Page 20 of When We Were Reckless
So I didn’t say any of that.
“You didn’t answer my question. Did you enjoy kissing him?”
Her eyes met mine, and they flared with defiance. “Yes.Hekissed me, and I kissed him back. Do you want to kiss me, Jesse?” She taunted, sweeping her tongue over her lips. “Or did you come over here to get laid? At least be honest about your intentions.”
When had Quinn become so bold? So brazen? She was giving me a dose of my own medicine. “You want honesty?”
She nodded, clamping her lip between her teeth again.
“You were right. I kissed you back. I remember every little detail of that kiss. I remember the feel of your lips against mine. Pillow soft. You tasted edible, like honey and brown sugar from the lip gloss you wore that night. And I remember the way your tongue darted out to take a small taste of me, and I let you in.”
Sliding my hand around to the small of her back, I skimmed it over the curve of her ass and pulled her against me. “And you wrapped your arms around my neck.”
As if on cue, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around my neck. I stared down at her upturned face, her pert little nose, and big eyes and lush lips, her apricot skin flushed a pretty pink, then dipped my head and hovered there, our lips a mere fraction of an inch apart but not touching.
Her lips parted, and her soft breath mingled with mine. It smelled sweet, like fruity summertime cocktails. With her arms still looped around my neck, she tugged on the ends of my hair like she was giving me permission to make the next move.
I could kiss her right now, and she’d probably let me.
“And I kissed you back.” I dropped my forehead against hers, my fingers biting into the soft flesh of her ass. A reprimand for grinding her little body against mine. For making me get hard for her. For making me want her in a way I shouldn’t. “But then I remembered that you were only eighteen, and you were still in high school. My best friend’s little sister.”
“So you pushed me away.”
I released her and took a step back, putting some distance between us. She was still eighteen, and I was twenty-seven, old enough to know better.
She was still my closest friends’ little sister, the girl we’d always tried to protect. The girl they’d entrusted me to protect from guys like me. Guys who were looking for a sunshine girl to make their world a little brighter. Guys who would take advantage of her naivety and innocence to stroke their bruised ego and make them feel like they weren’t total losers.
“Because you felt guilty?” She couldn’t meet my eyes.
“Yes.”
“And now?” She pressed her body against the sunflower-yellow wall behind her. Her palms pressed flat against it, her fingers curled, gripping the wall as if she was fighting the urge to reach out and touch me.
“And now… I don’t want you kissing anyone else.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t fucking like it,” I growled.
She flinched a little, her eyes wide. I carved my hand through my hair and tried to get myself under control.
Fuck. I really was an asshole.
“I’m not yours, Jesse. So I cankissanyone I want to. It’s my body to do what I want with.” She lifted her chin, her eyes defiant and her words taunting. “So I don’t even have to stop at kissing.”
My jaw clenched, and I took a few breaths through my nose. “You’re going to give it away to some high school asshole?”
“Who’s the asshole here?” she accused. “You might have been my first kiss, but I’m not saving any of my other firsts for you.”
My eyes narrowed on her. “Is that right? And you think that guy has the first fucking clue how to make you—"
“Quinn? Are you okay?”
She dragged her gaze away from me to the guy standing at the end of the hallway—short dark hair, a few inches shorter than Ridge, and built like a linebacker. I knew who he was. Austin Armacost’s nephew, Walker. Ridge’s best friend. That’s who she’d been kissing.
“Yeah, it’s all good.” She turned her bright smile on for Walker, a smile she hadn’t bestowed on me in far too long. “Jesse was just checking up on me. He’s good friends with my brothers. Just give me a minute, okay?”
He hesitated a moment, his gaze darting to me then back to her as if trying to determine whether she was in danger. She gave him an encouraging smile, letting him know she was okay. Reluctantly, he nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”
