Page 9 of Tough Nut to Crack

Instead of words, I reach out and pull her hand, pressing her against the side of my truck. When she tries to look away, I'm forced to curl a finger under her chin until her pretty blue eyes are looking up at me.

When her tongue sneaks out to wet her lips, I don't waste another breath. I lower my lips to hers, instantly requesting entry to her mouth with the slide of my tongue on her lower lip.

She grants it with a whimper, and I swallow that sound and the several she makes after, tasting the whiskey on her tongue.

I want to pull away and ask her why she wasn't crawling in my lap, but this actually feels better. I like the sounds she’s making. I grow hard, thickening in my jeans, when her fingers tangle and pull at my shirt as if we're not close enough to each other.

My fingers tangle in her long, blonde hair as I situate her mouth, angling exactly how I want it. Despite the fire in her words back at the bar, she doesn't fight me. She lets it happen and lets me control her positioning.I'm seconds away from taking her right here, and if I don't get this woman inside, then I know it'll be a very real possibility.

Chapter 5

Riley

Is it possible to inhale soup, and somehow, that makes you lose your ever-loving mind?

I think that's what happened because there's no way I'm pressed against Mac Hammer's truck while he kisses me and grinds his erection into my stomach.

I thought that kiss in high school was the best kiss of my life, not that it mattered that it was the first kiss of my life. I’ve compared every single kiss since to it, and nothing has even come close.

But this kiss?

This kiss is somehow more confident, light years better.

Unlike our seven minutes spent in heaven all those years ago, his hands bracket my face, fingers tangling in my hair rather than roaming along my body. It's somehow sexier, and that's saying something, considering how on fire my body was back then.

His forehead presses to mine as he releases my lips, and I have to swallow down yet another moan because this man lights my damn fire. He always has, even the times I thought I hated him for being so cavalier and disregarding me.

Maybe I'll spend a little time reflecting on all the things I could do differently that will keep me from feeling like this was a mistake at a later date, but I'm not going to stop things now.

"You're sure about this?" he whispers, the hint of beer on his breath somehow pleasant and not at all off-putting.

"Are you?" I ask because I didn't use my words the time before this, and maybe if I had, things could've been different.

What would our lives look like now if I had just chatted with him in that closet rather than stepping in closer and pressing my lips to his?

It took every ounce of courage to do that that day, not to mention the pep talk I gave myself, before sneaking out of the house to go to the party. I wasn't a risk taker. I didn't do things that would land me in hot water with my parents, but I was tired of being the goody-two-shoes.I wanted to live on the edge. I would've given him whatever he wanted that night, but other than immaculate kisses and a few brushes of his hand over my breast, he didn't try anything further.

I should've known when the timer went off outside of the closet, and he simply pulled back and walked out, that things weren't going to go in my favor. But I was too stuck in the fantasy of making out with the boy I'd had a crush on since I realized boys weren't disgusting creatures that needed longer showers and some lessons on proper manners.

"Riley," he whispers, his nose trailing down my cheek.

"Hmm?"

"I can't wait to get you inside, to getinsideyou, but you have to be sure."

I pull in a deep breath, that whisper of history telling me that it's probably best if I leave, but the girl who wanted everything and got nothing last time speaks up.

"What happens when we go inside?" I ask, licking my lips because they still tingle from our kiss.

"Anything, everything," he says, his fingers in my hair gripping me just a hint tighter, and it sends a thrill of anticipation racing down my spine. "You won't be getting much sleep tonight."

He takes a step back, releasing me and breaking all contact with my body, and that lack of confidence I had in high school to approach him a second time begins to bubble back up.

But when I go to dip my head, breaking eye contact with him, he curls that same finger right under my chin, forcing me to look into his stupidly handsome face.

Now is not the time to have a crisis, Riley.

I pull in a deep breath. "Lead the way."

---