I’ve replayed Friday night in my head a million times, wishing I’d brought her to bed with me. But she was drunk. It wouldn’t have been right. Plus, I don’t want to complicate our agreement.
But if she keeps going with that dirty mouth, there’s only so much a man can take.
‘Are you sure you can’t stay a bit longer?’ Penny puckers from where she’s sipping her third glass of wine at the table. ‘You could stay for another drink, get a cab home later. Natalie, Ava’s sister, will be over after her shift at the hospital. She’s a nurse, you know. She’d love to meet you.’
‘I wish I could.’ And surprisingly, it’s the truth. Frank and Penny Jackson are easy company. It’s not hard to see where Ava gets her bubbly warmth from. With a family like hers, no wonder she’s optimistic about relationships. ‘But it’s getting late. I have to collect Phoebe from my mother’s house.’
‘Well, we’ll look forward to seeing you at The Shelbourne then.’ Penny stands and motions for her husband to do the same. They walk us through the hallway and open the front door. A gust of icy wind whistles through the wreath which Frank hung back in position on the door.
I step out onto the top step and offer Ava my hand for balance. Her petite palm sinks into mine like it was made for it. Fireworks burst beneath my skin.
‘Wait!’ Penny exclaims. ‘You guys are under the mistletoe. You have to kiss.’
I glance at the wreath. Technically, I’m next to it, but Ava is definitely beneath it. Oh god, what I wouldn't do to have her beneath me. I can’t kiss her. Because if I do, I might never stop.
‘Mam! Don’t be daft.’ Ava swats the air in front of her face. The moonlight illuminates her cheekbones and highlights the blush creeping over her skin.
‘Traditions are traditions.’ Frank insists, dropping an arm around Penny’s shoulders. ‘We didn't raise any prudes in this house.’
‘Oh, come on!’ Penny nudges Ava towards me. ‘It’s only a kiss.’
It’s not only a kiss though, that’s the problem. It’s lighting a match beneath a straw house that’s covered in petrol. This attraction between us, it’s carnal. Someone’s liable to get burned.
The air shifts and thickens between us. Ava hooks me with those huge hazel eyes. Her throat flexes and my heartbeat goes haywire. Lust and logic rage inside my chest.
Desire blazes in her dilating pupils, inviting me in. She inches up onto her tip toes at the same time I stoop downwards, and our mouths collide with a ferocity that neither of us could have predicted. Her soft lips part, allowing my greedy tongue the access it’s been longing for from the second we met. She tastes like Malbec and magic. Which is no surprise because she must be some sort of sorceress to invoke this reaction in me.
I don’t do this kind of thing.
Ever.
Until now.
Until her.
Her body moulds against mine, her hands curl around my neck, fingers raking through the back of my hair. I grab her waist, palming the swell of her hips as our mouths continue to move and meld like they were made for each other.
My pulse roars in my ears. Blood pumps furiously below. Fuck. She tastes like more. One kiss is never going to be enough.
‘Easy.’ Frank’s teasing tone breaks the spell.
I tear my lips from Ava’s and jump backwards, shoving my hands in my pockets. Like that might keep them from reaching out and touching what isn't mine.
Ava blinks hard. She looks as dazed as I feel.
‘I told you they had chemistry!’ Penny squeals.
I stalk towards the X5 and open the passenger door for Ava.
‘Thanks again.’ I manage to grit out.
Ava has this faraway look in her eyes as I reverse out the driveway. I raise a hand to wave at Frank and Penny. They’re standing with their arms wrapped around each other like they’re on honeymoon.
‘Your parents are unreal.’ They’re like none I’ve ever met before. There’s no denying the spark that’s still so obviously blazing between them. But it has absolutely nothing on the inferno ravaging my insides right now.
ChapterThirteen
AVA
