Page 88 of Kiss Me Like You Mean It

‘Such a gentleman,’ Tara murmurs. ‘We’re still on for dinner?’ she asks Lee. ‘You’re not sick of me yet?’

‘Stop by around six.’

‘Nico! Get your arm around your wife RIGHT NOW!’ Rita snaps as our best friends melt into the distance, their hands almost touching. ‘I can’t believe you young people today, do you need me to tell you how to do everything?’

‘I think we’ve got it from here,’ I grit out.

With another huff Rita leaves. Ern’s hardware store is a few shops down from Scoops, and we’re sitting at one of the small pastel pink tables in the long window facing onto the street. If he’s coming this way then Rita’s right that Charles is going to get a great view of us.

‘You ready?’ I ask Lee, being very careful about our communication here. We haven’t talked about the physical contact issue since the kiss.

She turns towards me, a look of determination in her eyes.

‘We did a rubbish job this morning,’ she says. ‘So let’s make this count. Get your hands on me!’

She blurts the last words and then winces, but that is all the encouragement I need. It’s for the ruse, I tell myself. I’m supposed to look like I want to lift her up onto this table and do unspeakable things to her.

I push my chair back and reach for Lee’s, grabbing the edge of her seat and dragging the whole thing across the floor so that she sits with her legs at an angle, caged between mine.

She lets out a little squeak of surprise and her hand drops to my thigh, the diamond ring on her wedding finger catching the light.

The wolf that apparently now lives inside me approves of this situation greatly.

I drape my arm around the back of her chair, and toy with the ends of her hair. She has it down today, a silky fall of honey-coloured waves.

‘How’s this?’ I ask in a low voice, leaning in so that my face is closer to hers.

‘Mmm,’ she murmurs, and when she turns towards me, I can see every shade of blue in her eyes, the slightly darker ring around her iris. So pretty.

She leans further into me, her hand grazing higher up my thigh.

A low sound hums in my chest. ‘Daisy,’ I rasp, and our noses brush. I’m half a breath away from taking her mouth with mine, and I know there are reasons I shouldn’t, but right now I can’t for the life of me think what they are.

‘Yes, Nico,’ she whispers, and I don’t know if it’s a question or permission. Her eyes round as she looks past me through the window. ‘He’s coming,’ she breathes.

She said I could kiss her, I remember that very clearly. Kiss me like you mean it. Oh, I can do that. I can definitely do that.

I cup her cheek, closing the tiny distance between us. The first touch of her mouth is soft, tentative, but I’m no passive participant this time, and I want more. I want everything. I cradle the back of her head, bury my hand in her hair, and trace the seam of her lips with my tongue. With a small, surprised gasp, her mouth opens and I sink into her. She’s soft and lush and she tastes like strawberry ice cream. Dimly, I hear the bell ring over the door. Her fingers curl into my thigh, and I rumble appreciatively against the sweet, sensitive corner of her mouth.

‘Ahem.’ A sound interrupts us, and Lee jerks back, away from me, blinking like she’s waking up from a dream.

Standing about two feet away is Charles Saunders, his face impassive as he looks down at us. As we put on that entire show for his benefit I shouldn’t be feeling so annoyed by his interruption, but I am and my whole body crackles with frustration. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t close to enough. A drop of water in an ocean of need and longing.

Then Charles frowns and steps back. ‘Good grief!’ he exclaims.

I follow his gaze to the window, and there, leering at us through the glass, is an enormous black crow. His beady eyes move from Lee to me and back.

‘Oh my god,’ Lee whispers. ‘It’s really him…’ She looks rumpled and flushed, like she’s just had all the sense kissed out of her.

I rap my knuckles against the glass until the bird grudgingly flaps away.

‘He’s a pervert,’ Lee tells Charles, still sounding dazed. ‘The crow. Russell.’

There’s a pause.

‘I see,’ Charles says. He clears his throat again. ‘Anyway… I was just passing, and I saw you in here. I wanted to apologise once more for the mix up this morning.’

I glance over at Lee and she’s summoned up a smile. I have no idea what she’s thinking. I had all but forgotten this man’s existence, but maybe she really did only kiss me so that he could see? That was the plan, right? Maybe she’s not as completely turned around by it as I am?