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“The color?” He grinned.
“Oh.” She rolled her eyes toward the sky. Clouds breezed over the bed of stars. “Long story short, I have a great-great-great-grandfather or so who was a Viking from Denmark. Every generation or so, one of us pops up with this coloring.”
“Wow.”
“Yes, imagine my father’s shock when I was born. Because my mother’s coloring is darker, she never thought she’d be the one to have a blond child. Remember, my family didn’t do controversy. Can you picture their surprise when I came out?”
Stephen’s fingers stroked her hair over her left ear; his thumb caressed her cheek. Lexi searched his eyes, praying for him to say something because if he didn’t, she might reach up and kiss him. A fire truck screamed out somewhere in the distance. A party in a nearby club thumped a rhythmic beat into the air. Cars swooshing by, hitting the same pothole and clunking in the air. Through all the noise she wondered if he heard her heart beating. A twitch of wanton desire fought with the pulse of sanity at the curve of her neck. Her right eyebrow rose.
“Bésame.”
No need for a translator. Lexi craned her neck upward and Stephen cupped both sides of her face to draw her in for his kiss. He pulled her against him with his left hand, bringing her soft body roughly against his rigid one. His right hand snaked around her neck, coaxing her head into the right angle to match his lips. In the past, her height had made kissing awkward, but together she and Stephen were the perfect match, in size and in kissing.
As expected, she found his lips to be soft, tasty and juicy. Their lips brushed against each other for the initial introduction. Their mouths opened slightly and his tongue slipped in for a sample. Her moan vibrated against his mouth. She opened her lips wider, inviting him in for a deeper kiss. Her hands inched up his chest, toying with his tie and bringing him down to her.
A set of drunken sailors driving by whooped and hollered. A church bell rang in the distance and a passing tanker replied with a tug of its whistle. This kiss showed her the future. The church bells invoked the image of them standing in the afternoon with a set of pink flowers between them, kissing, sealing vows. At the call of the tanker, she imagined them kissing at a port with thousands of people cheering hello and goodbye. The scene frightened her. Marriage and the whole shebang did not fit in her plans. Fear told her to stop kissing him, but she couldn’t. His lips, his tongue and his heart all probed forward, searching. Things were never going to be the same.
Lexi broke the kiss. She had to. “What are we doing?” She breathed heavily, resting her forehead against his chest. His rapid heartbeat thumped against her ears.
His soft yet large hands cupped the sides of her cheeks and turned her face up to his. “I think we’re kissing,” he said in a husky voice with a smile.
“Why?”
“The moment called for a kiss,” he said simply.
“Yes, but—” she timidly bit her bottom lip “—I’m coaching Philly this summer.”
“I did not hire you to coach Philly. She won your services. This—” he brought his lips to her forehead “—this has nothing to do with Philly. This has something to do with the chemistry between us since I walked into your office. Am I wrong?”
“No.” The attraction between them knocked the breath out of her. She hadn’t been kissed like that since—well, never, and she began to think it might not happen again. “Where do we go from here?”
A part of her feared his answer. What if he wanted a one-night stand? Maybe that was what they needed to break the sexual tension between them, but flings were not her thing. She wanted more. “I say we leave here and go back to my bed.”
The cool wind from the water interrupted the heated blush on her cheeks. Lexi turned her face into his hand, kissing his palm. “Not happening.”
“I know—” he chuckled “—but it was worth a shot. How about this? You coach Philly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the other days I have you?”
The words have you made her hot in her nether regions. She imagined herself naked on a white-clothed table while he feasted upon her. “Stephen, I—”
He silenced her with another thought-provoking kiss. “We’ll go slowly,” he said, pulling their lips apart. “You coached Philly today, then tomorrow you and I will go on our first date.”
“Wasn’t tonight a date?”
“More of an appetizer.” Stephen straightened his frame, at the same time turning back toward the hotel. He pulled Lexi’s hand into his as they walked together.
If tonight was just an appetizer, she couldn’t wait for the main course!
* * *
The girls still hadn’t arrived back at the hotel by the time he and Lexi returned to the suite. Stephen mentally thanked the mothers for deciding to bring them downstairs to the conference room, which the hotel used for a movie night for children. Chuckling, Stephen loosened his tie and slipped his phone back into his pocket. The motor of the refrigerator kicked on in the kitchen, exposing Lexi’s location.
“Are you tired yet?” he asked, entering the small area. Stephen guessed this was what she would consider a two-butt kitchen. He stood in the arched doorway to show some restraint.
With the door still open but the light off above them, Lexi straightened from her search. The light from inside haloed the left side of her frame—enough light to show off her wanton smile. “No.”
Stephen reminded himself of his promise. He would take things slow with Lexi, and he meant it. Jumping into the sack right now was not a wise move. “I think Carmen Jones is playing tonight. We ought to call up for some popcorn and watch.”
Lexi’s face lit up. “Room service for popcorn, Stephen?”
