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“I know from firsthand experience you have moves.”
My mouth went dry as dust, and I set my drink down a little too hard, the base of the stem clattering against the countertop. Lucky I hadn’t broken the damn thing.
Much more gracefully, Tess echoed my movement, setting her own glass next to mine. But her eyes never left my face. What I saw in them threatened to dismantle my hard-won self-control.
“Tess.” My tone held a note of warning.
“Hmmm?” She was staring at my mouth now. Very obviously. With a focus that sent all the blood in my body straight to my crotch.
My hands twitched, aching to reach for her. “You need to stop looking at me like that.”
Her eyelashes fluttered, but her gaze didn’t waver from my mouth. If anything, it grew even more intent. “Like what?”
She had to know what she was doing to me, right? Was this some kind of fucking test? Or was she playing with me for sport? Knowing Tess, it might be a little of both.
“Like you want me to kiss you.”
The air seemed to crackle between us as her lips twisted in a slow, deliberate tease. “What if I do want you to kiss me?”
My cock jumped against the seam of my jeans, trying to answer for me, but somehow I managed to hold the rest of myself still. “I thought you just wanted to be friends. Strictly nonphysical, that’s what you said.”
“Friends are supposed to be honest with each other, right?” Her tongue flicked against her upper lip, and my dick gave another salute in response.
When I managed to speak, my voice was all gravel. “Yes.”
“So I’m being honest.” She shrugged lightly as she stepped closer.Waytoo damn close.
Automatically, my hands grabbed onto her hips.To stop her, I told myself. To keep her from coming any closer.
“Now it’s your turn,” she said, maddeningly calm. “Tell me what you’re thinking. And you have to be honest.”
This was almost certainly a giant mistake. What were the odds Tess would suddenly pull away from me again at some point? Pretty goddamn high, based on experience. But I couldn’t help myself. Not when she was giving me those fuck-me eyes. She always made me too damn reckless—reckless enough to tell her exactly what was in my head.
“I’m thinking I want to know how wet you are right now.”
Her breath caught, and I watched her pupils dilate like pools of spilled ink. “I’m thinking I want you to touch me and find out.”
“Tess,” I growled, my fingers tightening on her waist. My sense of self-preservation was telling me I should let go of her and step back, but I couldn’t make myself do it. It was already taking every ounce of restraint I had not to push her up against the counter and kiss her. “I’m trying to follow the rules here, but you’re not playing fair.”
“I’m thinking I want to change the rules.” She laid her palms on my chest, and I wondered if she could feel my heart pounding. “I’m thinking I want to get these clothes off you so I can feel your skin against mine.”
“Fuck, Tess. If you don’t stop, I’m going to lose it.”
“Feel free.”
I couldn’t tell if the desire I saw in her eyes was purely sexual, or if she felt something deeper between us the way I did. Would she wake up tomorrow and see me as a mistake? Would she turn her back on me again and walk away? Would she break my heart like she’d broken it before?
Right this second, I was finding it hard to care.
“Are you giving me permission?” I was breathing heavy, every muscle in my body tense with the effort of holding myself back. “I need you to be absolutely fucking sure before you answer.” If I let myself do this, there’d be no turning back. I’d be a goner for Tess McGregor all over again.
But as I watched the green in the depths of her eyes spark like emerald fire, I knew it was too late. I was already way past gone. Tess McGregor owned me, body and soul, and maybe she always had.
“Yes,” she whispered, leaning even closer. “Kiss me.”
I sank into her mouth like I’d been dreaming of doing ever since she’d broken off our last make-out session. She tasted lush and sweet, with a hint of citrus and bitters from the Manhattan she’d been sipping.
Her hands slid up my neck and into my hair, pulling me closer as her tongue twined with mine. When she pressed herself against me I pressed back, pushing her up against the counter.
