“I walked away for a minute to get us a drink and you took off on me.” With his other hand, he held out a beer before me and I took it. “You okay?” he asked, and I sensed his concern.
“I’m good.” I turned in his arms and looked up at him. “And I didn’t sneak off.”
He kept his arm around my waist, holding my body tightly to his. With a slight dip of his head, he brought his lips to mine for nothing more than one of those sweet kisses he seemed to offer me often. “Have I told you how kissing you makes my heart race?” Just hearing him say those words made my own beat rapidly against my chest. I’d have been lying if I said I didn’t love how Rhett made me feel.
“Kissing you is kinda fun,” I confess, knowing already that it would get a rise out of him.
“Kinda fun,” he pulled back and looked at me with an arch of his brow, “that’s all I get?”
I nod. “For now, yeah, that’s all you get.”
He didn’t try to push for more, only accepted my answer before stealing one more quick kiss. We’d fallen into this cute little stage, the flirty fun one. It was one that I could say I adored. Made me feel like a young teenager again with my first crush instead of a young adult.
“I’ll take it. I guess I just need to keep trying to be more than just fun.”
He cupped the back of my neck and pulled my lips to his before I could reply, deepening the kiss. My toes curled involuntarily the moment he bit my lower lip, gently tugging. “That feels like a helluva lot more than just fun,” he practically growled. “That right there feels real damn good.”
“Mmhm.” I was well aware of the fact I had just moaned in response, but I no longer cared. He wasn’t lying; it was more than fun.
“I like you, AJ.” I felt like my heart skipped a beat. “Each day I spend with you I find myself liking you a little more. When I wake up in the morning, you’re the first person I think about. That right there, it means something.” He doesn’t allow me to reply, taking away my chance with yet another stolen kiss.
“You’re sweet.” He did that unbelievably sexy little sucking thing again, and I felt the effects of the movement low in my stomach. My thighs clenched, and I held my breath to keep myself from moaning out loud. “So damn sweet.”
Each kiss he offered only managed to turn me on more, and I knew if I didn’t stop this soon I’d be naked and beneath him before I could blink an eye. Holding back with Rhett was hard enough, but when he threw his charm and these kisses in the mix, resisting him was only becoming more difficult.
“We should get back,” I said, my words in a rush as I stepped back from him to create some space. A look I couldn’t quite decipher flashed in his eyes. Instead of focusing on the weirdness I’d just managed to inflict between us, I pointed toward the crowd of our friends standing near the fire. The glistening of the orange flames on the water behind them was where I let my focus remain instead of looking at Rhett, who was still watching me closely.
“We should join them,” I said again, in too much of a rush just before I attempted to step around him, only he stopped me. His hand rested on my hip, his arm still holding my waist securely.
“Are you okay?” I looked up at him and found a concerned look that had the corners of his eyes wrinkled in worry.
Was I okay?
No, I don’t think I was.
I wanted to give this thing between us my all. I wanted to jump in head first without a care in the world, only I couldn’t. Because I still wasn’t sure where his head or his heart were. I wasn’t sure if I was his rebound or if the things I was feeling were things he felt too.
“I’m good, just getting a little cold.” I could tell he didn’t quite believe my excuse, but instead of pressuring me by asking question after question and forcing me to tell him what was truly on my mind, he smiled. It was a forced smile, but it was a smile nonetheless, and I took it as my way out.
“Come on.” I hooked my arm through his, looking away from him, because looking at the questions that lingered in his gaze were too hard. “Let’s go get cozy by the fire.” I practically dragged him along, still looking everywhere but at him.
Once we were back with our friends, warm by the fire, me resting between his parted legs, I felt a little less nervous. That was until he leaned in and whispered near my ear, making me fully aware that he had not forgotten about my sporadic escape. “You don’t wanna talk about it now, and I understand that. We aren’t alone, and something tells me whatever it is that’s on your mind isn’t something that will be easy to discuss, let alone with an audience. But so you know, later we will be revisiting it. I like you entirely too much to allow you to slip away from me now.”
I shouldn’t feel satisfied with the fact that he just told me whether I wanted to or not I would share what was on my mind. Truthfully, it was what he’d said after that had me smiling like a fool.
He
