‘Then why didn’t you do it? You didn’t kiss me. You’re not usually known for restraint.’
I licked my lips, struggling to interpret this game of chicken. The longer I stayed close to her, the more danger there was that I’d blow it all out of proportion, three weeks before the Tour.
‘I don’t know what we’re arguing about,’ I said, my thoughts growing foggy the longer I could feel her in the air I was breathing. ‘Ifyoudon’t want to kissme, then I’m not—’
My brain was wiped in an instant as she came closer. She stretched up and I was about to pass out like a sprinter who’d gone too hard to the finish line. Ahhh, breathing in was marvellous – especially when it washerI was inhaling.
Then breathing was overrated. Who needed air? I had the soft pressure of her lips on mine. It was everything – too much and not enough and so fucking tender it socked me right in the gut.
Chapter 14
Leesa
I’d called his bluff, wanted to prove his teasing was all empty talk at my expense. Now he would extricate himself gently, give an awkward laugh, make a joke about his irresistible moustache.
That was not what happened.
He was not supposed to lean into the kiss, his body thrumming with restraint, and steal the breath from my mouth. It definitely wasn’t supposed to feel this good, but I saw sparks and a fire licked up my spine as I struggled for balance.
The open-mouthed kiss gently consumed me. I clung to his shoulders as he bent his head to come closer – deeper. He didn’t use his tongue, as though trying to keep the kiss soft and slow, but the breaths he sucked in through his nose were obscene with longing, the hitch of a groan deep in his chest might as well have been pornographic.
I barely recognised myself, the way I was taken apart by a simple, exploratory kiss. I should have known that nothing about Colin Gallagher was simple.
His hands came up to my ribcage, sliding and fisting in the fabric of my dress. My thoughts were floating out of reach; all I knew was that we needed to keep doing this. The brush of his mouth over mine grew firmer, the drag of his lips becoming familiar, along with the light graze of bristles from his top lip – more subtle than I would have expected.
Time sped up, as though this kiss were four or five dates and, if he undressed me right now, I might even enjoy myself. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by sudden intimacy I hadn’t had time to process, he didn’t quite give me enough.
When I couldn’t stand it any more, I dipped my tongue out and he met the action with a groan in response. Desire ramped up inside me with a whump against my ribcage. If I’d known this was how I’d feel, that maybe my brain wouldn’t interrupt with its usual reservations, I might have given him a real answer in September.
What would charming, easy Colin think of that? I was starting to think he was such a good kisser, he might be able to make me forg—
‘Phew, I—’
No. My fingers dug into his shoulders to resist when he drew away.No. I’d expected him to stop this doomed experiment before it got started, not now, when I was just getting going.
‘Leesa.’
There it was, the reluctance in his tone. Damn it, I hated being right. He didn’t want to kiss me. For the six years I’d known him, that fact had never bothered me. I’d never questioned it. This was the guy who’d given me a mug that revealed a picture of Rick Astley when filled with a hot beverage. One time he’d swapped my sunscreen for self-tan lotion.
Kissing me until my eyes crossed was not part of the pattern. The biggest mystery was why I’d gone along with it. I’d flicked my tongue into his mouth, for goodness’ sake. I usually found that action a little gross, to be honest.
‘Do you have an answer to your question?’ he asked.
‘What question?’ I hadn’t even got my breath back, let alone my full faculty of speech.
To my horror, I only realised I still had my claws in him when he pried my hands gently from his shoulders. I’d left little red semi-circles on his skin.
‘You’re very clever, but you don’t know everything, especially not about me.’
I didn’t knowanythingabout him in that moment – or about myself.
‘Maybe you’ll be more careful next time you test out your theories.’ He spoke with his usual slow drawl, but there was a threat underneath that sizzled over my skin.
But it made me find my voice. ‘I’m aware of how little I know. You keep muddying the waters with outrageous statements.’
He shrugged and I was almost convinced he’d shaken everything off – including the kiss that I was nowhere near recovering from – except the set of his mouth was too tight. ‘Muddy water, ay? Good description of you and me.’
He turned back to the mirror, flicking on the hot tap to pour in more water, and fetching his razor.
