Page 26 of We Never Kissed

As punishment, he slid his hand under my armpit andpinched my side, making me squirm. But he also tightened his hold on me so I couldn’t get away.

I squealed “Stop” through my laughter.

He pulled me halfway on top of him, the hard ridges of his chest so inviting. He brushed his open mouth over mine as my giggles died. We kissed for a few moments, his hands running along my back, before he suddenly repositioned us so I was with my back against the pillows and he was lying against my side.

“Do you know how long I’ve dreamt of this?” he asked, delivering feather-light kisses to my mouth, my cheek, my neck. His hand teased the edge of my blouse, sending chills over my whole body. It only took moments of Alex painting me with his lips before I was panting with need, but my rational brain was fighting for attention, too. Before my voice of reason could step in, however, Alex pulled back and gazed down at me.

“God, you’re beautiful, Ava. I don’t think I’ve ever said that to you.”

“You haven’t,” I said in barely a whisper. “Well…not like that, anyway.”

“I’m sorry. I just… I couldn’t ever let myself go there. It was better for both of us.” He brushed a lock of hair away from my eye. “Now…I can’t take my eyes off you.”

That stole my breath away. If he kept talking likethat, I wasn’t sure I could stick to this whole taking it slow thing. Still, I found myself starting, “Alex…”

He grinned and ran a thumb over my bottom lip, his eyes pinning me like he hadn’t just eaten an entire meal, and I was dinner. Bending down, he kissed me once, softly, “Ava…” Then he laughed. “Give me some credit, huh?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What?”

“I know what you were going to say.” He propped himself on an elbow to gaze down at me. “What, did you actually think I was going to make our first time together be in some old abandoned building? I’d hope you would give me more credit than that.”

“Well you did transform it into a little bit of paradise with these blankets and fluffy pillows but… I don’t know.” I shrugged, uncertain what else to say.

Alex took my hand and laced our fingers together. “Ava, I did not bring you here so we could have sex. And if I really wanted to impress you, and get you in my bed at the same time, I would’ve taken you to a five-star hotel and gotten us a suite.”

I perked up at the idea, unable to hide my interest or my smile.

“Ah, come on!” He collapsed back onto the pillows so we were side by side, but he still held my hand.

“I’m sorry, this is way better,” I said, giggling. “Continue.”

“I wanted somewhere where we could spend time together… not worry about being seen by anyone, and alleviate some of your anxiety over us sleeping together.” He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles.

Taking my hand away, I lifted up and leaned on his chest, saying, “Hey. First of all, I don’t haveanxietyover sleeping together.”

When he didn’t seem convinced, I added, “I have thoughts and maybeconcerns, but definitely not anxiety. I would say it’s more…excitement.” To prove my point, I leaned over and kissed him. Then I unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt and slipped my hand inside, smoothing it across his chest as we kissed.

“You’re playing with fire, little girl.”

“So…what do we do now?”

My hair fell across his cheek, and he tugged at a piece of it. “Spend as much time together as we can.”

Without a word, I moved his shirt aside, so I could rest my cheek on his bare chest, a small consolation.

“I don’t just want you, Ava,” he said, stroking the back of my head. “I want you in my life.”

“I want that too. And I hope that means we can share every part of ourselves.” I ran my finger over the scar on the left side of his chest. I knew how he’d gotten it but only minimal details, and he’d never wanted to discuss it.

There was a long pause before he said, “You know that part, too…”

“Not all of it. And not how you feel about it now.” I hesitated. “About her… You never want to talk about it.”

“I still don’t.”

We were quiet for a long time after that, and as I fought against my heavy lids, so safe and relaxed against his solid frame, I heard him say just as I drifted off, “Maybe someday…”

Chapter 15

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