I still can’t explain it now.
But Kirin’s touch is driving me wild, sending cascades of shivers rolling down my spine.
“That’s the one,” he says, smiling. “Toasted almond peppercorn.”
He slides his fingers along my chin, then into my hair, cupping the back of my head.
Suddenly I’m stretching up on my toes to get closer.
Kirin’s eyes blaze with new heat.
We both smile—an invitation, an acceptance.
His kiss is sweet and tender, savoring, tasting me in the same way he used to sip my tea blends at the café—with slow, deliberate appreciation. My lips part gently, and he deepens our kiss, a soft moan reverberating through his chest.
I slide my hands beneath the hem of his T-shirt, gliding over the smooth, hard muscles of his back, his skin warming at my touch. The strong, steady beat of his heart thuds through his skin, and I pull him closer, wanting more.
He hesitates for no more than five rabbit-quick beats of his heart, then slides his other hand in my hair, guiding me into a deeper kiss, his tongue sliding over mine, the intensity building between us.
We’re walking on a precipice, both of us scared to fall off, to ruin the friendship we’ve been building since those first days at Kettle Black. There’s the translation and research work to consider, too—so much at stake. So much resting on us.
But right now, with his sweet mouth teasing and tasting, his strong hands tangled in my hair, I’m ready to jump.
His chest brushes against my nipples, and I gasp, trying to steal a breath without breaking our kiss. Kirin pulls back, his gaze sweeping down my face, then leans in again, kissing my neck, down the front of my shirt. He tongues my nipple through the fabric, then bites, making me gasp again. I reach out and grab the edge of the bookshelf behind me, and Kirin continues kissing his way down my shirt, his glasses falling to the floor, his mouth eager and hot, his hands roaming down my curves.
Then he drops to his knees before me.
A pulse of white-hot desire floods my core, and I close my eyes, focusing on the feeling of his nimble fingers as he undoes my jeans.
His hands are trembling, but his mouth is urgent, insistent.
He presses it to the top of my pink panties, dragging his lips along the edge, tracing his nose down the front. His tongue darts out, teasing my clit through the lace.
I open my eyes with another gasp.
“Kirin,” I breathe, sliding a hand into his hair, sinking back against the bookshelf.
He looks up at me with so much admiration in his eyes, so much tenderness, I nearly melt. It’s the kind of look that could make me go supernova, the kind that could make me start to feel things… to fall…
I close my eyes again and arch my body closer, showing him how much I want this.
He presses another kiss to the triangle of lace, then slides my jeans down over my hips, letting them pool around my ankles. Warm, rough palms glide up my calves, my thighs, my ass.
He kisses my thigh, then traces a path to my hipbone with his tongue, taking the edge of my underwear between his teeth.
Holy fuckwaffles, he’s taking off my underwear with his teeth.
My core is throbbing for him, desperate for his mouth, his fingers, anything to relieve this mounting ache…
Reaching up with his hands, he guides the underwear down, leaving me bare and exposed.
I start to lift my foot, to step out of the pants, but Kirin grabs my leg, holds it steady. I let him take control, trusting my body to him, my pleasure, all of it.
His mouth lingers at the apex of my thighs, the tip of his tongue swirling just out of reach, driving me wild. I try to spread my legs, to give him room, but the jeans and his firm grip hold me in place.
Hot breath ghosts over my clit, and he curls his hands around the back of my thighs, fingertips teasing my entrance. When he feels how wet he’s made me, he leans in closer, moaning softly against my bare flesh.
Slowly, maddeningly, he guides my thighs apart, teasing me with deeper strokes as he presses a hot kiss to my clit, then tongues me. I fist his hair, the fire building between my thighs, the tingling already starting in my belly, my leg muscles trembling. Kirin continues to tease me, slow and savoring, just like everything he does, pulling back and then moving close once again, another kiss, the ghost of a breath, and I’m writhing in pure agonizing pleasure, willing him to take me harder, faster, more, and then suddenly he’s pressing his face between my thighs and sliding two fingers deep inside, sucking and nipping, stroking, and suddenly I’m falling headfirst over the edge.
