Page 45 of Before Eve

“You’re shaking,” he whispers. “Are you cold?”

“No.”

“Nervous?”

“Yes, very.”

“About being on my lap?”

“Yes, and everything else.”

He opens his legs then, and I plop right to the cement floor. I give him a startled look, and when amusement tickles through his expression, I can’t help but laugh.

Smiling, he runs his fingers along my cheeks and into my hair, sending tingles across my scalp, and cupping my cheeks in his palms, he slowly brings me toward him. “I’ll stop if you want me to…?”

“I don’t,” I whisper.

“Good,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss at the corner of my mouth before leisurely moving to my top lip where he leaves another. He brushes over to the other corner and lingers there, then slides down to my bottom lip. He sucks it into his mouth, biting down lightly on its release, then places one last gentle kiss on the same corner he started at before lifting his head.

My lashes flutter open in time to see him coming right back toward me. This time the contact of his lips stirs something deep in me and has me arching into him as he slides his hand along my hips and pulls me up onto his lap again. Shivers dance up and down my spine and spread across every inch of me, and way down deep inside I feel this need that has me opening my lips.

His tongue slips inside, circling mine, and tastes like such good cinnamon I want to suck it. But I don’t know what to do so I just mimic his actions, though I’m sure I’m not doing it right.

Trailing his hand along my hip, he pulls me closer and deepens the kiss. Somewhere in the back of my mind I’m aware that my fingernails dig into his arms, but I can’t make myself stop.

He pulls back, and I instinctively follow him. My world spins as I slip my tongue back inside his mouth and lick the cinnamon. He must like it because he groans and pushes deeper and I free fall into the kiss. Hunger and lust mingle, and it overwhelms me and has me moving even closer, pressing tight to him until he gently pulls back again.

Breathing heavily, we stare at each other. His intenseness reflects back what I feel—hunger, need, want, passion. We so are beyond the bounds of friendship now.

He licks his lips, and right as I lean toward him again, he shakes his head. “We have to stop. My God.” He pushes me away from him with a nervous laugh. “Shit.” He shifts and adjusts his jeans.

I blink out of my daze, wanting nothing more than to do that all over again, and right as I’m contemplating grabbing him, he says, “Hey there, Blue Eyes.”

A lovely feeling buzzes through me like my cells were only operating at half power until this moment. “Hey.”

He rubs his nose affectionately against mine. His lipstwitch as he brings my hand up to his mouth. “So.” He kisses my thumb. “I was thinking.” He kisses my index finger. “My sister is turning fifteen.” He kisses my middle finger. “We’re having a little party.” He kisses my ring finger. “What do you say, will you go with me?” He kisses my pinky.

I snap out of my sensual haze. “What?”

He tugs on my earlobe. “You heard me.”

“Where?”

“My home. In Florida.”

“Um…” I slide off his lap. “Uh…”

“Next weekend.”

“No.” I shake my head. “No.” I shake my head again. “I can’t do that.”

Both his brows shoot up. “Why not?”

I slide farther away from him. “B-because…”

Because… well, I don’t know why because. Wait, yes I do know. Because I’ve never done anything like that before. I don’t think I can, can I? And…what if his family hates me?

West grabs my legs and slides me back. “Tell you what, we’ll go as friends. It’ll be just like you and Anne going somewhere.”