so many reasons why I want you,” he whispers. “It’s a lot of things at once. It’s these long legs…” He trails a hand down my bare shin.
And, wow, it’s been a really long time since someone touched me like that. I shiver under his fingers.
“It’s your perfect face.” He places one slow kiss on my cheekbone. “But it’s also the snarky things you say with this smart mouth.” He runs his thumb over my top lip. “And it’s your attitude—like the world would just run a little better if they’d let you be in charge, you know?”
“Well it would,” I whisper.
He smiles.
“You have a thing for pushy women?” That’s the word Reardon used when he was irritated with me. Stop being so pushy, Jesus.
“Apparently I like ’em feisty,” Rickie says, his fingertips skimming lightly down my back.
I can’t believe I’m sitting in Rickie’s lap, letting him touch me. And I can’t believe how much I like it. My skin is dotted with goose bumps. And my lips are tingling, as if begging to be kissed.
“Your anger turns me on,” he says, tracing the shell of my ear with the tip of his nose.
“What? Why?” I shiver again. “That makes no sense.”
“Doesn’t it?” he asks. “Maybe because I’m angry, too.”
I’m just trying to decide if that sounds like bullshit when those serious eyes come closer. And I might die if he doesn’t kiss me already.
Once more I’m startled by Rickie’s gentleness. He moves in, barely touching our mouths together. As if he knows that inside me beats the heart of a frightened little forest creature who might run off if he makes any sudden moves. Soft lips skim over mine. My goose bumps redouble.
But then it finally happens. My insides go whoosh as our mouths meld together for real. There’s some serious heat behind all that gentleness. Rickie’s arms come around me, until all the muscle cages me in.
God, it’s delicious. This is still a bad idea. But I’m doing it anyway. I lift my hands to his bare shoulders and sigh. Hard heat and muscle. Soft kisses and whiskers.
I feel him smile into the next kiss. He tilts his head and deepens our connection. It's more aggressive this time. Searching. When I lean in and kiss him back, he escalates by penetrating my mouth and tasting me.
Oh yes. It’s on.
What's the harm, he’d said. I'm sure I'll find out later. But right now, everything is wow.
My hands need to move and explore, so I put my palms on his bare chest. And now it’s his turn to shiver under my touch. Honestly, it’s a revelation. Can I make him do it again?
I brush his chest with light fingertips, experimenting. My thumb finds his nipple ring. And he makes a sexy grunt into our kiss. I wonder what he'd do if I put my tongue on it…
But I'll have to find out later, because Rickie owns my mouth. It's his now. Each kiss is followed by another. And another. I can't pull back or I'll miss one.
Meanwhile, his hands roam my body in a way that would be awfully presumptuous if it wasn’t making me so hot. His knuckles drag down the valley between my breasts. Then he bends his legs, prompting gravity to slide me further into his lap, until we’re chest to chest.
His thumbs sneak under the fabric of the little summer top I'm wearing, and my belly quivers at the contact of his skin against mine. Maybe I don't need a reason to kiss a bad boy in the starlight. It's such a damn relief to sink into his touch. And to stop thinking so hard.
I hear nothing but a static fuzz in my brain as we make out. It’s blissful. And his hands are magic. His touch knows things. It knows the sensitive spot at the base of my spine, where his fingertips make me shiver. It knows the undersides of my breasts, where dragging a thumb across the soft swell is enough to make my nipples peak and tingle.
My heart beats to a steady rhythm now. It says more, more, more. Unbidden, my own hands roam Rickie's bare chest, tracing the shadowy outlines of those tattoos.
And I can’t help but notice that I’m not the only one who’s loving this. There’s a hard ridge between my legs now. And when my fingers venture lower on those rock-hard abs, he hums his appreciation.
Funny. I always thought bad boys weren't my type. But now that seems like