Page 96 of Confessions

Oh, God, she could hardly breathe.

“No, but—”

His lips found hers in a kiss that was hot and wet and promised so much more. His mouth moved easily and Carlie couldn’t help the little groan of pleasure that escaped her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that kissing him was asking for more trouble than she could ever hope to handle, but she couldn’t stop herself and she didn’t protest as his arms surrounded her, pulling her close against him. His chest was rock hard and bare where his shirt didn’t quite close and his mouth moved easily over hers.

She felt as if she were melting inside when he finally let go of her.

Her heart was thundering as he slid back to his side of the truck and ran an unsteady hand through his hair. “Damn!” His breathing was loud and he cast her a glance that could cut through metal. “You—”

“I what?” she asked, bristling a little. After all, he’d kissed her. Not the other way around.

“You’re...well, you’re just not what I expected. Son of a—”

“Gun?” She tried to break the tension building in the cab.

“Close enough.” His fingers still shook a little as he placed them over the steering wheel. So he had been as affected as she. That little bit of knowledge helped because she was surprised at her own reaction. She’d kissed her share of boys during high school and some of the kisses had been pleasant, but she’d never felt so downright shaken to her toes.

“I’d better get going.” He reached for the keys still dangling in the ignition.

“You want to come in...for a soda, or some coffee or something?” Lord, that sounded so immature. They’d just been at a beer bash and shared a kiss that was as deep as the night and she was offering him coffee like a middle-aged woman in a commercial on television.

Hesitating, he glanced in her direction, appeared to wrestle with a silent decision, then pocketed his keys. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Probably not.” Relieved, she laughed and climbed out of the truck.

Now what? she wondered as she waited for him to round the fender and walk to the front door. Her fingers fumbled a little as she pushed the key into the lock and turned softly. The door opened silently and her cat, in a streak of gray, bolted inside.

“Get locked out, did you, Shadow?” Carlie said, thankful for the distraction. “That’s what happens when you don’t come in when you’re called.” With the cat at her heels, Carlie walked quickly and quietly down the hall to the kitchen where she snapped on the light. Shadow sprang to the counter and perched on the windowsill.

“You’ve got a friend,” Ben observed.

“Most of the time, but she’s a little fickle.”

“Like you?” he asked and she felt heat flood up her neck. Of course he’d think she was as flighty as the stupid cat. There was no telling what Kevin had told his brother.

“I’m a lot of things,” she said, opening the refrigerator door and pulling out a carton of milk. She sniffed the edge to be sure the contents weren’t sour, then poured some into a saucer and placed the dish in the corner by the back door. “But definitely not fickle.” The cat hopped off the sill, trotted over to the saucer, wrinkled her nose, then began to lap greedily.

“No?” Ben twisted a kitchen chair around and straddled the back.

“We’ve got cola, or lemonade or I can make coffee.”

“The soda’s fine.”

She poured two glasses, rattled ice out of a tray and plopped a couple of cubes into each glass. “I just want to know that we’re not together because of Kevin,” Ben suddenly tossed out.

“What? That’s crazy!” She nearly dropped the glasses. Was he serious?

“Some girls would date a guy’s brother to get back at him.”

“I don’t want to get back at anyone!”

“And some would try and make him jealous.”

“Do you really believe that?” she asked, dumbfounded.

His eyes turned sober. “I don’t want to.”

“Good, because I’m tired of talking about your brother, okay? I told you that I was never really serious about him. Either you believe me or you don’t.”