My breath catches.“What about you?”
His jaw tightens.“Am I a good kisser?”
The question hits like a punch to the gut.My pulse skitters, warmth rushing up my neck.I scoff, trying to hide the way my stomach flips.“I didn’t even notice.”
His lips curl in a slow smile.He leans down, his voice soft, intimate, like a secret sliding against my skin.“Liar.”
And then his mouth crashes against mine.
It’s nothing like before—nothing like the whiskey-fueled desperation outside.This kiss is raw, molten, electric.His lips move against mine with purpose, his tongue stroking deep, coaxing mine into a cadence.My free hand grabs his shirt, dragging him closer until there’s no space left between us.
Caleb kisses like he’s making a point, determined to unravel every ounce of denial I’ve ever clung to.His teeth graze my bottom lip, tugging just enough to make me gasp, and he swallows the sound hungrily, angling my head with a hand buried in my hair.
I press my legs together, every nerve ending sparking to life under the force of his mouth on mine.I feel drunk all over again—but this time it’s not from the whiskey.It’s from him.
When we finally break apart, my lips are swollen, my breathing ragged.His forehead rests against mine, his breath fanning across my skin.
“Still didn’t notice?”Caleb’s words are a husky challenge against my lips, and the smugness in his tone sparks something rebellious inside me.I don’t answer—I can’t.Because he’s kissing me again before I even think to form words.
This one is deeper, hungrier.His tongue slides against mine with an expertise that makes my toes curl inside my boots.I’m pinned between the counter and the sheer force of him, my hands gripping his shirt as if I could anchor myself to reality this way.His palm presses against my lower back, urging me closer, until I can feel every hard line of his body against mine.
I gasp when his teeth graze my jaw, his mouth trailing fire down the side of my neck.My head falls back, a whimper escaping me before I can stop it.He groans in response, the sound vibrating against my skin as his hand tightens in my hair, tilting me to give him better access.
“Caleb—” I break the kiss, panting, my lips tingling, my body trembling.“We shouldn’t?—”
His forehead rests against mine, his voice rough, low, threaded with hunger.“We’re drunk, Eve.This doesn’t count.”
The words hang between us, hot and dangerous.
Something reckless flickers inside me, and my lips curve into a shaky smile.“Doesn’t count, huh?”
His smiles, a wicked sight of pure temptation, his blue eyes dark with a hunger that matches mine.“Exactly.”His voice drops further, nearly a growl.“Which means if we do this… if we go further…” His thumb brushes my swollen lower lip, sending shivers racing through me.“It’s fine.”
For half a second, I stare at him, my heart thundering, my breath shallow.And then the dam breaks.
“Fine,” I whisper, before using my hold on his shirt dragging him back down to me.
The kiss is brutal, like the world outside doesn’t exist.He grips my hips, yanking me flush against him, his tongue sliding against mine in a rhythm that has my knees buckling.The counter digs into my lower back, but I don’t care—I’m too lost in the way he devours me, in the way his hands roam over my body like he’s memorizing every curve, every inch he’s denied himself.His mouth moves from my lips to my jaw, to my throat, sucking lightly at the sensitive skin there until I gasp his name.
And God help me—I don’t stop him.I don’t want to.
His mouth crashes back onto mine fiercely.His tongue sweeps past my lips, claiming, demanding, until I’m clawing at his shirt like I need him closer or I’ll combust.His hands are everywhere—gripping my waist, sliding down to squeeze my ass, pulling me tight against the hard ridge straining in his jeans.I gasp into his mouth, and his answering groan vibrates against my lips.
“God, you taste like whiskey and trouble,” he mutters against my mouth, biting at my lower lip before sucking it between his teeth.“Bet I can make you beg for my cock.”
“You’re such an arrogant ass,” I breathe, my nails raking down his chest.“Keep deluding yourself.”
Caleb laughs deeply before dragging his lips down the column of my throat.“And I bet you’re soaking for me,” he growls, sucking hard enough to leave a mark.“Tell me again how much you hate me while you’re trembling like this.”
“I do hate you,” I bite out, but my voice cracks when he grabs my blouse, popping buttons open one by one until the lace of my bra is exposed.
“Liar.”His mouth closes over the swell of my breast, wet heat searing through the fabric as his teeth graze my nipple.
I arch against him, my fingers tangling in his hair despite every ounce of pride screaming at me to shove him off.“Prick.”
His chuckle pulses against my skin as he yanks my bra down, baring me to the cold kitchen air.His tongue flicks over my nipple, then he sucks it into his mouth, hard, until I gasp, clutching his head tighter.
“God—” I whimper, the sound slipping out before I can stop it.
