Page 32 of Remembering You
“This. The end of the night. My seduction.”
“Your… seduction?” His mouth twisted into a suppressed smile. “That’s what this was?”
I smacked his arm, laughing. “Shut up! It was Elsa’s suggestion—”
“Elsa? The girl I haven’t seen date with anyone in… literally since I’ve known her? You’re taking seduction advice from her?”
I threw my hands up. “Well, I don’t exactly have a lot of friends here in town and I needed someone to girl talk with. Besides, Elsa’s worldlier than me.”
He gave me a look. “I don’t know about that.”
I sighed. “I just… I wanted you to now I’m interested in you. And that I-I… well, I thought maybe you’d want to stay the night. But then when you didn’t kiss me at the door or when you picked me up for dinner, I started worrying that maybe you’d changed your mind.”
He shook his head, all traces of humor vanished from his face. “I haven’t changed my mind about anything, Marty.” He blew out a breath and raked his hands through his dark hair. “I just wanted to give you space. I didn’t want you to feel pressured tonight just because it was Valentine’s Day.”
“Well, stop it. I don’t want or need space. Not from you. And I don’t feel pressured.”
“Did you mean what you said about wanting me to spend the night?” As I nodded, a carnal gleam lit in his eyes. He licked those full lips once. “Are you ready for that?”
I looked him straight in the eyes. “I am.” It was soon, but not too soon. I felt it in my bones. “This is one case where I don’t want to be a turtle.”
A smile stroked his lips as he stepped forward, cupping my jaw. His thumbs stroked just below my ears as he tugged me up to meet his mouth. This time, I wasn’t caught by surprise. And I didn’t resist as I parted my lips against his tongue exploring the seam of my mouth.
He moaned as I opened wide and his tongue found mine in a tangle of silk and heat.
Balanced on my good foot, I pushed further onto my toes, balancing my weight against his broad shoulders and pulled him closer, scooping my fingers into the silky strands at back of his hair. His hard length brushed against me and a jolt of pure arousal swept through my body, tightening the tips of my breasts. I gasped against his mouth, but didn’t stop kissing. He tasted delicious and I never wanted this to end.
He claimed this wasn’t a rebound. That I wasn’t a rebound. He even went as far to promise that to me over dinner. And this kiss? Well, I didn’t have a lot to base this on, but it didn’t feel like the kiss of a man getting over someone. It felt like the kiss of something new blossoming.
Jim groaned, tearing his mouth from mine. Each deep breath caused another cloud of condensation to billow around us, engulfing us in a dreamlike haze. “For a week, I’ve thought about what it would feel like to kiss you. To shed every layer of clothing off your petite body and show you how good I can make you feel.”
I gasped as those tingles of awareness jolted into a full-on tremor of excitement. No one had ever talked to me that way. Holy Hell, was it sexy. “But?”
He swallowed, licking his lips as though he could still taste the remnants of my lips on them. “But, our first time should be really special. And I’m worried that you’re going to regret this in the morning. Being with a man you’ve only known a week, your boss, when you’re vulnerable and new to town with a broken ankle.”
I put a finger in the air and pointed to my ankle. “Sprained. Not broken. And honestly, you’re only my boss for another week. Then I’ll probably be back working at the hospital.”
“Yes,” he said, nodding slowly. “Back at the hospital… working for my ex.”
He was right. I knew he was. We’d only just met. It made sense to take it slow, even if my body was wanting to slam on the gas. But I was tired of being the sensible person. Tired of being the careful girl who always did what was right, what was expected. For once, I wanted to be just a little bad. A little indulgent. And something told me I could trust Jim. That he was the person I’d been waiting for to lose my virginity to. I thought of my vision board… the cut outs of my “perfect man.” Dark hair. Check. Blue eyes. Check. Hard worker. Check. Secure job. Check.
But Jim was more than just a completed checklist … so much more. He had qualities that I hadn’t even thought to add to my vision board. He was more perfect than anything I thought up in my dreams. And that was saying something because I was militant about my dreams.
He leaned down, pressing his lips gently below my ear in a tender kiss that made gooseflesh pebble on my skin and a shiver tumble down my spine. Then, he whispered in my ear, “But most of all, our first time should be special. Because I have a feeling that all of our firsts are also going to be all of our lasts. Our kiss this afternoon was our last first kiss. Tonight’s dinner was our last first date.”
I swallowed my gasp and watched as Jim’s throat bobbed too, his eyes crinkling in that sexy way when he smiled.
I squeezed the back of his neck, tugging his lips back to mine. “Make love to me, Jim,” I whispered against his mouth. “I don’t care about the shoulds and should nots. And I’m not going to regret tonight. Not for a second.”
He kissed me deeply and I clutched his jaw, cradling him with my palms, holding him there to my lips. The crutches fell back with a loud crash and I didn’t care as Jim scooped me up and sat me on the counter.
The silky, lavender halter top of my dress fell open against the gentle nudge of his hands working the knot behind my neck open. The silk fell down to my waist, revealing my bare breasts to the cool winter air and the skirt of my dress slipped up, high on my thighs.
I groaned, spreading my legs wider, the ache between them growing and almost painful in my desire to feel him inside of me. I’d never in my life acted this way before. Hell, I barely knew what I was doing kissing a man, let alone pressing my needy body against his growing erection.
And boy, was it growing. I could feel it pushing against the zipper of his dress pants, brushing the inside of my thigh.
Jim nipped my bottom lip, trailing hot and needy kisses down my neck. My breasts were heavy and achy and I arched my back, longing for his touch on every part of my body. “Take it off,” I whispered, my voice a breathless moan that I’d never heard from myself before.
