Sweet Evil(40)

Kissing was far more blissful and intimate than I’d dared to let myself imagine. His cheeks and chin were rough, but our lips were soft together, careful and slow. I felt his hunger as his lips moved a bit harder, which I found that I wanted. His hand went to my waist, outlining my hip. I could have kissed him all night. It was the most wonderful feeling in the entire world. The tip of my tongue rippled against the smooth ridges on his in a playful, tantalizing sensation. I was so content with this kiss. But it was not enough for him.

His hand trailed up under my shirt, against my belly and rib cage, landing on the small curve of my bra. With one slight squeeze of his hand, the spell was broken and I was pulling my mouth from his. I reeled in my sense of touch with a tight snap.

My hands went from his hair to his chest, pushing him away and sitting all the way up. When Kaidan looked at me, lust raged in his eyes like a tumultuous island storm. He leaned in to kiss me again, but I held my arms out against his chest. His red starburst was throbbing and spinning right in front of me, as large as I’d ever seen it.

“You promised to be on your best behavior,” I reminded him, breathless.

“You kissed me, Anna,” he growled. His voice had gone very deep.

“Well, but you started it by kissing my neck.”

“True. I hadn’t planned that.” His sultry voice, paired with those blazing eyes, told me I needed to get away from him. I hurried to the end of the bed, where I jumped off and began to pace back and forth, yanking out my loose hairband and pulling my hair back into a tight ponytail. I tried hard not to think about the taste of his lips. I’d had my first kiss, and I’d never be the same.

“Why did you stop?” he asked.

“Because you were moving on to other things.”

He scratched his chin and cheek. “Hmm, moved too quickly. Rookie mistake.”

I crossed my arms again, watching him speculate internally like a coach outlining a play that had gone wrong. Incredible. Then he sized me up in his sights again.

“But I can see you still want me.”

I gave him my meanest stare, but it was hard to look at him. Gosh, he was hot! And a total player. The kiss meant nothing to him.

“Oh,” he said with mock sadness, “there it goes. Mad instead? Well, sort of. You can’t seem to muster a really good anger—”

“Stop it!”

“Sorry, was I saying that out loud?”

“I can read people, too, you know. Well, not you, but at least I have the decency to try not to notice, to give them some sort of emotional privacy!”

“Yes, how very decent of you.” He hadn’t moved from his languid position on my bed.

I leaned forward, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him.

“Pillow fight?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Get off my bed. Please. I’m ready to go to sleep.”

He stood up and made a grand arm gesture toward the bed. I crawled onto it, climbing under the scratchy covers and turning my back to him. I realized then that I was still wearing my clothes, but I was not about to get up. I could feel his eyes on my back.

“But I thought we might get naked, just like Adam and Eve, so natural....”

I gasped. I’d forgotten all about that part of my conversation with Scott! Utter humiliation. I curled into a tighter ball.

“Oh, come on. You haven’t even thanked me yet.”

“For what?” I asked, still not looking.

“For saving you from snogging that plonker. You didn’t really fancy him, did you?”

My cheeks burned, and I was glad to be turned away from him. I kept my mouth shut.

“So that’s it, then?” he asked. I ignored him. “I always wondered what it would feel like.”

That made me curious enough to turn to him.

“What what would feel like?” I asked.

“Rejection.” He seemed in the midst of a revelation.

“What are you saying? That no girl has ever told you no?”

“Not one.”

Well, that explained a lot.

“And what about you?” I asked. “Haven’t you ever stopped or said no to a girl?”

He laughed as if I’d said something ridiculous. “Why would I do that?”

“Lots of reasons,” I said. “Never mind, just go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.” I turned away from him again, punching the thick pillow and laying my head down.

“I suppose I did refuse one, but she doesn’t count,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because she was Neph.”

Discomfort gnawed at me.

“This must be the part where I take a cold shower?” he asked.

“Good idea.”

When he was in the bathroom with the water running, I jumped down and changed into my pajamas. Then I leaped back into bed and chanted to myself, Don’t think about the kiss. Don’t think about the kiss. Impossible.