First Kiss
FIRST KISS
Bronx
They say that forbidden love tastes the sweetest because it’s forbidden.
They say that wanting what you shouldn't have makes the thrill of the chase part of the desire.
But standing in Willow's kitchen, I don't think about any of those things. All I think about is how much I want to kiss the woman who has consumed my thoughts since I first saw her.
She is all shades of wrong and we’ve just listed why we shouldn’t but I can’t obey the logical side of my brain when my heart is pounding so hard I think my ribs will break.
I can’t make the first move. It has to be Willow’s choice to make.
When she places a hand on my chest, I’m still cupping her face and watching her eyes change with swirls of gold joining the turquoise. My heart pounds as her soft breath warms my soul and when she drags her lips between her teeth, leaving them moist and glistening in the dying sun rays, I do the same.
“Oh, Bronx,” she whimpers, and my body stiffens in fight or flight mode. I don’t want to hurt her. I don’t want her to start something with me that she’ll regret tomorrow. But when her lips touch mine, reality shatters like glass.
The only thing that matters is the hunger of each kiss, the way her body drapes over mine, and the way she feels in my arms.
As each kiss intensifies, her hands roam my chest at will and I struggle to keep our hips apart so she can’t feel my erection. Her hands cup my pecs and travel down each of my abs and I suck my stomach in, wanting to impress her, only exhaling when she starts the trip north, again.
My fingers tangle in her hair until the elastic tie gets in the way. It takes both hands to release her hair, and then she’s mine.
Needing her in my arms, I spin her around, hoist her onto the kitchen bench, and stand between her spread legs.
“Bronx, oh, Bronx,” she purrs in between kisses and I can’t remember the last time I felt this way about a woman. This kiss is like New Year’s Eve fireworks—each time I think we’ve reached the end, Willow detonates me again.
I’ve never wanted a woman, more.
I’ve never wanted to take one kiss and use it to build a lifetime. Call me na?ve or inexperienced, but I can’t even compare this kiss to the decades with my ex. Kisses had become perfunctory at best and minimal viable product at worst.
Willow. Willow’s kisses open my heart and soul, exposing a rawness I didn’t think I had.
“Willow, Willow, Willow.” Each time I say her name, I slow the kisses until we can pull away. Only I don’t release her waist and her arms remain linked around my neck.
“Mmm,” she purrs, pressing her cheek against my chest. “You kiss better in real life than you ever did in my imagination.”
“I don’t know how to respond to that,” I start, only to be saved by the oven timer.
We eat the entrée and main seated at the small table on her balcony, using the inside lights instead of candles, and talk about how our childhood led us to our chosen careers.
“What’s next for you?” she asks and it’s a reasonable question.
“Proving a solid earning capability is important to demonstrate how I can be a stable influence in Charlotte’s life and cancels out one of Sloan’s arguments.”
“Do you have plans?”
“I do, but … and I don’t want to sound like a dick … but I can’t talk about them with anyone at the moment. I’ve signed some papers and if I can’t allow my lawyer to throw it on the table in the custody dispute, then I can’t talk about it with you.”
“Is it illegal?”
“What? Hell, no.”
“Are you going to disappear for three months only to turn up on my TV?”
“Again, no. I’m not about to become a hitman or go on a reality TV show. It’s nothing like that, but I don’t want to get into twenty questions. I won’t lie to you, but this job is too important for me to blow it up by talking about it before I’m legally allowed to.”
Willow stands and offers me her hand. I need to let her take the lead, but at this point, I’ll follow her anywhere. “Let’s go inside for dessert.” She takes a deep breath and adds, “But I’m not ready to do more than kiss, if that’s okay?”
I capture her in my arms and try to silence her words with another kiss that proves the first wasn’t a fluke with explosive fireworks and emotion. Willow is breaking through walls I never knew existed.
“I told you before you have a cute ass and I want to feed you chocolate, so bring on dessert.” I kiss the tip of her nose and love how she blushes. “We can take this as slowly as you want. I’ll keep coming back for more.”