She’skissedme.
The stubborn, prickly, wallflower with too big glasses and frizzy curls and walls ten fucking feet high has made a move and kissed me.
It’s a shock to the system. So damn unexpected I’m thrown off.
My body reacts before my brain can catch up. One hand finds the slim curve of her waist while the other cradles her face, thumb brushing against the damp trail where her tears were moments ago.
She tastes salty and sweet. Salty from the tears she’s cried. Sweet like sugar from a peach.
She makes a little sound against my mouth that managesto pierce straight through me. It instantly does something to me, activating the part of myself I’ve kept restrained.
I kiss her back with everything I’ve got. Enough to overwhelm most women.
My tongue parts her lips, and I’m unapologetically ravenous as I kiss her deeper. The rhythm’s erratic and desperate and it makes the muscles tense inside my body.
Jhene responds by pressing herself closer. Her fingers slide into my hair and she wraps a leg around me.
I stop thinking altogether.
I lift her easily, one arm hooked under her thighs, and carry her the few steps to the kitchen table. She lands on the edge with a thump. I step between her legs, hands braced on either side of her as I take her lips in another kiss.
Deeper. Hungrier. Just as unapologetic.
My teeth catch her lower lip and gently pull it between mine. Then I’m sucking hard, practically fucking drunk off this girl, and we’veonlykissed.
Her hands explore the planes of my chest, fingers tracing the muscled ridges. She teases me by massaging her tongue against mine, playing hard to get as she quickly retreats.
I grip her thighs, dragging her closer ’til there’s no space left between us. ’Til our bodies are pressed together and she can probably feel the instant hard-on I’ve got.
…then sense knocks back into me, and I realize what the fuck I’m doing.
It’s a thought that splashes over me like a bucket of ice water.
Jhene’s been through hell. Ten years of captivity from the time she was a young girl. She was in the clutches of a monster who treated her like property.
There’s no telling what unspeakable things she’s been through.
Five minutes ago, she was sobbing in my arms about her backpack. About having no control.
Yet here I am, pawing at her on my kitchen table. I’m taking advantage.
I wrench my mouth from hers and take a wide step back. My chest heaves as the blood pumping through my body, straight to my cock, is disorienting.
I’m so damn aroused it’s hard to pull myself out of it.
I bite down on my jaw and grit out, “We shouldn’t do this. We’ve got our wires crossed.”
Jhene runs her tongue over her bottom lip. The subtlest rosy coloring has suffused with her light brown complexion. A vague hint of blush I’ve never seen on her before.
I know the feeling. The back of my neck’s burning hot. I’m like a fucking furnace, I’m so turned on.
“What?” she breathes.
I grab her glasses and hand them back so she can put them on.
“You heard me,” I rasp. “We’ve agreed… we wouldn’t do this.”
“But, Killian?—”
