“You think my German accent is awful?” She laughed as I pulled up the website on my phone. “Yours sounds like you made up a whole new dialect.”
Soon, we were in the YouTube spiral, watching dumb videos and laughing loud enough that I feared we’d wake Evanne. I hadn’t laughed this hard in years, maybe ever. It felt good.
And she felt good beside me.
Twenty-Six
Lumen
One minuteI was showing Alec a video where cats were ringing a bell to get a treat, the two of us shaking with the strain of keeping our laughter from waking Evanne, and the next minute, his mouth was on mine, and I didn’t even know which of us had moved first.
It had been less than forty-eight hours since we’d been together last, but it felt like longer. The moment our lips touched, I forgot why this wasn’t a good idea. I forgot that I’d come over here to avoid going home and thinking about work. Forgot that if anyone found out about this, it could destroy my career.
When I’d agreed to come over, I’d told myself that it wasn’t a date, and I’d learned from the last time. Alec hadn’t indicated that he wanted to sleep with me again, and I’d assumed that if he hadn’t wanted me to come, he would’ve told Evanne no. He was the parent, after all.
He buried his hands in my hair, knocking loose the pins I’d used to keep it up during the day. The low growl that vibrated through him brought me back to myself, and the hands that had been clinging to his shirt now pushed him back.
He stopped immediately, letting me go as I’d known he would. He was breathing as heavily as I was, though our kiss hadn’t lasted long. Every inch of me thrummed with energy, and I saw my own desire reflected in his eyes. Still, I felt the need to apologize.
“I’m sorry.” I pushed my hair back, flushing with embarrassment as I realized what a disaster my hair was right now. “You were so kind to me today, even after I left without a word. That was rude of me. I should have called or texted, or at the very least, left a note–”
He cupped my chin and ran his thumb along my bottom lip, effectively stopping all words and all thoughts that weren’t about him touching me.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” he said, his eyes lifting from my mouth to meet my gaze. “You don’t owe me anything, Lumen. Not for being kind, not for dinner.”
What he was saying was so different from what Harvey had said earlier today that it sent a rush of affection through me.
“I want to kiss you again,” he continued, “and I want to see where things go from there, but I don’t want you to feel any pressure from me. Ever.”
I focused on the first part of what he said, not wanting to read too much intoever. “Thank you.” I waited a beat and then said, “I want you to kiss me, but I still need to apolo–”
He cut off my sentence with a hungry kiss, and everything else disappeared. He wanted me and wanted it to be my decision. That was all I needed to know to choose.
Without breaking the kiss, I swung a leg over his lap and then settled on my knees, the change of position making him tilt his head up to continue stroking his tongue across mine. He groaned, his hands moving to my hips, then down to my knees where my skirt was starting to bunch up. When his fingers slid under the hem, I shivered, then rocked closer to him. His hands slipped higher, burning their way up my legs as he pushed my skirt higher and higher until he cupped my ass.
I gasped as he moved his kiss to my jaw, and I let my head fall back, trusting that he wouldn’t let me fall. He pressed his lips to my neck, his mouth hot, surrounded by the lightest brush of stubble.
I buried my hands in his hair and moaned. Alec placed a hand over my mouth, a gentle reminder that Evanne was sleeping upstairs. Now that my skirt wasn’t constricting my legs, I slid down his body and settled on his lap, intentionally shifting against the hardness I felt pushing up against his zipper.
He moved his hand to my cheek and covered my mouth again, this time with his. Our lips parted, and our tongues met. I could hear Alec breathing through his nose, hear the need, the animal desire. My hands dropped to his shoulders, then slid down his chest.
As I struggled with the buttons on his shirt, he pulled mine over my head. I made an annoyed sound at the loss of his kiss, but it wasn’t gone long. Then he was exploring my torso with strong hands, running them from my hips to shoulder blades to ribs and then over the fabric of my bra. Then under my bra to squeeze my breasts. When I moaned again, his fingers floated to my lips.
“I know,” I mumbled. But it was hardnotto moan when his fingers were playing with my nipples, and his teeth were scraping against my collarbone.
It was also hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Damn buttons. Before I’d managed to get even halfway down, he had my bra off and his mouth where his hands had been. My brain went white with a lightning bolt of pleasure that shot straight to my core, making me hot, wet, and aching.
Once again, Alec shushed me with a kiss. I hadn’t even realized I was making sounds until I could hear my own little mewls melting into Alec’s mouth.
Finally, I got Alec’s shirt open, and I leaned back, gliding my hands over the packed muscles of his abdomen, then down to his pants. Just as I got them open, he stood, taking me with him. I let out a surprised yelp, wrapping my legs around his waist.
“Shh,” he said, his shoulders shaking with amusement. “We’re going to go see my office.”
I pulled back far enough to see his face. “And why, Mr. McCrae, are you taking me to see your office?”
“Because once the door is shut, it’s soundproof. Also, the couch is really comfortable.”
“What if Evanne needs you?” I asked as he took us into the spacious room.
