The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,320

she struggled to understand it herself. Better to focus on the other reasons. “She wanted to change all those things about you? What a bitch.”

“She had her moments,” he said with an air of self-deprecation. “My turn.”

“Okay.” She picked up a glass and drank, feeling it burn down her throat. Vodka.

“Do you have any birthmarks or interesting freckles?”

She set the glass on the counter. “Really? That’s your question?”

“Hey, we’re just getting started. Gotta start with the easy ones and work my way up. So? Do you?”

“You already know I have that brown spot on my leg.”

He leaned forward, his hand resting on her exposed right knee. His fingertips made a slow path up her inner thigh, then under the hem of her dress and up a couple more inches. “Right here?” His hand stopped, his fingertips gently caressing her skin. “I saw it last summer when you were wearing that pair of jean shorts you love, the ones with the frayed ends. The ones that make your ass look amazing.”

He’d checked out her ass that long ago? Focus, Libby, but it was hard with his hand so close to other parts of her that wanted to be touched. “You said it looked like a map of Australia.”

“For the record, I was referring to your birthmark at the time, not your ass. Any more marks?”

“One.”

His fingers stroked a lazy pattern on her inner thigh in the area of the mark. He must have studied it extensively to find it so accurately without looking. The thought that he’d spent time studying her legs turned her on even more.

“Go on.”

“It’s on the underside of my left breast. A red spot.”

His gaze dropped to her cleavage. “You know I want proof.”

“Maybe later.”

His eyes smoldered with desire. “I’m going to hold you to it.”

What were they doing? They were ruining everything. “That’s all of them,” she forced out as she slid a shot glass toward him. He removed his hand from her leg to lift it to his lips.

This is a dangerous game, she thought to herself. But she was tired of fighting the way she felt for him. This wasn’t just untethered lust she felt—she wanted to sleep with him. Alcohol would give her an excuse.

He downed his shot. “I want a dare.”

She laughed. “Nope. I get to pick. Truth.”

His gaze drifted to her lips, making it hard for her to concentrate.

“How old were you when you lost your virginity?”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Sixteen, in the back of my car with Penny Lindquist.”

“Was she your girlfriend?”

“For about a week. Apparently she had a crush on me, and when she found out I was graduating early to go to college, she propositioned me.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Thus began a long line of women in my life.” For a moment it looked like he was about to say something more, but then he grinned. “My turn.”

“I have to drink first.” She grabbed a random glass and gulped it down, regretting the move. Vodka.

Noah turned his smoldering gaze on her. “Dare.”

“I don’t want a dare.”

“You get one anyway.” He leaned forward again, his eyes hooded and darker than normal.

She sucked in a breath, sitting back on her stool. “What is it?”

“Kiss me.”

Her gaze landed on his lower lip and her heart pounded against her chest. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this nervous about kissing a man, but this was Noah. There were so many reasons to think this through more, but the alcohol was beginning to cloud her judgment.

“Are you sure?” she asked him quietly.

“Very. But only one kiss.”

Only one? Was he testing her first? Did he want to see if she was a good kisser before deciding whether she was worth the risk?

Did it matter? She wanted this too, so what was holding her back?

He sat on his stool, his right forearm draped along the counter. His legs were separated, so she spun to completely face him and tucked her legs between his. She leaned toward him, her face inches from his. “You didn’t say what kind of kiss. How do you know I won’t give you an innocent peck?”

“I don’t. The anticipation of what you’ll do is part of the thrill.”

She touched his lower lip with the tip of her finger, skimming it lightly while she held his gaze, their lips inches apart with only her finger separating them. His tongue darted out to lightly lick her finger and an electrical current shot to her core.

He grabbed her hand and kissed