“I won’t always be her nanny.” We both knew my placement would only last until the end of the summer.
“True, but…” She seemed hesitant to tell me. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but I had to ask. If there was any way to overcome her objections, I wanted to at least try.
“But what?”
She opened her eyes again, and I knew she was stalling. “You’re so…young.”
I set my glass on the table and leaned forward, looking her straight in the eye. “I’m old enough to know what I want. And I want you.
“Tell me you don’t feel this.” I scooted closer to her, gesturing between us. “Tell me you don’t want me too,” I rumbled, challenging her to deny it.
We stared at each other for a moment. Then we seemed to move at the same time, gravitating toward each other as if our collision were inevitable. Inescapable.
Unlike our first kiss, there was nothing restrained about it. We were all hands and teeth and tongues. It was like a seal had been broken and the dam came crashing down.
I pulled her onto my lap, needing to be closer. She tugged at my shirt, and I reached behind my neck to yank it off. Her fingers scorched my skin, a fire blazing in the wake of her touch.
“This,” she said, breaking the kiss. “Is such.” Another kiss. “A bad idea.”
“Do you want to stop?” I asked, needing to know.
I couldn’t stop kissing her. Didn’t want to contemplate the loss of her touch. But I needed to know that she wanted this just as badly as I did. I needed to know that she wanted me.
She stared at me a moment, my hands resting on her hips, her arms wrapped around my neck. Her lips were swollen from my kisses, her hair deliciously mussed from my fingers. I liked seeing my imprint on her, liked knowing I’d affected her.
She pulled me closer, rubbing her nose against mine. “I don’t think I could stop even if I tried.”
“Thank fuck,” I muttered, returning my attention to her neck, kissing my way down to her breasts.
She arched her back, and I loved how responsive she was. I’d barely gotten started, yet her body seemed to come alive beneath my touch.
“You’re not going to ghost me after tonight, are you?” I teased, trailing my fingers along the tops of her breasts, her collarbone.
“I can’t exactly ghost you when you live in my pool house.” She laughed.
She slid her hand up my neck and into my hair, pulling me closer. I shivered at her touch, at the molten look in her eyes. God, she was sexy.
“So, no. I’m not going to ghost you. But we should lay down a few ground rules if we’re going to do this.”
I smoothed her hair away from her face. I didn’t want her to overthink this. I wanted to keep her in the moment—with me. Still, I knew Alexis well enough to know she was the type of person who wouldn’t relax without some sort of plan. And I wanted her to relax.
“Such as?” I pulled down the straps of her dress, revealing creamy skin encased in a thin layer of lace.
I placed the lightest of kisses along the swell of her breasts, and I could tell from the way her breathing picked up that I was driving her mad.
“Gorgeous.” I met her gaze. “You are gorgeous. Andthat’swhat I should’ve told you when I met you at the bottom of the stairs.”
“If you’re trying to distract me,” she said in a serious tone, though she was smiling. “It’s not going to work.”
I grinned, taking it as a challenge. “I guess I’ll just have to try harder, then.”
I picked her up and spun her before gently setting her on the couch. Her golden-brown hair fanned across the cushions, her brown eyes blinking up at me. I smirked, knowing I had her right where I wanted her.
I sucked on her nipples through the lace, gratified by the way she tugged on my hair. I was eager for more, eager to feel her wrapped around me. But I was also patient. I wanted to enjoy this moment. I wanted to make our first time together special.
“Preston.” It came out as half sigh, half plea. “Preston.” This time, her tone was more insistent, and she yanked on my hair, forcing me to look at her. “I’m serious.”
