Page 62 of Sterling Fight

Our eyes remain on one another until an explosion, so fluorescent and aggressive, shakes the windows and has me turning my head. My voice trembles, “One. Two⁠—”

Judd’s mouth is on mine, cutting off my count and blindsiding me, but I welcome this flash. The warmth of his lips. The tenderness of his touch. The distraction of his mouth covering mine.

I pull back and we stare at one another, chests pitching, breaths heavy.

Another wave of light. The entire house feels like it’s trembling.

“One—” Judd only gets out that first count before I’m holding his jaw and kissing him. My hands slide over his warm shoulders and around to his back, clasping at his corded muscles, that strain as if he’s still holding himself back while kissing me. He’s sweaty, and there is something primal and addictive about it. His arms remain outspread, hands braced on the counter another second, but I cling to him. The strength of his posture. The heat coming off him. The calm that comes from touching him.

Finally, he wraps his arms around me, palms cupping my lower back to tug me forward, spreading my legs wider to embrace his hips.

We kiss and kiss until I can’t remember there is a storm outside. The thunder and lightning are clashing in this dark kitchen instead.

Moving my head to the side deepens the kiss and Judd groans into my mouth, then his tongue joins the mix. He tugs me tighter against him and my center meets his abs, desperate for friction with other places on him.

My skin crackles. My heart jolts. I am the storm. One of desire and lust for this man kissing me like no man ever has and no man ever will again.

“Firefly,” he moans, dragging at my lower lip before pulling away. His forehead rests on mine. “I thought you didn’t want this.”

“I do,” I whisper. “I don’t want to complicate things, but I really want you to keep kissing me.”

“Your wish is my command.” His mouth returns to mine, and I feel as if a special wish has been granted.

Judd is the untold riches and the ability to fly and the secrets of the unknown. All impossible wishes rolled into reality.

I hitch my knees higher, tucking my feet around the back of Judd’s thighs. He leans forward, pressing me back a bit. And we kiss like this storm will destroy us. We kiss like it’s the end and a beginning. There is no more pretending. Something is happening between us. Something electric and magnetic, and frightening. Something special and unique like unicorn stationery and yes checkmarks. Judd tastes familiar although I’ve never kissed him before. He tastes like friendship and flirtation and anticipation of more.

As the rage of the storm outside eventually recedes, and the patter of rain becomes more distinct, Judd slows our kisses until they are only soft suction. Then his forehead comes to mine again.

“I don’t think the storm is over,” his voice is thick.

I don’t know that I ever want it to end.

Heavy raindrops pelt the windows distracting me for only a second before Judd hikes me off the counter. I squeak, tightening my legs around his waist and wrapping my arms around his neck. Fragile glass crunches beneath his feet.

“I’ll get it in the morning,” he mutters near my ear, anticipating what I was about to ask. Shouldn’t we clean that up? Instead, he carries me toward his room.

Judd sets me on his bed and then stands upright beside it. “I’ve been working out and I stink. I need a shower.”

He smells good to me. Winter mint and all man.

“Stay put?” Those eyes flicker with concern that I’ll disappear like I hadn’t meant to do the other day.

“I’ll be right here.” My voice is low and shy.

Judd disappears through a door off his room but returns rather quickly. His hair wet. His chest damp. A fresh pair of shorts.

He tugs back the covers on his bed, and I follow suit on the side he laid me. Once beneath the light blankets, Judd scoots closer to me and we mirror one another, resting on our sides facing each other. He brushes back hair that’s falling toward my face.

“What are we doing?” I whisper, suddenly uncertain of everything. I’m not a one-night-stand kind of woman anymore. I also can’t remember the last time I slept in a bed with a man.

With my hands tucked beneath the pillow, Judd reaches for my left hand and pulls it to him, kissing my palm before covering the back of my hand.

“We’re weathering the storm. Together.” His voice is deep while quiet, eyes seeking mine in the dim light of his bedroom. A nightlight glows from somewhere in a wall outlet.

Judd leans forward, kissing me once more, like a hesitant teen experiencing his first brush with a crush. We kiss a few more minutes, hands never roaming, no body parts rubbing, and I’ve never been so turned on in my life.

But I’m also at peace. A strange balance of electric energy and calm.