Jude’s hands settled on my waist. “One kiss.”
“Fine.” My eyes were locked on his lips. “That’s all I need to prove that my hypothesis is correct.”
“Your hypothesis?”
“That kissing is a waste of time.”
His fingers flexed into my hips. “And then . . . we go back to what this is supposed to be.”
“I’ve already planned my next escape attempt,” I teased as his beard tickled my cheeks.
Jude grinned. “Shut up.” And then he kissed me. It was soft at first. Gentle. Tender. Sweet. Everything I didn’t expect Jude Greear to be.
Then, we were ablaze.
I stole the second kiss, desperate as I settled over his hips. It was messy and unpracticed. We both leaned in the same direction, then corrected in the opposite direction at the same moment. It was like a dam had broken, something that had been bottled up but couldn’t be held in a moment longer.
I memorized how good it felt for him to kiss me. The way it felt like so much more than physical contact. The way we breathed together. The way we moved together.
My arms tightened around his neck.No—I wanted to feel his chest.I skated my hands down his pectoral muscles, smoothing my palms over the soft cotton that stretched across his thick chest. His groan set off a deep vibration as I explored his body like a cartographer memorizing the lay of the land.
I wanted my hands in his hair, so I tugged the elastic I had given him out of his bun, slipped it on my wrist, and dug my hands into it.
Jude moaned, sliding his tongue past my lips and caressing it against mine.
Oh. I quite liked that.
I reared back, holding eye contact with him. Jude looked like a deer in headlights.
“Do that again,” I demanded.
He was on me before I could take another breath, kissing me, fucking my mouth with his tongue. Hands wandered up and down my thighs. My hips. My waist and my ribs. He slid one hand up the back of my neck and tangled his fingers in my hair.
I tilted my head, seeking another kiss between breaths.Why did people need to breathe? Breathing seemed so unnecessary when kissing felt so good.
My knee began to burn against the seam of the couch cushion. I shifted to ease the sting. Jude pulled back and closed his eyes as another deep groan rattled his chest like an earthquake.
What was—oh.Oh.
Oh my god. He was hard. Andhuge.
“That was way more than one kiss,” Jude growled before dipping in for another.
“You like it,” I countered in a whimper.
He didn’t deny it, but the frenzy slowed. I arched into him, my breasts pressing against his chest as he cradled the back of my head and kissed me again and again and again until my world was spinning.
It felt like being drugged all over again. But this time, I didn’t want to wake up. I wanted to stay in this blissful state of euphoria.
Jude pulled back first and rested his forehead on mine. “We should stop.”
“Why?” I asked in a panic. That was the stupidest thing that had ever come out of his mouth. “That’s a terrible idea.”
Jude chuckled, though it was sorrowful. “How was that for a first kiss?”
I closed my eyes as my heart sank and my stomach soured. “I think I finally understand why people do stupid things for love. It’s a rush. That was just a kiss, but it felt like?—”
“Winning a jackpot.” Jude cupped my cheek and used his thumb to wipe the evidence of the kiss left behind on my lower lip. “Feels like gambling, doesn’t it?”
