One Night On The Virgin's Terms - Melanie Milburne Page 0,12

of her—spring flowers with an undertone of heady, intoxicating musk. Somehow, he sucked in some much-needed air before taking the kiss a step further, his tongue duelling with hers in a sexy tango that made his blood thunder through his body. Every time his tongue touched hers, a zapping lightning bolt of lust fired through him. Her lips were velvet-soft and he could taste her strawberry lip-gloss and his own salty, earthy and raw desire—a lethal blend of temptation. He knew he would never be able to eat a strawberry again without thinking of their first kiss.

Without thinking of her.

The thought was sobering enough to give him pause. He pulled back from her, lowering his hands from her cheek and the back of her head, his breathing still out of order, his body still roaring with lust. She looked as dazed as he felt—her eyes shining, her lips cherry-red and swollen, her cheeks tinged with pink.

‘Well, that was a surprise.’ Her tone was light, but a small frown appeared between her neat eyebrows and her gaze drifted back to his mouth. She moistened her lips with a quick dart of her tongue, her gaze coming back to his. ‘I didn’t think it would be as...as nice as that.’

‘What? You haven’t enjoyed being kissed before?’

‘Not really, but with you it was...something else.’ She touched her fingers to her lips as if she couldn’t quite believe what had happened. Her fingers fell away and she added, ‘Is it my imagination or was that kiss kind of off the charts?’

Louis fought not to smile. ‘It was pretty damn good. You certainly don’t need any tutoring in that department.’

She cocked her head like an inquisitive little bird. ‘Hey, is that a smile you’re trying to hide?’ Her own mouth was curved in a smile that made something warm spread through his chest. But he could and would keep his emotions out of this. He did it all the time. A kiss was just a kiss. He wasn’t going to commit to anything else that could have more troubling consequences. He unclipped his seatbelt and took the wireless car-key out of its slot on the dashboard. ‘Come on. Let’s eat. I’m starving.’

But it wasn’t a physical hunger gnawing at him.

It was good old-fashioned, rip-roaring lust.

Ivy was still reliving every moment of their kiss when they were shown to their table in the fancy French restaurant in Soho. Their table was in a secluded part of the restaurant and she wondered if Louis had requested it especially to avoid public scrutiny. She knew he wasn’t fond of the attention his high-profile career as an award-winning architect occasionally attracted from the press. She herself had been guilty of poring over articles about him online, but mostly in a he’s-my-brother’s-best-friend-and-I’m-proud-of-his-achievements sort of way. Nothing else. She had zero interest in him romantically...although that kiss had certainly been a bit of an eye-opener. Her lips were still tingling, along with other parts of her body that had rarely, if ever, tingled before.

Louis looked up from his perusal of the menu. ‘Is there anything that you particularly fancy?’

You. Ivy was a little shocked at how much she fancied him. Up until recently, he had simply been her brother’s best friend—the person she could always rely on to help her, which was why she had approached him with ‘the V plan’. But that kiss had changed something inside her. Maybe Louis was right—they wouldn’t be able to go back to the way they’d been. Changing the dynamic of a relationship—any relationship—was something that could be risky.

She wasn’t the greatest fan of change. She’d been in the same job since university, she’d had the same friends since school. She hadn’t coped well with her parents’ divorce when she’d been a teenager. She hated moving house. She couldn’t pack a bag for a weekend away without worrying she might leave something behind that she needed.

But hadn’t things already changed between them? How could she see Louis as anyone other than the first man who had set her mouth on fire? Lust was a new experience for her. Her previous dates hadn’t stirred anywhere near the same sensations in her body—she hadn’t felt a thing from any of them. She had learned from her parents’ divorce that the last thing she wanted to do was develop feelings for someone who couldn’t love her back. But all Louis had done was kiss her and she was hot for him. She could still taste him in