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“On how opposed I am to kissing you again?” His lips hitched at one corner. “Negative a thousand, Sweets. I thoroughly enjoyed that game last time.”
Her breath left her in a rush. “Oh.”
“The only reason I haven’t made any kind of move on you is because I was giving you and Auden your space.” He shrugged. “There’s something there between you two that I didn’t want to fuck up. But…if he’s fucking it up anyway, well then, you can have whatever you want from me in the meantime. Your innocence doesn’t scare me.” He leaned forward like he was telling her a secret. “It just makes me want to show youallthe filthy things in great detail.”
A hot shiver moved from the top of her head down, making every part of her hyperaware. “Oh.”
He straightened and put his hands in his suit pockets, a wicked glint in his green eyes. “So…one to ten, Sweets? Give it to me straight.”
O’Neal’s thoughts were zigzagging in every direction and crashing into each other. On one hand, she could admit that what she felt for Auden was rooted deep. There was friendship and her long-standing crush and the way he’d looked at her the night they’d slept together. That all was still there even though she was mad at him and disappointed in how he was acting. But some other part of her, some new, daring part, was blossoming and stretching toward the light Lennox was offering.
Lennox didn’t see her as shy, sheltered O’Neal Lory, that poor girl whose mom was murdered and who lived under the totalitarian law of her grandparents. He didn’t see her with the past superimposed on her image. He saw her in the now. He made her feel…confident in her decisions—to be here, to do what she’d done with Auden, to break away from her family’s wishes. He had no desire to wrap her in cotton and insulate her from the world. She believed him when he said he’d show her whatever she wanted. He wouldn’t feel awkward or apologetic about sullying her so-called innocence. He wouldn’t sanitize things for her. He trusted her to handle it.
Auden saw her as fragile. Lennox saw her as hungry.
Maybe she was both.
Lennox was watching her, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. She realized in that moment, he expected her to turn him down.
And if she was doing this just to get back at Auden, she would. She’d walk away right now.
But this wasn’t for Auden. This…was for herself.
She lifted her hand and raised a single finger. “I’m a one.”
Lennox’s gaze went to her hand and then slowly traced back up to her face.
She felt the look like a touch, and electricity tickled up her spine. Bravery grew, a small, hot light inside her. “But we have to make it believable. Auden will call our bluff otherwise. We can’t look like we’re faking.”
Lennox stepped forward, gently slid his hand to cup her jaw. “Is that what you’re worried about? You think I’d be faking wanting to touch you? Faking wanting to kiss you again?”
Her words left her.
He traced her cheekbone with the cool, rough pad of his thumb, leaving heat traces behind. “We’ve got no audience right now. How about a chemistry pop quiz?”
“A pop quiz?” She licked her lips.
A wicked gleam flashed in his eyes. “Question one: Do O’Neal and Lennox have believable chemistry? Complete the following activity and evaluate results.” He looked down at his open palm like he was reading a document. “One kiss with no one watching.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
He gave her a hint of a smile and tilted her face toward him, his gaze searching hers as he drew a little closer. “Still time to drop out of this class, Ms. Lory.”
A jolt of resolve went through her. “Shut up and kiss me, Len.”
Pleasure flickered across his features, and he lowered his head, pressing his mouth to hers.
Her eyes fell shut at the contact, and her hands went to the lapels of his jacket. His lips were soft and coaxing as they moved against hers, an invitation to a private dance. Gentle. Patient. A match struck inside her. His teeth gently dragged along her lower lip, nipping, tasting, making awareness curl through her like smoke. A little sound escaped her throat.
Hemmmed against her mouth, his hand angling her head a little farther back, and then he gently parted her lips with his tongue. His taste was salt and heat and other inviting things that made her crave more. Somehow, it was completely different than kissing Auden but no less exciting. Auden kissed her like he couldn’t help himself, like he’d had a test of wills and failed, like he wanted to devour her before his conscience kicked back in. Lennox kissed like he was slipping a drug into her system that he knew she’d get addicted to. Slow. Confident. Potent.
Her grip tightened on his jacket, and their bodies brushed against each other, making a harsh ache open up inside her, but when she whimpered like some needy thing, he eased back. He cradled her face and touched his forehead to hers. They were both panting softly. He inhaled deeply through his nose, eyes closed, almost as if he was saying a silent prayer.
Her pulse pounded in all parts of her body.
After a moment, Lennox took a step back and rubbed his lips together. “Well,” he said with a chagrined smile and a flush on his cheeks. “I don’t think chemistry’s going to be a problem. We just aced that class.”
She leaned back against the brick wall of the library, worried her legs had turned to jelly and would no longer hold her up. “We ruined the curve for everyone.”
