Our eyes locked, and I got my answer. Her molten amber pools practically swirled with invitation.
I shouldn’t…
I didn’t even register moving closer until my face was centimeters away from hers. She pulled in a sharp breath, but she didn’t push me away. Instead, her lips parted, and she tilted her head up, just slightly, but enough to make her intention clear.
That was all the permission I needed. I pressed my lips to hers. They were softer than I imagined, warm and plush against mine. The kiss was soft and tentative as I gave her time to get comfortable. Her movements were hesitant, but I gently led until she found the rhythm. Heat spread from my lips to my entire body, and my heart jolted with feelings I’d never felt for any girl before. I backed off, not wanting to overwhelm her with the potent desire I had developed.
She was breathless, her chest heaving, lips parted, and eyes half-lidded. She looked as dazed as I felt.
“That was… Was that a practice kiss?” she whispered.
I’d kissed many experienced lips, yet this one was the best I’d ever had. I couldn’t understand it. “If that’s what you want to call it.”
Wide eyes, brimming with innocence and curiosity, collided with mine. “Well, now I want the real thing,” she said.
I didn’t get the chance to respond. She clutched my shirt and pulled me back to her. Our mouths met in a fierier dance this time. As she rose on her toes to wind her arms around my shoulders, I palmed her hips and pressed her against the counter. I deepened the kiss, my tongue tracing the seam ofher lips, seeking entrance. She parted them for me, allowing me to explore her sweet mouth. She tasted heavenly—innocent and forbidden. That should have stopped me, but I was ashamed to admit I’d lost control of my logical self.
Ava made a little noise, a cross between a gasp and a moan. It sent a bolt of desire straight to my core. I pulled her closer. If I could somehow get into her skin, I would. Her soft curves just felt so good against me. I could even feel her nipples hardening against my chest.
Fuck.
I had to stop. We were in her parents’ kitchen. The Montgomerys trusted me in their home, and here I was pawing at their innocent daughter. But she was so sinfully delicious. By sheer force of will, I pulled myself away. She clutched the counter behind her as if she needed help to stay standing.
We both breathed heavily as we stared at each other in amazement. That confirmed that she felt it too. The spark that had flickered to life the moment she descended those stairs earlier. Screw the spark. It was a full-blownwildfire.
"Wow," she breathed, her voice husky. “That was one hell of a first kiss.”
“Ava…”
“Please don’t say it was a mistake.”
I scoffed softly. Mistake? Far from it. I was going to say, I shouldn’t have done that because she was Ethan’s sister. I knew from that moment one taste of her wouldn't be enough.
Ethan was going to kill me.
7
AVA
Present
The car was parked, but I’d been sitting in it for ten minutes. The engine still purred, and cool air from the AC brushed my face. Still, I was hot from the inside out because I got caught up in the past yet again. I’d been unwillingly tossed back into time because of some peppy pop song about a first kiss andjust one little spark, playing on the radio.
Before I knew it, I was reliving my first kiss. It had come a little late, but I didn’t regret it. It was perfect. That kiss had led to thatone little sparkas the song mentioned, that made me tumble head over heels for my brother’s best friend. Of course, it just took one kiss. Ever since Ethan had brought Lincoln home one afternoon, I’d had the biggest crush on him. I’d already been half in love with the guy before anything happened between us. Before that fateful night, Lincoln always treated me like… well, his friend's little sister.
I touched my lips as if I could still feel the weight of Lincoln’s on mine a whole twelve years later. Even my heart sped up like it did when the kiss happened.
“God,” I muttered, stabbing the off button on the radio. “Stupid song.”
I came back to the present and the reality that I was supposed to hate my first love now. “There is absolutely nothing left between us,” I grumbled as I gathered my bag and phone. “As a matter of fact, that summer fling was just…” A fantasy Lincoln and I had foolishly allowed ourselves to fall into. We’d been young and naïve to think there would be a future for us.
My next exhale was a little shaky because I always got so emotional after thinking about what was and what could have been. Shaking my head, I got out of my rental. I needed to get my head in the game… literally. I’d done so much research on football that I was reciting past Super Bowl scores in my sleep now. There was enough football jargon floating around my brain to drive me mad.
Jaden should be impressed.
I fixed the strap of my crossbody bag and tried not to look too much like someone who had Googled “what to wear to a pro athlete workout”. With a wry twist of my lips, I glanced down at my yoga pants and sneakers.
Taking a deep breath, I took off toward the entrance of the facility. Today was my first official day of work. While my stomach fluttered with nerves, I wasn’t too worried about interacting with my subject. Jaden struck me as a down-to-earth guy. He seemed sweet, and there was a happy innocence about him. Today, he and his teammates were doing strength and conditioning workouts.
