Noah parked in the empty space on her passenger side.
It was well past sunset now and a few clouds had gathered at the edges of the sky, hinting at the possibility of rain later. But now, a blanket of summer starlight glittered overhead and a warm breeze teased at the curls around her face as she walked around to Noah’s car. His window was down and she could see the flash of his white teeth as he smiled in the darkness. “She’ll be all right, Mags, I promise.”
“I’m just really going to miss her,” Maggie said, climbing into his passenger seat and giving a dramatic sniff.
A panting Boon stuck his head between the front seats to greet his old friend. He gazed at her, his soft eyes glowing with concern.
“Hey, buddy,” she said, scratching him behind one flopped-over ear. She giggled as his pointed wet nose nuzzled her and then she leaned away as his pink tongue shot out in an attempt to lick her cheek. “No kisses right now, Boon!” she laughed.
Noah had his hand poised to put the Trailblazer in gear, but he didn’t complete the action. Instead, he seemed lost in thought, staring out into the darkness for so long, she started to wonder if he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open.
“Hey...Noah? You okay?”
He surprised her by shutting off the engine. Then he twisted in his seat to angle toward her. There was only a single light pole in the center of the parking lot and it wasn’t very close to them, so most of his face was hidden in shadow.
“I’m not sure.”
“What is it, did you remember something?” She leaned closer, trying to discern his features.
“No, it’s something you just said.”
“What?” she was mystified.
He cleared his throat. “Maggie, when we were at the beach earlier, just after Hugo called...well, it kind of felt like we were having a moment.”
Maggie was grateful for the darkness now so that Noah couldn’t see the heated blush suddenly staining her cheeks. A moment? Yes, we were having a moment! You were about to fulfill my teenage dreams by pressing your lips against mine. But no way was she saying that out loud.
“I’m not certain what you mean,” she lied.
He didn’t respond and they sat together in silence as several interminable seconds ticked past. Although the night hid his face, she knew that he was studying her.
Finally, he spoke again. “I think you do, Maggie. I think you know that I wanted to kiss you. And...I still want to kiss you.”
His voice was a low, husky whisper that washed over her, making every inch of her skin tingle and a delicious warmth blossom deep inside her. She could not believe that he’d just said that out loud. Her mind whirled.
“I—look, Noah,” she said, struggling to keep her voice calm, cool, rational. “I think we’ve had a couple of very long days here. And maybe the stress of it all is wearing on us and bringing up feelings that we wouldn’t normally—”
The rest of what she’d been about to say faded to breath as he slowly leaned toward her, just as he had on the beach. The light of a crescent moon illuminated his face, casting shadows and soft highlights across his features, and she could clearly see the desire in his smoky eyes. Their lips were now only an inch apart and he hovered there, as if waiting to see what she would do. But she’d lost the ability to speak, to think. Her own lips trembled in anticipation as they almost brushed against his. She could feel the tantalizing warmth of his breath, the heat emanating from his body, the intoxicating scent of him overwhelming her senses.
Then the tender touch of his lips pressed against hers, soft and sweet. He lingered there, sending shivers of pleasure dancing down her spine.
At first, his lips moved slowly against hers, almost questioning. But if he was worried about moving too fast, she quickly disabused him of that notion. She knew she wasn’t thinking straight but for once she didn’t care. She reached up with both of her hands to cradle his face and began kissing him back with an abandon that shocked her. A soft moan issued from deep in his throat as their lips danced together. She felt his hand thread into her hair as he pulled her even closer and their kiss deepened.
Her lips parted and the tip of his tongue flicked ever so lightly against the sensitive underside of her upper lip. Without conscious thought, she rose up out of her seat to somehow end up on his lap. Her insides swirled with a fluttering heat and she gasped as his lips forged a tantalizing trail across the underside of her jaw and down her neck. His tongue flicked against the hollow of her collarbone before he made his way back to her mouth, savoring it with a combination of gentleness and intensity that took her breath away.
The fevered passion between them slowly began to ease, and his lips brushed against hers one last time before he finally pulled away and leaned his forehead against her own.
She was on sensation overload but still managed to hear his whispered, “I’ve wanted to do that for a long, long, long time.”
She tipped back to look at him. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You have?”
“Yes. And maybe I’m wrong, Maggie, but from the way you responded just now, I think you’ve wanted it to.”
She nibbled at her bottom lip, afraid that if she gave an inch, she’d end up giving a mile. How could she confess that it wasn’t only that she’d wanted to kiss him? She wanted all of him. The time they’d spent together over the past few days had only made her more certain than ever. She was deeply, passionately, hopelessly in love with this man. But how could she tell him this? It was just a kiss. An incredible kiss, but...
“I can’t deny that I’ve thought about it,” she said carefully.
“I knew it!” he exploded, his teeth flashing again as he grinned in the darkness.