shirt wide open. It’s only a quick pause before we both scramble to take off our clothes. Shoes are kicked off, and our tops go flying. As soon as my pants are down, I help her with her jeans that I think might have been painted on by how they refuse to come off.

One good tug on the sides and she yanks her knees up, freeing herself from the denim. We’re practically out of breath from the rush, and we haven’t even had sex.

As she lies there before me—her underwear barely covering anything—I ask, “Did you wear those for Chad?”

“I wore these for me.”

Fuck me, she’s incredible.“As it should be, but since I’m benefitting, I have to be honest.”

Worry creases her brow, and she props herself up on her elbows. “What is it?”

Reaching down, I take hold of the delicate string wrapped around her right hip. “I prefer you naked.” I rip that side and then the other. To the sound of her amusement, I toss the scrap behind me before hovering over her again. I kiss the skin between her tits and then look up at her. “Now we’re even.”