Page 98 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

“You’ve seen me flirting and kissing. Which I do because I’m lonely as hell.”

That pulled the smile right from my face. “What do you mean you’re lonely?”

“The girl I really wanted to be with wasn’t interested.”

“Andrew.” I didn’t think anything else could affect me as much as what had already happened that night, but I was wrong. Had Rebecca been right all along? I wanted to ask him, but the fear that had been absent moments before was finally kicking in. Asking him that question felt too big, too scary.

But the kissing—that I could handle.

So I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close, trailing my lips over his until he groaned, impatient, and took control of the kiss again, pressing his mouth against mine, his tongue trailing over my lips.

Holy shit, he was good at this. His hands came up to frame my face and I actually whimpered, the feel of his skin on mine was that good. It made me want more, and I slipped my hands under his shirt, running my fingers across the strong muscles of his back. His movements against my mouth became more frantic, almost desperate now, and then he was pulling my T-shirt up, and holy crap, this wasAndrew. But it felt too good to stop and think about it.

A little voice in the back of my head told me I was being reckless, that this friendship was the last thing in the world I should be messing with. But it was overwhelmed quickly by the sound of his breathing, by the little whimpers coming from my own throat, by the way he was whispering my name as he trailed kisses over my chin, down to my neck. Then my shirt was gone, tossed behind me somewhere, and he stopped what he was doing to stare at me, his eyes darting across my bare chest, my stomach, my neck, every inch of skin that he could see. It was too much, the way he was looking at me, and I was starting to feel scared.

“Andrew,” I said, and he grabbed me again, pulling me close so that I didn’t feel afraid.

He pushed me gently so I was on my back, his weight heavy on top of me, and I had a flash of waking up in this position on the couch, Andrew at the other end asleep. Would I see him asleep here in the morning? I couldn’t imagine stopping this, even if I probably should.

“You’re thinking too much,” he whispered against my skin.

“I am not.”

“You even argue with me when we’re making out,” he muttered, and then I couldn’t stop giggling. He abandoned my collarbone to look up at me, his eyes bright and happy enough to take my breath away. “Should I be offended by this laughing fit?”

“Absolutely not. Come here.” He slid forward until his face was at my level again and I grabbed both sides of it, kissing him long and hard.

And then suddenly I was moving, lifting up in the air, and I realized that he’d picked me up, that he was carrying me into my bedroom, and it didn’t even feel scary or weird.

It felt absolutely right.