Page 34 of The Surprise Play (Nolan U Football #3)

ELIZABETH

The second I kiss him, those tingles that have been firing through me all evening spark and ignite, setting this delicious flame of pleasure racing through me.

His lips, not so foreign this time, are warm and inviting.

I smile against them, then get hit with that giddy kick the second the tip of his tongue peeks.

Threading my arms around the back of his neck, I rise a little higher on my toes and act on instinct, parting my lips and meeting him halfway.

This time, when our tongues glide against each other, I don’t freak out.

This time, I welcome the intrusion.

Because it’s not an intrusion. It’s an introduction. A meeting of tongues, if you will.

And I really like it.

Wily’s hands trail down to my waist, his arms snaking around me as he leans down to deepen the kiss.

I let it happen because it feels like the most natural thing in the world .

No, it’s better than natural.

It’s wondrous.

Intoxicating.

Mind-blowing.

Snowflakes softly fall around us, icy fingertips touching my exposed skin, but I barely notice them, too wrapped up in this warm oasis of a kiss.

I love how big his hands are.

I love the way they’re gripping my waist.

His lips are soft and delicious.

His tongue tastes like peanut butter and cocoa.

Wily starts to pull away, and for a second, I worry that this kiss is about to be over, but he’s just changing angles, tipping his head and reconnecting our mouths in this perfect dance.

I’m dreaming.

That has to be it, right?

But it’s not!

Pinch me now, it’s not a dream!

Bending his legs, Wily lets out this delectable groan, his grip around my waist tightening as he stands tall and brings me with him. Our mouths are that much closer as he lines up our heads.

Part of me wants to wrap my legs around his waist, but I’m too nervous to do it. I’m not even sure I can, so I just dangle, kissing him like I need his tongue in order to take my next breath.

He eventually puts me back down, but he doesn’t break away from the kiss. We start to sway, making out and dancing in the snow for I don’t know how long.

But the dream just keeps going until Wily’s watch starts beeping .

With a disappointed groan, he pulls away from me, brushing the tip of his nose against mine and giving me the kind of smile that could melt my heart in a second.

In fact, I’m pretty sure my chest is filled with defrosting ice cream right now.

“We gotta go,” he whispers. “I promised to lock up the place by ten.”

“Okay.” I swallow, not wanting to release him.

He’s not moving either, so we just stand there gazing at each other until his alarm starts going again.

Forcing myself away from him, I step back on shaking limbs and fumble my way through our snow-covered picnic cleanup.

Shoving everything into his bag, I scoop up his football and hug it to my snowy coat. He grins at me, brushing snowflakes out of my hair before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and walking us out of the stadium.

This giddy giggle is sitting in my belly, all bouncy and pert, wanting to burst out of me any chance it can get.

I fight to keep it clamped down, but it’s pretty hard when I think about what I was just doing on that field.

Yep, I was making out with a tall, hot, funny, gorgeous man who danced with me in the snow and then kissed me like he meant it.

I keep waiting to come to, for reality to hit, and I’ll open my eyes and realize I’m tucked up in bed and my imagination has been toying with me. But as Wily locks the gate behind us, then opens his truck door and helps me into the passenger seat, I realize this dream is still going.

As soon as the doors are closed, Wily gets the heat pumping, and we sit in the stadium parking lot for a minute not saying anything. I don’t know why he’s not starting the engine and driving me back to Buckley Hall.

Throwing him an awkward side-eye, I silently ask him, but he just runs his fingers lightly over the top of the wheel.

Finally, while my brain is scrambling for something to say, he whispers, “I just had the best time. I’m not ready for it to end.”

“I loved it too.” I smile at him.

He nods, his lips twitching.

“We can stay here if you want. Talk or… whatever.” I end in the softest whisper, my stomach jittering with excitement at the thought of kissing him again.

I want his hand to curl around the back of my neck, or maybe thread through my hair. I want his lips to sink against mine as his thumb brushes a soft line across my cheek.

“I want to invite you back to my place, but…”

I blink, the cold crash of reality starting to pinch me awake.

He just said but .

Here we go.

I can’t go back to his place, because he’s embarrassed at the idea of dating me.

“I’m worried if I do that…,” he continues.

Everyone will see us together, and then he’ll need to explain why he’s asked me out. People won’t get it, and ? —

“I’ll want to take you up to my room and…”

Wait. What?

My body flushes with a mixture of pleasure and trepidation as he leaves the sentence hanging. Letting me fill in the gaps with wondrous, terrifying ideas of what we could get up to in his room.

Turning in my seat to face him, I ignore the belt clip digging into my hip and blink at him. “You’d… want to take me up to your room?”

“Yeah.” He clears his throat, his gaze a little playful and a whole lot hungry. “And I wouldn’t want to be studying.”

I swallow, breathing shallow as my heart rate ratchets up a notch. “Do you… um… do you take m-many girls up to your room?”

I’m trying to ask casually, but honestly, the way I’m stumbling over my words makes me sound like a nervous idiot.

His laughter is soft and husky. Scratching his short whiskers, he keeps his eyes trained out the window and nods. “Yeah.”

“But you don’t want to take me,” I whisper. “I understand.”

“No, no. What?” He jerks around to face me, cupping the side of my face and looking kind of desperate. “I really want to take you. That’s what I’m saying.”

I swallow again, not really sure how else to respond.

