Kiss Me

by Kristine Mason

  She wanted to. She also wanted to shove their plates out of the way, dive across the table and straddle his lap. Kiss him senseless and unleash every erotic fantasy she’d had about him over the last four months. Instead, she twined her fingers in his and nodded. “I’m game.”

  A big grin spread across his kissable lips.

  “Keep in mind, though, I’ll abide by your no-sex rule, because I get it. I get you. But if we’re being honest, I haven’t had sex in a long time, so don’t be surprised by how much I love to kiss.”

  Heat simmered in his gaze.

  “Or the places I love to kiss.”

  At that moment, their server approached and Jenna smothered a giggle, because Luke looked as if he’d just signed a deal with the devil. Yeah, she’d date him. Being exclusive wasn’t a big deal to her considering she rarely dated. But for him though…

  She wasn’t testing him. Not really. Yet a part of her looked forward to seeing just how far she could push the limits as to how intimate they could become, without sex.

  While the server cleared their plates, Jenna imagined some kinky kissing scenarios, then out of nowhere, her conscience reared its ugly head.

  He wanted honesty between them.

  As a trained psychologist, she knew guilt served absolutely no purpose. Guilt sidetracks true feelings and manipulates motivations. She’d had professors claim that guilt wasn’t even an emotion. What a crock of crap. She was feeling highly emotional right now, and all those feelings were zeroing in on plain old guilt.

  Her clinical mind knew she had no reason to feel any fault or self-reproach for not being totally honest with Luke. Okay, so he’d confessed to being a player and thought she was little miss prim and proper. Still, she saw no reason to humiliate herself by telling him all about her wild and wicked past. Not tonight, and not until she saw where whatever they’d just started ended up going.

  *

  Part of the plan Luke had concocted with Darci entailed Jenna taking a cab to the restaurant. This way, he’d be able to drive her home. But his plan had backfired on him, because as he pulled into Jenna’s driveway, he struggled with exactly how he should end the evening. Should he kiss her? He snuck a peek at Jenna’s long legs. With the way she sat, her black dress had hiked up and displayed miles of toned, tanned skin. Man, how he’d love to feel those thighs wrapped around his waist.

  His arousal throbbed as he shifted the Explorer into park. No, kissing would be bad. Kissing would lead to touching. Touching would lead to stroking. Stroking would lead to — he cut the ignition, willed his cock to behave, then climbed out of the SUV. As he approached the passenger door to help Jenna, she’d already begun to scoot off her seat.

  Her dress raised mid-thigh and he swore he caught a quick glimpse of her panties — hot pink. Worried about tenting his pants, he averted his gaze and offered his hand.

  “Thanks for the ride home,” she said, and led him along the brick walkway to her front porch.

  As she unlocked the door, he hesitated on the bottom step.

  “Want to come in for a nightcap?”

  He wanted to. Hell, he wanted to come, make her come. Make her scream his name loud enough to wake the neighbors.

  “I, uh,” he floundered, his body and mind battling to make the right decision. If he went inside, he’d have an opportunity to spend more one-on-one time with Jenna. He was a changed man, right? He was now in an exclusive relationship not based on sex.

  Except sex was what Jenna wanted.

  When she leaned against the porch column and crossed her arms under her chest, the movement drew his gaze to the ample view of her cleavage.

  He didn’t trust himself where Jenna was concerned. She could easily sway him from his no-sex rule with a simple bat of her long lashes. He needed to keep his cool and follow through with his original plan. Exclusive dating with only kissing allowed.

  “I better head home.”

  “What’s wrong?” She moved off the porch. Between her heels and the concrete step, she stood eyelevel. Her perfume, a potent mixture of wildflowers and sunshine, gripped him by the balls.

  “Nothing. It’s late, and I have to go into the office tomorrow.”

  “On a Sunday? You’re either dedicated or hell bent on avoiding another day of working on Darci’s house.”

