Finally, there was the sweet and sultry kiss. The kind where she and he were on the same wavelength. They both wanted the kiss and were equally matched in enthusiasm. This kiss meant there was going to be a second date and probably a third. Men who kissed that good were hard to say goodbye to when the relationship wentsouth.
But after tonight, Cedar would have to add a fifth category to her kissing history. A category she was going to have to callTeo’s Kiss. His kiss had been as perfect as any first kiss could be: soft and achingly slow, tender yet firm, strong—because that was him. Teo was tough. He was a man in all the best ways. And yet she sensed that he had been wounded deeply by Amy’s rejection. And who wouldn’t be? To have the one person you pledged your life to change their mind would beawful.
Amy had died a little over six months ago, if Cedar remembered the online articles correctly. While she didn’t doubt the sincerity of his kiss, she wondered if he was ready to start another relationship. If the wounds Amy inflicted—whether intentionally or unintentionally—had healed. Perhaps it would be better if Cedar backed off a bit—gave Teo some space to sort throughthings.
Then again, it wasn’t like she’d pushed him into kissing her. They’d both movedcloser.
She shook her head. There was no denying they were attracted to one another, and she did want another kiss—maybe ten. The thought made her insides quiver with anticipation as she made her way to the backyard.
Pausing at the doorway, she took in Teo. He was in a lounge chair, his bare feet propped up on the edge of the fire pit. The firelight danced across his chiseled features, revealing the warrior inside who earned a starting position on the Titans’ offensive line. He was fierce and beautiful and he took her breathaway.
Lightheaded, she stumbled out the door and to the beach. The sand was warm around her ankles, but not hot. Her cheeks, on the other hand,burned.
Teo’s feet dropped, and he reached his long arm out to bring her chair right next to his. “I’ve been saving this seat foryou.”
“Thanks. It’s hard to find a chair around here,” she joked. There were four other chairs within spitting distance. She sat down, forcing herself to appear relaxed, because every molecule in her body was stretchedtight.
Teo took her hand in his, unleashing butterflies in her stomach. “You’re the first person who’s been back here since my family flew home. The sand was my dad’s idea. He said I needed a reminder of where I came from and that there were people there who loved me.” He traced circles around the back of herhand.
Cedar’s mind raced. Surely he wasn’t going to say that he’d fallen in love with her. That was crazy. She cared for him, liked him, but wasn’t to the love stage of anything yet. “Your dad sounds wonderful,” shehedged.
“The best.” Teo grew quiet, and Cedar grewanxious.
When she couldn’t stand the silence anymore, she said, “Teo?”
His dark, captivating eyes were full of firelight and desire. The combination knocked the breath right out ofher.
“Are you—I mean—is this fast?” She squeezed his hand. “Too fast foryou?”
Teo released her hand and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m not worried about what people will say, if that’s what youmean.”
Cedar hadn’t even given that a thought. But she could see how he would—how he had to. They’d been spotted in public today, photographed with Akoni. Rumors were bound to fly. “I’m not worried about that either. I’m worried about you. Worried that you need more time to mourn.” There was no better way to spoil a romantic mood than to bring up a man’s first wife, but Cedar needed to know what she was up against. As much as she liked Teo, and she did like him an awful lot, she didn’t want to fall into anything that Teo would find overwhelming and jump out of when it got tooreal.
He traced her jaw with his fingers, sending a shiver down her spine. “I mourned my marriage long before Amy died. While I always maintained hope that she would change, I’d given up on what I thought we could have together. I believe I have forgiven what needs to be forgiven, but there’s some letting go that still needs to takeplace.”
Cedar’s insides hardened. She slowly got to her feet. “I understand.” She cleared the emotion from her throat. Apparently, she liked Teo more than she thought she did. She hurried over to where her shoes rested. “I’ll be here tomorrow at my regulartime.”
“Cedar.” Teo was behind her in a flash. For a big guy he sure moved quickly. Of course he moved quickly—that was what he did for a living. He stood behind her and placed his warm hands on her shoulders. Her thoughts and feelings jumbled around inside of her. “I didn’t mean time without you. What I feel for you is separate from what happened with Amy. You’re not her, and I know that. I’d really like to see where this is going.” His voice dropped. “I like you,Cedar.”
She turned to face him, his arms enveloping her, and tipped her chin up so she could get lost in his delicious eyes. “Where is this going?” Her hands went to his arms, needing to steady herself—he was quickly overwhelming every part of her with soft and slow caresses up and down herback.
The next time his hands went up, they continued until his fingers dug into her hair, and Teo brought his forehead down to touch hers. “I think we’re headed towards goodthings.”
Cedar’s eyelids fluttered shut as their lips came together. She drank in his touch, skimming her hands across all the muscles in his arms and shoulders and up into the prickly, tickly short hair on the back of hishead.
A soft moan escaped as he effortlessly lifted her against his large frame. As Cedar lost herself in the moment, she decided she was pretty happy with hisanswer.
Chapter 16
Teo satin the living room, watching Akoni play while he ate his midmorning snack of eight scrambled eggs with spinach and a protein shake. Preseason workouts with the team were a month away. He finished the eggs and set the plate on the side table. He just needed to choke down the chalky vanilla drink and he’d be good untillunch.
The first part of the summer had been an adjustment—balancing Akoni’s needs with his own. After Cedar came into their lives, everything sort of clicked. He felt good. Strong. He needed tobe.
The triple threat was no longer a triple. Ace’s injury meant he was out for a season—probably out for good. Every member of the Titans needed to bring it this year if they were going to knock out the Destroyers and win the Super Bowl. This was their year. He would not be the weak link in their offensive line. No one was going to get pasthim.
The sound of a familiar vehicle in his driveway had him chugging the drink and setting the cup by the plate. He’d get to them later. Right now, he had something of the utmost importance to take careof.
Teo bolted to the door and ripped it open just as Cedar was about to enter the security code on the keypad. She startled a little and then burst into a smile. Teo gathered her into his arms. He kissed her once, right there on the front porch in front of the whole neighborhood. Then twice, and three times before backing through the door with her in his arms, spinning around, and kicking it shut behindthem.
