Gently, I grabbed her hands away from her face, but I didn’t let them go. Instead, I held them in the air, framing our faces. “Audra, you have to cut the apologies, especially after something as hot as that.” Her breath hitched, and she looked at my lips as I just stared at her mesmerizing eyes. “I’m going to kiss you again now.” Putting her hands on my face, I gently covered them with mine. Slowly, I leaned in, figuring if she wanted to push me away, this was her chance. For a moment, I could breathe her air until she closed her eyes and pulled my face to her lips.
This kiss wasn’t to make Theo jealous because the only thing that existed in this universe right now was her, and I was locked in the most captivating moment I’d ever experienced. I tested the waters as my tongue gently traced the outline of her bottom lip ever so slightly, and she opened to meet me. Our mouths fit together perfectly, and our tonguesdanced together as the world fell out from around us. My hands dropped hers, and my fingers found their way into the tangles of her hair while hers found a home around the back of my neck. As the kiss deepened, I couldn’t fight the groan that escaped my throat, and it spurred her to rock into my body a couple of times. By that point, my dick could have drilled a hole in the wall, so of course, she rubbed up against me when she rocked. Her feeling me must have brought her back to reality because she pulled away, gasping with ragged breath.
“Are you ok?” My thumb stroked her cheek. Her lips were swollen, her face was flushed, and her eyes were dilated. Clearly, she was as aroused as I was.
She put her hands on my chest before she started to freak out. “This isn’t me. This isn’t like me. We can’t do this, Donovan.” I watched her spiral in real-time.
“Hey, no … stop. I’m sorry. Look, it’s my turn to apologize,” I put my hand on my chest. “Outside took me by surprise, and I understand why you did it. It just felt so…” my mind scrambled to come up with a word, “good … that I wanted to continue. I shouldn’t have gone back for another taste.”
I went with good rather than right, electric, natural, or life-changing. Good seemed like the word choice that would freak her out the least at this moment.
She touched her lips with the tip of her finger. “I think you should probably go.”
“Ok, if that’s what you want.” I held my hands up in the air like I was surrendering. “This isn’t like me either, Audra, you have no idea. I am really sorry for reading that wrong.”
It felt like a bucket of ice water was thrown over me. I fucked that up big time and closed my eyes for a second.Damnit, I should have just let that first kiss ride. I knew theintent was to make him jealous, but nothing about it felt fake at all. There was no way she didn’t feel it.There was no way in hell I read that wrong.
“It’s my fault; I threw myself at you,” she said as her hand scrubbed down her face.
“That’s not what happened here.”
“Really? Did you expect that? I grabbed your shirt and pulled you down. All you did was come over to check if I was feeling ok and bring me a treat. I’m so embarrassed.” Her hands went back up to her cheeks.
“And that door closed, and I grabbed you and kissed you again because I had to. There are no mistakes here. Hopefully, Theo got the clue. This is not a big deal. It was just a great kiss that happened in a moment.”
The absolute last thing I wanted to do was be dismissive because it was most assuredly notjust a kiss, but her eyes looked wild and guilty, and it’s what she needed to hear at the moment. Nothing I said or did was going to make her feel better, so I thought maybe I should just get out of there while I was still marginally ahead. No part of me wanted to leave, but pushing it wasn’t the best idea.
She nodded at me, not convinced by my explanation, but done with the conversation. “Thank you for checking in on me today.”
“Of course. Can I leave you my number so you can call if you need anything? I hate that Theo is around every turn, and the guy from the hospital was so threatening.”
“I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do right now.”
“Ok,” I nodded, even though my insides were revolting at the rejection. No one had ever rejected me before; not an advance and certainly not a phone number. It was a new, unwelcome feeling. “Make sure one of your girls knows what’sgoing on, though, ok?” I pushed my boundaries and went in for a hug. “It was just a kiss. No freakouts, okay? Have a good day, Audra.”
“You too, Donovan.”
Turning away, I walked to my car and hit my head on the steering wheel when I got inside. I know I wasn’t misreading the situation. It was overwhelmingly powerful. I just had to give her some time.
Because that kiss?
That was fucking unforgettable.
27
AUDRA
Ishut the door and put my back on it once again. Was I ever going to be able to look at my door the same after that kiss against it? Holy God. I would have married Theo and not known a kiss like that existed in this world, that it could feel like that. That my insides would ignite in desire and magic. Not that Theo and I were bad together. In fact, without experiencing that last ten minutes, I’d say we were electric. Not so much anymore. And I’d had some hookups that were great in bed. But nothing … nothing had ever felt like that. I found my fingertips on my lips again.
What was I doing? I already decided I could not get involved with someone like Donovan Wright. It was fun flirting with him, no doubt, and he was thoughtful and funny and freaking gorgeous, but things would end in heartbreak for me again. If I wasn’t ‘the right pedigree’ for Theo, there is no way I’m going to be the right one for Donovan. Not giving him my number was the smart move. We could not take it any further.
I tried to switch my focus and think about work and all the stuff going on in my life. That should’ve killed any unrealistic daydreams. After my beach walk and a nap the other day, I filed a formal complaint at the hospital against Joe. Juliette’s words about documenting everything rang in my head, and even though she was referring to Theo, something about Joe made my stomach uneasy, too. I spoke with my boss and told her I was taking the day off of work because I wasn’t feeling well, though she didn’t know my ‘sickness’ would last a couple more days. Part of me felt terrible for leaving my coworkers in a lurch, but when I looked at the spreadsheet of days I had picked up for people, I didn’t feel quite so bad. And realistically, I was only scheduled for two of those days, so I had until Tuesday to just relax.
After that, I checked in with Cora. It had been almost a week since Maverick dropped the bomb, and she was surviving, at best. I saw him and Murphy in town on Thursday, but honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to even make eye contact with him.
But even with all that, my attempts to get my mind off Donovan were futile. All thoughts came right back to him, and that kiss that had propelled me into the stratosphere.
Stay strong, heart. This is a hard no. Do not let another rich boy charm you. Even if he is the sexiest man you’ve ever seen. And smelled good. And put a Band-Aid on you when he didn’t have to. And complimented your cooking. And got you a sweatshirt solely because he observed you were cold. And made you laugh like you never had before. And got you the cotton candy. And gave you goosebumps with how he looked at you. And made sure you got in the house safe. And made your insides melt when he touched you. And made your heartskip a beat when he was close. And kissed you with the most magical kiss in the universe.
