“Well, he wouldn’t have been wrong. There are a lot of very sexy ladies here.”
I make a little growly sound. “A lot,hein?”
“There’s only one I’ve ever wanted to watch the sunset on this bridge with.”
I toss my hair over my shoulder with my free hand. “Damn right.”
And then he’s kissing me.
His hands are holding my face and his mouth is on mine and I don’t have a chance to wonder if this is perfect or not because the whole city is lighting up just for us tonight, and it’s the most perfect thing that’s ever happened to me.
His fingers slide into my hair, and I grab the back of his flannel shirt, parting my lips when his tongue sweeps along them. I moan, and he grips my hair tighter, pulling me closer. All I want is to be closer.
I feel dizzy, like the wall beside us has disappeared and we’re dangling over the water. I feel like we could hit the rocks at any second, like the river is just waiting to tug us under, but then he pulls back just enough to breathe my name, and I forget. I forget everything except how much I want him, how good it feels to have him want me—so good I could scream or cry or run a hundred miles before the sun comes up, but all I do is kiss him harder.
Soon he’s got my back up against the barrier. His hands are gripping my waist, and mine are clasped around his neck, my thumbs rubbing circles into the skin above his flannel shirt’s collar while he does the same to the gap between my jeans and the tight long sleeve top I have on.
He tastes so good, like a mouthful of summer in the middle of spring, and the sound he makes when I brush the tip of my tongue over his makes my thighs clench.
For years, I told myself to ignore the things I felt when I was close to him, to ignore the heat of his chest or the smell of his laundry soap or the way his laugh makes my stomach dip when I hear it right beside my ear. I shook my head and pushed the thoughts away when I started imagining my hands in his hair or his on my hips.
Even if I had let myself imagine it, it never would have been as good as this.
“MonsieurHastings,” I pant after we’ve kissed for so long we’re both losing our breath. Our chests are still pressed together, heaving as we gulp down air. “You have some moves.”
He lets out a hoarse laugh and shifts his weight. His hips press harder into me for a second, and I gasp.
“Fuck,” he curses. “You have some moves too.”
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth. “It’s pretty sexy when you swear.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, like a good boy gone bad.”
He makes a face. “I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“Well I do.” I lift my hips a little higher. “And I like it.”
He groans and kisses me again, even harder than before.
* * *
We finda city bike stand a few blocks from my house and drop the bicycle off. My ass is killing me from sitting on the handlebars for so long. Even though Zach said I was exaggerating, Ididalmost die a few times, but we made it back in one piece.
I could have spent the whole night making out with him on the bridge, but when our hands started climbing up each other’s shirts, we decided it was time to leave.
It takes me a few steps to realize Zach’s not beside me anymore. I look over my shoulder and see he’s stopped moving just outside the circle of light cast by a streetlamp.
“What are you doing,MonsieurHastings?” I call out, turning around so I’m facing him.
I step a little closer, until I’m right in the middle of the streetlamp’s glow, like the sidewalk is a stage and I’m under a spotlight.
“I...” He kicks at some gravel with his feet. “I should probably go.”
“What?”
“It’s just...I know this is a lot for you. It’s a lot for me too, and I don’t want to rush...things if you’re not ready. Today was—”
