“You’re speaking as a man who hasn’t gotten any in a long time. For all you know, there won’t be chemistry.”
“Maybe we should find out.”
Before she could figure out what that meant, he’d stood and circled his desk, then pulled her to her feet. One second she was trying to grasp his unconventional proposal and the next his mouth settled on hers in a way it never had before. Mostly because she and Alex had never kissed. They’d hugged, they’d wept together, they’d laughed and talked, they’d mourned, but they’d never kissed.
She was still mulling all that over when her brain suddenly noticed there was some skin-on-skin action going on. Rational thought fled as she became acutely aware of the feel of his lips moving against hers.
He went slow, as if learning new terrain. His hands were warm against her back and his body was solid against her front. And the kiss... well, it went on and on—just them touching, not going deeper.
It was nice, she thought as she relaxed against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Nice-nice. She liked how he didn’t push or demand and how at the very edges of her awareness she felt a tiny flicker of something very much like a tingle.
The sensation startled her so much, she took a step back and accidently blurted, “So it’s not just Jax.”
Alex tilted his head. “Excuse me?”
“Nothing. It’s too complicated to explain.” Plus she thought she might sound really strange if she told him about being happy that both Weaver sisters had experienced tingles within a couple days of each other.
“About the kissing,” he began.
“It was nice.”
He frowned. “Nice? As in pleasant?”
“You don’t want it to be pleasant?”
“Not really.” He moved close again. “I was hoping for more.”
Before she could figure out what to say to that, she was in his arms again. But except for her position against his body, there was little else that was the same as that first kiss. For one thing, his mouth pressed a whole lot harder on hers. For another, he stroked her lower lip with his tongue, which made her gasp, which allowed him to slip inside and that was where the trouble started.
For the first time in her life, Ryleigh found herself being thoroughly kissed by Alex. Kissed as if he meant it, kissed as if he wanted her desperately and was determined she knew. She went from “well, this is nice” to “take me, take me now!” in about six-point-two seconds. She had trouble catching her breath and her heart was pounding. A tingly, melty sensation started deep in her belly and kept moving down. Her girl parts all took notice and clamored for a little lip action themselves. And for the first time in her life, she wondered if she was actually going to faint.
Alex drew back and released her.
“Better?” he asked, watching her intently.
She had to inhale twice before she had enough air to speak and even then her voice cracked a little because she was shaking.
“It was good,” she murmured, not quite able to look him in the eye. “So I’m going to get Lucy and go home. I’ll think about all this and we can talk later.”
“I’d like that.”
She glanced around, trying to orient herself in space and time. “The, ah, bedroom.”
His lips twitched as if he were trying not to smile. “It’s that way.”
“Thank you.”
Later, when she could think again, she would figure out what had happened. Later she would be sensible. For now her biggest concern was whether or not she had the mental fitness to get her cat and actually drive home.
Chapter Sixteen
Jax refused to be the typical cliché of a woman who didn’t know what to wear on a date. She already had on white capris, which seemed suitable for any date-worthy venue. She changed herThe Painted Ladywork T-shirt for a pretty print blouse, touched up her makeup and declared herself ready.
“See? That was easy and I’m perfectly calm. It’s just a date. I’m fine.”
She was also talking to herself, so maybe less fine and more nervous than she wanted to let on, but no one had to know.
She called for Ramon. When he flew over to land on her hand, she smiled at him. “Are you ready for dinner?”
