Page 62 of Red Hunt

He groaned, turned on his back, and I missed the warmth, so I turned, as well.

“And we agreed to take things slowly.”

“We did?”

“Yeah. And me groping you while sleeping isn’t really within that realm.”

“Yeah, but what if I tell you I liked you groping me?”

He groaned again. “That’ll make things even more difficult.”

“Okay, enough.” I sat up and turned around so I could face him. I couldn’t make out his face because it was actually pitch black. But we needed a face-to-face nonetheless. “Here’s what I think. I like you…a lot and you like me. We’re both consenting adults, so I really don’t see why we would need or want to take things slow.”

He chuckled. “You like me?”

I pushed against where I calculated his chest might’ve been.

But he trapped my hand against his hot skin.

“You’re the best man I’ve ever met. You’re kind, you’re caring, your friends like you. Hell, even my friends like you. And you’re sexy, which doesn’t hurt.”

He shifted and before I realized it, he’d grabbed me by my waist and dragged me over him until we laid flush against each other, me on top of him. “So, you really, really like me.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. But I didn’t feel like banter anymore. I was closer to him, both physically and emotionally. I trusted him like I’d never trusted anyone else. And I wanted him like nobody’s business. So, I did the only logical thing. The one thing I’d wanted since he’d made me soup. I touched his face with my hands first, and only when I was certain of his position, I pressed my lips against his.

I could feel the vibrations of his groan like ripples on an otherwise calm surface. Only I wasn’t calm. Far from it. My heart beat against my ribs as if it wanted to jump out of my chest. One second, two seconds, three…finally Max softened his lips, opened them slightly, and when his tongue touched my bottom lip, a spark of joy zipped through me like a ray of light. He cupped the back of my head with one hand, pressing me firmly against him while, with the other hand, he stroked me down from in between my shoulder blades to my bottom.

Dear Lord.

I opened my lips, and his tongue stroked and played with mine.

I couldn’t imagine a more perfect kiss. A more perfect anything. It was as if Max knew exactly what I liked. At times, he deepened the kiss, then he dialed it back, became playful, nipped at my lips. Nibbled at that perfect spot halfway down where my throat met my neck. I groaned which made him pull back.

“You okay?”

Was I okay? Okay wasn’t even in the same realm as the giddiness, connectedness, and hyper-alertness I was feeling.

“Yep, perfectly fine.” I nipped at his bottom lip and could’ve listened to the deep groan vibrating against my lips all day, every day.

“Milli?”

“Yes, Max?” I smiled. Milli and Max…almost cartoonish how our names fit together.

“I need you to stop me.”

I snorted with laughter. Nothing was further from my mind than stopping him when I’d finally gotten what I wanted since last night. Oh hell, not last night. I’d wanted him since that moment he threw himself on me to protect me from the shooter. Which seemed ages ago but had been just the day before yesterday. “I will do no such thing.”

“Milli, listen. If something doesn’t feel right, if I’m going too fast, if I do something that makes you feel…uncomfortable, I need you to tell me.”

I smiled. I was pretty sure there wasn’t a single thing he could do that I wouldn’t like. “I trust you.”

He pecked me on the lips. “That’s great to hear. Trust is good, but I can’t read your mind, so you need to help me out here.”

“What if I don’t know what I like and what I don’t like?”

His groan sent shivers down my spine.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, dove.”

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