I tipped my head back without thinking, giving him more room, and he took it like he was grateful for the permission—trailing slow kisses along the sensitive skin, making shivers of pleasure race from the back of my head all the way down my spine.
And while his mouth traveled toward the sensitive spot beneath my ear, his hand stayed at my ribs, gripping and smoothing. Holding me like he was fighting the urge to explore more.
But even though he was keeping things strictly PG-13, when his lips dragged across my collarbone, unhurried and sure, I knew I was in trouble.
Because if he kept kissing me like this, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to refrain from trying to take things further.
And when his hand flexed against my ribs, I had a feeling that he was having the same problem.
His mouth paused on my skin for one shaky beat, then he lifted his head and found my lips again, like he couldn’t help it. Like breathing without me was suddenly an inconvenience.
The kiss wasn’t gentle anymore.
It wasn’t messy, either. It was controlled in a way that made it even worse, like he was holding himself back with both hands while still giving me enough to make my knees go soft.
His palm slid up my back, and when his thumb traced the sensitive space along my ribs again, my whole body lit up.
When I made a sound into his mouth that I didn’t recognize as mine, Theo answered with a rough exhale of his own.
And even though we were already impossibly close, his hand tightened at my waist and pulled me in like he needed me closer anyway. Like he was trying to erase the last edge of space between us.
And the pressure of his body… The way he was angled just right sent cascades of pleasure through me, making my insides melt into molten lava that spiraled low in my stomach.
“Oh my gosh,” I breathed against his lips, my voice shaking. “This feels insane.”
“I know,” he said, voice thick, his breath hot against me. “Ithought it would be good.” A pause. “Kissing you like this.” A harder swallow. “But I didn’t know it would feel like this.”
The words hit me like a rush.
If I was hearing him right, he’d just admitted to imagining us doing this very thing before.
And just the thought of him picturing my mouth, my body, and the way we’d fit together made me dizzy with desire. Causing my brain to sprint into questions I shouldn’t be asking.
Like, what else had he imagined?
Had he imagined us doing even more than this?
But no. I needed to stop that train of thought. Because with the way I was feeling right now, it would be all too easy to get completely swept up and try to do everything all in one night.
So, trying to be respectful, I reined in my thoughts and locked them away for another time. Instead of thinking how far I could push the boundaries, I told myself that kissing him was more than good enough for now.
Because before tonight, just kissing this beautiful man was more than I’d ever dreamed was possible.
But even though I tried to keep the kiss within “first kiss” boundaries, the moment our lips brushed again, the harder it was to be careful.
Because it took two people to do that, and when Theo didn’t seem to mind pushing the boundaries a bit more, the little self-control that I had dissolved away the moment our lips touched, instantly making the kiss deeper.
Hotter.
Less careful.
And since his hands had already mapped their way over me, it felt only fair that I got to learn him, too.
So, I slid my fingers under his shirt, my hands finding warm skin and solid muscle.
My palms skimmed his well-definedabs first, then his sculpted chest, then down his chiseled sides. When I reached his back, he inhaled sharply, like my touch hit something in him he wasn’t prepared for.
And then we were moving.