Page 56 of Sit, Stay, Love
He hummed a noncommittal hum, slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
She knew she should stop him. Push him away and tell him no, it can’t happen.
But she wanted to kiss him. She’d wanted to kiss him since the moment he’d walked through Toby’s door and her gaze had lingered on his soft pink pout. She wanted to know how those luscious lips tasted, and how the touch of them would make her feel.
His hand glided over her hip, his fingers slipping under the hem of her top and on to her bare skin, the sensation so hot, she thought she’d melt.
She twitched from the tickle, and he muttered,sorry, against her mouth, moved his hand around to the small of her back and tugged her closer, deepening their kiss, his tongue tentatively touching hers.
Pops of coloured lights exploded behind her eyes. His kiss was as sensational as she’d imagined it would be, and she dreamily wondered if he had to learn to kiss to become a movie star. Was there a class for that, or washe naturally gifted? Because he was certainly very gifted. She gripped his thigh, her fingers holding on as she struggled to not liquify into the sand.
That was when Buffy forced her head between them, banging them both on the chin.
They pulled away with a surprised ‘Oof!’ and looked down at the dog as she looked up at them, tongue lolling, her mouth opened in a wide Staffy smile.
‘Buffy!’ Sera said.
Ethan laughed. ‘Dogus Interruptus.’
Sera quickly pushed herself off the sand. ‘I should probably go anyway.’
His brow creased. ‘Oh. Okay.’
‘I’ll just sort out an Uber-Pet.’ She pulled her phone from her back pocket and walked quickly towards the steps.
He chased after her. ‘Sera. Stop. Is everything okay?’
She nodded. ‘Mm-hm. I have a writing deadline and I needed to be home earlier. Before… um. Earlier.’
He gazed at her, his eyebrows pulled together in a worried frown. ‘Are we okay? I’m sorry if I was out of line. I thought…’ His throat bobbed up and down. ‘I’m sorry.’
She looked into his bright eyes, darkened by his frown, stepped forward and squeezed his hand. ‘We’re fine. I just don’t know if kissing like that was such a good idea. I mean, it was good. It was really good. The kiss, that is. But not the idea. I don’t want to confuse everything. Work and you and…’ She sighed. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m—’
He pressed a finger to her lips. ‘I’ve got it. No more kissing. For now.’
She nodded.
‘Because,’ he huffed, ‘I can’t have you taking advantage of me like that, Sera.’
Her heart dropped. ‘What?’
‘This is supposed to be a professional relationship. In future, I think we should only ever respectfully handshake. Or high-five. Maybe fist-bump.’ He grinned at her, wide and gorgeous and full of dimples and mischief.
She thumped him on the arm. ‘Oh my god! I thought you were serious.’
‘Ow!’ He laughed and rubbed the spot where she hit. ‘I think beating up the client is even worse than kissing them on the beach under a starry sky while a gentle breeze—’
‘Ethan. Shut up.’
His grin morphed into a smirk. ‘We’re still on for tomorrow, right?’
‘Oh yeah,’ she said. ‘And I’m going to work you hard.’
He waggled his eyebrows. ‘I’m already trembling in anticipation.’
Sera crawled into her bed, shimmied down the mattress and pulled the covers up under her chin. She’d kissed Ethan James, movie star and client.Ethan James.She’d kissed him and it was awesome, and she’d stupidly told him they couldn’t do it anymore.
She slapped her forehead. ‘Oh Buffy. When did I become such an idiot?’
