Page 56 of A Really Bad Idea

That breath I just let out? I lose it again.

Christian snakes a hand around my waist. The other rests on the side of my face, his fingers weaving into the fine threads of my hair as his thumb draws tiny circles on my lips.

I place my hands against his torso, feeling the lean ridges beneath his T-shirt and the heat pouring through.

He pulls me closer. With my soft body up against his hard one, I let out a quivering breath. His head bends down, and he kisses me.

First, it’s soft and warm. Our lips wrap around each other once, twice, three times before his tongue darts out and brushes against mine, eliciting a moan from me. Oh God, do I moan as chills run down my spine and right into my core.

I let my fingers explore his chest, feeling the hardened muscle, appreciating it with every swipe of his tongue, each kiss of his lips, and the rumble of pleasure coming from his mouth.

I lace my hands around his neck and pull him until our bodies are so connected that there’s no telling where one begins and the other ends. His hands are now around my waist and the back of my head, holding me as he claims me.

We kiss for a moment; we kiss for eternity. We kiss until we’re breathless, and a park attendant comes over and tells us we need to stop or leave the premises.

I burst into a fit of laughter and cling to Christian’s chest as he wraps me up in a hug and kisses the top of my head.

“Let’s get out of here.”

He doesn’t have to ask twice.

With our hands conjoined, he guides me out of the cave and out of the zoo where we run down a park path and stop under an elm to kiss some more.

My back is against a tree as he rests one hand on the bark, and the other is on my cheek, in my hair, on my waist. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to kiss him, and it’s better than I imagined.

Soft yet strong.

Warm yet insanely hot.

There’s no awkward dance as we get to know each other. It’s as if we’d been kissing for years.

I have nowhere to go, so I take the weight of him as he leans into me, captivating me. He’s bowing down, so I rise up to my tiptoes, and our bodies align perfectly. I gasp at the feel of his very aroused body pulsing against my core.

It drives me into a frenzy. He must sense it because he pulls back, breaking our kiss, and rests his forehead against mine as we catch our breaths.

“Your lips are red and swollen,” he says.

I run a hand along his jaw. “You should shave if you’re gonna kiss a girl like that.”

“Like what?” he teases. “How do I kiss?”

“You devoured me,” I say and watch as his tongue skims his lower lip, causing me to bite my own.

“Years of pent-up curiosity.”

I raise a brow at him. He steps back and grabs my hand, pulling me off the tree. Then, he turns around.

He shrugs off his duffel bag and takes a seat on the closest bench. “Race you to the fountain?”

My head is fuzzy from kisses and an afternoon of way too much honesty. He’s taking his skates out of the bag, followed by mine, and he puts them on the ground.

Taking a seat next to him, I put on my skates and grin as he brushes my hands away, so he can secure the buckles on them himself.

“Loser buys ice cream?” I suggest, and he nods, working on his own buckles. “Start!” I shout and get my head start down the lane that leads back toward Bethesda Fountain.

I’m not surprised when, a minute later, he’s zooming past me, powerful and giving me a fantastic view of his backside until we reach the end of the lane.

He buys me ice cream at a vendor in the park, and we enjoy it while sitting on the edge of the fountain, laughing and retelling stories of our youth.