“Want to what? I’ll give you anything you want.”
My eyes lowered to his lips and he smiled again.
“You’re giving me all the signs that you want to kiss me, but I’m a real asshole, Caroline. I really want verbal consent before I do anything. Not because I’m wanting to push you to say things you’re not comfortable saying, but because I don’t trust that I understand your boundaries well enough to know if your signals are telling me the right thing. Does that make sense?”
I nodded, feeling my heart racing a little faster.
“And if I don’t say anything?”
“Nothing happens. We go on as we are. We talk, we laugh, we eat, we drink, and we hold hands and stuff.”
“That’s not enough for most men.”
Harley chuckled. “I’m not most men.”
I think that’s the main point, the main reason why I felt so safe with him, why I felt like he’d always respect my crazy boundaries, and not use them against me like I feared others might have in the past.
“What if I say I want something and then I can’t?”
All humour dropped from Harley’s face.
“Then it doesn’t happen. You want to try something, you say, and if you change your mind, I back off. That’s just how it should be. If men don’t agree to that, they’re not men. They’re predators.”
I took a deep breath. “Does kissing have to be about tongues?”
Harley’s thumb brushed over my lips gently. “Not at all. That part’s fun too, but no.”
“Show me,” I whispered, watching him as his eyes lowered again to look at mine. He bit his bottom lip briefly and then he nodded. Oh god, he was going to kiss me. This wasn’t like that clumsy attempt of mine the other day. This was for real!
“Push me back if you want me to stop, okay?” I nodded, and then I watched as Harley’s face moved closer, until my eyes drifted closed on instinct, and I flinched just a tiny bit when his warm lips touched mine. It… it was nice. His fingers threaded through my hair and he gently angled my face as he continued to place soft kisses on my lips, and his scent wafted over me again, making me feel even more connected to him. I found myself moving my lips with his, accepting his kisses, and offering my own. It was sweet, and sexy, and exciting, and terrifying all at once. I wanted to stop, but I also wanted more. I wanted… I wanted to see how it could be, and that’s why my tongue brushed his lips and he groaned, a soft trembling sound, as he tensed, pulling back from me.
I felt dazed, just from a kiss, because something about it made me feel floaty and calm, but also desperate for more.
“Caroline-”
“More,” I whispered, cutting him off.
“What if you get overwhelmed? I don’t want you thinking this is a bad thing, because it’s not. Kissing you is… it’s everything.”
Tears stung my eyes at the sweetness of his words, and I lifted my hand, cupping the back of his head as I pulled us closer together again.
“More,” I murmured more firmly, as my lips touched his again. This time, when I opened my mouth, my tongue teasing his lips, he reciprocated, his tongue brushing mine, a sensation that tore a little gasp from me. Not a bad sensation. Not at all. Harley froze, and I tightened my hand on the back of his head, pressing in again for more kisses, more of him.
“Caroline,” he groaned, resisting me even as his own hand tightened on my hair.
“Please. I want to try.”
His low groan disappeared into our mouths as they came together again, and desperation turned a sweet kiss into something I’d never experienced before. His tongue danced against mine, and it didn’t freak me out, or disgust me. It was Harley. It was magical. Perfection. I didn’t ever want to stop kissing him.
The doorbell made us both freeze, our mouths still connected, until a giggle escaped, and Harley backed up with a laugh of his own.
“Saved by the bell?”
“Or kiss-blocked by it,” I retorted as he got up and answered it, paying for the pizza, while I sat in the same place, my fingers pressed against my lips, which felt almost bruised by our fervent kissing.
“Come on, pretty girl. Let’s stuff our faces.”
Chapter Sixteen
