Page 33 of His Off-Limits Christmas Gift

The shock I felt was mirrored on her stunned face, and I knew in that instant that she’d done it on impulse. She wasn’tblind to how Yasmin wanted to belittle me, saying those things about me. I’d hardened my heart to her vile words long ago.

Yet, Rachel wasn’t going to let it fly. She’d lied, saying she was my girlfriend, and it didn’t take rocket science to realize she was making this up to show Yasmin that she was wrong.

I could play along. I knew what she was doing.

But as she locked those beautiful blue eyes on me, so wide open with surprise that she’d acted on this impulse, I saw how little she knewhowto accomplish it.

The desire lurking beneath the surface between us couldn’t stay dormant forever. So what if she’d kissed me as a lie. Who cared?

She had the thought to kiss me, and I damn well wouldn’t pass the moment up.

I stared down at her, trapped in this spell. It was just the two of us. All the details of the busy nighttime sidewalk faded. Yasmin faded. It was simply me and this gorgeous woman whose lips I wanted to taste again. For real, this time.

She furrowed her brow, getting that little V over the bridge of her nose, and reached back up for me. Only half a second had passed between her first attempt and this retake. Her aim was still off. Her lips hit theothercorner of my mouth, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Shewasnaïve. Clueless. And I was damned happy that I could be the one to educate her.

We’d just been talking about how I’d failed to give her a “lesson”, how I could be her mentor. Here was my opportunity, and I’d make the most of it.

When she dropped back down, peering up at me with worry, doubt, and frustration, I didn’t wait.

“Like this,” I murmured, lowering my head toward hers. Taking over, I laid my lips against hers. Pressing down andbrushing over that pair of plumpness, I kissed her like I wanted to. Without hesitation. Patiently, but eagerly.

She exhaled a breathy sigh, but that was all the space I’d give her. Again, I kissed her, and she responded in kind. Going slower, but without the forceful punch of her pushing to reach up to me, I taught her how to kiss.

And kiss.

And kiss.

I framed her face, guiding her to stay close to me, but that was no worry. She showed no sign of wanting to retreat, to part for air, or to instigate any break. She moaned, hungry for my lips to touch hers as she angled up to me.

“And like this,” I whispered when I broke for a breath. Tipping her head to the side, I covered her mouth with mine and licked the seam of her lips. She parted them. With a sexy sound of need, she opened her mouth and gave me access to really taste her.

The second she slid her hands over my shoulders, I stepped into her space. Kissing her was messing with my head. My dick was already too hard for what was proper, out on the sidewalk like this, but I didn’t dare to stop. Not for a second.

Pushing my body flush to hers only matched her energy of crushing herself to me. Her soft curves resisted my body, a landing I wanted to return to again and again. Feeling her against me with our mouths, with our bodies rubbing close, was perfection.

“Kiss me like this,” I growled as I hauled her close. Taking my hands from her face felt like a loss, but she made up for the difference. She circled her arms snugly around my neck as she parted her lips under mine. This time, her tongue met mine. And this time, she sucked on mine until I had to groan with pleasure.

This neediness, this wild, frantic hunger. I felt it too. That she was showing me the same effect it had on her was amazing.

It was potent.Shewas potent, lighting me up and driving me insane to need more and more.

Our tongues dueled, sliding and rubbing against each other. Her arms tightened, as if she feared losing this connection. And I set out to quell her fear about that. I wasn’t ready to let her go far.

I spun her, keeping her close until we’d turned from the center of the sidewalk. Our coats bunched up as we moved as one. Her feet tripped among mine. We were clumsy, rushed, but neither of us cared or slowed down. Together, we shifted until we hit the brick wall of a building, and that was where we settled.

Pinning her to the hard surface, I pushed my body against hers. She was trapped. Caged in between the wall and me, she was shoved back hard and grunted at the impact. Then I swallowed down anything else she could have said.

She lit me on fire, driving up my desire so quickly, so deeply, that I couldn’t think. I couldn’t find a trace of logic to make me want to stop. Not even the thought of angering Brandon, who insisted she was off-limits to me just because she was his sister. Not the idea that I wasn’t supposed to let myself get this involved with a woman again.

And she matched me. Kiss for kiss. Desperate grab for desperate grab. Moan for moan, and growl for growl. Our hands weren’t still, and our breath came so fast between the locks of our lips against each other’s. She clung to me, and I kept her pushed to the wall. I thrust my hips at hers, and she arched her back to ensure we definitely maintained this friction.

I couldn’t get enough of her. We got carried away, and I didn’t give a damn who saw us making out like this against the wall. I didn’t care if the world imploded around us, so long as I had Rachel right here, in my arms, kissing me back like she was born to fit with me.

This was no damn lesson. I didn’t want to mentor her on how to drive another man wild with desire and need like she did to me.

The only thing I wanted to show her in this moment was how fucking right it felt to be together. To cave to the tension and kiss like air ceased to be significant.

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