I pull back, he’s already flushed, eyes flicking to mine, something unsteady there. The space between us feels charged now.
“Um…” His breath catches, his nose brushing mine by accident—or not. Shoot. What am I doing?
“See?” I whisper. “That’s a… um… kiss.”
“Not a real kiss. Like on the mouth,” Livy says bluntly. “You look like brother and sister.”
Heat floods my face.
I glance at Colton, searching—is this okay?Because if we’re doing this, we have to do it right.
His gaze drops to my mouth for half a second too long. Then to my thighs.
That’s all it takes.
I rise onto my toes at the same time he leans down, like we’re pulled by the same invisible thread.
And then?—
His lips meet mine.
Soft. Brief. Barely there.
But it hits like something much bigger.
There’s a warmth that rushes through me and my body reacts before my brain can catch up. My fingers curl slightly at my sides, like I’m resisting the urge to climb this man. He pulls back just as quickly, like the contact burned him. LikeIburned him.
“Look, Livy,” he says too fast, already stepping away, knocking over his coffee in the process. “All good. Normal. I’m—uh—I’m going to shower.”
And then he’s gone.
Just like that.
The kitchen falls quiet again, except for the faint drip of coffee down the counter.
Livy tilts her head. “That was weird. Daddy always cleans up.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, grabbing a cloth, trying very hard to focus on something—anything—other than the way my lips still prickle. “Well. I can do it too.”
I wipe the counter slowly. Almost like a sloth.
Holy. Shit.
TWENTY-TWO
Colton
The water’s too hot. I know it’s too hot, but I don’t adjust it.
I let it pound against my shoulders, my back, turning my skin red while steam fills the bathroom. I need the heat, the sting. Need something to distract me from the fact that I’m hard as steel just because Jenna Daviskissedme. Just a peck. Nothing. And here I am, hiding in the shower like a fucking teenager. What the fuck is this?
I press my forehead against the slick tile wall, eyes closed, willing my body to calm down.
It doesn’t.
Her mouth was so soft. And she’d made this tiny sound. Not quite a gasp, something smaller and more surprised. It sent electricity straight through me.
I pulled back immediately and practically ran to my bathroom. I can’t believe I ran from her. From the sudden feelings I got. It was a kiss. I’ve fucked women. Many women. I don’t blush from a kiss. But I did.
