“You guess? What? You don’t remember? Maybe it’s time to remind you.”
Holy shit. Had she actually said that? And was Mack really moving closer to her? It was hard to tell with the roaring of blood in her ears. A heartbeat later, that undeniably sexy and uniquely Mack scent enveloped her. There was something dangerous in Mack’s eye that made Kayla’s whole body thrum in anticipation.
Mack’s hand landed low on her hip, then slid up to meet her hand. On instinct, Kayla released her fist and allowed their fingers to entwine. Mack’s breathy voice was little more than a whisper, but it sounded like it came from the end of a long tunnel. “Those don’t count. There was no tongue.”
Kayla’s laughter sounded nervous even to her own ears. “This really is high school again, isn’t it?”
Mack quirked an eyebrow. “Is it?”
Adopting a high-pitched, mimicking voice, she said, “If it wasn’t French, it wasn’t real.”
“That was your line, not mine.”
Mack was so close now that their bodies were touching. Mack’s chest grazed her breast, making her nipple ache with desire. Could Mack feel that it had hardened the moment of contact?“I was just trying to get away with kissing as many girls on the soccer team as I could.”
Mack ran a thumb along Kayla’s jaw, sending rivulets of electricity through her body. “And the cross-country team.”
“True. But not you.”
“No. Not me.” Mack’s gaze locked on Kayla’s lips with an intensity that almost scorched. Her voice rumbled low through Kayla’s blood. “We could make it official now if you want. Do you want to, Kayla?”
Something snapped inside her. Maybe it was Mack using her first name for the first time in forever. Maybe it was the way her arm wrapped around her waist. Maybe it was the burning desire that had been simmering between them for days. Whatever it was, Kayla wouldn’t deny it anymore. She could barely find the breath to whisper, “Yes.”
She expected Mack to pull her in hard and kiss her even harder, like one of those Hollywood scenes where the woman was bent backward. That’s how Skye would have kissed her. Hell, that was how Skye had kissed her every time Kayla had egged her on like this. But that wasn’t Mack’s style.
Instead, Mack cupped her cheek and pulled her in gently. Not like she was fragile, but like she was precious. Her mouth was firm and unhurried, her lips soft and sure and completely in control. She kissed like she had been born to do it. Then she swiped her tongue across Kayla’s lips, asking for permission to enter rather than forcing her way inside.
Kayla eagerly opened to her, her body trembling with need. She wasn’t used to being the more desperate one. She gripped Mack’s shoulders with clawed fingers and whimpered as their tongues met. She tasted sweet from the rum or the soda or both, and, just like with her scent, Mack’s mouth held a flavor uniquely hers. Kayla was certain she would remember it for the rest of her life, even as she chased for more. Luckily, Mackwouldn’t let her eagerness overwhelm the moment. She was very much in control of the kiss, giving Kayla everything she wanted, everything she needed, and making her want so much more.
Kayla lost track of time, consumed by the passion of the kiss, her mind blank and her pulse racing. Had she ever experienced a kiss like this? Especially a first kiss? Because, yes, now that she’d had a “real” kiss with Mack, she could agree this was nothing like what they’d shared on the beach or the balcony. They had been an appetizer that could never live up to the ecstasy of the main course. But it wasn’t a main course, was it? If kissing Mack was this divine, what would it be like to make love?
No. Not love. Sex with Mack wouldn’t be making love, would it? Before she could contemplate her mental slip, Mack was pulling away. Another whimper, this time much louder and more embarrassing, escaped Kayla’s lips. Even after it ended, Kayla kept her eyes closed for several long seconds, not wanting to break the spell. She needed to both savor the moment a little longer and also ground herself back in her own body. Her hand rested limply on Mack’s shoulder, and the rest of her body slowly came back to her. Her knees would be wobbling if they hadn’t been pressed into the mattress.
When she finally opened her eyes, her vision was full of Mack. Her smooth cheek, her long, silky hair, and the hauntingly pale green of her eyes. It took a moment for her to realize that she wasn’t the only one who’d been affected by the kiss. Mack’s features were etched with the same confused joy raging inside her. There was no witty teasing or strutting. In fact, the room was perfectly still and silent apart from the pounding of her heart and their shared ragged breathing. The moment was charged like the heartbeat before kick-off in a tournament final. Kayla was standing on the brink of something, and she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to leap off or curl up into a protective ball.
Finally, the moment cracked. Mack’s lips curled up in a decidedly cocky grin. Kayla wanted to give her a hard time about it, but she had to admit, if there was any woman on the planet who was allowed to be cocky about her kissing, it was Mack.
“Jesus Christ, Mack. Where the hell did you learn to kiss like that?”
Mack laughed, and the tension leaked out of the moment. Whatever they had been a moment ago, they were back to being best friends. “While you were busy spreading your wild oats with the Youth National Team, I was honing my skills with Wendy Case.”
“You actually dated her?”
Mack nodded. “The sketch flirting worked.”
“Whoa. I heard she could tie a cherry stem with her tongue.”
Mack marched over to the fridge and pulled out another can of Coke. “She could take the stem off, peel the cherry and eat it, then tie the stem into a bow around the pit, all with her mouth. I had a hell of a senior year, let me tell you.”
Kayla was finally starting to uncurl her toes from the kiss. A pulse of something like jealousy pushed through her at the description. “How the fuck did I not know that?”
Mack topped a healthy pour of rum into two glasses with the soda. “Well, you were away at National Team camp and trying out for every Division One soccer school in the country.”
Looking back on those days from this side of thirty, Kayla wondered where she had the energy. It was exhausting just to think about. “I did most of the year as self-study.”
“You didn’t think I was sitting at home waiting for you to call every night, did you?”
Now, Kayla was starting to get annoyed. “You were living with us at the time. Does Mom know?”
