Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 19583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
I hold her tighter against my body, but the intensity of this kiss demands privacy, forcing me to stop and back up. The tip of my tongue glides across my lip, my face splitting into a grin.
We've crossed a line we can never get back from, and I try my best not to howl like a madman. It somehow feels like I just conquered something.
Jesus. She tastes so much sweeter than I thought possible, and I can’t get enough. I can spend the next two lifetimes kissing her, and it still won’t be enough. Danielle deserves to be worshiped in every way.
Danielle touches her mouth with her small fingers, her eyes glassy. "That was less awkward."
"It was just right."
She bites her bottom lip, her chest heaving. "So, dinner tonight, and I can show you what I do tomorrow? A session to overcome any fear you have."
"I offered to take you on a date, and you want to turn it into work. It sounds like you're afraid to go out with me, Jelly Bean. Isn't going out together a part of the and stuff aside from kissing?"
"It is, but all of this is happening so fast." She shivers again as another December evening breeze blows.
This time, I open her car door all the way. I have so many plans for us, and none of them will happen if she freezes to death. "Get in the car and warm up. I'll be over to your mom's place by six. I just gotta close up the shop for the night. Oh, and before you talk about rules and sessions, I have a rule of my own."
"What's that?"
"Once I've touched the right spot, no one else touches it. Mine is mine. I don’t share." She reaches up to gently touch her lips with a smile, and I lean forward, kissing her softly and pulling back. "I'm talking about the car, too."
3
DANIELLE
Collin's too sexy, too handsome, too charming, and lives too far away for anything to actually come out of this relationship. I'm not afraid to date, but I don't want to date long-distance. But maybe we can make the four-hour drive from D.C. to Heffen's Bluff work. I'm not sure my car will make it regularly.
Wait, why am I thinking about this already? Less than an hour ago, I was blabbering about a boyfriend who didn’t exist. Then, I lied about dating Collin. Now, I’m actually considering turning it into the real thing.
The way my thoughts bounce around forces me to keep them to myself. Collin waits inside his truck while I merge back into highway traffic safely. He follows me all the way to the Heffen's Bluff exit, where we go our separate ways at a fork in the road. My heart races at the insanity that's sure to come, but hey, at least I'll have a good kisser to have some fun with for the holiday.
My God, what a good kisser Collin's turned out to be. It makes me wonder if I would have ever left Heffen's Bluff if we started kissing as teenagers. Two hormone-raging 17-year-olds under one roof. No wonder Collin and Dad never saw eye to eye.
The drive through my small hometown reminds me how much has changed and how much hasn't. It’s like stepping back in time.
A sense of nostalgia washes over me as I pass the familiar houses decked in colorful Christmas lights, some with glowing reindeer and inflatable Santas on their front lawns.
It's a sleepy little place that shows me life doesn't have to be so fast-paced, like when I'm home in D.C. The nation's capital isn't for the weak. You have to be power-hungry on most days. I guess that's one reason I enjoy doing what I do so much. Being able to see the vulnerability in some of the movers and shakers of our nation's government is a power trip on its own.
On the same note, it's no wonder why I dread coming back to Heffen's Bluff. I don't feel powerful here. I feel like a loser lost in her work so much that she's losing out on all the fun of being an adult.
The only bonus is getting to be with Mom, my brother, and my sister. We tease each other, but deep down, I'd do anything for them, and I know they'd do anything for me. It reminds me of those quiet days from long ago when Collin used to live with us. He didn't behave like my brother, but he looked after me when he could, even at school.
No one messed with me because he was never far behind. When I walked my way home, Collin was a few steps behind, acting like he didn’t care, but his gaze was always sharp, scanning the area to see if danger was near.
I touch my lips again. There's something in that kiss from Collin that has me ready to open my mind to the possibility of what could be. It was hot, no doubt about it, but there was something that shifted in me with that kiss. The possessiveness and intimacy of it despite us being out on the road. The way my body came alive under his touch.