No kissing
No cuddling
No spending the night
No telling anyone
Rowan’s eyes flash with surprise at the first line, but then he nods along as he reads them again and again, almost like he’s trying to memorize them. “I can get behind this, except?—”
My breath hitches as Rowan lowers the piece of paper and reaches behind me to place it back on the desk. His scent envelops me and it oddly makes me drop some of my worries. This is Rowan. My best friend. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. Not intentionally.
“Mags,” he says, hands returning to my shoulders, the pressure a small reminder how steady and warm he is. A small shiver runs through me, and just like he did at the bar, Rowanruns his palms up and down my arms. “I can’t do this and not kiss you.”
My mouth opens but nothing comes out. Do I want him to kiss me? I haven’t thought about him that way before tonight, but now that he’s right in front of me, his plump lips do seem nice. Inviting. Would it be so bad?
“I just don’t want things to get complicated between us. Kissing seems like it could complicate things,” I say lamely, my eyes tracking the way he bites his bottom lip with fascination.
“How about this? If we get to the point where we don’t feel comfortable anymore, for any reason, we call it off.”
I nod along and he does too, his palms running down my forearms before intertwining his fingers with mine. My grip tightens on him as Rowan leans in and rests his forehead against mine. “Okay,” I breathe out in the small opening between us.
“As for the kissing,” he says, leaning in and barely brushing his lips against mine, “well, that’s just part of the fun.”
“Is it now?” I tease, pulling on his hands as I take a step back. The movement brings me to the edge of his desk and Rowan steps into me. I feel his strong, lean body everywhere. His thighs are pressed against mine, our hips flush. I’m distracted by our chests being pressed together, and how well we just—fit.
“It really, really is,” he whispers in a voice I’ve never heard from him before. It’s thick with lust and want and I can’t help but pull him closer. His hands land on my waist in the process and mine fist his shirt at the small of his back.
“Okay, then,” I whisper, right before Rowan covers my mouth with his and makes me forget why I even added the stupid rule to the list.
His lips are softer than I thought, but pressing. He doesn’t kiss me with urgency, but like everything Rowan does, he kisses me with a mission, paying close attention to each corner of mymouth and swiping his tongue across my seam, begging to be let in.
I gasp at the feel of his erection against me, and I hang on as long as I can, but I’m dying to know what he tastes like, so I open up to him, brushing my tongue against his. With each stroke, I give in to his sweet taste a little more. A quiet moan slips past his lips when I pull back and I smile against his skin as I trail my mouth down his jaw.
Rowan’s hands turn exploring as they trail down to the back of my thighs, his fingertips leaving scorching marks on his path all the way to the curve of my ass. “Fuck, Mags. Are you not wearing any underwear?”
I laugh, slipping out of his arms just enough to pull my dress over my head and drop it on the floor. I’m left in nothing but a black thong as I walk back towards Rowan’s bed, my eyes not once leaving his face.
The way he looks at me, like he wants to devour me, makes me feel bolder. His chest heaves as he watches me lay on top of his covers and shimmy out of my panties.
“Fuck me,” he says, running a hand across his jaw.
“That’s the plan.” I lean up on my elbows and cross one leg over another. “How about you take offyourclothes now?”
Rowan takes a pen and crosses something off the list. He holds it between pointer and index finger to show me and I take a shallow breath. He smirks, hands moving to undress himself.
“Anything for you, Mags.”
The List
No kissing
No cuddling
No spending the night
No telling anyone
CHAPTER 6
