“No.” I shook my head against him. “No . . . that just feels really good.”
“Youfeel really good,” he remarked, burying his nose in my hair. “And you smell good, too. And you taste like divine danger.”
I giggled. “I think you just found my wrestling name, Deacon. Divine Danger. Mistress of the Ring.”
“I didn’t know wrestling was one of your ambitions.” He drew in a deep breath. “Emma, if I haven’t said it before now, I really love this dress.”
“Jenny helped me pick it out. I wasn’t sure, but she told me it was hot stuff.”
“She was right. But I happen to think the body inside the dress is even hotter.” He sucked my ear lobe into his hot mouth, making me moan when his teeth sank gently into the soft flesh.
I smiled, snuggling even closer to Deacon, my fingers grabbing the back of his shirt to help me hold on. “Look at me, Deacon.”
He lowered his head, resting his forehead against mine. “Is that close enough?”
“It works.” I took advantage of his position to press my lips to his again. “Turns out I’m not done kissing you yet. If you don’t mind, that is.”
“Do you hear me minding?”
He allowed me to set the pace this time, and when my tongue stroked over his, he gave a small grunt that I was pretty sure was pleasure. I arched my back, rubbing my breasts against the hard plane of his chest, wishing like hell that we didn’t have layers of clothes between us. When I ground my hips into him, I knew that Deacon agreed with me wholeheartedly.
“Emma, sweetheart, we need to–” He broke off, panting. “I’m not going to be able to walk back up the beach in a minute. And I wasn’t lying about the police keeping an eye on things around here. If they see us getting out of control, they’ll give us a hard time.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Pretty sure ahardtime is exactly what I was hoping for.”
“Jesus, woman.” He sounded pained. “You’re killing me.”
“Just returning the favor, baby.” I let one of my hands trail down to give his ass a quick squeeze. “But don’t worry. I’ll behave. As long as I know I’m getting a goodnight kiss when you take me back to my trailer.”
“Most definitely.” He nodded. “And possibly a few lead-up kisses if we end up hitting any red lights on the way home. You know, just to keep our lips limber.”
“You’re such a dork,” I snickered against his mouth, which was still nipping at my lips and teasing me.
“Maybe so.” Releasing me, he bent to retrieve our shoes, shaking the sand from them before turning and taking my hand again. “But you wanted to see the lighter, non-serious side of me.” He tapped the center of his chest. “This is me. Funny, not so stuffy, but definitely a little bit of a dork.”
“It’s adorable. I’m not complaining one bit.” I leaned up to kiss his cheek as we began to walk in the opposite direction, back toward the restaurant where Deacon’s truck was parked. I felt very well-kissed, a little punch drunk from horny sex hormones racing through my blood, and on fire as I anticipated his next touch. It wasn’t a bad way to be.
“Do you want to stop and eat dessert before we drive back?” Deacon asked me as we climbed the wooden steps from the sand to the deck outside the restaurant.
I shook my head. “Not unless you do. I’m not hungry.”
“Me, neither. And here I thought kissing was supposed to build up an appetite.”
“We ate a big meal before we started kissing. Maybe that was our sweet treat. It’s why neither of us needs cake.” I held onto Deacon’s arm as I eased my shoes back onto my feet.
“Possibly.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. “It’s a shame, though. The desserts here are incredible.”
“Guess I’ll have to take your word for it.” I bumped against Deacon’s side as we began to walk toward his truck.
“Or we’ll have to come back.” His fingers at my hip traced a small, tantalizing design through my dress. “But the next time, we’ll get a hotel room here, so we can take our time. So we don’t have to rush back.”
Happy anticipation welled within me. I wasn’t sure if it was the thought of spending the night alone with Deacon in a beachside hotel room—that smacked of romance—or if it was the fact that he was already planning to bring me back for another visit.
Either way, all of my lady bits sang in happy chorus, and my heart melted into a puddle of swooning glee. It seemed Deacon had my entire being humming.
And no part of me at all was complaining about that.
13