“But if I do that, I’m gonna want you on my bed. I’m gonna want to…” His eyes float over my body, lingering on my chest before skimming down to my legs.

My heart does this weird kick.

“I need you to be different,” he whispers.

“Why?”

“Because you’re… special.” He shrugs, his lips tw itching into a soft smile before the tip of his tongue darts out the side of his mouth. “You’re also a virgin.”

Heat pours into my cheeks like two hot irons have been pushed into either side of my face.

“Is it that obvious?” I try to make it light, but my joke falls flat, my nervous giggle only compounding the awkward silence that follows. “I’m really not that special, Wily. I’m just an inexperienced girl who?—”

“No, you are.” He runs his hand down my arm and threads our fingers together.

“You’re special, and I…” He sighs. “God, this makes me sound like such an asshole, but I usually only date girls who want to keep things super casual. You know? We go out for a drink and get busy, then go our separate ways. Or maybe we’ll enjoy a few hookups, but there’s never any sense of getting close or getting to know each other. ”

I start nibbling on my bottom lip.

“But I want to get to know you, Satch. You’re not one-and-done. I want a second date.”

The trilling inside me whips into a frenzy. “Are you saying that if we sleep together, you won’t get one?”

“No.” He snickers, then shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t…” He clears his throat. “This is all… new for me too.”

I give him a skeptical frown. “I get the impression that you date a lot of girls.”

“No, I mean… making PB&J sandwiches and taking you to my sacred ground… I don’t do that. And I have no idea what compelled me to treat you differently from everyone else, but I’ve just had to, you know? Which means I can’t go putting my hands all over you the way my body is screaming at me to.”

I wrap my arms around myself, putting on a brave smile and going into protective mode. The thought of his hands all over me, exploring every intimate part of my body, is equal parts fascinating and terrifying, enticing and mortifying.

He skims his thumb over my bottom lip, then lightly traces the shape of my mouth before running his fingers down my chin and caressing the side of my neck.

I close my eyes, reveling in his delicate touch.

“I want you to be ready. You have to want it as much as I do,” he whispers, his jacket rustling as he leans toward me and brushes his lips across my cheek.

I still can’t believe he actually wants it.

I mean, I’m me. Little ol’ insignificant me.

He could have any girl on campus, but he’s stressing about being careful with me so that he can get a second date?

This is seriously unreal.

His lips are feather soft as they work their way up to my ear, lightly teasing my lobe before he whispers, “I want to get this right with you, Satch.”

I nod, unable to talk past the pulsing lump in my throat.

As his mouth trails back along my cheek, I turn my head, capturing his lips before they get too far away.

He moans, leaning into it and gently gripping the back of my neck.

A delicious shiver runs through me, and I open my mouth, confident in my search for his tongue.

It meets mine, the tip caressing me in a slow, smooth dance.

Gripping his jacket, I keep him in place when he goes to pull away, letting the windows steam up around us as we make out in the warmth of his car.

Another moan rumbles in his throat, his hand meandering down my back, traveling over the curve of my hips before gently squeezing my butt.

It’s a scintillating surprise, and I want him to do it again, but he pulls back and won’t let me chase his lips when I try to.

Holding me steady with a grin, he licks his bottom lip and shakes his head. “I never saw you coming.”

My expression scrunches with uncertainty. “Is that a good thing?”

He answers me with a stunning smile before starting the engine and taking me home.

He walks me to my door, then to my disappointment behaves like the perfect gentleman and refuses to come in, even after I invite him.

His voice takes on a raw, rasping quality, like the word no is causing him discomfort, but he says it three times, so I really know he’s not coming in.

I end up laughing, holding on to my door and the frame while I say a soft goodbye. “Thanks for the perfect date.”

He grins. “You gonna be up for another one?”

“Yes. A thousand times yes.”

“Excellent.” He nods. “Let me come up with something good, and I’ll let you know.”

“Anything.” I brush my hand down his chest. “Just being with you is perfect. You don’t have to do anything special for me.”

Gathering up my fingers, he kisses my knuckles and makes me feel like Princess Satch before giving me a wink and walking away.

“Good night, Coyote,” I call after him.

He spins with a smile that will be permanently burned in my brain. Blowing me a kiss, he bows with a flourish. “Until we meet again, milady.”

Closing my door with a giddy laugh, I lean my head back against it and stare up at the ceiling, completely delirious.

That was… the best.

I know I have no other dates to compare it to, but come on!

That was living out a fairy tale.

He’s so sweet and funny, and he made me PB&J sandwiches and cookies and…

Sighing like some lovestruck teen, I do a dreamy twirl, reliving every second of our date until I’m flopped on my bed and dreaming about the way his tongue felt against mine.

His kisses.

Oh my gosh, his kisses!

And he wanted more.

He didn’t want to take me back to his place because he thought he couldn’t control himself around me.

That’s nuts.

Like… he wants my body.

Running my hands over my breasts, I give them a gentle squeeze, a nervous titter bursting out of me at how tingly they feel. Seriously, as much as the idea of going all the way with a guy scares me… the prospect of going all the way with Wily is tantalizing.

Do I want that with him ?

Yes! Hell yes!

Sucking in a shaky breath, I hold it, wading through a plethora of emotions from panicked anxiety to outright lust.

I’m not sure when or if it will ever happen with Wily, but at least I know this much—I do want it.

I just have to find the courage to let it happen.