He slurped a noodle. Oddly, it wasn’t annoying. “Oh, yeah. We gotta do that, huh?”
Did his lip curl as he said that? She took offense to that on behalf of her ability to kiss, and kiss well.
“Uh-huh. You think you can handle it, or do you need to watch a few how-to videos?” The friendly sarcasm was clear, but with her level of tired she came in half a beat behind.
He made a sound that came out as apf-shaw. “I already know how to do that.”
She pulled in a breath through her teeth. “I don’t know, Knox.” Playing with fire was a bad idea, sure, but she was tired, and it looked like fun. “You might get a refresher before the wedding. I’m sure there are people you can pay for lessons.”
He scowled, clearly appalled. “Maybeyouneed a refresher.”
“I’m practically a professional!” Well, she was. She was an actress. She’d even gone to performing arts school, and her entire education had been about putting on a show for everyone to believe. Kissing was no different, as far as she could tell.
“You’re a professional kisser?” Knox didn’t seem to buy it.
Honestly, she was questioning the assertion, too.
“I’m an actress.” She shoved her hands on her hips, inhaled deeply. “Kissing is just acting, but with spit.”
His scowl deepened. “Who have you been kissing? Because they’re not doing it right.”
She’d entertain his logic for just this one teeny-tiny second. “How do you figure?”
“I will not address the spit part, because when done correctly, no one is thinking about spit. My point is, kissing isnotacting.” His eyes darkened just a touch, not enough to make her squirm, but enough to make her consider taking a step backwards. “Next you’ll be telling me sex is acting, too,” he said.
Well…in her experience, it was. She must’ve shown this in her face somehow, because he tossed his hands up. “I cannot believe my future wife thinks kissing and sex are so…” The forehead lines deepened along his brow. “…mechanical.”
Well, they were. Sort of like taking a walk, one foot in front of the other, working toward a conclusion. Eventually, boom, you’re there.
“Let’s do it.” He rubbed his hands together and that square jaw of his was rather appealing. “Come at me. I’ll show you.”
The low way he said those last words shifted her sex drive from neutral to drive, because her mouth was dry and her lips were tingly and he was so Knox…
She blinked, freaking hard. “No.”
Did she say that to him or to her body? She couldn’t be certain.
“Why not?” He seemed to genuinely not understandwhy not.
“Because…” There was a whole slew of reasons rattling around her brain. Number one was… Wait, why couldn’t they?
There really was not a solid reason she couldn’t kiss him. Maybe if she kissed him, her sex drive could chill out when he was around. She could show herself that there wasn’t anything special about kissing this man over any others. Then he’d see that the mechanics were simply one step, then the next. Boom. Kiss complete.
A dress rehearsal for the nuptials and a reminder to her body that he was just another guy.
Then, when they were through, maybe, just maybe, she could enjoy the rest of her Hershey bar in bathtub peace.
Chapter Four
KNOX
Life was often confusingfor Knox, and more than once he’d questioned the way he operated as a human in a world of rock ’n roll and all that entailed.
The one thing he’d never—not once—questioned?
Whether kissing a woman was a step-by-step “how to” mechanical project. Because every kiss was unique, different. Each pairing initiated different feelings and no two times were ever the same.
Call him a connoisseur, but he enjoyed kissing, and touching, and enjoying a woman while she, in turn, enjoyed him.
