kisses?” His gaze slipped down from her eyes to her lips.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “I think that’s inviting trouble.”
“Inviting trouble?” he repeated, his mouth quirking up in a smile.
“Well, our goal is to get to know each other before we—” she blushed deeply and gestured toward the bedroom. Good grief, Chacha. You can do the act, so you can say the damn words. “Before we sleep together again. If we kiss, we both know what will happen.”
“Do we, now?” Rush’s voice was pitched low and raspy, his eyes full of things he wanted to do to her. “Are you saying you like my kisses, Chantal?” He was teasing her, and the knowledge of it made a little thrill travel up her spine.
“You know I do, Rush.”
Using her hand tucked in his, he pulled her to him. He brushed his knuckles across her cheekbones before slowly tracing the same spot with his lips. “I like your kisses too. It’s only fair that you know the impact you have on me. But if you say no kisses, then there will be no kisses.”
“Okay.” Fuck, she sounded lame to her own ears.
She didn’t want to stop kissing Rush. Ever. But it was the right move to build something beyond what they had in the bedroom. That part they had down. The sexual compatibility between them had already singed more than one set of sheets. There had to be more between them. Chantal had to have faith that their physical connection would translate to something else.
But one more kiss couldn’t hurt.
Just one.
Chantal moved her head to the side until her lips pressed to the side of his mouth. She ran her lips to the center of his and kissed him softly. He groaned against her mouth, one hand going to her hip.
“You’re not playing fair, Chantal.”
“I just wanted one last one.”
He growled low in his throat, grabbed her other hip, and crushed her to him. “If you’re going to have one kiss for the foreseeable future, we will make it a good one.” He sealed his mouth to hers, his tongue pushing through the seam of her mouth. They devoured each other to the beat of their hearts.
“Maybe we should leave the apartment before we break our rules again.”
Chantal liked that he had said their rules. That meant he took it seriously. He took her seriously. No matter that she was already wet and panting for more Rush.
“Good. Great. Yup.” She cupped her cheeks, trying to cool herself down. She moved away from him and busied herself by grabbing her purse and keys.
Rush took her hand in his as they headed out of the apartment complex and rode the elevator down into the parking garage. The constant contact comforted her. She liked that Rush needed to touch her as much as she needed to touch him.
“What’s the plan?” he asked, folding himself into her tiny car.
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”
As it turns out, Rush was as impatient as a kid on Christmas morning. He kept on pestering her, only breaking every now and again to kiss her hand or sing along to the radio. Chantal was at peace and comfortable. It was like she’d known Rush for decades. Not hours. They fit; they clicked perfectly like a snap button.
“We’re here!” Chantal pulled the car into the parking lot of a tiny strip mall. One of the parking spots had a small sign that read Owner Parking Only - Trespassers risk being sewn in. It was a lame joke her dad liked, but it did the trick. No one really knew what the hell being sewn in meant.
“Is this a craft store?”
“Well, yes and no. It’s a fabric store. It’s my parents, actually. This is where I work too. We expanded to have a bunch of other crafting supplies.”
“It’s a beautiful storefront, are your parents here?” Rush commented.
“Thanks. No they take two days off a week so they can have a life outside of work. They have hired some teenagers to watch the store for them on those days if I have a big project to do and can’t cover for them.” she said as she hopped out of the car. She tried to see it through Rush’s eyes. It wasn’t the fanciest store, but it was nice and warm. It was a welcoming place for kids and the elderly alike. If you liked crafts, it was your haven. It sure had been hers.
Chantal took him to the more general crafting aisles and twirled