Page 109 of A Little Tempting

“Are you stalling, Pickles?”

“Yes.” I lean even closer, my lips barely brushing against hers, when she adds, “And no.”

Pulling back slightly, my brows furrow. “No?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure? When you’re sitting close like this, it’s hard to think straight.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask, throwing her own words back at her.

Her breath quivers across my lips. “I’m not sure.”

“Again with the back and forth.”

“The push and pull,” she adds.

“The will they, won’t they,” I murmur. “And fuck, do I want them to, Dylan.”

“Me too.”

My chest tightens at her acquiescence, and I swear, if I died right here, right now, I’d be okay with it. Keeping my movements slow and controlled, I lean in again, waiting for her to push me away. Instead, her lashes flutter, and she closes her eyes. I kiss her softly, holding on to the last of my restraint as I taste the girl in front of me. No tongue. Just lips. Hell, there’s barely any pressure either. But the feel of her. Warm. Pliant. Fucking supple. The combination shoots straight to my groin, and I nearly crumble from the assault, desperate to fall to my knees and worship her the way she deserves. Sliding my hand along her cheek, I thread my fingers through her hair and tilt her head further up, keeping the same gentle pressure.

When a soft whimper hits the back of her throat, I pull away, my eyes bouncing around her face as I wait for regret or fear or whatever the fuck she might feel, but her eyes are still closed. Only the tiniest of divots between her brows gives me a clue as to what might be going on in her head.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she whispers.

“Dylan…”

She blinks slowly as if forcing herself to come back to earth when she’d clearly been lost in the clouds. Her hands press against my chest, but instead of pulling away, she keeps her palm on my heart, feeling the steady rhythm as if it’s the one thing keeping her from floating away.

“What are you thinking?” I ask.

“I’m thinking you’re kind of a terrifying guy to fall for, Oliver, and yet, for some reason I genuinely don’t understand, I can’t help myself.”

My mouth twitches. “Is that a bad thing?”

“It depends,” she whispers. “Are you really done dating other girls? And I’m not trying to be controlling or whatever by asking you this. But I need to know how deep I should let myself go, and one boundary I realized before Homecoming is you fake-dating other girls, even when it’s weirdly chivalrous, is a no-go zone for me, so?—”

“I told you I wouldn’t kiss you until I was all yours, Pickles. Tonight was the last time,” I reassure her. “I promise.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” I repeat. “Lilah’s been my last client for a while now, but since her ex wouldn’t rear his head anytime we tried to lure him out, it took a little longer than I anticipated to finish the job. But after tonight? He won’t be a problem anymore, and neither will she.”

The tension in her muscles melts away, and she scoots closer, giving me a fucking Eskimo kiss as a smile toys at the edge of her lips. “Where were we?”

My mouth is on hers in an instant, our bodies melding together as I snake my arms around her waist and memorize every curve. Every whimper. Every fucking inch of the girl plastered to me.

I should be softer. I should be more patient. More willing to let her take the lead when we both know I’m more experienced than she is. But I can’t help it. I feel like we’ve played this game for so long. Dancing around what we could be. What I could give her. Tonight, I’ve finally snapped, and there’s no going back. To be honest, there’s been no going back for a while. I think of her. Dream of her. Worry for her. She’s on my mind constantly, and I can’t let her go.

Her body molds to mine as her fingers toy with the edge of my shirt. I doubt she knows how close she is to touching my cock. I doubt she knows how much I’m craving her fingertips to run along my stomach or the patch of skin she’s dangerously close to skating across. My abs tighten at the thought, and my dick fucking weeps in my pants as I angle her head higher. Running my tongue along her bottom lip, I taste her slight gasp and dive in further, licking her playfully and smiling against her mouth when she moans softly.

“Is this like you remembered?” I murmur against her lips.

“Pretty sure you were taking it easy on me the last time we were in this room.”

I chuckle, nipping at her bottom lip one more time. “And now, all bets are off.”

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