“Why what?”
“There’s no one around. Why do you want to kiss me when it’s not for show?” She looks genuinely puzzled.
I run my tongue over my top teeth. “You really have to ask me that?”
“Uh…”
“You can’t think of a single reason I might want to kiss you?”
She stares at me blankly. She genuinely doesn’t realize how gorgeous she is.
“Crazy girl,” I say. And then I lower my lips to hers.
She inhales sharply, but she doesn’t pull away.
The sun is bright and unseasonably hot, and I can smell her new plants and the lavender she put in the ground just days ago. A tui bird is chirping from one of the Pohutukawa trees.
Slowly, she closes her eyes, and I do the same.
I tip my head to the side, changing the angle of the kiss, and brush my tongue across her lips. Outwardly, I appear calm, but inside my heart hammers and my blood races around my body. I don’t move, though, and I don’t breathe, afraid of breaking the spell.
She parts her lips, and I slide my tongue inside her mouth, against her tongue. In answer, she gives a little involuntary moan, and that’s enough to fire me up. I move one hand to holdthe back of her head and wrap the other arm around her, pulling her closer, tight against my body.
The heat between us rises by several degrees. She’s already resting her hands on my chest, and they tighten on my tee, her fingers scrunching the material. She lifts up a little so she’s on tiptoes, leaning into the kiss, and I murmur my approval, thrilled that she hasn’t pulled away. That she wants to kiss me.
Oh fuck, this is getting out of control. I can’t help but think about our conversation last night… The things she said… Is she thinking the same?
She slides her hands up to my face and then further up, into my short hair, curling her fingers in it as she kisses me. It’s the sweetest, sexiest kiss I think I’ve ever had, the two of us warmed by the sun, and I want it to go on forever.
Eventually, though, I tear my lips away before I’m tempted to throw her onto the soft earth and kiss her all over.
She looks up at me with huge eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“I know.” I give a short laugh. “That’s what makes youYou.”
My phone has already buzzed in my pocket once, and now it does it again. I step back, pull it out, and check the screen. “Ah, I have to go, I have an appointment.”
“Okay.”
I smile at her. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Fine.” Her voice is a squeak, and I try not to laugh.
“We’ll talk later.” I bend and give her a final kiss. “How about we go out for dinner tonight?”
She flushes. “Okay.”
“All right. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Okay. Are you going to see Sabrina?”
“I suppose.”
“Well, good luck.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not particularly looking forward to it.”
“Just remember the fable about the North Wind and the Sun—persuasion is always better than force. She had you, and she lost you. I can only imagine how that feels.”