Page 23 of The Cask

I inhaled deeply.

We stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds.

“I’m going to have to ask you to stop looking at me like that,” I murmured, drawing closer to him.

A smile played at the corner of his lips. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“I think you do.”

“I think you should tell me,” I breathed, my stomach fluttering with unexpected nerves.

“I’m thinking about tasting your favorite wine from your lips and experiencing it the way you did,” he uttered, closing the gap between us.

“Oh,” I breathed shakily.

I was supposed to be seducing him, not the other way around!

He gently pushed my braids over my shoulders. My body flooded with desire the moment his fingertips touched my skin, and I took a shuddering breath. Feeling my resolve weakening, I dropped my eyes to his sexy mouth.

“If you don’t have any objections…” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip before tipping my head upward. “I’m going to kiss you.”

We were so close that I was inhaling his cologne and feeling his wine-coated breath on my face. I could feel the heat of his body through the thin fabric of my top. He was intoxicating. And I wasn’t just losing the upper hand, I was willingly giving it to him.

“I have no objections,” I murmured.

His big hands wrapped around my neck and his thumbs cradled my face. He leaned down so that our foreheads touched. “Good,” he grunted.

My eyes closed and I let out a shaky breath. After what felt like a thirty second wait, I trembled at the first brush of his mouth against mine. The softness of his lips and the way they moved in perfect harmony with mine caught me off guard. He pulled back slightly, hovering just over my lips so that they were barely touching. My eyes opened to find his conveying the same wild confusion I felt.

What the hell was that?

Our tongues hadn’t even touched, but my body was on fire, my heart was rattling in my chest, and butterflies had swarmed my belly. Something about the way he kissed me resonated deep inside me. I’d never experienced anything like that before and from the look in his eyes, he hadn’t either. Seconds passed, the suspense built, and then Omari’s lips met mine again.

Even though my body reacted immediately, my mind took a leave of absence. Sparks flew in the kind of way that dulled the rest of my senses. I just gave in and fully immersed myself in that kiss.

It was passionate.

It was powerful.

It was possessive.

It was perfect.

It was everything I was scared it would be.

Allowing his luscious lips to overpower my own, he took my breath away. His hands held my face in place as he kissed me tenderly. It was simultaneously passionate and painstakingly slow as he savored me. It felt like he was tasting me and when his tongue met mine, Omari Fortune made sure I felt that kiss everywhere.

The knot in my belly grew and tightened as desire moved through me like fiery lava inflaming the lower half of my body. My heart was racing and the throbbing between my thighs was crying out not to be ignored. I was lost in the moment. Part of me remembered that the kiss was part of the plan. But the other part of me, the part of me that didn’t plan for the kiss to be that good, felt something awaken from deep inside me. I’d never had a man curl my toes from just a kiss. Without thinking, I fisted his jacket and pulled his body flush against mine.

My mind and body were not on the same page.

Taking the fact that I drew him closer as confirmation that I wanted more, Omari kissed me harder. His hands ran down my neck, over my shoulders and down my sides. When he got to the hemline of my top, his hands slipped underneath, and he rubbed my back. Having his hands against my bare skin did something to both of us and the kiss deepened. Swiping his tongue against mine again caused me to moan my approval. The kiss deepened and he groaned his.

The seconds turned to minutes and then he slowly pulled out of the kiss. I felt warm and heady. My heart was racing. My lips were swollen. And my body felt enflamed.

“The wine tastes better from your lips,” he uttered before his lips covered mine again. “And I’ve never tasted anything sweeter.”

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