Elliot smiled against her lips and whispered, “Thank you.”
She had half a second to wonder if he was thanking her for the bite balm or for letting him kiss her before his lips covered hers. It started gently, just a sweet kiss, a bare brush of his lips on hers. Even that small touch had sparks shooting through her, jump starting her heart. Then his hand came up to cup her face, his fingers threading into her hair, and he pulled her in closer, his lips increasing the pressure, moving with hers. His other hand tightened around her waist, drawing her in as close to him as she could get.
She leaned into him. His rock hard chest beneath her softer curves made her want to rub against him like a cat against a bedpost. If he kept up the magic his lips were working she’d be purring too. Her wrists trailed up his arms. She still held the bite balm, but she had no intention of breaking the kiss to put it away. She’d make do.
His lips parted, and he kissed her again, tilting his head for a better angle. His tongue flicked against her lips, and she opened for him, sucking in a sharp breath that ended on a quiet moan in the back of her throat. The noise spurred him on, and he crushed her to him, exploring every corner of her mouth, their lips moving together, tasting each other like they’d never get enough. Her heart raced, every nerve ending tingling. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rising onto her toes so she could get closer.
It was a good thing he was holding on to her because she’d fall over if he let go. She’d read about the whole light-headed feeling in her romance novels, even had a friend tell her that’s how she’d felt the first time she’d kissed her husband. But Lena had never had someone kiss her until her toes curled and she got dizzy. Either it had been too long since she’d been kissed or he was just that damn good.
Elliot came up for air, tilted his head in the other direction, and dragged her back to his lips with both hands cupping her face. Lena moaned again. Oh yeah. He was that good.
Tap, tap, tap.
Giggles erupted and someone tapped on the glass again. Lena gasped and jerked herself out of Elliot’s arms. She hadn’t realized they’d come to a stop right in front of the day care center doors and half a dozen little faces were smiling up at them from behind the window set in the door.
Heat flooded her face, and she took another step away from Elliot, sending up a quick prayer of thanks to whoever was listening that Tyler wasn’t one of the kids who’d seen them.
She shoved the bite balm back into her fanny pack and tucked her hair behind her ear. She found it hard to meet Elliot’s gaze again. Now why would that be? Hmm, maybe because she’d been making out like a teenager in front of a room full of preschoolers. Smooth. Very smooth.
“Thank you,” Elliot said again.
Lena glanced up at him, wondering for the second time what exactly he was thanking her for. Because if it was for the kiss, he was stealing her line. Hell, she was seriously considering buying him a card, engraved with fancy calligraphy, the whole nine yards. That hadn’t been a mere kiss. That had been… She had no words to even describe it.
“For all the ideas on the foundation,” he said, though the heat lingering in his eyes suggested that wasn’t all he was happy with.
She hoped he was just a good mind reader and that she hadn’t actually said any of that out loud. As flustered as she was at the moment, it was a good possibility.
“You’re welcome.” Her voice came out steady and clear. It helped her regain a little of her equilibrium. Until she looked up and saw his gaze lingering on her lips. Their eyes briefly met, and the smile he gave her this time was pure male satisfaction. He’d drawn a response from her and he liked it. And dammit, so did she. In fact, if there wasn’t a room full of kids right next to them…crap!
She walked to the door. Play time was over. Time to get back to the real world. Where she was on her own and knights in shining armor didn’t appear out of nowhere to make promises they’d never keep.
“Hey, can we talk again? About the foundation? Maybe be a sounding board for finalizing things before I pitch it to my parents?” Elliot asked.
Say no, say no, say no. “Sure, sounds great.”
Elliot beamed at her. He leaned in and planted a quick, sweet kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you later, Lena.”
Her name on his lips sent a tremor through her, like he’d run his finger lightly up her spine. If they hadn’t been in front of the day care, she would have turned around and plastered herself against him. Run her hands over every inch of his body. Discovered what other amazing things he could do with that mouth.
But they did have an audience, one of whom was the little boy she’d never in a million years want to disappoint or embarrass. So she shoved those tantalizing thoughts as far down as she could get them and stepped away from him. Maybe it would be better to avoid him for the rest of the week. The last thing she wanted was for Tyler to actually see an ill-advised public display of inappropriate lust. He’d just get attached and confused. Hell, so would she. Better if she just kept away, for all their sakes.