Chapter 14 The Kissing Tree #3
“Well, it’s not a line. It’s the truth.” His body gravitated toward her and he took one slow, small step forward. “And in case you haven’t realized it yet, I’ve never much liked doing as others do.”
“I’m starting to get that.” Addie mirrored his movement. Her gaze, glittering in the moonlight, flickered to his mouth and back. “You’re definitely not like anyone I’ve ever met before, Phoenix Cross.”
He smirked smugly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is.”
Another step closer for each of them.
Addie’s flowery scent wrapped around him, invading all his senses. His everything. With less than an inch separating them, Phoenix visually stumbled into her beautiful green eyes—eyes flecked with mesmerizing golden starbursts.
Giving her time to pull away or step back, Phoenix trailed his fingers in a featherlight touch until he cupped the side of her face. His thumb caressed her cheek, and she leaned into his touch, eyes fluttering.
Addie’s hands, braced on his lower abdomen, slowly slid up his chest, which moved with each quick breath. “Phoenix…”
“Can I be brutally honest with you right now?” Phoenix asked, his voice a low, husky rumble.
“Yes?”
“Is that a question or an answer?” he teased, unable to help himself.
“Both?” Fingers flexing nervously in the front of his shirt, she teased. “What’s on your mind, rock star?”
“Our first kiss.”
A little, nearly inaudible gasp left Addie’s lips. “The kiss?”
“As lovely as it was, all I’ve been able to think about since is how much I wished our first time had been just for us.” He gently tilted her chin up. “Not in front of a crowd of thousands. Not for the benefit of a cover story. And with no polite pearl limitations.”
“An entire strand?” Addie asked in a whisper.
“An entire strand.” His lips danced into a smirk. “A kiss that would imprint on us both for a damn long time if not forever.”
Addie lifted a single eyebrow. “You think a lot of your kissing skills. You really have that kind of ability?”
He leaned in, brushing the tip of his nose against hers. “Is that a dare, love?”
“Not a dare. But if you come out of the gate making big promises like that, you better be prepared to prove it.”
“Proving it would require a one-on-one demonstration.” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “You think you’re up for that?”
She hummed in agreement, the edges of her lips twisted into a small, coy grin. “Sparkles.”
Phoenix’s mind blanked—and then the word smacked him in the face. Sparkles.
Sliding his hand into her hair, he hauled her mouth to his. Her body melted against him instantly, lush lips parting on a breathy sigh that he used to deepen the kiss. Addie’s fingers, anchored around the back of his neck, tugged him closer.
Tongues dancing. Breath mingling. Phoenix lost track of where he ended and she began as their bodies moved, propelled by the need for more.
More of everything.
Addie’s back gently bumped into the trunk of the flowering willow tree, but it didn’t dislodge their kiss.
Her hands slipped beneath the hem of his T-shirt and ran over his abdomen before rising to his chest. Phoenix, palms practically itching with the need to feel her, cupped her lush rear end, and with one firm squeeze, guided her legs around his waist.
The height shift put her mound directly against his massive erection. Addie slowly rolled her hips, the movement dragging a groan from each of their throats.
Fuck. What he’d give to take her right there against the kissing tree … under the stars and surrounded by fireflies. Just them. No clothes. And all the time in the world to explore—and devour—each other fully.
A vaguely familiar sound shattered the charged quiet.
“Please tell me you don’t need to get that?” Addie murmured against his lips before plunging right back into their heated kiss.
It took Phoenix another few moments to recognize East’s ringtone. “Bastard can wait a few minutes.”
One hand protecting the back of Addie’s head from the tree, Phoenix dragged a series of open-mouthed kisses and gentle nips down her neck. “Fuck. You taste as sweet as sugar.”
He skimmed her tank top strap down her arm and continued his feast along her shoulder and across her collarbone.
Xavier’s ringtone blared loudly from his back pocket.
Then Gavin’s.
Five brief seconds later, Addie’s cell chimed, too.
“I really hate our friends right now.” She pulled her mouth away with a groan and dropped her head onto his shoulder, panting nearly as heavily as he was. “They won’t stop until one of us answers.”
“It’s time to get new friends.”
She giggled as he ruefully loosened his hold and forced himself to step back.
Phoenix yanked his phone from his pocket. “What?”
“Dude, if you and Addie want any food, you better get your asses back to the house pronto. I can only hold Xavier back from the homemade guac for so long without risking life and limb.”
“We’ll be back in a few.” He hung up East’s call and found Addie smirking as she leaned against the ATV. He stepped right up to her and slowly brushed his lips against hers in a silent promise. “To be continued.”
“We’ll see, rock star.” She smiled mischievously.
Oh, they would … because now that he’d gotten a taste of what it was like to really have Adalyn Whitlock in his arms—and beneath his hands—he already couldn’t wait to experience it all over again.
After he kicked his friends’ asses.