“I don’t know about that. Has all the fundamentals of a date,” I whispered.
“How so, Rosie baby?” The timbre of his voice made me shiver.
“You picked me up from where I live,” I checked off.
“In a bakery?”
“Above it, actually.” I smiled. “We walked under the stars and had really great conversation.”
“True.”
“And now we’re trying to avoid it from ending.” I licked my lips and turned around. “Sounds like a really good date tome.” My hands moved to rest on his chest as I looked up at him. “Caleb?” His chest rose and fell, and his hands splayed open at my back. The heat burning through the heavy material of myhoodie made me yearn for more. My lips tingled, and I couldn’t believe what I was about to ask him for.
“Yeah, Rosie?” he rasped. One of his hands moved to my face, gently brushing away some of the wilder tendrils of hair that had come loose during our walk.
“Do you think—“ I couldn’t believe I was about to do this. I was about to ask a man, a practical stranger, to kiss me after only having met him an hour or so ago. “Do you think?—“
Wet hit my forehead, and I frowned.Drip. Wet hit me again.
“What was—“ But I didn’t get a chance to ask anything else. Not when wetness hit my forehead again and again.
Drip. The top of my head.
Drip. My face.
Drip.
“Rain,” we both whispered and started to laugh. Anyone who might have seen us probably thought we looked like lunatics with the way we laughed.
One moment, it was raining mildly, and the next, it felt like the sky opened up and a deluge fell. Big fat raindrops fell. Pelting down on us. Soaking us. It was beautiful. I loved the rain. And there was something about standing in front of Caleb in that moment, sharing it with him, that made it feel not just special but magical.
“Dance with me.” His tone was more of an order than a request, one I didn’t have in me to deny. I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more.
Dancing in the rain was perfect. Wetness clung to our hair and clothes while the moon played as our very own spotlight that reflected against the lake. He spun me and held me. Surprising me with how graceful he could be despite his height. Our bodies swayed to a beat we could only hear in our hearts. The warmth of his body was just enough to take away the bite of the chill in the air.
“Caleb,” I rasped, my chest heaving up and down against his as I stared at his beautiful light blue eyes.
“Rosie.” He swallowed. The motion drew my eyes to the way his Adam’s apple bobbed. He had a great neck, long and slightly corded with lean muscle and a smattering of freckles. I wanted to kiss him there. I wanted to kiss him everywhere.
I wasn’t sure if his head dropped first or I rose on the tips of my toes, but we both moved, and when our lips found one another, it felt like I was home.
4.Caleb
It had been a long time since I’d kissed a woman.
Longer than I wanted to admit.
Back when I’d been younger, I’d gotten around. I mean, I’d been a stupid teenage boy in a band on the road. I hadn’t been a saint, that was for sure.
But kissing Rosie was nothing like I had ever experienced in my entire life. I pulled her closer into me, not worried about her feeling just what kind of effect she had on me and my body. Fuck, I wanted her to know. Her soft moan was only confirmation she liked it, and the way her nails dug a little deeper into my shoulders made me want to pick her up and press her against the closest surface. Even if it was the grassy ground beneath us next to the lake.
Rosie tasted like mint and long-lost dreams and wishes I had been too afraid to go after in the past.Mine, that voice in my head growled. The hand I had on her face held her just a little tighter, like I was afraid she would suddenly disappear and I would lose her. I couldn’t lose her.
I had no idea how the hell in less than an hour, my life had changed completely.
My tongue skimmed her bottom lip, silently begging her for access she granted me when her mouth opened, giving me permission to deepen the kiss. I felt like a warrior coming home from battle, ready to enjoy his spoils. My tongue delved deep.
Tasting.
