“Have you ever done any of those, Rose?”
I nodded slowly.
“That’s only three. Do you know the other four?”
“Wrath, pride, greed,…lust.”
His face moved closer to mine. My heart beat even faster, trying to flip-flop out of my chest.
“Ever felt greed?”
“I don’t know.”
“Lust?” His mouth was inches from mine.
Overcome with a yearning I’d never felt before, I didn’t answer, just studied his face.
“Have you really never been kissed? I find that so hard to believe.” His free hand caressed my cheek.
I felt his breath on my face and something in me ached with a need I couldn’t name.
His mouth lowered so close to mine, our lips almost touched. “I can help you with an item on your list.”
“Which one?” I whispered, searching his eyes and trying not to go cross-eyed.
“Number fourteen, a kiss.”
My heart thumped so hard I wondered if I was about to have a heart attack. But I decided if I was gonna die, then kissing Joe was probably a good way to go. “Can you make it a really good one?”
Joe laughed, tilting his head back, to my utter disappointment.
“So you can’t make it a good one or you don’t want to kiss me?” I asked, peeved.
He stopped laughing. “Neither.” The hand around my waist inched up my back, pulling me even closer to him, which I hadn’t thought possible. He did it slow and deliberate, like I was a mouse and he was a cat, playing with his prey. His eyes bore into mine, his mouth inching closer. My heart rate sped up again, the ache inside growing with every second.
“Are you sure, Rose?” he asked, a small grin lifting the corners of his mouth and making his eyes twinkle.
“Yes,” I sighed and closed my eyes.
His lips touched mine, soft and gentle, pulling my lower lip between his. I felt his tongue dart out and tickle my upper lip. I gasped and he pulled me even closer, his mouth working magic on mine, igniting a bonfire in my gut that threatened to consume me. My legs felt weak and I wrapped my arms around his neck to steady myself. His response was to open his lips even more and do things with his tongue that I had never considered before. I clung to him for dear life, certain I would never survive the onslaught of fire raging through my body.
When he pulled his mouth away, we both panted, our faces inches apart. His hand cupped my face and his thumb stroked my cheek. “How was that?”
I thought about it, unsure how to respond. “It’s hard to say, since I have nothin’ else to compare it to, but I think it was probably pretty good.”
“Pretty good?” he asked with a mischievous look in his eye. “Why, if I didn’t know better Rose Gardner, I would suspect you were a tease. Are you telling me that you need something to compare it to?”
I nodded, licking my lower lip where he had nipped.
His eyes followed my tongue. The playfulness fell away and his lips found mine, much more insistent this time, much more demanding. I never thought it possible to lose oneself in someone else, but I lost myself in him. When he stopped, I had no idea if I stood on my own. Turns out I didn't. Joe held me up with the arm around my back.
“Was that one better?” Huskiness filled his words.
“Does it get even better than that?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.
“Yes,” he said, his breath tickling my face. “But it involves more than just kissing. You would have to move to number fifteen.”
“Do more…?”
“Yes.”
“Can you help me with that one too?” I asked, eager.
Joe groaned, pulled my face to his chest and murmured into my ear. “You have no idea how much I want to help you with that, but I can’t. You’re drunk and it wouldn’t be right.”
I pulled back in protest. “I’m not drunk!”
“You most certainly are. Try to walk a straight line.”
I had serious doubts about my ability to do that.
“There you go.” Joe said, smiling. But he looked a little sad too. “Do you still have to go to the bathroom?”
I nodded.
“Can you make it by yourself?”
“I think so…,”
Joe decided it would be better if he escorted me inside. I shut the bathroom door behind me, looking at my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes sparkled. I’d never seen myself look that way.
When I walked out, Joe waited outside the door.