I turned to Tess, stuffing my hands in my pockets and hoping it hadn’t ruined whatever might have been building between us so far.
“You were so nice to them,” Tess said, smiling at me. “That was really good of you. I bet you made that girl’s year. Her mom’s too.” She stepped back to my side, closer than she’d been before, and we continued walking in the direction the family had come from. “Does that happen a lot?”
“No,” I said. “Not like with your sister. I can still stay under the radar most of the time. Especially lately.”
“Does it bother you? Do you wish you were more famous?” She looked up at me over her shoulder, her brows wrinkling as she posed the question. I wanted to make her smile again, make the line ease away.
“Not really,” I said. “Honestly, I’d rather have the anonymity, but fame does kind of equal success, and I don’t think anyone starts out at something and doesn’t wish to be successful.”
She bobbed her head. “Fair point. So it’s kind of a tradeoff. Your privacy for money and good roles.”
“I guess so. The money is really the key thing, unfortunately. But I kind of hope I can save enough to take care of the things I need to take care of, and then maybe do something else.” I thought about my dad, stopping myself from wishing things were different. He was family—the only I had—and it was my responsibility to take care of him.
“Something else, huh? Like what?”
“I used to think I might open a restaurant,” I said, feeling like I was making a confession of sorts. I didn’t talk about it often, but I missed the quiet meditation working in the kitchen had always brought me.
“A restaurant?” Tess was smiling up at me, almost leaning into my side as we wandered beneath the arching green trees, flowers blooming at our feet on either side of the trail. It was almost like walking through a painting now.
“Nothing big. Just a small fine dining place. A few signature dishes. Just a few tables. Or maybe my own production company.”
“Hmm,” Tess said, and I wondered what she was thinking. I glanced down at her, glad to see a look of calm contentment on her smooth pretty face. My blood warmed at the perfection of her profile, my nerves jangling as I thought about what it would be like to touch her, to kiss her.
“Hey,” I said, stopping our progress.
She turned, a question in her eyes, and I realized I had nothing specific in mind to say.
“I just … thanks for coming out here with me today,” I tried. My voice was lower than it had been a moment ago, almost a whisper.
She stared up at me, her dark lashes lush against her pale skin, her plump pink lips slightly apart as she considered me. “Yeah,” she said. Her lips parted like she was going to say something else, but no words came out. Instead, she stepped a tiny bit nearer, and every nerve in my body went to full attention.
“The park is really …” I trailed off, my mind going blank as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and then let it go. My skin was buzzing and my dick was suddenly straining inside my jeans, no doubt thinking about those perfect lips the same way I was.
Hell, I wanted her, but I couldn’t make a move here. She’d already made it clear I shouldn’t muddy the waters by touching her, and I wasn’t a guy who was going to touch a woman who’d asked him specifically not to. But when she reached between us and took my hand lightly in hers, I swear a fuse in my brain burned right out. She was touching me and that simple touch felt better than any sex I’d ever had in my life. There was something here. Something incredible. I hoped she could feel it.
“Hey,” I breathed, unable to manage much more with the incredible buzz in my mind at the contact of her skin between my fingers. I was slipping into caveman mode, instinct taking over. Did cavemen say, “hey”? Maybe surfer cavemen.
I let my fingers graze gently up her wrist, stepping nearer until we were just inches from one another, each of our chests rising and falling with shallow breaths. Anticipation hung in the air between us, along with a rich fecund scent that reminded me of sweat, sex, and earth. God, I wanted to drop to the ground right here and bury myself in Tess. I wanted to feel that supple body in my hands, beneath me, on top of me, around me. But I needed to move slowly. Let her set the pace.
She was staring up at me, a fierce look in her eyes, a burning dare that I knew I’d take.
I bent my head forward and she closed the distance between us, grazing her lips against mine and then lifting her eyes again. I kissed her softly, mimicking her shy touch, her hesitation. When I pulled back, her eyes were shut, her cheeks glowing with high spots of color, and those petal pink lips were slightly open as she breathed. She was perfect. She was everything.
She tilted her head up more, inviting me back, and I didn’t hesitate this time, dropping my lips to hers again as my arms slid around her perfect body. I devoured her then. I should have been gentle, tentative. I should have waited for her to take the lead, to tell me this was all right, that this was what she wanted. But I didn’t wait. I didn’t ask, and her answer came in her actions, not in her words. I teased those lips open with my tongue and crushed her body against me, felt her panting breaths as she came alive beneath my lips, my hands. Every part of me was
