Page 37 of Someone Exactly Like Me (Wounded Hearts 1)
She tempers her laughter. “Yes, you torched the poor thing. Weren’t you watching it?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. It happened so fast.” I chuckle. “This really is an art.”
She withdraws her stick from the embers and puts a plate in her lap. Then she taps at her marshmallow, sucking in quick bursts of air as she quickly pulls away her fingers. She lays the marshmallow down on top of the bar of chocolate, takes the other half of graham cracker, puts it on top of the hot marshmallow, and slides the fork out. Picking up the gooey sandwich, she holds it out toward me.
I lean and take a bite, keeping my eyes on hers that are watching my mouth. The crunchiness of the graham cracker; the hot, gooey marshmallow; and the melting chocolate are pure bliss in my mouth. “Oh my God.” I roll my eyes. “I’ve been deprived my entire life. This is amazing.”
She giggles. “Right? Heavenly.”
“Heavenly,” I say, taking the rest of the s’more into my mouth from her fingers.
She slides another marshmallow onto the long fork and hands it to me.
“Give it another try,” she says, taking the blanket from the back of her chair and laying it on top of her legs.
We roast our marshmallows, listening to the music. This time, I keep my attention on my marshmallow and toast it to perfection. The sun dips farther into the ocean, barely lighting the sky that’s turning different shades of red as it sinks.
As I finish my last bite of gooey heaven, a little yawn releases from her. That’s my cue.
I pat my stomach. “I’m so full. You were right, great sushi and the s’more were unreal,” I say, standing up and picking up my containers.
“I’m so glad you enjoyed everything,” she says, unwrapping from her blanket, standing up, and grabbing the plates, long forks, and chocolate bar wrappers.
We walk back to the house, putting everything in the kitchen, and then go back to the fire pit for the trays and blankets.
“Do you need help cleaning up?” I ask as she lowers the volume of the music and turns on her gas fireplace.
“Brrr, it got chilly,” she says, rubbing her arms vigorously. “No, I’m good, but thank you.”
The outline of her hard nipples in the glow of the fire makes me twitch in my pants.
“Okay, if you’re sure,” I say as I walk over to where we left our shoes at her bench.
“Positive. I’ll have everything cleaned up and put away in a few minutes.”
Once my shoes are on, she opens the door and follows me out to her front porch. I turn to face her and chuckle.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“You have some chocolate…”
She parts her lips and grazes the thin connection of her lips with the tip of her tongue. My eyes are drawn to her mouth and I lean in toward her. Curling my fingers under her jaw, I run my thumb down the side of her parted lips, sweeping the chocolate across her lower lip, then stick my thumb in my mouth, sucking off the chocolate.
Her exhale is audible. I move my gaze from her lips to her eyes, they’re flicking back and forth. The urge to kiss her is growing stronger. Her breathing is shorter and quicker. I stare into her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Don’t worry, I won’t kiss you. I don’t kiss women on the lips.”But I’m not sure how much longer I can resist you.
“Okay,” she breathes softly.
I move to her cheek and press my lips into her delicate skin. Passing in front of her face, I see her eyes open. I press my lips into her right cheek, inhaling her faint vanilla once more.
“Thank you for today,” I say, stepping away from her. “I enjoyed being with you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you had a nice time,” she says, rubbing her arms briskly. “Good luck tomorrow. Let me know how it goes.”
“Yes, I will. Go. Get inside, you’re cold.”
“Good night.”
“Buona notte, mia dolce ragazza.”
Destiny
I close the door, my heart races. That’s when it hits me, the heroine I’ve been writing, is me. No. No, no, no. It can’t be me. Icannotwrite myself as the heroine. I have to create a character. She’ll be the complete opposite of me.
Whatwasthat? No wonder women willingly spread their legs for him. Holy shit. Nothing even happened and I’m so freaking turned on right now. Of course he wasn’t going to kiss me. A man like him wouldn’t kiss someone like me. But, why does he get so close to me like that? It’s unnerving. And what did he mean he doesn’t kiss women on the lips? He kisses women all the time.
I tilt back my head. He captures my mouth with his full lips, confidently sliding his tongue in…cut it out. Well, my dreams are going to be interesting tonight, that’s for sure.
Three more days. Just three more days. I’ll ask my interview questions, give him his tours, and we’ll be done. I have to admit, I liked seeing a deeper side to him. I’m honored that he trusted me enough to share a glimpse beyond what the world sees.
No. I’m not going there. I’m not going to let things get personal. I’m not going to be swept off my feet and into his bed.
