Page 57 of Bargain with the Bachelor
“It mattered to me. It’s part of what drove me—to get a college scholarship, bust my butt in school, and then afterward, create the software, start my company, to work out and dress well and change my image from that skinny math geek I used to be. I wanted to be…”
I took a breath before admitting the truth. “… worthy of you.”
“Hunter,” Kristal whispered, stepping closer and slipping her small, soft hand into mine. “You’re giving me way too much credit. I was just as geeky as you were as a kid. I was just as insecure as you were—if I hadn’t been, I would have askedyouout.”
I made a disbelievingpshawnoise, shaking my head. “You were the prettiest girl in school. You could have said the word and had a date anytime with any guy you wanted.”
She shook her head, looking mystified. “That’s not true, but it’s beside the point. The point is we’renotthose insecure kids anymore, but we’ve been acting like them. Have you really been wanting to ask me out since we’ve been living together?”
“Longer. Since that night at the charity ball. But I thought you were still with Harry. Then your father passed away. Then we were housemates… and Icouldn’tdate you.”
“Why not?”
“First of all, I didn’t want you to feel like it was some kind of ‘requirement’ for living here. I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable. Second… honestly? I was chickenshit. I wasn’t sure how you felt, and I didn’t want to keep being a fool pursuing a girl who only wanted to be friends. And third…”
I offered a sheepish grin. “We all kind of made a pact that none of us would date you.”
Kristal blinked hard, obviously stunned. “You did?” She shook her head in amazement. “I had no idea any of this was going on.”
After a few seconds of silence, she said, “Hunter… it might have been an accident that I kissed you at the charity ball… but I don’t regret it.”
My eyes lasered to hers, my mind and heart spellbound by her words.
“You don’t?”
She shook her head slowly, never breaking eye contact with me. “No. I’ve… I’ve thought about it. A lot.”
My heart leapt up to my throat then fell back into place, battering my chest wall. I moved toward Kristal cautiously, afraid the extraordinary moment would disappear like a shiny soap bubble—sparkling with iridescent beauty one moment and popping out of existence the next.
Reaching her, I slid my arms around her, and when she showed no sign of objection, drew her close.
And she felt fuckingincredible.
Her body, so lush and feminine wasright there, and those heart-shaped lips, soft pink and perfectly defined even without a drop of makeup, beckoned to me.
“So have I,” I murmured. “A lot.”
My fingers slipped beneath her hair, going to the nape of her neck and base of her skull, massaging the delicate, tense muscles I found there, holding her securely in place.
Now that I finally had this chance with her, I wastakingit and not letting it get away.
“I’d like to give you a little more to think about,” I whispered close to her cheek, hunching over to accommodate our height difference.
Before I could make the move to close the last torturous inch between us, Kristal stood on her toes and pressed her mouth to mine.
The kiss affected me like an electrical charge. I was paralyzed from a jolt of pleasure. My muscles braced, and it became a second-by-second battle to manage the torrent of sensation that threatened to overpower me.
I fought for self-control—I didn’t want to scare her with my intensity, but it wasn’t easy to contain my enthusiasm.
After so many years, so much longing, so many daydreams and nighttime visions, it was finally happening, and the reality of holding this woman and kissing her was so far beyond my imaginings I was literally awed by it.
As the kiss went on, I deepened it, cradling her face then letting my hands move to her neck and shoulders, down to her waist, shaping it, loving the feel of her curves, pulling her closer, closer.
She made a little whimpering noise that absolutely lit me up. Encouraged and unable to contain my greed for her, I slid a hand up her ribcage toward her breast.
“Hunter, wait.” Kristal worked her hands between our bodies, pushing gently. Her breathing was fractured. “We should probably stop… before this turns into something wedoregret.”
“That’s not even possible for me,” I said honestly, speaking against her lips, still drugged by their sweetness.
