Priceless Treasure(14)

“We’re somewhat alike, but Alexa has one of those bubbly personalities that everyone is drawn to. She’s amazing.”

He paused for a moment, and she would have paid everything in her small savings account to know what he was thinking. Not that it mattered, she tried telling herself.

“You have a —” Ashton stopped whatever he was about to say because of the look that Savvy had just sent him.

She picked things up from here. “You don’t get to be bubbly all the time when you’re working as hard as I am for a good future. I’m not an old maid, though, if I may use an outdated sexist term. I have plenty of time in life to ‘let down my hair’ — quote unquote — and giggle all night and day.” She knew she was being overly sensitive, but she was always told she was the boring and more uptight sister. Despite the occasional beer. That got old after a while.

He was silent for a moment and then he was even smarter when he changed the subject. “Didn’t you make friends in college?”

“Not really. I joined a lot of study groups — one of those high-achieving things — but then I’d move on to the next class. And because I didn’t like to go out and party and stuff like that, people quickly lost interest in me. I never really hooked up with anyone.”#p#分页标题#e#

Savannah blushed again, fiercely, when she thought about what the phrase hook up meant now. But she went ahead. “I’ve always been a little jealous of people who constantly manage to draw other people to them. Then again, if I cared so much, I guess I’d put more effort into it.”

“We all need people in our lives, Savvy. We aren’t meant to be alone.” Ashton reached out his hand and rested it on hers.

Ding ding ding ding! Bad, bad, bad. The red flags were bursting in the air, but the mixed metaphors didn’t quite register in her mind. She was all absorbed in the tingling that shot through her at the innocent touch. Of course it was innocent. And this wasn’t where this conversation should be leading right now. She gazed desperately at the shapes in the sky.

“Did you know that ancient mariners used the stars when they navigated?” she asked.

His hand stayed on hers, and her heart raced, but she was trying to think of something else to say when he finally spoke.

“Yes. But I never did too much research on it, Savannah, to tell you the truth. I’m more in tune with modern technology.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by anything that has to do with the ocean, and the stars are a big map in the sky, so obviously I’ve studied them. You can always find your way back home if you just look up.” Her throat was beginning to dry out the longer he touched her. Not good at all.

“Do you always speak so much when you’re unsettled, Savvy?” he asked, his fingers dancing on her skin.

Okay, now it was time to go. Her heart was racing, her skin tingling, and her throat practically closing. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

“Well, it’s been fun, but I’m exhausted,” she said with an exaggerated yawn as she sat up, downed the rest of her beer, and practically bounded to her feet.

Big mistake. She immediately began feeling wobbly.

But Ashton leapt up and caught her before she went down. Like a classic romantic hero. And then they were standing there, her gaze held by his, the stars shining in all their glory right over them. She couldn’t remember why kissing this man was such a bad idea.

And then she wasn’t allowed to think anymore. He was leaning forward and … and … and. Damn. Yes, she knew this wasn’t supposed to happen, or she must have known it somewhere deep down inside, but as his lips brushed against hers, as his hands caressed her back, and as his tongue slipped inside her mouth, she couldn’t remember anything, let alone why she shouldn’t kiss her boss.

His hands slid up and down her back, his lips coaxed hers open, his tongue performed magic, and all the while she was helpless to do anything but cling tightly to him.

“Savvy,” he moaned before he trailed his lips down her jaw and sucked the skin of her neck.

Never had she enjoyed a kiss so much. Heck, she’d never experienced anything like this before. Not once! How was she supposed to stop something that felt so right — so incredible? With the other guys, it had been easy to put an end to it because she hadn’t felt this heat pooling in her stomach, hadn’t felt the rest of the world fade away.

With Ashton, she forgot her own name, and she also forgot the reasons she shouldn’t allow him to make her feel such unbelievable passion. The night was made for romance. When his mouth reached the swell of her breast, she somehow gained back her sanity.