Chapter Fourteen #3
After all that holding back and dancing around each other and trying not to get her hopes up, falling into his arms was new and exciting, but it was also as natural as breathing.
She lifted up onto her toes once more. The kiss this time was deeper, his warm lips parting hers, and she opened for him with a quiet gasp.
His tongue pressed forward, and then everything was going wet and hot, desire igniting deep within her.
Clutching him closer, she let her own tongue lick past his lips, reveling in the soft scrape of his beard and mustache against her skin.
Her breasts pressed against his chest, and deep in her core, a flicker of wanting flared, almost too bright.
He let out a quiet, muffled moan and walked her back two steps until she was leaning against the wall.
Somehow, that just made everything better.
She ran her hands up and down his spine, mapping the dips and contours of hard muscle beneath his clothes, and good lord.
Little whining sounds of pleasure spilled out of her mouth as he kissed down her jaw and along the column of her neck, and she tipped her head back, threading her fingers through his thick hair.
And she could just let go and see where this took them. She’d never seduced anybody in a public bathroom before, but the fire blazing within her burned so hot, she suddenly understood why that was a thing people did.
But there was still a teeny tiny bit of sanity lurking in the corners of her brain.
This wasn’t just any public restroom. Everybody knew they were in here.
Already, the incriminating nature of just slipping back here to wash their hands together was probably a scandal.
If they disappeared for too long? Or if they made any real noises of pleasure?
“Hunter,” she gasped.
“I know, I know.” He released her throat and gently banged his head into the wall before letting go and stepping back.
And all she wanted to do was reel him in once more. His mouth was red and kiss-bitten, his pupils dark with wanting. When he dipped a hand into his jeans to adjust himself, her eyes just about bulged out of her head, and the fluttering between her thighs nearly brought her to her knees.
Was it really so wrong to jump a guy and have her wanton way with him in a diner bathroom?
Yes, yes it was—and even if it weren’t, just kissing was a pretty epic escalation without taking things any further.
“I should—” Hunter waved a hand at the door.
“Yeah. Want me to go first?” Was there any polite way to indicate that the guy maybe needed a minute to collect himself?
“Yeah. Okay.”
He let her pass, but as she did, he brushed a hand against her waist. She cast a longing glance back at him before forcing herself to keep going.
Out in the main room of the diner, people were starting to filter out.
Hattie was gently shooing them. “Gotta get this place cleared out before the dinner rush starts. You do not want to get between those seniors and their early-bird specials.” When Hattie caught sight of Emma, she grinned unrepentantly.
“Manage to get everything sorted back there?”
“Huh? Oh.” Emma held up her now mess-free hands. “Yeah, thanks.”
Hattie’s smirk deepened. “No problem.”
Maybe she and Hunter had been louder than she’d realized while they’d been shamelessly making out back there, because Hattie seemed fully aware that they’d sorted out more than just the honey situation.
Emma was gathering up her leftovers in a bag when Hunter reemerged, looking just as delicious as he had before, if a bit more put together. Their gazes met, and there was still a fire in his eyes that matched the one burning in her belly.
As he was bagging up his own little pile of take-out containers, she managed to slip him her mostly uneaten portion of baklava, which as he’d realized, really wasn’t her thing.
“Walk you to your car?” he asked.
“Oh, I walked.”
“Then can I give you a lift home?”
Her throat bobbed, and her insides did a delighted little dip. “Sure.”
This was all absurd, of course. He was saving her about five minutes. But it really wasn’t about the walk.
They were both quiet as he drove the handful of blocks to the bookstore, where he parked in the back lot. He didn’t turn off the ignition, which was both a disappointment and a relief. She wasn’t sure she should invite him up, and he clearly didn’t expect her to.
Unsure what happened next—both in this conversation and with regard to whatever it was that they were doing here together—she babbled, “Well, that was fun. I mean, I had a nice time. And Chef is great.”
“Yeah,” Hunter replied quietly. “He is.” One side of his mouth curled up. “Except his sweet tooth, maybe.”
She laughed. “That’s on me, not him.”
“Still.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I was thinking about those other suggestions he had for phyllo cup fillings. Figured it might be fun to give some of them a try sometime.”
“Yeah.” She brightened up.
He cleared his throat. “My kitchen at the cabin is pretty well-equipped. If you wanted to join me. Maybe tomorrow night?”
A flock of butterflies fluttered to life in her chest. “I’d love that.”
He turned to look at her, and she practically swooned. “Me, too.”
But she still had some dark moths of doubt fluttering around with the butterflies. “Look, Hunter, I know today wasn’t exactly either of our idea.”
“No.” Exhaling deeply, he pulled a hand off the steering wheel to rake it through his hair. “It really wasn’t.”
“And that wasn’t cool. But…” She chewed the inside of her lip for a second, looking down at her leftovers bag. “I really did have a nice time. I’m glad we both ended up there.”
He put a hand over hers, and warmth rushed through her. She lifted her gaze to his.
“Me, too. I—I don’t like anybody meddling in my life.” His eyes narrowed by a fraction. “And I still don’t want fate meddling in it, either.”
She was starting to feel a little less sure about that, but she nodded anyway. “Definitely not.”
“But I’m not going to let their meddling keep me from…” He gave her fingers a soft squeeze, brushing his thumb across her knuckles. “… Seeing where this goes.” He let go with a warm smile. “Or from making delicious pastries.”
“Amen,” she said, breathless, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt, because she had absolutely zero chill when it came to this man. “On both counts.”