Elizabeth: O.M.G. A nap. I took a fucking nap for two hours today.
Elizabeth: Fuck. Shit. Mother fucking fuck. A nap.
Linc: Autocorrect strikes again.
Elizabeth: I’m pretty sure there’s a drunk elf in my phone trying to be ‘helpful’. It comes out as auto-incorrect more often than not.
“What’s so funny?” Russ elbowed him, craning his neck to look at Linc’s screen.
Linc pulled the phone against his chest, still chuckling. “Autocorrect.”
“From our mysterious Miss Bennet I presume?”
“You presume correctly.”
His friend’s sharp elbow jabbed him again. “Don’t look now. Hurricane Cleo, two o’clock.”
Her hips swayed as she half stomped, half glided, toward him. He couldn’t read her rosy face, but it didn’t have her usual ‘Death to Lincoln Scott’ glare.
“Ms. Martinez.” His voice was steadier than his heart, hammering against his ribs. What was it about this girl that got his pulse thundering and his dick stir on sight? He shifted in his chair.
“Mr. Scott.” She glanced at Russ who busied himself with the tin of money on the table in front of him.
Linc smirked. Dude was a terrible bluffer. He was eavesdropping like a Southern granny at a funeral.
“I imagine you’re not here for the kissing.”
“The… what?”
He pointed both index fingers to the sign above his head with a grin, enjoying the blush spreading across her cheeks. He’d never seen a more beautiful woman when she was embarrassed.
She pinched her bottom lip between her teeth and rolled it a bit before shaking her head. “I… no. I’m not. I came up to say thank you, for getting that report—”
“You’re holding up the line, Martinez. Monopolizing one of our most lucrative kissers isn’t good for business.” Russell shook the money box at her.
“What are you? His fucking pimp?”
Linc arched an eyebrow and shrugged. He fucking loved her sass. He expected her to turn on her heel and take off in a bluster of attitude. When she pulled her wallet from the side pocket of her bag and threw a ten dollar bill on the table in front of Russ, his dick strained against his pants. Russ’s jaw was hanging open like a barn door. Linc shifted his weight on the chair.
“Can I talk to him now?” She widened her eyes and popped her hip.
“This ain’t a talkin’ booth, princess. Kiss the man.”
Why the hell was Russ pushing this so hard? Hard was the operative word. He cleared his throat and leaned forward over the table, hoping she wouldn’t see the tent he was pitching in his pants.
“Oh. You read the room wrong, man. She hates my everliving guts. She won’t kiss m—”
Cleo clutched the front of his shirt, yanking him up off his chair as her soft lips landed against his. When his eyes met her heated gaze, it stoked the flames of lust swirling in his chest.
She eased the pressure off his mouth, pulling back, but he wasn’t done. If this was the only time in his life he was able to kiss Cleo Martinez, he would make sure she never fucking forgot it.
He cupped her chin. Sliding his fingers into her thick hair, the smell of strawberries wafted towards him. Her shampoo? Lotion? Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t move. Dragging the tip of his tongue along the seam of her mouth, an almost inaudible gasp parted her lips, and she accepted his invasion. Her kiss tasted like sweet cinnamon with a faint hint of mint and he struggled to remember ever having touched skin so soft. Her eyes flickered closed as he tilted her head back to deepen their kiss.
His left hand traveled the length of her back to join his right, cupping her face. He didn’t want to stop kissing her but the wolf whistles and howls surrounding them suggested it was time.
With anyone else he wouldn’t give a shit, and he’d kiss her until they ran out of breath but with Cleo… he didn’t want to die. She pulled back, lips swollen, eyes filled with confusion, lust and desire, and her hair, mussed.
He fought every urge to sling her over his shoulder and find a dark janitor’s closet to continue their kissing and discover if the rest of her body was as soft as her lips. He was glad to have the desk between them to steady him. Was he still standing? Where had this woman been his whole life? Was that what kissing was supposed to feel like?