  Not only was he dedicated to his job, he had an opportunity with a client that would take him straight to partnership by the end of the summer. He couldn’t afford to let anything screw up his chances to become the primary accountant for Margie Benson, owner of Benson Steel & Fabricating. During the past ten years, the Cleveland-based company had grown in worth from two million to two hundred million dollars. Margie had expanded the operation into Detroit and St. Louis and was now looking at the accounting firm where he worked, Dryscal & Myers, and specifically at him, to take over their auditing program. A huge achievement if he landed the account and one that would not go unnoticed by the firm’s board of directors.

  He frowned and thought about what Jenna had said. “Darci told me all she had left to work on was the kitchen.” He and Darci had been discussing the possibility of him purchasing her old Victorian home since she’d move in with Nate, and he’d suggested that she leave the kitchen alone. He’d rather remodel it himself and didn’t expect Darci to pay for the extensive makeover he’d had in mind.

  “Yeah, but the yard needs a little TLC. I’m heading over in the morning to help.”

  He glanced at the manicured flowerbeds surrounding Jenna’s walkway and front porch. “Well, considering what you’ve done with your own yard, I can see why Darci wants your expertise.”

  The low, breathy laugh she released intensified the arousal he’d been sporting for most of the night. “I can’t take the credit. I pay the kids down the street to do it. I just happen to be a born supervisor.” She sent him a playful wink and cocked her head. “You sure you’re okay?”

  Damn, she was sweet, and sexy, and he needed to leave before he did or said something stupid. “Yeah.” He hesitated, then tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I had a great time.”

  She smiled. “Me too.”

  He thumbed toward his Explorer. “I should probably go.”

  Her smile faltered. She shifted her gaze to his mouth, then looked away. “So…thanks again for everything.”

  He stared at her lips. Just a kiss. That’s all he wanted. One taste of her and then he would leave. But would one kiss be enough?

  Forcing his gaze away from temptation, he cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t be too long at the office. Would you like to go boating tomorrow afternoon?”

  She widened her eyes and smiled. “I’d love to.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up around three?”

  “Sounds good. I told Darci she only has me for a few hours anyway.”

  “Great,” he said because he didn’t know what the hell else to say. He also couldn’t help drifting his gazeto those lush, kissable lips again. Kissing was allowed. Maybe if he simply got their first kiss out of the way, he could relax a little.

  Right, keep telling yourself that.

  Then he caught her staring at his mouth again. She licked her lips, and something inside him snapped. Without thinking about the consequences, he reached for her, brushed his palm against her silky, soft cheek until he cupped her head and drew her close. So close, her scent would linger on his skin and clothes for the rest of the night. He gave her a second to pull away from him, if she wanted. Instead, she swayed forward, nudged her nose against his, then parted her lips. Her moist, warm breath fanned across his mouth and he couldn’t help himself.

  He brushed his lips against hers and swore he’d never felt anything more erotic in his life when she did the same. The soft graze, the lingering taste, as if they both wanted to sear this moment to memory, ripped through him.

  Then she nipped his lower lip.

  He lost it. Crushed his mouth against her parted lips, then drove his tongue deep. Their teeth scraped, nose
s collided and when she purred a muffled moan, he gripped her head with both hands and possessed her mouth, until they both came up breathless and gasping for air.

  He’d meant to be gentle, wanted their first kiss to be chaste and simple. But that little, sexy tug she’d given him had shot his willpower to hell.

  His lips stung, hers were swollen and moist. Unable to resist her tempting mouth he leaned in for another kiss.

  Blinding fluorescent lights from Jenna’s next door neighbor put them on stage. Luke stepped back and shaded his eyes. Her neighbor had lights like the Ohio Penitentiary and he was waiting for sirens, guard dogs and maybe even an escaped convict to dash across the lawn.

  “Everything okay over there?” her neighbor called while leaning from her screen door.

  Jenna mumbled something under her breath, then shouted, “Everything’s fine, Lucinda. You can douse the lights now.”

