Chapter 6 #3
My heart thuds hard. My throat goes dry.
“What, Ace?”
Say it.
It’s the truth.
Just say it.
“You’re incredible, Yara.” And with that out, I say a mental fuck it and lower my mouth to hers.
The instant our lips meet, desire explodes through me.
But a beat later, when I realize Yara’s not responding, horror takes over.
And all I can think is, fuck. I screwed everything up. This isn’t what she wants. It’s not what she needs. And shit, we just talked about people touching her without her permission, and what did I just do? Fucking kissed her without asking. Kissed her without knowing if it would trigger—
With a little sigh, Yara leans against me.
One hand curls around the back of my neck.
Her lips move against mine, tentatively at first, but giving no sign of pulling away.
Then she kisses me harder.
She makes a tiny humming sound in the back of her throat. Her nails lightly scrape my skin.
Needing her as close as humanly possible, I wrap my arm around her waist, drawing her flush against me.
My erection is hard and throbbing as it juts into her belly. Wanting. Needing. Insisting.
I slip my hand beneath the hem of her shirt to feel the silky heat of her skin. And oh, fuck, is it soft. So fucking soft, it’s agony not peeling her clothes off right now and discovering if her skin is just as soft all over.
But I’ve already risked enough tonight. And without knowing what Yara’s been through, without her telling me what she’s ready for, I don’t dare do more.
So I keep kissing her instead. Teasing her mouth open and plunging inside, stroking her tongue with mine, memorizing her honey taste and the breathy sounds she makes. Committing to memory the feel of her nipples pebbling against my chest and the heat of her body searing into me.
It’s ten times everything I thought it might be. A hundred times, even.
I could kiss Yara forever and never grow tired of it.
When we finally break apart, Yara’s face is flushed and her hair is messy in that sexy, just out of bed way. Which, of course, makes me think about how she’d look lying next to me in bed, all languid and sated after I made her come.
In the aftermath of our kiss, we just stare at each other for several long seconds. Then Yara catches her lip between her teeth again. Her brow pinches.
My heart sinks. I thought she was into it, but what if I read things wrong? What if she was just being polite, but inside, she was desperate for our kiss to end?
That doesn’t sound like Yara, though. So rather than speculate, I just ask, “Should I not have done that?”
She releases her lip. “No. I mean. You should have. I liked it. I… I’ve thought about doing it, too.”
I can tell something’s wrong. “But?”
“Well, I guess I didn’t think you were interested in me like that.”
“I wasn’t sure if you were interested in me,” I retort. “But, shit… I should have asked first, instead of just—”
“Ace.” Her hand flattens against my chest. “You didn’t need to ask. It’s not like you’re some stranger in a bar, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know you. I trust you. I’m just surprised, is all.”
As I look into Yara’s eyes, I feel like I’m balanced at the edge of a cliff. I could turn around and head back down to the safety of the just friends zone. Chalk the kiss up to a spontaneous thing that’s better unrepeated.
Or.
I could take the leap and see where I land.
Maybe two years ago, I would have turned back around. But now… I see how happy Rafe is with Eden. How changed Indy is with Bea. How staunchly single Webb fell head over heels for Noelle.
I’m not sure what the right decision is. What I do know is I can’t tell Yara the kiss meant nothing. And I’m not willing for that to be our only kiss when I’m already itching to do it again.
“I don’t know if I’m in the right place for a relationship,” I admit. “But I think about you. A lot. And kissing you… I don’t want that to be the first and last time.”
Yara’s expression turns thoughtful. After what feels like an interminable wait, she says, “I don’t know if I’m in the right place for a relationship, either. But I think about you, too. And I think… I’d like to kiss you again.”
Hope flares to life inside me. “How many times were you thinking?”
Her lips curve up. “I’m not sure. Maybe a few more times tonight, and see where things go from there?”
“A few more times tonight, you say?”
Yara nods. “At least a few. I mean, we should probably make sure the first kiss wasn’t a fluke.”
I catch her hand, lacing my fingers between hers. “A fluke?”
“Yeah.” She gives me a teasing smile. “The first one was pretty good. But who knows, that could have been a one-off and the rest are all terrible.”
My lips twitch. “Well, I guess we’d better try again, then, shouldn’t we?”
Yara nods solemnly, but her eyes are laughing. “I guess we should.”
“Well.” I lift Yara onto the counter, then step between her legs. As I frame her face with my hands, I add, “How about we see if the second is even better than the first?”
She leans in and presses her lips lightly to mine. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”