Page 26 of You Complicate Me

She nodded, not yet trusting herself to attempt actual words.

He turned and faced her, leaning a hip on the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. The posture was casual, but the heat in his eyes was anything but as he said, “Because I knew as soon as I first saw you that if you ever turned those perfect green eyes in my direction and smiled at me…well, that just might be as close to heaven as I’d ever be able to get.” He grinned at her. “And I was right.”

And with that, any hope of taking it slow vanished. Without a second thought, she launched herself at him. He caught her easily, swinging her up and around so that she was in front of him, sitting on the counter. Grace grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers as she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind his back.

Two hours ago—hell, even two minutes ago—she would’ve said there was no way they could ever top the kiss they’d shared in the elevator.

Oh, how wrong she would’ve been.

This time there was no hesitation, no struggle for self-control. This kiss was all raw passion and hot, blind lust.

After what could have been minutes or hours of tangling tongues and clashing teeth and breathing only each other’s air, Grace broke the kiss and rested her forehead on his.

When they both caught their breath, he smiled and pressed a light kiss on the tip of her nose. “I thought we were taking it slow,” he whispered.

She gave a wobbly chuckle. “You don’t play fair, being all shirtless and hot and saying nice things to me.”

His smile widened and his gaze drifted down. “You’re not exactly playing fair yourself. You look amazing.”

Grace wasn’t sure she looked as amazing as the hot look he was pinning her with would suggest, but she had put a little extra time into getting ready for dinner.

The full skirt of her favorite red dress fell a few inches above her knee, and the snug-fitting bodice dipped low enough in the front to make the most of her cleavage, yet not low enough to make her look slutty or desperate. The dress was sexy while still managing to be totally classy.

But her mile-high, snakeskin Louboutin ankle boots? Those were pure sex. The epitome of fuck-me shoes. This was the first time she’d ever worn them. And she was willing to admit to herself, if not to anyone else, that she’d worn them for Nick. She wanted him to want her as much as she wanted him.

And if the impressive erection pressing into her belly was any indication, she’d succeeded.

Thoughts of his impressive erection quickly derailed her train of thought, forcing her to ask, “What were we talking about?”

His hands slid up her thighs. “I don’t remember talking, but I remember exactly where we left off.”

She giggled—honest to God giggled. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d done that. If ever. Had she ever been a giggler?

That gave her pause. Maybe the crazy rush of emotion she felt with Nick wasn’t so scary after all. She’d been in control most of her life and she couldn’t remember ever giggling. That couldn’t be normal, could it? What else had she been missing out on in her life?

“Your thoughts are so loud they’re practically hurting my ears,” he said, twirling a lock of her hair around his index finger. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Her gaze fell to his mouth, just a breath away from her own. “Do you think anyone would miss us if we skipped dinner?”

He sucked in a sharp breath and rested his forehead on hers again. “It would be cruel to tease me about something like that.”

She swallowed hard. “I’m not teasing. I’m reconsidering my earlier position on taking it slow.”

“Really?”

He couldn’t have sounded more shocked than if she’d told him she was a virgin. Frankly, she was a little shocked herself. This was totally out of character for her. She’d only had one lover in her life, and she’d dated Brad for two years before she had sex with him. Now she was ready to jump Nick, who she’d known for about two days.

And somehow, the decision to be with Nick felt more right than being with Brad ever had.

She nodded. “Really.”

He opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a rather loud, rather embarrassing protest from her stomach. He chuckled. “Something tells me we better not skip dinner.”

Grace shrugged sheepishly. “Maybe not. But maybe we can duck out early instead?”

“Definitely. Are you ready to go?”

She chuckled. “No, no, no. The real question is, are you ready to meet my family?”

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