Chapter 37

37

“So, yeah. I have to agree. There was nothing particularly friendly about that,” I say.

“I don’t feel friendly at all.” She grabs my face and plants a searing kiss on my lips, more intoxicating because I know she tastes herself on me. Because she has the same appetite I do, the same intensity.

When she pulls back, she slides her hand along the front of my pants. “I want you. Want to taste you. Want to have you.”

“I’d be amenable to that as well,” I say, groaning in frustration, since I know it can’t happen now.

“I wish I didn’t have to get back out there. But I want you to know I’m going to be thinking about you.” She squeezes, sending a fresh wave of heat rolling down my spine. “But not just this. All of you.”

“So, not just the sex parts of me, which obviously I want you fantasizing about ninety-nine percent of the time. But also the other parts?”

She laughs. “Yes, the other parts.”

“They’re very happy with one percent.”

“Might be higher than that.” Letting go, she smooths a hand over her skirt then meets my gaze. “So, I know we should probably figure out what this is, but there’s a part of me that also doesn’t want to. At least, not yet. Not tonight.”

“I know what you mean. It’s all sorts of unexpected. And yet, not.”

“Exactly. I didn’t even think I’d see you tonight, but then you showed up, and look at us. We can’t stay away from each other, can we?”

Proving her point, I thread my fingers through her hair, savoring the feel of the soft waterfall of silk on my fingers. “It seems we can’t entirely.”

She leans into me, and ever so briefly, I embrace her, savoring the tender, but too short moment.

When she pulls back, she presses her hands to my chest. “The only thing I know is we’re pretty good at sleeping together and staying friends. Don’t you think?”

“We’re aces.”

“Maybe we should try sleeping together again and staying friends? Till we get the whole ‘sleeping together’ out of our system?”

I flinch for a second then rein in my surprise. I don’t want to be friends with benefits. I want her in my system, not out of it. I want so much more of her. But I also know now isn’t the time to have this conversation. She’s already pushing the edges of her small window of time. “Sleep together, then go back into the zone?”

“Sure?” She sounds like she’s trying to convince herself. “What do you think?”

“Let’s make a go of it.”

I’ll take what I can get for now. I’ll accept her gracious offer because I can’t think about anything except her now. She’s in the front of my mind, and she’s rapidly claiming a stake in my heart.

I’ll sort out the rest later.

For now, I’m going to walk home and enjoy the night air with the taste of her still on my lips.