Page 30 of Stars Shine In Your Eyes

She was out of breath when the song ended, and a new one started to play. From fast and rocking to slow and crooning. “Fallin” by Alicia Keys.

“Oh, I love this one too,” she said, closing her eyes and swaying in place.

Then, suddenly, she was in Malcolm’s arms. And hers were going around his neck, his around her hips, and they were moving together, slow dancing. A song about falling, keeping on falling for the same man.

Was that what she was doing? Falling for Malcolm all over again?

She heard him whisper her name into her hair, felt his arms tighten around her, and she drew back so that she could look into his eyes. And then they were kissing, his mouth on hers, hers on his. Both of them moving at the same time, their kiss as perfectly in sync as their dance. He tasted like the Baileys and cream they’d been sipping, the hint of chocolate from a box of truffles he’d had in the kitchen still on his tongue. But that wasn’t why he tasted so delicious. No, that was all Malcolm Sullivan himself.

She thought his kiss had been mind-blowing as a teenager. But the way she felt now? Well, she could never remember feeling this way before. Not with anyone. The way he was taking his time to taste. To tempt. To tease. And then to take. Take everything that she couldn’t help but want to give him. Her body melted into his. Her hands threaded up into his hair as she tried to get even closer.

So close. She wanted to be so close to him.

Somewhere in the back of her head, that little voice that had been egging her on before was cheering. But there was another voice. A voice that was getting louder and louder.

Just exactly what do you think you’re doing? Just exactly how does this kiss fit into your no-men vow?

And yet, even that voice couldn’t stop her from wanting more, from kissing him back just as deeply as he was kissing her. She heard someone moan softly, and realized it was herself.

And then his phone rang. Loud and jarring and breaking the moment into pieces. Shattering the sensual haze that had taken her over.

She pulled back. “You should answer that.” Her words came out all breathy, almost as though she was panting to try to get them out. “It might be important.” She pushed out of his arms, stumbled back into the galley. The River Star had never felt so small. He was everywhere, filling the space. She could feel his heat, smell his skin. It was too much.

“Josie—” His voice was low, thrumming with a desire that she also felt.

She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. She didn’t even know her own mind right now, so getting into a conversation about the kiss they’d just shared was a bad idea. “I think the jet lag has really kicked in. I should go to bed. Good night.”

She dashed out of the room before he could persuade her to stay. Before she could give in to the urge to throw herself back into his arms, to put her mouth against his, and kiss and kiss and kiss him until she couldn’t remember all the reasons why she shouldn’t.

But even as she brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas in record time, then slipped beneath the covers to block out the sound of his voice, she could still hear him whispering her name. Josie.

The sounds of him moving around in the kitchen and living room reminded her that he was so close, that all it would take was for her to change her mind, and she could experience more sensual pleasure than she’d ever known. That little voice inside her head was calling to her again, asking, Why? Why can’t you just have a fling with Malcolm? Why does sleeping with him have to mean forever?

She’d never thought like that in her life. Never so much as considered a one-night stand or, as the case would be with Malcolm, a two-week stand. She’d always believed she needed to be in a relationship before becoming intimate. She’d always believed that deep feelings were important before she could feel something physical. But she’d had all of those things with her ex—at least, she’d believed she had them, and look how that had turned out. She’d been a fool to believe that emotions and great sex had to go hand in hand. Especially when the truth was that the sex hadn’t been that great. She’d just told herself that was as good as it got. But in the back of her mind, hadn’t she known all along that there was more out there?

Were it not for the fact that jet lag really was finally taking its toll on her after a very long and busy day, who knew what she might’ve done, what that little voice inside her head might have persuaded her to do? But for tonight, sleeping alone in Malcolm’s bed was the only thing left on the menu.

Hopefully, everything else would be much more clear tomorrow.

* * *

That kiss had felt so right. Malcolm was certain it would have led to more—much, much more—if his phone hadn’t rung. Work, of course. How he wished he’d turned it off, but he couldn’t have known that one minute he and Josie would be talking about paint colors, and the next they’d be in each other’s arms, kissing passionately.

He wanted her. Wanted her so badly he had a feeling a cold shower was in his near future. But would that have been the right move? She wasn’t the kind of girl you messed around with. Josie deserved far more than a few hot nights in his bed. And he wasn’t up for more.

At least he never had been before…

His grandmother’s words echoed in his head, suggesting Josie was the woman he’d been waiting for. But he wasn’t certain that was true, and the last thing he wanted was to mess Josie’s emotions about. Again.

So if he wasn’t going to do that, he needed to keep his hands and his mouth off her for the next two weeks. He already knew the self-control it would take was going to come close to breaking even his strong resolve. Especially when they were working and living in such close quarters.

All the while as he cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for bed, he could sense her presence just a few feet away. He couldn’t stop envisioning her in his bed, wondering if she was wearing pajamas or if she had slipped in wearing nothing at all tonight because the houseboat was so warm from the fire in the woodstove.

Each thought made him want her more, made his need ratchet up higher and higher. Already, it was taking every ounce of self-control to leave her be. To get into his small guest bed. To sleep so that he’d be fresh for tomorrow, when they’d meet with his sisters and get to work helping Mari prepare the space for the reading retreat.

But even after a cold shower, every time he tried to sleep, he could taste Josie again, feel her again.

He wanted her again. More than he could ever remember wanting anyone before.

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