Page 51 of Down & Dirty

We sat in silence the rest of the way, and I felt more and more guilty. I’d sounded annoyed with him, like I was upset he’d asked, and he hadn’t deserved that.

We’d pulled into a parking garage and Cory was getting ready to get out when I stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned back to me, fresh worry on his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s okay,” he said, offering me a forgiving smile.

I took a breath, and even though it felt like jumping off a cliff, I forced the words out. “I might feel more comfortable if we practiced first.”

Cory’s eyebrows shot up. “You want to practice? Kissing?”

“Yeah,” I huffed. “We’ve never done that, and if there’s going to be lasting proof of this thing, I’d like to make sure it’s not any more humiliating than it has to be.”

That was mostly true. But the bigger issue was that I felt like a bottle of champagne that had been shaken, all bubbly and tight. I wanted to uncork this anticipation before we went in front of swarms of cameras and I had a very real reaction to a very fake kiss.

Cory’s smile was sweet, almost bashful, as he shook his head. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I sighed, turning in my seat to face him.

I was ready for him to just lean in and go for it, but he didn’t. Instead he shifted slowly, taking his time as he looked in my eyes, and then floated his gaze over my features. His easy, appreciative smile was one I’d never seen before and I couldn’t fight the pink that rushed to my cheeks. He laughed, raising his hand to brush the backs of his knuckle across it.

“You do that so much.”

“It’s embarrassing,” I muttered, looking away.

He bent his finger under my chin and gently tugged me back up to look at him, a warming sincerity in his eyes. “It’s not. Not even close.”

His thumb grazed my jaw, and he held my gaze before leaning across the console, my stomach fisting as he drew near. He was so careful, his lips barely sifting over mine, his tenderness almost admirable, if it wasn’t also sending my pulse rioting. He slid his hand through my hair and pulled me closer. I sighed into the gentle touch as it radiated through my whole body.

Damn. It had been too long.

He slanted his mouth over mine and I was all too eager to grant him passage. With such patience it was unnerving, he deepened the kiss. My toes curled. My belly flopped over on itself. The tiny hairs on my body stood at attention, pointing to the sky like they were sending up a prayer of thanks. Because god, this felt good.

Soft lips, stroking tongue, the tiniest nibble as we went for a breath. He was the opposite of rushed. It was as if the man was savoring this moment, savoring me, like he’d been just as hungry for it, but knew better than to let his anticipation steal a single second of goodness.

I hadn’t realized it, but my fingers had curled themselves into the lapel of his suit and Cory huffed out a low laugh when I gave him a rough tug closer.

He pulled back, his thumb tracing the edge of my lip as his eyes danced around my face. “You feel better now?” he asked, humor in his eyes as he glanced down at my hands.

More blood rushed to my cheeks as I quickly dropped them to my lap. “Sorry, didn’t mean to do that.”

Cory took my hands in his, placing them back on his chest. “Don’t you dare apologize for any of that. You can grab me like this any time you want.”

“A perk of the job?” I quipped, running my hands over the soft fabric, the sturdy feel of his chest beneath a cruel temptation to kiss him some more.

“Exactly.” He brushed a hair from my cheek, all traces of the disappointment from before long gone. “Enough practice?”

I choked on a laugh. I’d never want to leave his truck if we didn’t get this show started. “Yeah.”

“You sure you’re ready? It’s going to be loud in there.”

The compassion in Cory’s eyes tamped down the kneejerk urge to tell him to stop worrying about me. He was showing he cared, not doubting me. It was so rare to have someone looking out for me for a change, I hadn’t been able to see the difference.

I’d done press junkets with Ronnie plenty of times. But never in a slinky black dress or in the role of fake girlfriend, but I had some idea of how this would go. “I’ll be fine. They only really care about you, anyway.”

Cory tilted his head side to side. “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, Sky. But after tonight, you won’t just have to take my word for it.”

I scoffed, reaching for my purse. “As if any woman was ever done any favors by listening to the press’s opinion of her?”

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