Page 36 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

My mouth feels dry. I swallow, trying to fix it. “Maybe,” I whisper.

“I don’t think we need any practice.” His voice is deep and gravelly, causing goosebumps to break out along my arms.

My heart races in my chest. Is this him telling me he doesn’t want to kiss me again? Surely not. He seemed just as into that kiss as I was. He can’t mask the possessive way he pulled me back to his lips, as if he was starved and couldn’t get air from anything or anyone else but me. I know that wasn’t in my head.

Preston reaches out, running his knuckle softly along my chin. The touch is featherlight, but it sends shivers down my spine.

“We definitely need more practice,” I manage to get out, my voice hoarse. “The kiss felt awkward.”

This makes him laugh. God, why is his laugh so sexy? It’s deep and rumbles through his chest. I feel it everywhere.

He leans forward, his eyes following the path of his knuckle. He moves it from my jaw to my throat. I wonder if he can feel my racing pulse under his touch. Is his heart beating just as fast as mine? God, I hope so.

“You’re telling me that kiss felt awkward, rebel?” His words come out rough and angry.

“Yes,” I lie. Nothing about the kiss felt awkward, but maybe if I tell him it did, I’ll convince him we have to kiss more to make it seem more natural—so his family won’t see through our facade.

He’s quiet. So quiet that my heart wants to leap from my chest in anticipation of what he’ll say next. Or maybe he won’t say anything. Maybe he’ll agree with me and kiss me again—giving me exactly what I want from him.

His knuckle makes it to my chest. He traces over the swell of my breast, making my breath hitch. It takes everything in me not to open my mouth and plead for more from him. I’d take anything more than what he’s giving me right now.

His lips are so close that I can feel his breath against my skin, but they aren’t close enough. They aren’t moving against mine.

“Wrong answer,” he responds.

“What was the right one?” My voice comes out uneven, and I want him to kiss me again so badly that I don’t even care how obvious I’m being. And I’m fairly confident by the look in his eyes he wants the same.

Preston leans in close enough that our lips almost brush against one another’s. He’s so close that I shut my eyes, waiting for him to close the distance.

He grabs the back of my neck, making me forget that I’d asked him a question. He doesn’t have to answer as long as he kisses me. His lips brush against the corner of my mouth. I turn my head to try and line up our lips, but his grip is firm on the back of my neck, keeping my head in the position he wants it.

He continues to tease me, kissing along my cheek and neck instead of pressing his lips where I want them.

A small groan of frustration leaves me, making him laugh. It feels good against my neck, feeling the tickle of his breath against my skin.

His lips make it to my ear. I swear he tries to make me combust when his teeth rake against the sensitive skin underneath it. His tongue pokes out to caress the spot where his teeth just were, and it’s the most euphoric form of torture.

I clutch his shirt, trying to pull him closer to me.

“We’ll kiss again. That I can promise you.”

I smile at his words, waiting for him to do just that. He doesn’t move; he keeps his mouth lined up with my ear. “But not right now. I have to teach you a lesson for calling that kiss awkward.” As if to nail his point home, he kisses my temple so softly I barely feel it before his body heat is gone from mine.

My eyes pop open, finding him a few steps away from me. He smirks, his hands tucked in his pockets as if his body wasn’t just pressed against mine seconds ago.

“What?” I sputter, wondering what just happened.

This only makes him smile wider. I wish he didn’t smile so sparingly because it makes my heart race that much faster when he does.

“You called our kiss awkward. It was the furthest thing from that. I know that. You know that. And the next time I kiss you, I’ll make damn sure you’ll never call it that again.”

“I only said that as an excuse to kiss more.”

“Do I need an excuse to kiss you?” he counters, his head cocked to the side. “This week, you are my girlfriend, after all.”

Before I can respond to him, he’s lifting his chin and pointing to the garden exit. “We’ll finish this later. Let’s get back to dinner before Gram gets any wild ideas about what we’re doing.”

CHAPTER 19

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