“Why did you join the Steel Rebels?” I ask, curious as to why anyone would want to be part of a gang in the first place, but Kyle simply shakes his head. I don’t miss the flash in his eyes, something akin to misery, but it’s gone before I can wonder too deeply about it. “You’re skipping the question?”
“Yes. So how will you penalize me?”
I bite my lip and think it over for a second. The first idea that slips into my head is to have him remove an article of clothing. Isn’t that what people do during games like this? But I blush when I realize he’s only wearing a pair of boxer briefs. Removing them would make him entirely naked!
I turn my head, staring out over the peaceful backyard of the cabin. Though the roads are almost completely clear, the yard still holds on to an expanse of snow, undisturbed since the last snowfall. “For your penalty, you have to run into the yard and make a snow angel.”
He raises a single brow, a smirk playing on that sexy mouth. “A snow angel?”
I blush even harder, hoping he’ll attribute the flush in my cheeks to the hot water. Does he think that’s too childish? “If you’re scared…oh!” I shriek when he climbs to his feet, splashing water at me playfully as he jumps out of the hot tub. I nearly stop breathing when I spot the massive bulge pushing against his white boxer briefs, but too quickly he turns away and runs toward the yard.
He yelps when his bare skin hits the icy snow as he lies down, and he obligingly waves his arms and legs to make the shape of an angel. I giggle at his antics when he jumps up and runs back toward me, making exaggerated faces with each press of his bare feet against the snow. His mad dash gives me an excellent view of his strong limbs and gleaming naked torso, covered in tattoos.
As he sinks back into the hot water, he lets out a groan that makes my core clench. “You’d better be prepared for my question, Viv. I won’t take it easy on you if you don't answer it.”
I nod hesitantly, and he asks his next question without needing to stop and think, as if it had already been on his mind.
“Have you ever been kissed?”
My breath catches in my throat. That’s not the question I was expecting.
The answer is no, but for some reason, I can’t bring myself to admit this to Kyle. I know he already thinks of me as Knox’s little sister, but I don’t want him to know the true extent of my inexperience.
“I’ll take the penalty,” I say.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
I nod, swallowing deeply as something heated crosses those dark eyes and suddenly, I don’t care about the question at all. “I’m sure,” I say even as my heart flutters fiercely in my chest.
“Let me kiss you, Viv.”
My heart stops. Or maybe it’s the world that glides to a halt, I can’t tell. All I know is that the moment as Kyle crosses the distance to me is a blur, and when he stops in front of me, mere inches from my face, I realize I’m not breathing.
“Y-you want to kiss me?”
“It’s a penalty,” he rasps, his voice hoarse and so darn sexy. “Of course, you could always say no—”
“No! I mean, yes. You can kiss me.”
“You’re sure?” He’s closer now. So close we’re almost touching, his chest with mine. I resist the urge to push up against him and rub my nipples against his pecs, because what if the penalty is just a quick peck on the lips and I embarrass myself by throwing myself all over him?
Stop overthinking, Viv. Or he’ll think you’ve never been kissed before.
And we can’t have that. I was teased one too many times by friends for not having experienced my first kiss, but it didn’t feel right to just give it up to anyone.
Kyle might be a stranger, but he’s the first guy I’ve ever felt this kind of pull toward.
And I want this.
For him to give, or rather…take my first kiss.
Under the moonlight and the soft scent of the forest, I want this man that I’ve known for less than a day to be my first. So I stay still and wait for him to move closer. The promise of a kiss is a breath away. So achingly close that I could cry.
“I’m sure.”
His lips touch mine, swallowing the words before I’m done voicing them, and he steals my breath away completely. I clamp my lips tightly and shut my eyes as he kisses me. His fingers move to grip my nape and hold me in place as his mouth moves over mine and I’m afraid to do anything that might ruin the moment.
Kyle backs up a little and I figure it’s the end of the kiss. “Open your mouth for me, Vivienne,” he rasps.
