Page 27 of Dared

Finn tried to pull back at my gasp, but I tightened my grip on him, holding him in place, and I felt his lips curve into a smile. Then we were kissing again, experimenting with presses of tongue, everything soft and slow and so, so good. I was breathless, dizzy, the tingles in my body spreading everywhere, a fluttering feeling in my stomach as Finn held me so carefully, kissing me and kissing me and kissing me.

Eventually, though, he gently pulled away. With a shaky exhale, he tipped his head back and rubbed his hand over his face, his eyes still closed.

“Fucking hell,” he mumbled.

A tendril of anxiety curled through the euphoria I was feeling. Was that a good “fucking hell” or a bad one? Before I could spiral, he stroked his hand down my back.

“I can feel you thinking. Don’t start worrying. You were…fuck. You’re a natural.”

I smiled. “I did okay? Really?”

“Millie, or whoever you kiss for real, is gonna be one lucky person,” he said, and his voice sounded strange.

“Thanks.” I didn’t want to think about kissing anyone else. Not yet.

With a sigh, he released me, directing me to stand. “Be back in a second,” he muttered, swinging himself off the chair andturning his back to me almost straight away. As he left the room, I flopped back on his bed, my head still spinning. It took a while for my breathing to go back to normal.

If that was what kissing was like, I’d been missing out.

More practice was definitely needed.

To improve my skills.

Practice makes perfect, after all.

12

So. Apparently, kissing was a thing we did now. For practice. According to today, anyway, three days after the first practice kiss. We’d had two hours of gaming after spending an hour working on our respective assignments. After we’d completed a campaign we’d been attempting to finish for a while, Leo had suggested that we should celebrate with a movie. We’d curled up on my bed with a bowl of popcorn, and about five minutes into the film, Leo had looked over at me.

“Finn?”

“Yeah?”

He bit down on his lip, his cheeks flushing. “Never mind.”

“Little lion.” The nickname slipped so easily from my mouth, despite it originally being more of a tease than a proper nickname. “Tell me.”

“I was thinking…I need more practice kissing. I’ve only done it once, and if you don’t mind?—”

“I don’t mind.” Twisting my body, I reached for him, curving my hand around his nape. There was no need for him to reply. We were both on the same page, our lips meeting, and it was just as good as the first time we’d done this.

It was too good.

It was fucking killing me.

We were now an hour into the movie, and we’d kissed another two times after the first one. We’d ended up reclined on the bed, my torso propped up with three pillows while Leo curled into my side, his fingertips tracing over my knuckles. I’d thrown a blanket over our lower halves, and I’d pulled one of my legs up a bit, purely because these kisses were having a very unwelcome side effect on my dick.

What would Leo think of me if he knew I was getting hard from his kisses? And it wasn’t only his kisses that were having this effect on me, if I was honest with myself. If I had any sense, I’d pull away, draw a line that we shouldn’t cross, cut out the cuddling and kissing. But I knew it would upset him, and I was too selfish to stop. I wanted to keep kissing him. I wanted to wrap him in my arms. I wanted to lie on my bed, bantering with my best friend and to know he was comfortable enough around me to share things he wouldn’t share with anyone else.

I couldn’t. Fucking. Stop.

Each time Leo gave methe look, his green eyes wide and hopeful, his lips slightly parted like he was already preparing for us to kiss, I couldn’t help leaning in. It was like a compulsion. And the weirdest part about it was that it wasn’t weird at all. Just like everything else in our relationship, it felt so natural. Normal.

I ran my fingers through his soft, tousled hair, enjoying the warmth and closeness of his presence. He breathed out, tapping my knuckle with his index finger.

“Finn. Thank you for doing all this. Really. It means a lot.”

“You know I’ll do anything for you,” I said instantly.I’m doing it for me, too, was my unspoken admission. My mouth kept going, words I hadn’t planned to say spilling out unchecked. “Want to practise kissing some more?”

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