Page 66 of Words of Love

He rested his elbows on his thighs and stared at the blue throw rug patterned with big yellow daisies. “Yeah.”

“Good. And it’s not…um…”

He looked up at her hesitation. A faint blush colored her cheeks.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s not as if you don’t know what you’re doing on the physical side of things.” She ran her hand over the arm of the sofa, her flush deepening. “You’re really good at kissing and…er, other sexy stuff, so it shouldn’t be too much of a leap to translate that to the page.”

Though her comment created a vivid flashback of them naked in the blanket fort, Sam shook his head. “That’s not love or romance.”

She blinked and averted her gaze.

Oh, shit.He was such an ass.

He put his hand out. “I didn’t mean what happened—”

The words crammed in his throat again. He had no idea how to tell her that the blanket fort was beyond anything he’d ever experienced. And he’d experienced a lot.

“I think we’re…outside the norm,” he finally said.

Amusement creased her eyes. “I suppose that’s better thanweird.”

“Christ.” With a low laugh, he rested his head in his hands. “I suck at this. I should write a horror novel.”

“Actually, I think you just need a thesaurus.” She nudged her foot against his leg. “Outside the normcan also mean remarkable. Rare. Extraordinary.”

The tightness in his chest eased. He lifted his head to find her watching him, her eyebrows drawn slightly together. His heart knocked against his ribs.

“I have an idea.” She leaned closer. “You need an education on theromanticpart of romance. The little gestures and rituals. So I think we should date.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Date.”

“Not seriously.” She held up her hands, as if she were either warding him off or reassuring him. “Just for fun and for research until you finish your revisions. It appears as if dating isn’t really your thing, am I right?”

Without waiting for a response, she continued, “Whereas I could probably write a book about my dating experiences, both good and bad. And since dating is usually part of love and romance, I think you should get an idea of what constitutes agood dateso you can send John and Patricia off on some romantic evenings. We’ll have to be somewhat undercover so people don’t think we’re actually together, but we can manage that.”

She smiled. “What do you think?”

He thought he’d walk through fire as long as she kept smiling at him like that.

“I’d love to date you.” Frustration pushed at his chest because that sentence didn’t convey everything he still wanted to tell her. About why he was such a failure at this, and why he knew he could never be the kind of man she wanted.

She regarded him, the smile fading from her rosebud mouth. Heat flicked in the air. He reached a hand up and touched the pinpoint mole at the corner of her eye.

Forget words, descriptions, and fumbling for the right phrase. He wouldshowher how he felt.

He closed his hand around her wrist and tugged her closer. When her face was only a few inches from his, when he could breathe in her sweet, cinnamon scent and look into her brown eyes, he stopped.

If she showed one instant of doubt, hesitation, uncertainty—

She kissed him. Like a sparrow swooping across the sky, she closed the scant distance between them and pressed her lips to his. He couldn’t have been more surprised if the earth had opened under his feet—and it felt as if it had.

Her mouth was warm, tasting both salty and sweet, like caramel popcorn. Whatever he’d been thinking fell away. Pleasure exploded through him. Every time their lips met, he was reminded that he’d never before experienced a kiss that was so affecting, as if their point of contact could generate an electrical charge strong enough to power the entire country.

It’s one thing to kiss a stranger. It’s totally different when you’re kissing someone you love.

Her words echoed through him, settling in his blood. He lifted his hands to the sides of her head, tilting her mouth to just the right angle before delving inside. Together they sank back against the sofa cushions. He stroked his tongue over her lower lip and trailed kisses across her cheek and down to her neck.

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