Page 101 of Holding On To Good

A thrill shot through him. He liked her looking like that—well-kissed and marked by him. He wanted to press his mouth against the side of her neck, inhale her scent there, just beneath her ear, and suck on her skin, give her a mark for real, like some goddamn teenager necking with his girl in the back seat of his dad’s car.

The thought of it, of putting his hands on her like he wanted, of stripping that shirt off her, tugging down those jeans, of getting to all that pretty, pale skin, had him going harder. Sweat popped out on the back of his neck. Grinding his back teeth together, he took a step back. Then another.

“Okay,” Willow whispered, the word so soft, Urban wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or herself. “Okay,” she repeated, firmer this time. “That was…” She stopped. Cleared her throat. “That was good.”

He winced. Christ, talk about going straight for a man’s balls.

And his ego.

“If that was just good,” he said, “then I didn’t do it right.”

“Oh, you did it right,” she muttered. She crossed her arms and scowled, but she couldn’t pull off a completely pissed look with the flush of desire still staining her cheeks, her mouth still swollen from his kiss. “Wasn’t that the point? To make sure I knew how good you were at it?”

Damn right. He wanted her to have firsthand knowledge of the ways he could make her feel good. Of how he wanted to worship her. Wanted her to know, exactly, what she’d be missing out on if she ran scared now.

What they’d both been missing out on for years.

And admitting any of that would be like shooting off a starter gun.

“Just trying to prove you wrong,” he said mildly.

Her scowl turned to a confused frown. “What?”

“The other night, at your house, when you kissed me, you said I wasn’t a very good kisser.”

“Yes, well, I’m willing to take part of the blame for that. I’m sure my own skills weren’t exactly topnotch at the time.”

“Big of you.”

“As you know,” she said, dry as dust, “I’m very magnanimous.”

He did know that. He knew her better than anyone.

But he didn’t know everything.

There were still parts of her that were a mystery. Pieces of her that managed to take him by surprise even after all these years.

He still didn’t know how she’d feel pressed against him. Didn’t know what it’d be like to have her touch him, her fingers trailing across his skin, her hands wrapped around his dick. He knew the shape of her body, but not how it’d feel under his touch. Didn’t know how she sounded when she came.

But now, at least, at long last, he knew how she tasted.

“You also told me I needed practice and you’d teach me how to improve. Before you could, you passed out. I’m free now,” he said, letting his voice drop to a low, husky note, “if you want to give me a lesson.”

Her gaze zeroed in on his mouth for one pulse-pounding moment, the look in her eyes telling him she’d be more than happy to teach him a thing or two and that he’d be thanking her afterward.

But when he started to move toward her, she shook her head and held her hand out. “What I meant by the kiss being good, was that it’s good that it happened. Any curiosity on both our parts has been satisfied.”

Bullshit. He still had plenty of curiosity left.

And he’d bet everything he owned, she did, too.

But he’d already proved his point with that kiss. There was more between them than just friendship.

Something big and powerful. Something worth fighting for.

Pushing her to accept that now, to admit it, would only make her push back. Harder. She’d rebuild her defenses. Stronger.

She’d fight it and him. Then they’d be right back where they’d always been. Going in circles on a fucking merry-go-round. Pretending they didn’t want more.

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