Page 17 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

That’s permission enough.

I lean in and take her mouth, deeper when she meets me without hesitation. Her fingers curl into my shirt. I pull her closer, hand firm at her waist, anchoring her there.

She makes a soft sound that goes straight through me.

That’s all it takes.

I slide my hand from her waist up her spine, fingers spreading between her shoulder blades, pulling her flush against me. There’s no space left between us now. No hesitation. Her body fits against mine like she’s already decided she belongs there.

She rises higher on her toes, chasing the kiss, and I let her, until I don’t.

I take control of it.

My mouth moves slower, deeper. I angle her head with a firm hand at her jaw, guiding her exactly where I want her. She exhales against my lips, breath warm, and the sound of it makes something low and possessive tighten in my chest.

Her fingers curl harder into my shirt, tugging me closer like she’s afraid I might pull away.

I kiss her like I’ve been thinking about it since she looked at me over that spoon in Fern’s diner. Like I know exactly what I’m doing. Like I intend to leave a mark she’ll feel tomorrow.

Her mouth opens under mine, and I take advantage of it, slow and thorough, tasting whiskey and sugar and something that’s just her. The fog around us thickens, the world narrowing to heat and breath and the way she presses into me without asking.

My hand slides up her thighs to the hem of her skirt. Then I continue, my thumb pressing into the small of her back, holding her while the kiss deepens, turns hungrier, turns undeniable. She breaks just long enough to drag in air, eyes dark and unfocused, then she’s back on me like she can’t help it.

Good.

Because neither can I.

I walk her back a step without breaking the kiss, until her shoulders brush the wall of the inn. My body shields hers from the cold, from the world, from anything that isn’t this.

Her breath is ragged now. Mine isn’t much better.

She trembles when I finally pull back a fraction, our mouths still brushing, her lips swollen, eyes blown wide.

I look at her.

Then I kiss her again.

Harder.

And she meets me with everything she’s got.

CHAPTER THREE

June

I swallow, my pulse loud in my ears.

“Do you want to…” My voice catches, then steadies. “Do you want to come up?”

The question hangs between us.

His brows lift slightly, like he knows this isn’t casual for me, even if I’m pretending it is.

“You sure?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” he says quietly. “Lead the way.”