you were in high school, right? I mean, I assume you’ve had some practice since then.”
I laughed softly. Yeah, I liked this woman. She was sneaky funny, and there was something a little sad about her. Both were my personal kryptonite when it came to women.
“I think I was pretty damn good in high school,” I argued.
She smiled at me, and I felt my heart take a nose dive right into my gut. I really liked that smile.
“What does this mean?” she asked suddenly.
I didn’t pull back, instead I held my ground. We were so close I could feel her body vibrating.
“What does what mean?”
“You showing up here, with a beer, a kiss? Is this a pity thing? Is this a one-time thing? Are you gonna suddenly give up your bachelor ways and fall head over heels for me? We work together. I’m only here for the semester. And given our history, you’ll forgive me for wanting a clarification.”
“You worried I’m gonna want to put a ring on you, Mars?” I asked reaching out to take her long, slim fingers in mine. I let my thumb trail over her ring finger. “Get my heart broken?”
Her breath hitched, and I felt my heart rate kick up a notch.
“I just want to know what I’m getting into.”
“How about we start with a kiss and see what happens?”
She hesitated. “Okay. As long as you make it a good one.”
“Hey, it takes two for a great kiss. You better hold up your end,” I teased.
I set my beer down and took hers, placing it next to mine. Taking my time, I cupped her face in my hands. I could feel the tension in her, the impatience, and that delicious little sliver of nerves. This was a pretty stupid move on my part. We worked together. I never dated anyone I worked with.
But I really wanted to kiss her. And I didn’t like not doing what I really wanted.
I let my thumbs stroke her jawline, noted the way her bottom lip quivered. Her neck was soft, smooth, warm. It made me want to sink my teeth in. But I was knocking on forty. That was a little too old for hickeys.
“Why aren’t you kissing me yet?” she asked.
Our mouths were so close. Her lip brushed mine when she spoke.
“Because sometimes it’s more about the journey.”
“I’m more about getting there—”
I closed the distance, cutting her off.
Her lips were ridiculously soft and inviting beneath mine. I had to bite back the urge that rose up and took me by the throat to deepen, to take, to chase.
Forcing gentleness, I moved my lips over her mouth in a caress. She was trembling against me, and every cell in my body was lighting up and paying attention. Just a kiss, I reminded myself. Just a freaking kiss. But I wanted more.
Her hands were on my chest, fisted in my t-shirt, and our hips and legs were pressed up tight against each other, seeking flesh. The way she responded to me was fucking mind-blowing. I was painfully aware of everything. Every breath, every tremor, every whimper that worked its way up her throat.
I was hard. Like “welcome to puberty, you have no control over your body” hard.
“Jesus, woman. Where did you learn to kiss like—”
But she didn’t give me room to finish the question. Marley was pulling me back to her mouth and sinking her teeth into my lower lip. That little nip of pain was all it took to shove me right over the edge of civility.
I pushed one hand into her hair and hauled her into my lap with the other. If the kiss made me want more, this position with her sweet round ass centered on my uncomfortably hard cock made me want to set our clothes on fire and howl at the fucking moon.
I wasn’t into overthinking things. I liked her. I was attracted to her. Very, very attracted to her.
But there was one tiny sliver of my brain that wasn’t fully dedicated to sexual pleasure, and it was beating out an emergency message in Morse code reminding me that I was in the school parking lot with a woman I wanted to get to know a bit better before I stuck my needy dick in her.
“Mars.” I drew back and then dove in again, raining kisses down her throat.
She wiggled against me, and the friction made my vision go black around the edges. Fuck.
I gripped her hips and tried to hold her still. “Marley,” I