Unhurried.
Like a promise.
And when her hands drifted down my chest, over my stomach, and to the waistband of my swim shorts, I knew we were just one kiss away from crossing the line we hadn’t crossed yet.
“Okay,” I murmured, chest rising as I tried to remember how to be a responsible adult. “If we keep going like this, you’re going to think I only offered to be your fake boyfriend because I’m only interested in one thing.”
“That you’re interested in my money?” she asked, teasing.
I let out a quiet laugh, relief and hunger twisting together. “How’d you guess?”
“I mean,” she said, eyes bright, “you’ve seen my paychecks. You know that nannying for cute little three-year-olds is where it’s at.”
“Sounds like I might need to reconsider my profession.”
“Possibly,” she said, tilting her head. “Though I think I just got really lucky with this one.”
“You think?”
She nodded. “You see, the girl’s dad is, like… super hot.”
“He is?” I grinned, loving this conversation.
When she responded with an emphatic nod, I leaned closer and whispered, “Well, it sounds like you’re a pretty good match then, since you’re also super hot.”
I kissed her again, and she kissed me back like she had all the time in the world. Like she wasn’t thinking about sleeping. Like she wasn’t thinking about everything else.
When we finally broke apart, she took a breath and said, “We should probably get ready for bed now, huh?”
“I guess,” I said, even though my hands were still braced on either side of her.
“Or…” Nora lifted a brow. “I guess we can keep kissing and see how it goes.”
I laughed, leaning my forehead against hers, closing my eyes for half a second like I needed the strength. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
“Something you’re much too good at,” she whispered.
I laughed. “Except, it feels like I’m just barely hanging on.”
“Being a gentleman is overrated sometimes.”
I dropped my forehead to her chest with a groan. “You really aren’t going to make this easy on me, are you?”
“Not at all.” She lifted my face, pulled me in, and kissed me again.
I allowed myself to get lost in her lips for a moment before huffing out a quiet laugh and saying, “If only your brother hadn’t pulled me aside this afternoon to remind me that his bedroom is right next door and the walls aren’t as thick as some people like to pretend.”
“He said that?” she squeaked, her jaw dropping.
I nodded, completely serious. “Pretty sure he’s just waiting for an excuse to come over here and kick down the door if he thinks I’m getting too carried away with his sister.”
“He would do that.” Nora groaned, annoyed. “Ruin all my fun.”
I kissed her forehead. Then her nose. Then her mouth one more time, softer now. A promise, not a takeover.
“Okay,” she said, pulling herself away with a dramatic sigh. “Fine. I’ll go change into my pajamas, and then we’ll get some sleep.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” I said, even though watching her walk to the bathroom, hips swaying, felt like its own form of torture.