“What?”
Pat swallowed, and his gaze roamed between my eyes and my lips. “Blue has been my favorite color as long as I can remember. Sky blue specifically. But, whatever color your eyes are…Jules, they are incredible.”
Did he know what he was doing to me? My heart was beating so hard, I couldn’t think.
“Stormy ocean blue. The color of angry waves.” He lifted one of my hands to his mouth. His warm lips against the back of my fingers almost caused my knees to buckle. “Your blue is my new favorite shade.”
Just when I thought he could not endear himself any more, I realized how much he was shaking. He took a breath as if he meant to say something then dipped his head down, kissing my hand a second time.
Was he stalling?
I bit back the audible swooning welling up inside me. His tenderness and uncertainty was so precious.
“I’m not good at all this stuff, Jules.”
“What stuff?”
“Knowing what to do with how I feel.” He grabbed my other hand and pulled me closer. My chest brushed against his.
“How do you feel?”
He studied my lips as he pressed his together. He whispered, his voice hoarse with desperation, “Like I can’t survive another minute without kissing you.”
I couldn’t speak. Pat’s words had paralyzed my reasoning mind. I was absolutely subjected to whatever he chose to do next. He whispered again, inches from my face, “I have wanted to kiss you since that night I tried, like an idiot.” We both made awkward laughing sounds, breathy and nervous with anticipation. “Would I be way out of line to try again?”
My gaze settled onto his handsome lips. I’d spent the last weeks studying them—their shape, color, and the precious few words that escaped them. I shook my head for lack of words. A current of desire ripped through my body, right down to my toes. I was helpless against it.
He closed the distance.
Time stopped. I heard no rain, felt no humidity, and didn’t even rear back when my neighbor walked down the hall. My awareness was honed in on our lips—where they met and moved together.
I had fantasized about kissing Pat many times. But I never imagined a touch so gentle and exploratory. He moved his lips across mine as if he was trying not to break me.
My heart thrashed, and I sunk into his kiss, feeling my weight transferring against him. But only seconds after he began, he pulled back, causing me to falter a step. Empty space rushed between us, and the inches were a gulf. His kiss was sweet, but not nearly enough. I was nowhere close to done. Why was he pulling away?
My voice was mostly air. “That’s all?”
“It’s been so long. I’m afraid I’ll smother you.”
The prospect sounded like a slice of heaven.
“Well—I think that sounds wonderful.” My hands itched to slide up his chest. I let them, and his eyes fluttered closed with a sharp breath. “Smother me.”
His gaze locked with mine.
“Please, Pat.”
With that please, his hungry mouth took me. I could scarcely react before his arms roped around my torso, pulling me flush against him.
In the span of two seconds, I was clutching his shirt and hanging on tight. Gasping for air and whimpering under the weight of desire. He tasted and felt like a dream. My hands cupped the back of his head, pulling him forward, urging him to get his fill. I wasn’t aware of backwards movement until my shoulders bumped against the door frame.
He deepened the kiss, and a few enchanting moments ticked by. His hands moved up my back to my neck and down again. We stood in the corridor, entwined together, thoroughly lost in the moment. This was the kiss I wanted. A kiss where I was wrapped in his arms, getting hooked on the gentle intensity that was all him.
My insides hummed as he backed off the deeper kiss, tasting my lips one at a time. Then he pressed a kiss to my cheek, my nose, and my temple. When he drew back, he didn’t let go. He dropped his chin to my shoulder and squeezed me tighter. Our chests heaved together as we both tried to still our breathing. How could being deprived of something as basic and needful as oxygen feel so glorious?
Our connection was undeniable. We had chemistry, friendship, and a whole heap of desire vibrating between us. Being held felt so right. Like I belonged in his embrace somehow.
“You smothered?”