  Luke continued to see sharp pinpoints of light, even after Lucinda did as Jenna had requested. He blinked several times and once he’d regained normal vision, he caught Jenna giving him a shy smile. Damn, she was as sweet as melting ice cream on a hot summer day, and tasted even better. He wanted to lick her up, taste every inch of her until he knew every intimate spot like the back of his hand. Found every freckle and committed it to memory. Although the arousal tenting his pants belied the fact, it was probably good that Jenna’s neighbor had taken that particular moment to light up the neighborhood. Otherwise, he might have thrown his no-sex rule straight to the curb.

  “Sorry about Lucinda. She’s a little nosey and a little over protective.”

  Luke looked next door. “A little? I just hope she doesn’t flip on her porch lights too often. She’s using enough wattage to suck the electricity from the rest of the neighborhood,maybe even half of Cleveland.”

  “Stop,” Jenna laughed. “Leave the helpless old woman alone.”

  “Helpless? I was waiting for her to pull a shotgun on me.”

  “The only thing Lucinda could attack you with is her cats and a frying pan.”

  Sliding a long strand of hair between his fingers, he gave the lock a gentle tug and leaned forward. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Maybe next time we should take our kiss inside,” she said, and inched closer.

  As she grazed her lips against his, he realized he had two choices. One, he could kiss her again and in the process convince himself that it was a-okay to head inside for a nightcap that would most definitely lead to sex. Or two, go home and take a cold shower. Option one appealed to him the most, but then he’d be right back where he’d started — diving into a relationship dick first.

  He didn’t want that. If he gave into Jenna’s friend with benefits crap, their relationship would end up being based on sex. Just like all his relationships.

  Instead of giving into what his body desired, he gave her a long lingering kiss that bordered on chaste. Almost. The sexual energy between them could probably power up Lucinda’s porch lights. With reluctance and regret for what could have been tonight, he stepped away. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

  While he still held a shred of willpower, he forced his feet to move toward his Explorer. Once inside the SUV, he waited until Jenna closed her front door, thenhe sat in the driver’s seat for a moment.

  He’d made the right decision. He’d thought with his head, the one that calculated numbers for a living, not the one that couldn’t add up — unless growing inches in front of a certain sexy psychologist counted.

  As he backed out of Jenna’s driveway, he tried hard not to think about their kiss. He tried even harder not to think about what she might wear tomorrow. The harder he thought, the harder he became.

  “Damn,” he muttered. “What the hell did I get myself into?”

  Chapter 2

  Jenna yawned as she stepped onto Darci’s front porch. She’d had a difficult time falling asleep last night. Instead of dozing off into dreamland, she’d relived Luke’s kiss over and over again. Imagined inhaling his spicy sweet scent, the press of his lean, hard body, and how his firm mouth had melted against her lips. As much as she had loved the way he’d kissed her, it had scared her too. Luke’s kiss had awakened something inside her. Something that had nothing to do with mere lust, and something she didn’t know how to handle.

  Shoving a hand through her bangs, she shook her head. For crying out loud, she was a psychologist. Sure, she had no problem helping others deal with their emotions, but when it came to hers, everything she’d been taught seemed to fly right out of her head.

  Stifling another yawn, she rang the door bell. Deep gravely barks, mixed with high-pitched yelps assaulted her from the other side of the door. She rolled her eyes. Darci’s mutts had to be the loudest creatures.

  “Good morning.” Darci opened the door with a chipper, sing-song tone that in no way matched Jenna’s current mood, and held her leg outstretched to keep the dogs inside. “How are you?”

  “Exhausted.” Jenna moved past her. In need of a gallon of coffee, she headed for the kitchen. The dogs, Maude and Stella, ran after her, sniffing and snorting.

  Darci followed behind, her bare feet smacking against the hardwood floors. “Does this state of exhaustion have anything to do with last night?”

  Jenna bent and cuddled the dogs, loving every wet, sloppy kiss. “Yes.”

  Darci twirled a dark curl around her finger. “Details?”

  After giving the dogs a final scratch, Jenna stood. “You first.”

  “Me?”

  “I don’t see any other Cupid wannabes in the kitchen.”

