‘Are you sure you want to do this?’
Her answer was a frustrated, ‘Yes! I thought that was clear.’ But a skitter of doubt crept up her spine at his tone.What if it’s a good kiss?
His chest rose fitfully and she wondered if perhaps it was a problem with the air, since he appeared to be experiencing breathing problems too. ‘I’m not sure this will go how you think it will,’ he said. ‘I wondered if you’d change your mind now, this close.’ His voice was scratchy.
Hewasclose. Despite the day in the sea, that herbal scent lingered on his skin, rising to her nose on the warmth from his body.
‘It’s just a kiss. No big deal.’ One kiss to sort out the mess in her head and prove the holiday and this beautiful place had scrambled her thoughts – nothing more.
‘An experiment, I know.’ His sigh whispered over her cheek as one hand tightened in her hair. ‘All right. Will you kiss me or do you want me to kiss you?’
‘How about we just… kiss each other?’
He was trying not to smile as he came so close, his nose brushed hers. ‘On three?’
‘Oh, shut up.’
Her uncertainty laid bare as the moment stretched to endless, she clutched a hand in his shirt. Her eyes slammed shut. His breath was loud in her ear – almost as loud as her own wild heartbeat.
With a slow, jerky approach and a false start or two, finally, her mouth found his.
15
She’d slipped under the warm water of the Mediterranean and didn’t want to come up for air. Or maybe this was another dimension where her life was drenched in sunlight and tenderness.
His mouth was soft – too soft for the churning in her stomach. Reverent, the friction of his lips over hers filled with something like gratitude – praise. She felt the touch to the tips of her fingers, spreading through her veins.
It stole into her like ink in water.
Then it was over, the world righting itself as the soft kiss gave way to the suddenly urgent need to breathe. Except the other dimension had been wonderful. Toni wanted to chase it. Nothing bad could happen here among Gabri’s plants on his precious island. She could have another minute of what ifs – if they would just?—
He gave a ragged, ‘Ohh,’ and kissed her again.
Relief surged in her chest. The pressure was a little more and in the harder kiss, she felt the light scratch of his moustache and even that was wonderful. The pout of his lips on hers drew allher nerve endings to the surface of her skin until everything was unbearable.
Her fist crushing the cotton of his shirt, she teetered closer, her head spinning. One of his hands dropped from her hair to her waist, which she needed as her balance deserted her, but when she came into full contact with him, body to body, sparks caught and flared.
She felt the vibration of his groan under her hand. The sound short-circuited her brain with a flash of realisation: he was right. This wasn’t an experiment. It was an indulgence she might regret later.
But right now, it was too good to regret, especially when he increased the pressure and her lips fell open. She’d forgotten a kiss could feel like a force of nature – waves on the beach or a whipping coastal wind. Even if it was only because this was a week outside of time, it was a revelation that she could still experience these human feelings – with another human.
Withthishuman.
The slow kiss simmered, gathering momentum, her thoughts as hazy as the sea in the distance. When it wasn’t enough, she pulled him close, demanding, needing, and after a final, pent-up sigh, he obliged, deepening the kiss, setting her on fire. The world suddenly sped up. The open-mouthed kisses, the touch of his tongue weren’t enough – but also far too much for her senses.
Her fingers found their way to the skin on his chest, making him flinch. His hand on her back was splayed and roaming. She could feel him trying to resist – and failing. She was too worked up to resist, her mouth dropping to his neck to drag her lips over his skin.
‘Toni!’ His hands fisted in her dress at her waist. ‘What do you want to do with your experiment?’
She’d feared he’d draw away immediately, so his question didn’t feel like discouragement, although that’s probably the way he’d meant it. ‘I think it worked.’ At least, she felt good, soaking up his warm skin over muscle.
‘It was awkward and terrible?’ he asked, but his hand smoothed up her back to her nape, keeping her close even as his words seemed meant as a warning. ‘That was your hypothesis.’
‘Was it?’ she asked, growing dazed as he pressed a kiss to her temple and then just below her ear. ‘I’m sure it was an experiment to see what would happen if we acted on the attraction.’
‘It was always clear to me what would happen,’ he said, his voice low and rough and affecting her like another touch. ‘But what do you want to do now we know? I will step away if that’s what you want, but you’re making it very difficult.’
‘I am?’ she asked, her breath feathering his ear. Her impression of herself and her place in the world unravelling slowly under the island sky, she followed only the glowing pressure in her body and sank her teeth into his lobe. A smile tugged at her lips when the action drew a tortured groan from him.
