“Shh...and yes.”
A grin spread to her lips as she eagerly leaned even closer on the arm of the sofa. “What was it like? Is he handsy? Was there tongue?”
Our mother cleared her throat from across the room, where she was looking at us with a warning in her eyes. Thankfully none of the other women noticed, as they filled the room with their busy and constant flow of chatter.
Jane and I fell silent until Mom looked away.
“Please tell me,” Jane pleaded quietly, sitting forward again. “You know Mom and Dad won’t let me date yet. Let me live vicariously through you.”
I smiled a little as my mind drifted to the kiss. How Dean handled it with so much urgency and want, it felt like I might've combusted or melted in the moment. Just thinking about him again caused my heart to beat a little faster. “It was...nice.”
Jane’s smile dropped, replaced by a grimace. “Nice?”
I caved. “Okay, fine. It was perfect and passionate, but gentle. And he did this thing with his tongue—”
Mom interrupted again, this time tapping a teaspoon to her teacup to get the attention of the room. Inviting everyone to pick up a bible and turn to a passage about not giving in to sin or temptation. Her eyes fell on me when she mentioned the last part. Jane took two bibles from the coffee table and handed one to me before we opened them to the page in silence, avoiding eye contact with each other in case we burst into a fit of giggles.
When one of the women began to read the passage out loud, with the group following along, Jane leaned against the arm of her chair again. This time making it look like she was just resting on her elbow. Her voice was barely a whisper as she kept her eyes on the bible pages. “Are you going to start seeing him? For real this time.”
I didn’t look up from my own bible. “How did you know it was fake?”
“Call it sisterly clairvoyance.” I looked at her from the corner of my eye to catch the little smile on her face. “So?”
I paused as I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I’m not sure...”
The kiss, while amazing in every way, was still just a kiss. I didn’t know how Dean truly felt about me, apart from the fact he wanted me close last night. Jane’s words suddenly pulled me from the haze of it all. We hadn't spoken about our feelings, let alone indicated we had any for each other — though my blushing and inability to control my heart rate around him was a clear giveaway of mine.
While the intrusive thoughts threatened to put a dampener on my mood, taunting and dancing around the edge of my mind with what-ifs and questions about what he really wanted, I reminded myself that none of this was one-sided.
He had kissed me back.
Chapter 45
Dean
They hovered around the back of the gray maintenance van like vultures, visible in the rearview mirrors as they watched the numerous cases of weapons being unloaded by Antonio’s dodgy crew.
I adjusted the bandana tied around the lower half of my face, sitting in the front seat with a hand resting on the steering wheel as I kept a close eye on the buyers just outside; six guys dressed in dark clothing. They had guns strapped to their hips and kept a healthy distance from the van until all the weapons were unloaded for them to view.
My eyes swept over the reflection in my side mirror of the one standing closest to my door. While he tried to hide it from the others, he was the most nervous of them. His fists clenched in his pockets and shifting his weight between his feet, sometimes subtly glancing around the abandoned junkyard warehouse as if he expected someone to jump out. He was the rookie in this group of buyers.
I turned my attention to the front of the van, breathing out a heavy sigh that caught against the bandana and warmed my face. Trying to block out the thoughts that threatened to hinder my focus. It didn't work.
Images of Lily in that dress poured into my mind. From the way my stomach tensed, and my blood rushed south, it was like I had never seen a woman in a dress before. But, fuck, she looked good.
It framed her petite figure in all the right ways that night. Including when her breasts peaked beneath the black satin as we pulled up to the penthouse apartment. Either from her excitement or nerves, I didn’t know, but it forced me to shove my hands deep into my pockets to stop myself from reaching out and touching her.
Dancing with her was my selfish way of getting to hold her at least once.
And then she kissed me on the rooftop.
Her mouth had tasted like the Cosmopolitan she drank. Pink and sweet blended with her subtle reservations about the second kiss. Until I had swept my tongue over hers, making her perfect little body press into mine.
The intrusive thoughts of past me crossed my mind in that moment on the roof. I considered taking her on the outdoor lounge, but I knew Lily wasn’t that kind of girl. I knew she deserved to be treated with a little more care. She wasn’t fragile but she wasn’t exactly as promiscuous as the other girls I had been with in the past. I didn’t want to overwhelm her, no matter how badly I wanted to feel her all over me — to have her legs around my hips. The thought alone caused my cock to twitch as I dragged a hand through my hair.
Focus on the job, dick head.
I couldn’t remember a time when a woman drove me this crazy. It was just a kiss. I had kissed plenty of girls before, and probably fucked twice as many, but they never made me feel like this; turned on but equally awestruck. It was a strange feeling.
