Page 99 of All's Fair in Love and Blackmail

She’s the one I’ll get to kiss tomorrow, too, and maybe even for years to come.

India’s arms twine around my neck as she lifts up on her tiptoes, drawing closer to me, and a thrill runs through my veins at the soft press of her body. Something deep and wanting stirs in my chest, but I rein it in, letting my lips move gently over hers. She’s inexperienced, I can tell, but she doesn’t seem bothered, and I love it.

“Be honest,” I murmur in between kisses. “You’ve been dreaming about this for years. You’ve been waiting for this very moment when you get to kiss the most handsome man in the—” But I break off as she finds me again—swallows my surprised laugh, steals it from me, and I can feel her smile against my lips.

“You’re absurdly full of yourself,” she says—no more than a whisper and the graze of her teeth.

I freeze at the sensation, my hands stilling in her hair, my pulse leaping. She does the same, and for a second suspended in time, I don’t think either of us breathe. I hold desperately to my self-control as her chest rises and falls against me, as she leans back until our gazes clash.

“No!” Juliet calls from the upstairs window. “Why did you—ow!Aurora!” Then, as though she’s a middle-schooler standing by and watching a fight, she begins to chant: “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss—Aurora, stop!Ow?—”

A loud slamming noise tells me that the window has been shut, and despite my faint embarrassment, I grin.

“I wasn’t done with you,” I admit, curling my hands more tightly in her hair and leaning back in. “I wasn’t even close?—”

India surges up to meet me, and this time I let myself taste her, let my lips move as hungrily as hers do—she’s insistent, demanding, full of fire, and I can’t get enough.

I might never stop.

And I might never have to.

“I want to help you with your bucket list,” I tell her several moments later, when we’ve broken apart to breathe. Her arms are still around my neck, her face buried in my shoulder, and I revel in the feeling of running one finger up and down the curve of her spine—touching her in a new, simple way that nevertheless sparks my pulse.

“Be careful saying that,” she says, the words muffled, her breath hot against my skin. “You don’t know what else is on there.”

My answering laugh is easy. “I want to help,” I repeat. “I’m brave. I can handle anything you throw at me.” I pause. “Let’s go on dates, too.”

She leans back, looking at me. “Where?”

“I have it on good authority that there are some great romantic spots around Lucky,” I say casually.

“Yeah?” Her eyes are full of laughter as she raises one brow at me. “Do tell.”

“There’s a great little bookshop over on Main,” I say. “Word on the street is they sell books featuring thebrother’s best friendtrope.”

“My favorite,” she murmurs, and I grin.

“There’s also an outlook called Crow Point. We might like that.”

“Very interesting.”

“Mm-hmm. There are also some hot springs nearby,” I go on. “Not too far outside of town.”

Her amusement vanishes in the face of surprise. She blinks up at me. “We didn’t visit the hot springs,” she says. “Did you go without me?” She narrows her eyes. “I thoughtIwas the only woman you were blackmailing.”

I bite back my laugh, folding my arms further around her. “I would never even think about blackmailing anyone else.” After a second of hesitation, I say, “I considered taking us there. But I was concerned about seeing you in a bathing suit. I was finding you a little too attractive.”

“Scandalous,” she says. Then she tilts her head. “You got your article done.” She nods to the newspaper resting casually on top of the boom box a few feet away. “What about the TV thing you guys are doing?”

And for a second, I consider telling her. I consider telling her that my coworkers now believe I’m the one who inadvertently flashed everyone at the Bicentennial Pageant—wedgie and all. But the idea has barely bloomed before it withers and dies.

I couldn’t say why, but I don’t want her to know. So I just nod. “It’s all going fine.”

“Good,” she says with a contented sigh. “That’s good.” Then she smiles up at me. “Well, I do want to do all those things. But before we go on any dates or do anything from my list,” she says, “there’s something else we need to take care of.” Her gaze sparkles with something mischievous.

“I was thinking the same thing.” I lean back and look down at her, grinning. “Cyrus?”

She nods. “Cyrus.”

---