Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kate
How the hell can his kiss still do things to me?
I part my lips when his tongue brushes against them. He groans into my mouth exactly the way he used to.
My knees don’t stand a chance.
I stumble toward him with the front of his shirt bunched in one fist, and my other hand snaking its way through his hair.
My common sense is telling me to stop, but every other part of my body is begging me to keep going.
His hand tightens its grip on my neck while the other inches down my back toward my ass.
If he touches it, I’ll be lost to this.
Our kiss breaks when I draw up the strength to pull back.
“Katie.” My name tumbles from his full lips in a rush. “Jesus, Katie.”
I struggle to even my breathing with his forehead pressed against mine.
“That was…shit…that was fucking amazing.” He huffs out a deep laugh. “You do things to me.”
I feel it.
I know he’s hard as stone beneath his pants.
His erection is pressed against me, taunting me, teasing me.
I curse inwardly. I can’t think about us in bed together.
I step back, instantly feeling bereft when his hands drop to his sides.
He stares at me, watching my fingers as they strum over my lips.
“You felt that.” He accuses with a cocky smile. “You felt what I felt.”
I shake my head a little too vigorously. “No. I didn’t.”
His gaze lands on the front of my blouse. “Your body says otherwise.”
I know my nipples have peaked into hard points. I cross my arms over my chest. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
“We needed to do that,” he counters. “You can’t tell me that you don’t want me still.”
I can. I should, but it would be a lie.
The man broke my heart, but he still knows how to awaken something inside of me. The longing for his touch is real.
I glance at the door to the café. “I have to go.”
“Home?” he asks, lowering his voice. “Are you going home?”
“I’m going somewhere,” I answer because I need to talk to Tilly or Olivia.
Tilly will tell me to jump back into bed with Gage. Olivia will offer a more cautious opinion about guarding my heart.
I don’t know what piece of advice I need more right now.
“You’ll have dinner with me soon,” he says with a tilt of his head. “You still love shrimp scampi, don’t you?”
I ignore everything he just said as I fish in my purse for my phone. Once it’s in my palm, I hold it to my chest as if it contains all the answers to the questions racing through me.
Gage nods his chin toward my phone. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I don’t say anything. I turn, stumble my first step and then head straight for the door as I type out a three-word text message with my shaking hands.
Kate: I kissed him.
“Tell me everything.” Tilly smiles as she tucks my hair behind my shoulder. “You look flushed. Is that from kissing Gage or did you run all the way here from Palla’s?”
I glance around the vet clinic. The waiting room is packed with dogs, cats, two birds, and at least a dozen people.
I run a hand over my forehead. “You’re busy. I can wait. We can talk about this when you’re done with work.”
Her gaze drops to the watch on my wrist. “I punched out thirty minutes ago. Sebastian has a meeting, so I’m hanging out here until he’s done.”
I suddenly realize that I just assumed that Tilly would drop everything to counsel me about what I should do next. I should have asked if she had plans tonight when she responded to the text I sent her announcing that I’d kissed Gage.
She told me to get my ass down to Premier Pet Care, so that’s what I did.
“It’s always a zoo on the nights we’re open late.” She points at the waiting room. “I thought I might be able to help Dr. Hunt, but two other vet techs are here, so I’m free to go. Let’s grab a drink.”
I need a drink. I need anything that will take the edge off.
“You have time?” I reach for her hand. “I don’t want to take you away from your husband.”
“He’ll be at least another hour.” She shrugs. “We’re going to grab some Italian take-out, hold hands on the subway and then eat spaghetti before we practice baby-making.”
I laugh. “Are you still in practice mode with the baby-making?”
“I’m still on birth control.” She pats her flat stomach. “Next year we’ll put all our practice to good use.”
Tilly’s desire to have a child is buried beneath the joy she’s experiencing being a newlywed.
Sebastian is on the same page. A baby will happen when they’re both ready.
“One martini.” I hold up my index finger. “My treat.”
“I’ll grab my purse.” She rounds the reception desk to head back to the staff room. “I’m dying to know about this kiss, Kate. I think you just took the first step toward your second chance with Gage.”
I reached out to Tilly for a reason.
She won’t tell me to put Gage in my rearview mirror and move on with my life. There won’t be any warnings about the high probability that he’ll break my heart again.
She’ll talk about true love, throwing caution to the wind, and exploring all the possibilities.
I need that tonight because that kiss sparked something deep within me that I thought had died five years ago.
Reaching up to touch my kiss-swollen lips, I feel hope fluttering in my chest.