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The answer to my silent question reflects in her eyes.
I drag in a breath.
Then our lips crush together in an explosion. It’s atomic. However, nothing is destroyed except my longing. She fills me up and I tell myself I won’t let her down.
Harley
CHAPTER 9
Ryan McGregor’s lips are on mine and it’s not the first time. But it feels like the best time.
His fingers trace their way along my jawline. I lean into his touch.
In the beginning, our lips brush softly, tenderly. But I know where this is going.
Ryan’s hands lace into my hair and mine curl into his.
Our lips move together like they’ve been waiting for this moment all this time.
My hands slide along the ridges of his muscles. I feel the bump of his biceps under my palms. His arms wrap around me, pulling me close, closer, closest.
My body remembers what it’s like to kiss Ryan McGregor and I want more.
Soon the kiss turns hungry and intensifies.
The world around me loses focus, and it’s not because I lost a contact or need my glasses. It’s because the man in front of me has my attention—all of it.
He smells like clean cotton and soap. He feels solid, immovable and that’s welcome because I’m at risk of floating away right now—and inlife.
Ryan tethers me here in a way that I didn’t realize I needed. He reminds me of who I am—not just one of the girls who works at the Gastrodome. Or that single mom who can only afford a studio apartment and forgets ABC Day. He reminds me that I’m Harley Owens—that I belong somewhere and have a community here on this island.
Ryan shifts away slightly, his arms still wrapped around me. “Come back,” he whispers.
We were still kissing, but he must’ve noticed my thoughts sharpen.
“I’m here.”
“Do you want to be?” he whispers.
When our gazes meet, my stomach flutters. But it isn’t only that. It’s my heart too.
“Yes.”
Our chests press together. My heart drums against his. Ryan’s hands slide down my back. Mine crest his shoulders before winding around the nape of his neck. His cup the sides of my head.
We both want so much. It’s a gentle give-and-take that gives way to hunger and then shifts back again. We follow each other’s cues, equally matched as the kiss deepens.
Eventually, my thoughts flutter back as if drawn in by the wake of how amazing this feels. I lean away ever so slightly. “What just happened?”
“This is what happens when I win tic-tac-toe.” The second the last word drops from his lips, his mouth is back on mine.
Then we should play more often.
Ryan turns up the volume, and the kiss turns demanding. I soften it after a beat then reverse course, hungry for more before he returns us to a sweet spot as his hands wrap around my waist.
Mine tighten around him. It’s like we know exactly how to play this game and it’s all ours. We’re the only two who can kiss like this, and the bonus is that we both win. I like those results.
The tide washes in and over our feet, reminding me we still occupy space and time.