  A big grin nearly split Darci’s face in two as she turned to pull a mug from the cabinet. “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please,” Jenna said. Drawn to the strong, mouthwatering aroma of the hazelnut coffee, she sidled toward the kitchen counter. “And don’t think you can sidetrack me with caffeine.”

  Darci sighed as she filled the mugs. “All right, I’ll admit, I so want to see you and Luke hook up, but I swear, last night wasn’t my idea.”

  So Luke was telling the truth. Although she had believed him when he’d admitted asking Darci to switch places, she’d still suspected her friend with the Cupid disorder had pushed the issue.

  While they sat at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and munching on day old blueberry muffins, Darci finished verifying everything Luke had said. “I’m sorry, you’re not mad are you?”

  “No, I’m not mad,” Jenna assured her as she rose to refill their mugs. “Actually, I’m very confused. Luke asked me to date him…exclusively.”

  Darci dropped the muffin. “And?”

  “I agreed.”

  Clapping like she was still head of their high school cheerleading squad, Darci wiggled and bounced in her seat. “And you thought my Cupid stuff was crap.”

  Jenna laughed. “You’re Cupid stuff is crap. But to feed your delusions, here’s what happened.” She then told Darci all the details of her date with Luke, even about the no-sex, kissing-only rule.

  “Wow, I had no idea Luke was such a romantic,” Darci said as she used her fork to shove a smashed blueberry around her plate, then she furrowed her dark brows. “So what are you confused about? I think everything sounds perfect.”

  Jenna sighed and leaned into her chair. Now that Darci was engaged to Nate, she loved love and anything screaming of romance. “For starters, Luke’s exclusive dating stuff borders on commitment. You of all people know how I feel about relationships.”

  Darci nodded. “True.”

  “Plus, Luke’s given me the impression that he thinks I’m some sort of naïve, good girl.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “What’s wrong is that I’m not naïve when it comes to sex and I haven’t been a good little virgin since I was sixteen.” She toyed with the handle of her mug. “And, even if I don’t want to have a relationship with Luke, I still don’t want him to know I used to be an easy lay.”

  “C’mon, you weren’t as
bad as you think.”

  “I wasn’t, huh? Don’t you remember the hell I put my mom through after my dad left us for that…that…” Jenna sputtered and waved a hand in the air.

  “Piece of trash?” Darci offered with a shrug. “Yep, I remember, but that was also over ten years ago. You were young, immature and looking for a way to lash out at your parents. You, Miss I’m Almost a Doctor, should know your reaction to your parents nasty divorce wasn’t unusual. I’m sure you see it all the time with the kids you counsel at the youth center.”

  Jenna released a deep breath. Darci was absolutely right. Yet she still sometimes wished she could turn back the clock and erase some of her mistakes. Although her psychology courses and counseling teens had helped put her own past into a new perspective, she still harbored remorse. For how she’d treated her mother, for how she’d treated her own body. Partying, hooking up with random guys, using sex to banish her insecurities, and avoiding anything close to a commitment or serious relationship. Well, until the jerk from grad school.

  She shook her head. “I do know all those things now, but it doesn’t matter. Guys are funny about that kind of stuff. I guarantee Luke would be totally turned off if he knew about my wild past, even if I’d done those things a long time ago.”

  “That’s a bullshit double standard.”

  Jenna shrugged. “I agree. Like I said though, guys are funny.”

  “But now you’re involved. It sounds like Luke was pretty upfront with you. Don’t you think he deserves the same? Have you thought about that?”

  Jenna stood and placed her dish and mug in the sink. Yes, she’d thought about it. “I wouldn’t consider usinvolved,” she said over her shoulder. “So, I don’t see any reason to tell Luke anything. Actually, the more I think about, I should probably cancel today.”

  “Today? What are you talking about?”

  Jenna cringed as she sat back down. She’d forgotten that she hadn’t told Darci about their afternoon plans. “Luke asked me to go boating, but I think it would be best to end this before it starts.”