His gaze narrowed. “You argue a lot.”
“Actually I don’t. I’m a very pleasant person.”
“You argue a lot with me.”
She nodded. “You’re right. Ask yourself why.”
“I already know why. You’re fighting the chemistry between us.”
As he spoke, he moved close. Very close. Close enough that it seemed unnecessary for her to keep breathing. There was also the matter of his arms going around her and drawing her next to him.
She knew what he was going to do, and she didn’t even consider stopping him. Not when she’d secretly wanted another kiss ever since he’d ended the first one. Oh, she knew she should resist, but this was one of those times when being bad felt so good.
His lips moved against hers with the best combination of tension, pressure, and softness. Firm yet yielding, sweet yet masculine. She found herself melting into the sensation, savoring every exquisite millimeter of contact. She wanted to part her lips, to have him plunge inside of her, but she also wanted to continue the kiss, drawing out the moment, enjoying the need and hunger building inside of her.
He moved his mouth back and forth, gently discovering her. When he bit on the full center of her lower lip, she gasped in both shock and delight. A quick brush of histongue on the sensual injury made her shiver in anticipation. She raised her hands to his shoulders, for balance as well as to hold him in place. Her fingers rubbed against the smooth fabric of his suit.
Slowly, as if to give her time to get used to the idea, he slipped his tongue inside. She waited for some voice to call out the need to be sensible, but there was only silent anticipation. Hadn’t Brenna told her she needed to be more bad? Kissing Zach sure had to qualify.
She surrendered to the wanting and parted her lips fully to admit him.
The arms around her tightened. He held her close enough that his heat warmed her, yet she didn’t feel trapped. They moved together, as if they had performed this particular dance a thousand times before. There was no awkwardness, no bumping of noses and knees. Just mind-crushing desire. It swept through her like a tornado, sucking the air from her lungs and making her want to beg him to let her surrender.
Her skin felt too hot and too tight. Every erogenous zone she knew about and some she had yet to discover sent up warning signals that if they were not touched and soon, she would have to die right then. The taste of him, the pressure, the sweet sensations were all more than she had expected.
All her fantasies about Zach, both funny and serious, hadn’t prepared her for the reality. His hands moved up and down her back, making her want to purr. When he slipped lower, cupping her rear, she instinctively arched against him, wanting to feel all of him. The hard proof of his arousal nearly made her scream in delight.
The rational part of her brain, which should have been telling her this was a big mistake, began to gauge the distance to the front desk of the hotel and calculate the embarrassment factor of checking in for a couple of hours of hot monkey sex. The alternative was doing it right here in the garden, but she’d never been one for public displays of affection.
Before she could decide if she could overcome her inhibitions, Zach drew back just enough to break the kiss. He rested his forehead on hers. She had a feeling he’d come to his senses, which really pissed her off. At least he was breathing just as hard as she was. She would hate to be the only one in the throes of uncontrolled passion.
He rubbed his thumb across her swollen lips. “You’re full of surprises.”
She tried to smile, but had a feeling it came out a little shaky at the corners. “The same could be said about you.”
“No way.” He cupped her face and kissed her again. “I’ve been kissing on and off for the past twenty years and I know I haven’t felt anything like that before. So it must be you.”
Even as she told herself his smooth line didn’t mean anything, she found herself desperately wanting to believe it. Okay, Zach had promised to do whatever he could to change her mind about Mia and David, but she didn’t want to believe he would go so far as to seduce her to his side. Except she had a feeling he just might.
The fact that she didn’t know should have sent her running for the hills, or at least her car. Instead she felt only regret that they hadn’t hooked up under slightly less charged circumstances.
“This is going to be complicated,” he said.
“Not for me.”
He grinned. “You’re tough, Katie. I like that. I like it a lot.”
His words made her shiver, which only proved she was a fool.
She stepped back and straightened her jacket. “This was great and all, but I really have to run.”
“You could come back to my place.”
The invitation, delivered in a sensually husky voice, made her knees melt. She had to consciously force her muscles to tighten so she wouldn’t collapse in a heap.
“I could, but I won’t. Thanks for asking, though.”
“Want a rain check?”
She risked glancing at him. His dark blue eyes were bright with passion, his lips were still swollen. He looked impossibly sexy and irresistible. Giving in made perfect sense. No one would blame her.
“This is L.A.,” she said. “We don’t actually get rain.”
“You’re afraid.”
“I’m smart.”
“And scared.”
As they both knew that was the truth; she didn’t see any point in admitting it. “Let’s just say I don’t trust you.”
She picked up her briefcase and made a timely retreat. Because ten more seconds in his company would put her on the verge of giving in, and she couldn’t risk that.
Mia stood up from her place at the kitchen table and stretched to relieve the muscles in her back. Too many hours spent hunched over a book, she thought. She crossed to the calendar posted on the refrigerator door, where she checked off another two-hour block of study. She only had a week until finals. As usual, she’d prepared a schedule dividing up her non-classroom time into review sessions. Also, as usual, she was right on schedule.
Thanks to Katie, she thought, her gaze straying to a picture of all four Marcelli girls standing together in the middle of a vineyard. Her sister had always been the most organized student, and she’d passed all her tricks along to Mia.
A knock on the door made her turn. She knew instantly who stood in the hallway of her apartment building. She wrestled with two parts anticipation and one part apprehension.
She crossed to the door and opened it.
“Before you say anything,” David told her as he entered, “I’m only staying thirty minutes. We need to stay focused on finals. But I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
She studied his familiar face, the blue eyes that she’d noticed right off, and the way his blond hair always fell across his forehead.
He held up a white bag. “I got your favorites,” he said. “Just yesterday I was reading that sugar helps with mental acuity.”
She glanced from the bag containing Baskin-Robbins ice cream to David. Apprehension faded as love swelled to take its place.
For the past few weeks, ever since they’d tried to shop for the gift registry, things had been kind of twisted between them. Not wrong, exactly, but not right, either. The fight had changed things. They’d been seeing each other, but the seeing had been strained.
Suddenly everything felt right again. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. He dropped the ice-cream bag and pulled her hard against him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, suddenly fighting tears.
“Me, too.” He kissed her. “I love you, Mia.”
“I love you more.”
He smiled at the familiar joke. She continued to cling to him, needing to crawl inside and be a part of him. Whatever else went wrong in her life, being with David was always right.