His eyes were still closed, but he could swear Ava moved in a little closer. “You’re right,” she said in a whisper. “But we never discussed whatyou’dget if you were correct.”
Richard opened his eyes to take in the expression on her face. Her voice had taken on a sultry tone, and he had to see if the look in her eyes matched the tenor.
It did. Now the belly heat was really flaring up, ready to explode like the candy.
Her gaze drifted up to meet his. “What would you like, Richard?”
Until that moment, he’d had a hard time adapting to his name. But boy, did he like hearing it in her low, seductive-sounding voice.
He’d already seen this play out in his mind. Over and over he’d imagined leaning in and tasting her candy kiss. Those musings were like some sort of mental preparation. Seeing it happen so flawlessly, so easily, time and time again, it was almost like practice. A practice that gave him enough confidence to make it perfect.
His gaze dropped to her lips, and suddenly he was leaning in.
And heaven help him, but Ava was leaning in too, a fact that gave him all the confidence he needed.
He barely saw her eyes drift shut before his closed. And then his mouth met hers in a short, testing kiss. Soft, silky, and oh so warm.
More.
He tilted his head, cradled one side of her face, and came in for a series of longer, deeper kisses.Yes.Her mouth was silky heat and candy sweet, a blend that made him groan with pleasure and awe.
Tongues touching. Flavors blending. Heart pounding.
More.
Richard fought with the hungry voice inside him. He was a man of control, after all. Always had been. So why now did he suddenly feel as if he wanted to throw every caution to the neighboring hills and sample the hollow of her throat next?
Heck, it was their first kiss. And if he wanted there to be a second, he’d need to move slowly. Be respectful. Channel the man of honor that had defined him for all of these years.
Soon. Soon he’d draw things to a close.
But then the tips of her slender fingers slid up the back of his neck and into his hair. A fresh wave of euphoria pulsed through him.
She was caught up in the moment too, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t regret it. That final thought was enough to snap him out of the spell. He didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. He didn’t want justa good timewith Ava. But hedidwant Ava, there was no denying it.
He cradled either side of her face and forced himself to shift to short, small kisses. At last, he placed one final a kiss to those luscious lips of hers before pulling back and sighing.
Ava’s cheeks were flushed, and there was a hesitant grin on her face. “Mmm.”
Richard licked his lips, still tasting hints of her candy, mixed with his. “Indeed.”
Ava giggled and looked down at the candy. He could already hear what she was about to say. It was getting late. They’d had a long day. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow. All of those things were true. And if they proceeded to play this game with the candy, who knew how far it would go?
“Thank you for indulging me tonight. With the movie, I mean.” His voice came out husky and low.
Ava set the candy on the coffee table. “It was my pleasure.” She stretched a little, indicating that she was preparing to stand, so Richard did the same. It was a good place to end the night. A very good place.
“Let me help you clean up a little,” he said when he got to his feet.
Ava shook her head and waved it off. “Oh, it’s not much. I can get it.”
“At least let me take the garbage out with me as I go.” He grabbed the empty to-go boxes and piled them into the paper bag. He moved to the laptop next and worked to unplug the cords and tuck it into his backpack.
“Let me know what movie you have in store for next time. I’ll make sure I can access it.”
“Will do,” Ava said as she followed him to the door. “Right now, I’ve got three different ones in mind. I’m trying to think of which one would be best.”
Richard liked hearing that. Heck, he’d be happy to sit through any movie Ava wanted as long as he was with her.
