“I’m all set. It was really good.” She licked one last crumb off her bottom lip, and Spencer wanted to groan.
Tongues…Tangling…Dueling…
Spencer cleared his throat, trying to get his libido under control. “I’ll, uh, walk you to your room, then.”
“Afraid I’ll get lost?” Tabitha snorted amusedly.
“No. It’s just that…” Well, that response sounded far too serious. What an idiot. Tabitha had been joking, and he’d made himself seem like a humorless dolt. He could do better.
“I was actually hoping for a goodnight kiss.”
Damn.Had he really said that? From dolt to imbecile in one quick step.
Tabitha winked and stood, seemingly not in the least bit put off. “Weelll,” she drew out. “I’d say it’s a really good bet that you’ll fish that wish.”
“Uh, excellent,” he responded lamely because all his blood had immediately rushed to his cock.
Down boy, he ordered silently.
A kiss was just that. A kiss. And Tabitha hadn’t offered him anything more since they’d sat down; not since their bantering, sexy-talk during those tense moments underwater, and the small bit of flirting they’d done in the companionway before entering the mess. She’d given him no indication over dinner that they’d be slipping between her sheets anytime soon.
He was going to have to behave himself and see which way the wind blew.
Spencer cleared his throat when Tabitha just stood there looking at him with an amused expression, then he got to his feet, too. They both blew out the now guttering candles before depositing their trays and trash in the disposal area.
Once their hands were free, Spencer stopped, and dared take hers in his own.
She looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled.
“Perfect. That feels good,” she said.
Spencer almost made the mistake of saying,I know what will feel better, but he managed to curb himself. He needed to keep the X-rated stuff that was roiling around in his brain, under wraps. Clearly, he’d been on the ship and around only guys for far too long. His mental-filters needed cleaning.
“I like it, too,” he managed, still not moving as he relished the contact.
She tipped her head and began tugging him forward. “Good. But don’t think that’s all I want tonight,” she chastised amusedly. “Come on, slouch. I’m really looking forward to that kiss you mentioned.”
“Slouch, huh?” Spencer looked around, and seeing no one, he yanked Tabitha back toward him, spun her around, and reeled her in until she was flush up against his body, chest to chest.
Yup. Why wait?
With his digits still intertwined with hers, he lifted his free hand and caressed her cheek, slowly moving it around until he cupped her nape possessively beneath her riot of curls.
“Kissing you now,” he warned as he very slowly leaned down, inch by inch, edging toward her lush-lips.
Tabitha corrected him with a growl. “Shutting up and moving faster, now,” she hissed.
She reached aroundhishead, and grabbing the short hairs on the back of his neck, used them as leverage to haul him the rest of the way forward.
Spencer went without a fight. It was, after all, exactly where he wanted to be.
The connection, when their mouths touched, was nothing short of earth-shattering. The world around Spencer ceased to exist. The room rocked wildly.
Another earthquake? A rogue wave?
No, this was all Tabitha. She was the force of nature causing the globe to tilt.
Spencer ate it up, his gut clenching in excitement as their merged lips opened to deepen their contact.
