Page 18 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
Moving slowly, I wrap one hand around the back of her neck. She doesn’t pull back from the rougher touch. If anything, it seems like she leans into me further, melting into me.
It could be my imagination. Wishful thinking. But it doesn’t stop me from kissing her.
Unlike at the wedding, when my lips landed softly on hers in the middle of the crowd, there is no reason for restraint here. My lips crush hers, all of the pent-up hunger from the week surfacing in our kiss.
To my surprise, she matches my intensity. She rises onto her tiptoes to kiss me back. I cradle her head, resisting the urge to wrap my fist in her long hair.
Surprise and desire shoot through me when her tongue runs over my lower lip, her teeth grazing the skin. I open my mouth to welcome her in, beginning my own exploration of her mouth. She flicks her tongue against mine, her lips expertly moving over mine.
I can’t help it. My hand leaves the back of her head and grabs her hip, pulling her body flush against mine.
Her breasts press against my muscled chest. Through her thin bra, I can feel her hard nipples. I want to reach down and cup her soft, full breasts, but I know she isn’t ready for that. Her breathing is already ragged from just this kiss.
I trail my lips from hers to her jaw and down to her neck. My tongue traces a line down her salty skin, my teeth finding the hollow above her collarbone, where I nip until she lets out a soft moan.
I want to moan myself, grind my cock against her. She needs to know what she does to me. Then, maybe she could trust that this attraction she feels isn’t so one-sided.
I move my lips from her throat back to her lips and kiss her one more time. This final kiss is tender. It’s a promise that I will be back, that there is more of this to come if she’ll allow it in her life.
My lips find the curve of her ear, and I whisper goodbye. “Be a good girl. Don’t tie yourself up or set anything on fire until Sunday.”
Then, I pull back from her and let my hands fall away. Paige leans into the absence of my touch but quickly catches herself. She nods, but says nothing.
After taking one more look at her mussed hair and disheveled dress, I slip out the door into another Crown Hill night.
There’s no way she’s going to deny me our next date, not with a goodbye like that in her memory.
Chapter Seven
Aaron
“Iwondered when you would stop by my office,” Levi says the following morning.
He leans back in his chair and puts his feet up on the desk that sits between us. The smile on his face isn’t necessarily hostile, but it reminds me that he has a place here and I don’t.
Not yet.
“I think it’s time we had a deeper conversation,” I offer, an attempt to extend an olive branch.
He told me last week that I needed to be more open. Now, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. At least, as far as his sister is concerned.
“It was nice to see you enjoying yourself at the wedding. The guys liked seeing another side of you.”
To my surprise, there is no sharpness in his voice. If he wants to reprimand me for the way I treated Paige, he’s doing it very carefully.
“It felt good to be included,” I say, opting to fall back on the truth. “I’m hoping to get to know everyone more, and that will only happen if I start showing up.”
He nods and removes his feet from the desk. Then, he leans over the surface and removes some of the space between us. He watches me for a moment, but I don’t give my nerves away—an old habit.
“I didn’t realize that you knew my sister.” I appreciate that he cuts to the chase. “It seems you know herverywell, based on that display on the dance floor.”
“It’s a long story. But we met last week, before I knew she was your sister.”
Levi cocks his head, waiting for me to elaborate, but I don’t. I promised Paige I wouldn’t share what happened in that hotel room. She might be close to Levi, but there are things you just don’t share with your brother.
“I came to see if you would be kind enough to give me her number.” I get the sense that I’ll get further in this conversation if I’m just direct with him, so I don’t draw things out.
Levi’s shoulders tense. His eyes drift past me as he thinks carefully about his next words.
