She opened for me readily, her tongue meeting mine in a hungry dance that made my dick hard all over again.
I groaned and leaned closer, felt the rise and fall of her chest, and sank into the heat of her mouth. She tasted like coffee and lavender and I had to force myself not to devour her.
Because that was the crazy thing: Iwantedto take it slow. Wanted to make it last. I didn’t know when I’d have her alone again, and I was determined to savor every sweep of her tongue.
I reached out to lay my hand on her velvety cheek, controlling the tilt of her head so I could take the kiss deeper. Slow was A-OK with me, but I wanted deep too, wanted my tongue to be enveloped in the heat of her mouth.
She gasped out a little moan between kisses and my dick got harder, the desire to pull off her clothes becoming more urgent. I dropped my hand to her shoulder instead, then covered her tit with my palm, stroking her pebbled nipple under my thumb.
She was as turned on as I was, and I got harder still when I imagined pulling off her T-shirt, unfastening her bra, closing my mouth over the swell of her tit.
I was seriously considering it — caution be damned — when footsteps sounded on the path in front of us.
Avery pulled away, glancing at a middle-aged guy in high-end athletic wear as he jogged past, his headphones stuffed into his ears. A tourist probably. Or one of the Hearthstone executives who landed in the town from time to time to work on the development.
I returned my attention to Avery. She was the only thing I wanted to look at, like the first bloom in the garden in spring, a miracle no matter how many times I saw it.
She buried her face in her hands and made a sound of frustration that sounded something like “ugh.”
“You okay?”
She took a deep breath and lifted her head. “This is all a lot more confusing than I’d expected.”
“I’m sorry.” I tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and had to force myself not to keep touching her. “There’s no pressure.”
“What do I tell Beck?”
“That you like his cupcakes? That he should expand the coffee menu at the Crumb?”
She rolled her eyes. “About us. About…” She gestured between us. “… this.”
I grinned. “That I’m a better kisser?”
She gave me a playful shove. “You’re not helping.”
I pulled her close and caught the bright, sweet smell of apples in her hair. “I’m sorry, but you have nothing to worry about. You don’t owe me — or anyone — anything.”
It was hard to get the words out. The truth was, I wanted her all to myself, but I also knew it wasn’t my call. And if sharing Avery was the only way I could have her, I was willing to consider it, which was a first for me.
“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she said, looking up at me.
“Do what’s right for you,” I said. “We’re big boys. We can handle ourselves.”
She nodded. “Thanks.”
“I need to go to the nursery to pick up some supplies for the garden,” I said. “It’s probably not exciting — actually that’s a lie, the nursery is always exciting — but you’re welcome to join me.”
“That sounds really nice, but I have to make some calls. And also, I should probably schedule a time to sit down with Dane and go over all the accounts and stuff.”
I laughed. “Lucky you.”
She flashed me a weak smile. “Yeah.”
I stood and pulled her off the bench, then took the opportunity to hold her close one more time. “You can handle Dane.”
“Are you going to tell me he’s all bark and no bite?”
I grimaced. “Can’t. I’d never lie to you. Dane’s got plenty of bite.”