Page 12 of All I Desire

Chapter Four

NATALIA

Matthew is a solid kisser.No, a pretty great kisser. He lightly bites my bottom lip and a zing of need shoots through me. I moan and he smiles against my mouth, a sexy little move. He captures my lips again.

Scratch that. He’s an amazing kisser. This long kiss is making my entire body short circuit; my heart’s pumping and I’m actively sweating. I must be a mess, but I don’t care. I need more of his yummy lips.

And when a little, soft grunt-growl comes from his throat?

I die.

He breaks away, his hand still holding my face, and pauses against my mouth. We’re both trying, and failing, to catch our breath.

“Wow. This is really weird, isn’t it?” he asks.

“Um, yeah. Although I’m not sure what’s weirder. That you just kissed me, that we just met, or that I want to kiss you again.” I laugh and rub my nose against his, then pull back to look at him.

“Another kiss it is.” He leans in and our lips slide lazily against one another’s. Now I wish we weren’t at the beach, surrounded by people.

Pausing, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “You know, if you were a vegetable, you’d be a cutecumber.”

I dissolve into giggles and fold over into a groan at the same time. Normally, I hate that kind of gooey romantic stuff, but probably because of that scorching kiss and the champagne, or the fact that I’ve landed in a parallel universe, I seem to have turned into a living, breathing can of Cheez Whiz.

When I sit up, he’s holding a plastic glass of bubbly out for me.

“Thanks. I’m really thirsty.” I take it and guzzle the cool bubbly. He does the same. I meet his gaze, then look away. Eek. There’s a distinct awkwardness in the air now. Well, awkwardness and a heavy aura of lust. The way it feels, things could go either way in the next hour. One of us might run screaming from this beach, or we might put on a live sex show in public. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground.

“Matthew?” Nina’s voice wafts toward us, and we look in her direction. She points with her finger, then flicks upward. “Can you take off your shirt, like we talked about?”

I look at him and raise my eyebrows. “Yikes,” I say weakly.

That sizzling sound is my skin, catching on fire. I swallow hard as I watch him grin, rise to his knees, and strip off his black T-shirt.

Dear God. His skin is a perfect light bronze shade, like maybe he mows the lawn without a shirt.

His shoulders and pecs are muscular. He doesn’t quite have six-pack abs; they’re tight, but not sculpted. The best description I can think of is High Quality Dad Bod.

“That kind of escalated quickly, didn’t it?” I pour myself more champagne in an attempt to not stare at his biceps. Or that faint trail of hair starting in the vicinity of his bellybutton.

He shifts so he’s sitting next to me. We’re both facing the sunset, and the orange glow is simply perfect on his handsome face. His eyes glitter in the light. You’d think that being so gray and colorless, they’d be cold, but they’re not. Instead, they’re a warm, liquid silver, a hue I’d love to bottle and turn into metal for one of my necklaces.

Nina’s circling us, snapping photos like a maniac from all angles.

“It sure did.”

We watch the sun inch toward the horizon in silence. All that exposed skin of his makes me want to paw him.

“She’s extremely thorough, isn’t she?” My eyes go to Nina. “I wonder if the photos will be nice, or if they’ll be strange.”

“I admire her energy. And I’m sure they’ll be beautiful, because you’re in them.”

I roll my eyes and laugh.

“Too much?” he asks, grinning.

“Almost.” Still, I love the compliment. It’s been a long while since I’ve been with a man, period. Online dating doesn’t really count, because half the time the guy stands me up — and the other half, the guy’s weird and nasty. What I’ve shared with Matthew in an hour has been more interesting and genuine than any Tinder date I’ve ever been on.

He puts his wide hand over mine. “Lightning round.”

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