“You still up for that other kiss?” Matthew’s blue eyes were burning straight through her.
“Yes.” She put her glass down. “Are you? I don’t want to—”
Matthew leaned in and captured her lips with his, silencing whatever she’d been about to say. Every other thought left her mind as he kissed her. His mouth moved slowly, languidly over hers. He licked at the seam of her closed lips and she opened them for him. At that first caress of his tongue, she moaned. He flicked his tongue against hers, playful and sinful at the same time. He was exploring her, learning her tastes in all the ways she liked to be kissed. He made her feel as though she was the only person in the world. No man had ever made her feel like that.
When their mouths parted, he leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers while he curled his fingers around the back of her neck. Their breath mingled in the closeness of the private booth.
“Challenge fulfilled?” he asked, his voice rough.
“Most definitely.” She wanted to ask him to repeat the performance just to be sure, but she never been that assertive in her love life.
“Matthew… I…” She stumbled over her own thoughts. “That was really nice.”
“Just nice?” His eyes twinkled and it sent wild sparks of excitement shooting through her entire body.
“Amazing,” she clarified. “You kiss like a god. There. You happy?” She returned with a teasing laugh.
“I’m only happy if you are.”
God, could the man be any more perfect? He was killing her with sweetness.
“If you ever want me to fulfill any more of those challenges, I’ll be right here.” He pulled out a card from his pocket and slid it over to her. She saw his name and number along with the Love Potion #9 logo of a smoking martini glass that looked as though it held a bewitched potion inside.
“That’s my cell.” He brushed a feathery kiss over her lips, collected their empty glasses, and returned to the bar before he pulled his black apron on. She grabbed her purse and waved goodbye to him before she headed home.
As she got ready for bed that night, she checked her messages one last time. A new hanky-panky challenge was there fromVesper1.
Labor of love challenge:Take a significant other out to do something new and fun that requires a little bit of work. This is a chance to experience something interesting together. Real love requires a bit of labor.
4
Labor of Love
“Who’s the girl?”
“Hmmm?” Matthew glanced up from stacking pint glasses to see his best friend and business partner, Will Goodman, leaning against the bar with a smirk.
“The girl. Who is she?” Will repeated, his brown eyes glinted with mischief.
“There’s no girl.” Matthew insisted. The last thing he wanted was for his friend to make fun of him. Will had a new girl every week, but he knew that Matthew was a one girl kind of man.
“You were humming Metallica. You only do that when you’re thinking of a girl.”
“Shut up.” He snapped, but Will kept grinning.
“Come on, man. Tell me who she is. I know you’ve been taking different shifts in order to see her.”
“Oneshift. It wasonetime.” He had issued the French kiss challenge a week ago and he still couldn’t believe Aubree had accepted and come to him. He’d made one of his favorite romantic cocktails and shared one of the best kisses of his life. He could still feel her petal soft lips and taste the cocktail on her tongue… God, kissing her had been like a drug.
And I’m hopelessly addicted.
“Matt, seriously. I know you’ve been avoiding dating after what happened in Perth but come on. This girl might be good for you. At least tell me about her.”
Matthew set the last of his glasses down on the counter. He knew he better tell Will something or his friend would never shut up.
“She came in here one night and I saw that she had a really bad date. The asshole left her with the bar tab. I struck up a conversation and she’s incredible. Sexy, smart, and confident, except for her dating life.”
“So, you’re dating her now?”
