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“Don’t spread that around. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

She chuckles, the vibration travelling through us both.

“Can I kiss you, now, Indy?” I ask.

Her hazel eyes search mine for a long second, probably running whatever risk assessment algorithm lives inside that incredible brain of hers. “I think I’d like that.”

I don’t rush as I move my face toward her. I want to give her those few seconds to say no. For all the jokes I’ve made tonight, for all the swagger I’ve thrown around in the bar, this doesn’t feel like a moment that needs to be stolen quickly. It feels like one that needs to be earned.

I brush my thumb over her cheek. “If you change your mind…”

“I’ll tell you.”

“Good.”

Then, I close the last inch between us and kiss her. I expect hesitation, but instead I find curiosity. She’s tentative in the way her lips touch mine, but it’s as if she’s learning and studying me like a new trail through the preserve, carefully and thoughtfully paying attention to every tiny reaction.

It should make the kiss cautious, but somehow, it makes it devastating. Every time I soften, she softens. And every time I pause, she does too, like she’s collecting data. But then, something changes. Her fingers, which have been curled uncertainly against my ribs, slowly gather a handful of my T-shirt as she leans into me, really leans in, like she’s finally decided to stop thinking and simply experience. That’s what undoes me.

The kiss deepens, our tongues tentatively dancing with each other, the sweet taste of Della increasing my need to devour her.

I’ve kissed plenty of beautiful women. Women who knew exactly what to wear and how to move to seduce a man and make him feel like he’s the center of the universe.

But none of them looked up at me afterwards the way Della does now. There’s a question in her eyes. One that asks me, Was that enough?

“I like the feel of your mouth on mine, Indy.”

She laughs under her breath, and her shoulders drop in relief. “Good. Because I think I finally understand the appeal of kissing.”

I cup her cheeks and briefly kiss her again for her honesty. “I’m glad you like it, because I was beginning to worry your performance review of me would be brutal.”

She gives me a playful shove. “You’re insufferable. And yet…”

I slide my hand around the back of her neck and massage the tight muscles. “And yet, what?”

“And yet,” she repeats, looking up at me with that soft smile that’s fast becoming one of my favorite things to see. “I want more.”

10

DELLA

I’m going to do it.

That’s my only thought.

I’m going to sleep with Sunny.

And it’s clear from the look on his face that not only does he know it, but he also wants it as much as I do. I can feel it in the way his hand kneads the back of my neck, bringing memories of the way the biker getting a blow job held on to the woman delivering it earlier.

I can feel it in the way his erection presses up against me. The hard length as terrifying as it is arousing.

And I see it in his eyes and dilated pupils.

“I can’t promise I’ll be spectacular,” I blurt.

He huffs. “You’re already doing better than you think.” Gently, he slides his hands to the hem of my shirt. “You need me to stop, just say so. You think I’m not hearing you, say Everglades.”

I smile at that. “Did you just give me a safe word?”