hands down his chest. “I don’t know why.”
Lie. That’s a great big lie, and I feel so awful about it that I grip the front of his shirt and pull him down for another kiss.
He kisses back, but it’s slower this time. More tentative. When he draws back, there’s a question in his eyes. “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to—”
“Okay.” My heart’s pounding in my chest, and I recognize it’s more than lust. I don’t know what he’s going to ask, but there’s a good chance I can’t answer. Shouldn’t answer.
You shouldn’t do any of this, but here you are.
Bradley lifts one hand and brushes the hair back from my face. “Izzy, are you—have you been intimate with someone before?”
“Intimate?” I blink as the translation sinks in. “Oh, are you asking if I’m a virgin?” I laugh because the question is much less scary than I expected.
“I guess that’s what I’m asking.” Bradley looks vaguely embarrassed. “It’s fine if you are. I just—I’m trying to be respectful, since you’ve made it clear this can only be a temporary thing for you.”
Relief washes through me. Not just that we’re on the same page, but that his question is simple to answer.
“No, I’m not a virgin. Don’t worry. Wait.” I frown, recalling something I read about American men having hang-ups about wanting to date virgins. “I mean, yes, I’ve had sex before. If that’s a problem for you, I’m sorry, but I won’t apologize for—”
“No, no!” He holds up his hands like I’ve pointed a pistol at him. “Not an issue at all. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t rushing you or anything. Different cultures have different values around sex, and I didn’t want to put you in an awkward situation.”
My gaze flicks to the skewered hot dog plunged to its hilt in the glass of batter. “Because this isn’t awkward?”
He laughs and drags a hand down his face. “I can fix that.”
“Oh?”
I’ve barely squeaked out the word before he’s scooping me off the counter and cradling me in his arms like I weigh nothing at all. “Between Kevin watching us and the fact that Dan could turn up at any moment, I’m not super pumped about fooling around on your kitchen counter with the blinds wide open.”
Craning my neck to see the front window, I’m aghast to realize anyone could have looked in and seen me sitting here in my bra. That’s how lust-dazed I am that it never even occurred to me.
“Where are we going?” I twine my fingers around his neck, well aware we’re headed for the bedroom.
Also well aware of what’s going to happen there. Am I ready for that? Would it be crossing some line I’m not supposed to cross?
I’m still wondering about that as Bradley kisses me and steps through my bedroom door. He lays me back slowly on my queen-sized mattress, easing down on top of me.
The rumpled white coverlet gives away the guilty fact that I forgot to make my bed this morning. It’s clearly not enough of a turnoff to break Bradley’s stride. His hand is back on my breast, and he’s laying a path of kisses down the center of my body, making me squirm beneath him.
Clutching the back of his head, I gasp and arch up against him. He rests a palm on my belly and looks up at me with heat-filled eyes.
“I urgently, desperately, want to fuck you.”
I gasp, but not because I’m shocked. That’s the single hottest thing anyone’s ever said to me, and I wish I’d known it was coming so I could record those words and play them over and over until the day I die.
“I want that, too.” I lick my lips, so hungry for him I’m on the brink of drooling.
But as I start to pull him on top of me again, Bradley slides one hand to my hip and anchors me in place. “But let’s slow down just a little,” he says. “Okay?”
I blink, wondering what I missed. “I swear I’m not a virgin,” I sputter. “If you’re worried about deflowering me or some misguided notion of respect, I assure you we’re not about to cross some line I haven’t crossed before.”
My mother made sure of that, thank goodness.
“Isabella.” She patted the edge of the buttery chaise in my bedroom the night before I left for boarding school. “Let’s sit and talk about why you absolutely, positively should not save yourself for marriage.” Her smile grew haughty