Page 34 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

“Oh, get to it,” Gram pushes. Voices ring out in agreement with her.

Emma’s trembling fingers tighten around the fabric of my shirt as she pulls me a little closer to her. The front of our bodies become flush with one another. Her body relaxes into mine.

Time seems to stand still as I realize how badly I want to kiss her. The desire only grows when her tongue slips out and licks along her bottom lip to wet it.

I wish the first time my lips met hers wasn’t for an audience, but I can’t seem to care too much about it right now. I’m too focused on leaning in, on relishing in the feeling of her breath caressing my lips.

If my family says anything, I don’t hear them.

I reach for her cheek, my knuckle dusting over it as I look into her eyes. “You good with kissing me in front of them, rebel?” I ask hoarsely.

She presses her cheek into my fingers, prompting me to lay my palm flat against the nape of her neck.

“I’m not the one afraid of a little PDA,” she responds, her voice teasing but breathier than normal.

I smile at that all the way until my lips meet hers.

CHAPTER 18

EMMA

The kiss starts out timid, our lips barely brushing against one another. While Preston’s lips are gentle against mine, his hands aren’t. He possessively grabs me by the waist with one hand and pins me against his body. His other hand is on my neck. His hand is so large that his thumb brushes against my cheek and his pinky digs into the skin at the bottom of my neck.

I want more, but I don’t want to be the one to deepen it, not knowing how far we’re supposed to take this. My hands stay against his chest as I resist the urge to fist the fabric even tighter and bring his mouth against mine harder. I want more, but I won’t do it, no matter how bad I want it.

Preston moves his lips against mine so softly. It’s a tease, something so light but it still manages to make my chest flutter.

He’s the one to stop the kiss.

My eyes slowly open, finding his on mine already. My entire body feels warm, and I’m already wishing his lips were on mine again.

I can feel the race of his heart underneath my hand. The feel of it beating wildly against my palm is the only indication that he felt anything from the kiss because his face tells me nothing—except maybe that he might be angry by the way his brows knit together on his forehead.

“C’mon, that was noth—” Gram begins. She doesn’t finish her sentence because before she can get anything else out, Preston is placing both his hands on either side of my face and pulling me to him once again.

I yelp from surprise, not expecting it. This time, he’s far more deliberate with the kiss. The moment our lips meet, his tongue is peeking out, licking along the seam of my mouth. I open my mouth, welcoming him in and dying to get a taste.

He tastes like whiskey. Expensive whiskey that’s smooth and you can sip slowly, ensuring you never get sick of it.

I pull my hands from his chest and circle my fingers around both of his wrists tightly, attempting to pull his mouth deeper into mine.

It’s heated but slow. And ends way too quickly.

Preston pulls away, his hands dropping to his sides and forcing mine to do the same.

Somebody whistles, but I barely hear it over the thundering beat of my own racing pulse. My chest heaves, and I know it’s probably flushed from the fervor in which he just kissed me. The intensity is reflected in the way in which he stares back at me.

“Do you two need a room now?” Gram’s words catch me off guard.

I rip my eyes from Preston’s and look at her. I’m stunned, and I don’t know if it’s because of her question or if my mind is still reeling from that kiss.

“Gram, you can’t say things like that out loud,” Peyton scolds, her voice full of humor.

I press my fingers to my lips. My head spins, and I can’t decide if I want to pull Preston to me again or to run away from him because the kiss was not supposed to be that good.

I decide on the latter. “I just need…” My words drift off, and before anyone can say anything, I’m turning around and rushing away from the table. I’ll return to them and make up some sort of excuse about being shy about PDA or something along those lines, but I really just need to get away from Preston.

I knew I was attracted to him. Even before I got a good look at his face, I was drawn to him just by the sound of his voice. But that kiss…that kiss was dangerous because I wanted to get lost in it. I could’ve gotten lost in him, and this summer isn’t about being lost—it’s about being found.

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