Page 88 of Two-Step
Like it’s the most natural thing in the world, Iris angles the mouthpiece toward me, but it’s tethered to her pack, so I have to lean in close to take the rubber tip between my teeth.
It’s like the first hit from a joint. When you know you’re about to do something that’ll change the way you see the world. What touched her lips seconds ago now touches mine. I drink. The water is cool, life-giving, and I realize just how thirsty I am.
Just how much I want this.
I drink deep. And when I finally step back, a cool bead of water slips down my bottom lip. Before I can wipe it away, Iris’s hand is there. She presses her thumb to my lip. My eyes snap to hers, but she’s looking at my mouth.
It’s not just her touch but the look in her eyes that has every nerve in my body rerouting to intersect the tip of her thumb.
Then her gaze flits to mine, and she jerks her hand away, as if coming to herself. But that look she just wore? The one full of longing? I’ve never seen it before. Not on anyone. Not like that. Yet I know it's for me, and I want it back.
I catch her hand as she pulls away, and I bring her palm to my lips. Her own lips part as her breath hitches, and I don’t take my eyes off her. I’m just as surprised as she is to be here, but we’re here.
“Beau?” Her voice is barely above a whisper, but I hear all I need to hear.
“Yes,” I answer.
It’s Iris who closes the distance between us. And it’s no gentle kiss. We collide. Nothing tentative or hesitant. She kisses me with intention and fever. I kiss her with hunger and need. Her soft lips open for me, and the invitation makes my heart ache and my blood sing. Her fingers grip my hair as my tongue meets hers, both sensations sending a current of euphoria to the base of my brain and then the root of my cock.
The moan I held back only minutes ago resurrects itself and hums out of my throat. Her moan is a soft echo.
God, I want to make her feel good.
I wrap her tight in my arms, sealing our bodies and deepening the kiss. Her breath ramps up. So does mine. The sounds of our discovery—heated breath and pleasure—land on the water’s surface and seem to join Nature’s symphony. The frog songs. The bird calls. The cicada’s cries. I remember where we are, and I don’t care.
Iris, this lovely, innocent, joyful, funny woman is kissing me.Me.
God, let me give her what she needs.
“You feel so good,” she pants, seeming to answer my first prayer if not the second.
“You’re so damn sweet,” I rasp between kisses. I mean this in every sense. Now that I’ve tasted her, I don’t want to stop. But her sweetness is bone deep. She is goodness to her core. I want to be good for her.
Iris is clasping me behind my neck, standing on tiptoes to help compensate for our height difference. She kisses me again before she sinks down onto her heels, breaking the kiss and bringing her hands down to my cheeks.
The kiss is behind us, but I have no idea what’s ahead.
Her smile is wry and welcome. “Nothing like what I expected,” she says again.
I grin. “You mean, you never expected to find yourself kissing a Cajun in the middle of a cypress swamp?”
She laughs. And then she laughs again, harder, at some joke I don’t get. “To be honest,” she says, still giddy, “I first thought that your uncle’s last name wasBear,and my biggest fear was that I’d be abducted by the cast ofSwamp People,so I can’t say some version of thatnevercrossed my mind, but this is way better.”
Her crazy answer is so out of left field, I laugh until I’m breathless. No one’s ever made me laugh so much. I kiss her again. It’s almost impossible to believe what’s happening, but however long this is going to last—and I have no doubt it won’t be long—I want to savor it.
She pulls back with a sudden jolt, wearing a look of alarm. “But, I mean, I don’t do this. Not ever,” she says in a rush. “I wouldn’t want you to think that.”
“I didn’t think that.” It’s the truth. It’s not hard to imagine her making friends wherever she goes. It’s not hard to imagine her being affectionate with people around her. But this moment feels stolen and rare. I’m dazed and surprised, and it feels like I’m not alone.
“You didn’t think that,” she repeats on a whisper, wearing a look of relief and curiosity. “What did you think?”
What the hell are you doing with me?
It’s the first thought that surfaces, but I don’t give it any air. So I go with the second one instead.
“Holy shit, she likes me too.”
Her face lights up as she giggles. “Ido,”she exclaims, pulling me back down for another kiss.
