My brows lifted in surprise. “So you meant to barge in when the curtain was closed? What were you hoping to find?”
“I was looking for Kylie,” she said, ignoring my implication that she’d been exploring voyeurism.
“Is she your make-out partner?” I asked.
I’d meant the question to fluster her, but Danielle didn’t look at all fazed as she tilted her head to the side, challenge sparking in her eyes.
“So what if she is?”
“Aren’t you dating my brother?” The words tasted bitter on my tongue. Miles claimed they weren’t dating, but they got together all the time. They’d practically been attached at the damn hip since I’d gotten out of the hospital.
She closed the space between us, and I watched her every movement—the way her skirt swished around her ankles, the slide of her sweater as it slipped off one shoulder to expose a strip of her tawny skin below the cap sleeve of her shirt.
“Miles and I are friends,” she said, glaring down at me.
“So you haven’t kissed him?” I demanded, standing so we were nearly chest to chest. I only had a few inches on her, and Danielle barely had to tilt her head to meet my eyes. She was tall and willowy enough to be a runway model, though I doubted her face could make that severe expression fashion models all seemed to have.
Her eyes narrowed. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no.”
I didn’t know what to make of the relief that flooded my chest. I didn’t care who she kissed. It was none of my business, just like she said. But the thought of her kissing Miles pissed me off. I didn’t want him knowing what her lips tasted like.
Heavy tension lingered in the air between us in the wake of her admission. All my senses were filled with her. I could feel the heat radiating off her body, smell the scent of wildflowers off her skin with every breath I took. We were both breathing a little too hard, and it sounded loud in the secluded alcove.
The logical part of my brain knew I should put some distance between us, that being alone with her was a bad idea, but I couldn’t make my body respond.
Danielle had short-circuited the part of my brain that controlled my body. It was the only explanation.
Her teeth sank into her full lower lip, and all my focus zeroed in on the action. Her lips were perfect. They were plump and inviting and not covered with the crap most of the women I knew smeared all over them.
“Sunday School?”
“Yes?”
“You need to leave right now.” Before I could do something incredibly stupid.
She blinked up at me. “What?”
“Run. Get far away from me, or I’ll make you regret not listening.”
Her posture straightened. “You might be some big shot in your world, but you don’t get to order me around.”
I couldn’t help the way the corner of my lips hitched up… or the way my dick thickened at the boldness in her eyes.
“Fuck it,” I said right before my lips crashed down on hers.
My hands tangled in her long waves, holding her in place while my mouth moved against hers with a desperation I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt. Adrenaline pounded through my veins as tingles erupted all over my body and my blood traveled south in a rush that left me lightheaded. I swept my tonguealong her soft lips, seeking access to deepen the kiss. Because apparently I hadn’t crossed enough lines already.
There was a good chance I was going to Hell for the thoughts running through my head.
Danielle opened for me, her tongue meeting mine in soft, tentative strokes, and I groaned. She tasted so sweet, like pure sugar.
Her hands were braced on my chest, their heat burning through the fabric of my shirt, and it took every bit of my self-control to keep from yanking her against me and letting her feel exactly what she was doing to me. I did havesomesense of self-preservation left. Danielle Towler was the forbidden fruit, and I didn’t really want her brothers to speed up my arrival at the fiery gates.
When I pulled back, her cheeks were flushed and her chest rose and fell rapidly with heaving breaths. She looked so fucking beautiful even with her librarian fashion sense.
And I was an asshole for kissing her.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered as reality and guilt came crashing down on me. I was far from a saint, but I had a line, and kissing Danielle crossed it. I didn’t believe in leading girls on to get what I wanted. I was up-front, honest. They all knew exactly what they were getting from me and what they weren’t.
