Page 51 of Keep My Heart
‘Because I’m going out with you.’
‘We can go out later. You should spend time with your brothers. You don’t see them much.’
‘I see them more than I see you. And we don’t have much time left for you to practice dating. We need to go out.’
‘Maybe I could come with you.’
‘Where? To hang out with my brothers?’
‘Yeah. It’s the whole meet the family thing. Like you said, it’s part of dating, right? Meeting the family?’
‘But you already know my family.’
‘And you already know my mom, but you still came inside to meet her.’ I rest my hand on his arm and look up at him. ‘We’re pretending, remember? This is just practice for the real thing. And I haven’t seen your brothers since high school. They’re all grown up now. It’ll be like I’m meeting them for the first time.’
Nick smiles. ‘You really want to hang out with my brothers?’
I smile back. ‘I’d love to, if you don’t mind.’
‘I’d rather have you all to myself, but if you really want to do this, then yeah, we can go over there.’
When he says things like that—that he wants me to himself—it makes me think he wants to date me for real. But he’s made it clear that’s not what he wants. He keeps saying he doesn’t have time for a girlfriend and that he needs to focus on work.
‘I told him we’ll be over in a few minutes,’ Nick says, sending the text. He slides his phone in his pocket. ‘You sure about this? Because I’d be happy to take you out.’
‘Nick, I want to do this. It’ll be fun to see all the Kanfield boys again.’
‘I used to get really annoyed when people called us that. It’s like we were all the same, like we didn’t have our own identity.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘No, it’s fine. I actually like it now, although men would bebetter than boys.’ He chuckles. ‘I think we’ve all outgrown being called boys. Brody’s six five now, taller than all of us.’
‘How tall are you?’ I ask, looking up at him.
‘Six three, same as Jason and Sawyer.’
‘Your parents made some tall boys, I mean men.’ I remain in front of him, wishing he’d kiss me. I know he shouldn’t since we’re not actually dating, but I love how I feel when he kisses me and I’m starting to crave it whenever he’s around, especially when we’re close like this.
‘Nick?’ I say, sounding breathless, my heart thundering in my chest. I shouldn’t do this. But I really want to.
‘Yeah?’
I hold on to his shoulders and reach up on my toes and kiss him. I make it quick and wait to see what he’ll do. Our eyes meet for just a second, but it’s long enough for me to see his desire and feel that intense spark between us.
He grabs me around the waist and kisses me back, a scorching hot kiss that sends tingles down my core. He backs me up and lifts me up on the counter, his lips returning to mine as his hands rest on my legs, just below the hem of my dress.
‘Tell me to stop,’ he whispers over my mouth.
I shake my head and hear him groan. He pushes my dress up higher and spreads my legs, then yanks me to the edge of the counter. His large hands grip my thighs as he kisses me again, his soft lips moving gently over mine. The tingles I felt before have exploded throughout my body, making me feel alive in a way I never have, not even in all my years with Chris. Maybe I trust Nick more, or maybe it’s because I’m older and more experienced. Or maybe he’s just really good at this.
I had a friend in LA that used to tell me that smart, studious guys make the best lovers. Maybe she was right. I’d like to test thattheory, but I can’t, not with Nick. He’s just a friend, and he’s leaving.
He kisses the side of my neck as he slides off the straps of my dress. It has a built-in bra so when he lowers the dress to my waist, my top half is exposed. When his mouth moves to my breast, I’m filled with more of those pleasurable tingles. I lean back, pushing my chest out, wanting more. If he keeps this up, I’m going to come right here in the kitchen. If my mom knew I was doing this on her counter, she’d kill me, but there’s no way I’m stopping this. It’s too good. I never would’ve guessed Nick had these kind of skills, although the kisses he gave me earlier should’ve been a clue.
When his hand slides under my dress, under my panties, my head falls back against the cabinet. I’m panting, moaning, wishing I could touch him, but I’m too wrapped up in how I’m feeling to do anything right now. My head’s spinning. The pleasure’s building. My body’s writhing under Nick’s touch, trying to get closer but then pulling away, not ready for this to end.
His lips return to mine and his tongue slips in my mouth. It’s a slow, sensual kiss and so damn good. His fingers are pumping in and out of me, his thumb circling my clit. I’m drowning in a type of pleasure I’ve never known, never experienced, breathing so hard I feel like I could pass out. His thumb presses down harder and his fingers plunge deeper.
