Thoughtful(124)

When her hand on my hip ran down my thigh and her head started turning toward me, I almost thought she could hear my mental urging. Yes, please. Kiss me. Now. Not able to take her slow, teasing movements, I grabbed her chin and pulled her mouth to mine. I was sure she was going to pull away the moment we touched. I was sure she was going to haul off and slap me. But…she didn’t. Her lips attacked mine with a voraciousness that betrayed how much she’d missed me. I whimpered with how much I needed her, needed this. I didn’t even care who might be watching anymore. Her body was all that mattered. This connection was all that existed.

Our lips parted and my tongue felt her mouth. She spun in my arms, tossed her hands into my hair, and clung to me with every inch of her. God, I’d never felt such passion and desire. It was even more intense than our time together in the espresso stand. I wanted to lay her down, wanted to explore every inch of her, but there was no room here.

I was nearly gasping for breath as I ran my hands up her shirt. Her bare skin under my fingertips was heaven. Pure, blissful heaven. I needed more, so much more. My body was hard, straining. I wanted her to feel it, wanted her to know what she did to me. Our kiss still fast and frantic, I ran my hand down her backside, around to her thigh. I lifted her leg around my hip so she could feel me as our sensitive parts lined up. Groaning, she pulled apart from me. I thought she might leave now, but she didn’t. Resting her head against mine, she panted as she stared at me. Then…she started unbuttoning my shirt.

Holy fuck. She was undressing me in the middle of a packed crowd of strangers. Yes, let’s do it here, in front of everyone. Let’s let the world see how much we need each other. Let’s let everyone see us…Anna…Denny. No…we can’t, but God, yes, I want to do this. Where can we go? Somewhere…anywhere…

As she continued to undress me, I crashed my mouth back down to hers. Yes, take me…I’m yours. We’ll go somewhere private and I’ll make you happy. I’ll make you beg, I’ll make you scream. I’ll make you forget everything but me. You’re all I want. Let me…

In my fog of desire, I opened my eyes and scanned the room. Women dancing nearby were watching us, but I didn’t care about them. I needed a closet, a bathroom, a coatroom…somewhere with a door that I could close behind us. That was when I spotted Denny weaving his way through the crowd. Fuck. No. Not now. What the hell do I do? Pull Kiera away with me? He’d notice if she was gone. He’d wonder. He’d find out. But I couldn’t stay here any longer.

Not knowing what else to do, I pushed Kiera back and twisted to blend into the bumping and gyrating crowd. My lips burned with the loss of her, my body ached, but Denny couldn’t see this. He couldn’t catch us. I wouldn’t let that happen. He deserved so much better than walking in on us.

I found a nearby spot in the jam-packed crowd where I could watch Kiera without her seeing me. Her cheeks were flushed, her breath fast, her eyes blazing with desire. For me. But was that enough for her to leave him? For her to choose me? Hands brushed over my back as girls giggled in my ear, asking me to dance, but I ignored them as I watched the confusion blossom over Kiera’s face. She honestly had no idea why I’d shoved her away from me. She didn’t know what I knew.

She figured it out two seconds later when Denny approached her from behind. She spun to face him and I held my breath. This was it, the moment of truth. She was either going to fess up to him right now and tell him she had feelings for me, or she was going to brush aside what had happened between us. Again. And I would know, without a doubt, that I really didn’t mean as much to her as she meant to me.

I was almost too scared to watch what she would do, but I couldn’t turn away either. Please tell him you want me. Please come find me. Please choose me, Kiera. Please. Mere seconds passed before she acted, but within those seconds, a lifetime of hope blossomed within me. I’d gotten through to her. She was going to do it.

The brief hope evaporated the moment her hands grabbed Denny’s face and pulled his lips down to hers. I felt like I’d been socked in the gut with a concrete two-by-four. Multiple times. I couldn’t breathe as I watched her attack him. He seemed startled by her assault at first, but he eagerly returned her affections once he recovered. I didn’t blame him. She was kissing him with no reservations, no inhibitions, just pure, undiluted desire. It was the same way she’d been kissing me just a few minutes ago. How could she do that to me? How could she switch gears so fast? Or had she? Was she still kissing me right now, in her head? Had I just turned her on, then handed her to my best friend? Oh…God…