Page 21 of One Night With You

I didn’t miss the fact that her gaze went to the action, but I ignored it, or at least tried to. It was probably just me seeing things.

I went to make some popcorn, and on my way back in, Claire was standing, and stretching. She had her arms above her head, and I could see a sliver of her stomach as her shirt rode up. It also made her breasts rise, and I had to pull my gaze from them.

She was so damn beautiful. And there was seriously something wrong with me.

I cleared my throat and set the popcorn down.

“Okay. Is this a good enough snack?”

She nodded, and as we both reached down for the popcorn, our hands brushed, and she jumped back. Only I sort of jumped forward in an odd jerky motion, and then the popcorn was flying to the ground, as was she.

“Shit.”

I gripped her hips to keep her steady, and of course that meant I was pressing her hips against my hips, and then she could feel everything.

Every single hard line of me.

She put her hands on my chest, keeping her steady, and then both of us were looking at each other, our breaths coming in pants, and both of us leaning to the side just a bit.

My mind was a bit blurry.

“Sorry.”

I nodded, but didn’t say anything, instead I did something monumentally stupid, and I reached out to cup her cheek, my thumb sliding along her cheekbone.

“No problem. I’m pretty clumsy.”

“As clumsy as Mr. Sasquatch?” she asked, her voice a little breathy.

“I didn’t realize that he tripped.”

“If Mr. Sasquatch falls in the woods and nobody’s around to hear, does he really fall?” she asked.

If she could come up with a sentence like that, maybe she wasn’t as drunk as I thought, but either way, I had to make sure. At least before I made a stupid fucking mistake.

“Claire?”

“Kingston?”

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Just as much as you.”

“So if I were to kiss you right now? Would that be a really big fucking mistake?”

“Probably? But I’m not drunk enough to regret it.”

I took that as a yes, and so when I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers, I couldn’t help but relish the soft moan that escaped her lips.

She tasted of bourbon and cherry, with a touch of orange, and Claire.

And because I couldn’t stop thinking of this, because I had ignored this moment for so long, I deepened the kiss, both of us groaning.

I should have pulled back. I should have laughed this off.

And yet, as the power flickered around us, and the snow began to fall in earnest, I just felt. I just let myself. When her hands slid up my shirt, her warm palms on my back, I growled.

“Tell me to stop,” I whispered.

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