I fucking loved kissing.
Didn’t matter if it was a peck when the ball dropped at midnight or a two-hour make-out session, I was a happy man. The melding of mouths, the exploration and, sometimes, outright dueling of tongues. Nothing turned me on faster than a long, wet kiss.
And as far as first kisses went, Nessa’s topped the list. Hell, she was the fucking list.
In the back of my head, I knew that this wasn’t for us. We were putting on a performance—for who, I didn’t know—but that didn’t bother me much. I was an opportunistic bastard, one who had been hoping to get his hands and lips on Nessa Gibbs for months now.
If she wanted a show, I’d give her one. And I’d make damn sure it was an Oscar-worthy performance.
My hands slid higher, grazing past the waistband of her leggings until finally meeting skin, pebbled with goose bumps. I laughed into our kiss. It was refreshing to know that she wasn’t as unaffected by me as she pretended and most likely, wanted to be.
She tucked her lower body against me, gasping against my lips when she felt my semihard cock trying to break through my joggers. I took it as my opportunity to thrust my tongue into her mouth and swallow her gasp whole. She didn’t pull away, instead meeting my onslaught with fervor and teasing my tongue with hers until I groaned.
At this rate, I was coasting to a full-blown stiffy, andthatkind of show belonged behind a paywall.
I reluctantly pulled away, smiling when her lips chased mine, searching for more. At another time and place, I would be more than happy to give it to her, but not on a public street first thing in the morning, with her friends watching, eyes ablaze with interest. Our audience, I assumed. Why were they cradling pumpkins? It was barely September.
Never mind that. The show must go on.
Nessa peered up at me with a dazed look on her face as I tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Leaning down, I whispered, “This is your show,angel.”
“I guess I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets. Huh, Ness?”
I threaded our fingers together, rubbing my finger over the throbbing pulse at her wrist. When I turned toward her friends, I took her with me, placing her in front of my body to conceal my raging erection and resting our entwined hands on her belly.
The couple leaning into each other across from us couldn’t have been more different from each other. He was tall, clean-shaven, and well-dressed, but not like Fratty McFinance fromthe bar. No, this guy looked like he was fitted more for a fashion show than small-town Oregon. His partner, on the other hand, was dressed head to toe for comfort. She was a tiny little thing, too, barely tall enough to reach his chest.
And yet, she tucked into his side seamlessly, like two pieces of a jigsaw fitting together.
“Hi,” I said when Nessa failed to introduce us. “Sorry about that. We just got back from a road series, and I haven’t seen my girl in a while.”
She nearly jolted out of my arms when I pressed my lips against her neck. When I pulled back, the woman across from us was smiling ear to ear.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us, angel?”
“Um . . .” Nessa paused, struggling to find her voice. “He—”
“No need,” the man said. “You’re Jared Pink. Dude, I’m a huge fan. You’re leading my fantasy team right now.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No, thank you.”
I reached around the woman in my arms to shake his hand. No way was I willing to let her go now, not when she was practically using me like a human crutch. You wouldn’t hear me complaining.
“Ryan,” he said before wrapping his arm back around the petite woman beside him. “And this is my fiancée, Kaylani.”
“We all go way back,” Kaylani explained.
They both looked to a still dumbstruck Nessa for further explanation. When she didn’t provide one, Kaylani went on.
“In fact, Mom was showing Ryan some family photos, and there’s one of us trick-or-treating in matchingLittle Mermaidcostumes.”
“Aw, you both went as Ariel?” I asked.
“No, we both went as Ursula.”
I rubbed a finger across Nessa’s knuckles. Our show was going to come to an unexpected, early close if she didn’t get her act together. Just when I thought we might need to call the whole thing off and find her a doctor—or exorcist—she spoke.
