Page 47 of Burning for Alexander
“Me neither,” I said quickly, lying better than I ever had in mylife. “Not at all. I just want some experience. Physical. Sexual, I mean.” My cheeks ignited. “Obviously, that’s what I mean.”
He bit back a smile and rolled his hips so I could feel his cock was still hard beneath me. “Okay, so we’re going to lay out some ground rules.”
My eyes began blinking maniacally. Was this actually happening? “Yeah, ’course. Me too. Ground rules.”
“First, we’re going to take it slow. And you’re going to tell me to stop when I do something that makes you feel uncomfortable.”
I nodded. “That’s not going to happen. What’s next?”
“Second, our jobs come first. If one of us has to work, that’s it. No questions asked. We both care a lot about our careers, and I need you to know where my priorities are. Okay?”
There was me, the bobblehead again. “Of course. Same. Timber means everything to me.”
“This also means that my inspections of Timber continue per our agreement. You can still be annoyed as hell, but that doesn’t change anything. My job is more important to me than you are, Marian. And I don’t plan on putting myself at risk of being seen as influenceable if anyone catches wind of us fucking around. If anything, I want them to think us hooking up made me more of a hard-ass. Do you understand?”
Now, this one made me pause. “Are you going to be worse than you already are?” I asked incredulously. “Because you’re hot, but not that hot.”
He grabbed my face and pulled me in, crushing our mouths together in a hard kiss. Once again, I was powerless under the sheer intensity of his commanding presence. He owned that kiss. And me.
When he finally pulled back, I sucked in a heaving breath. “Yeah, okay.”
Kincaid’s bottom teeth pinched his upper lip to keep from laughing. “Good.”
He leaned in and kissed me again, only this time, he started with my lips and moved across my cheek and down one side of my neck until his stubbled chin moved the collar of my shirt down. His warm tongue tipped into the little divot at the base of my throat.
“Last rule,” he murmured against my skin.
“Yeah.” My voice was breathy and strange.
“No Monroe.” His voice was firm and the message clear. “If you’re kissing me, you’re not kissing anyone else. Do you understand?”
A bubble of incredulous laughter escaped. “There’s not a long line of people waiting.”
“Bullshit.”
I shrugged. “No sense in arguing because I agree. But that rule goes both ways, Chief.”
“Noted.”
I reached out and flicked his bare nipple. “Say you agree.”
“Ow,” he said with a laugh, covering the injury. “You’re a cruel negotiator.”
I moved my hands to his shoulders and up into the back of his thick hair. “Oh, is this a negotiation? These arenegotiableterms?”
His eyes were bright, and his cheeks were flushed. He looked downright edible. “Definitely not.”
“Mm.” I moved my hands around to cup his cheeks before meeting his eyes. “So when do my lessons start, Professor?”
“You haven’t agreed to the rules yet.”
“Yes I did!”
“Tell me it’s just me until it’s over. I’m really not good at sharing, Firebug.”
His large hands moved up my back under my shirt, and my skin prickled with millions of goose bumps. “Yeah. Okay. Yeah.”
The edge of his lips quirked up on one side. “I have to go into the station. And then I need a regular night’s sleep. Come back tomorrow night. We can start then.”
