Page 41 of Reckless Hearts

What if he hated it?

If I thought I was embarrassed before, it’s nothing compared to now.

His thumb runs over my bottom lip, freeing it from my teeth.

“There you go again, thinking too much.”

“I didn’t… you didn’t have to. Thank you.”

The words tumble out in a messy contradiction.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry you had to do that?—”

He cuts me off, his tongue slipping past my still-open mouth, sending a full-body shiver through me.

His kiss is soft at first, exploratory, his tongue brushing over every inch like he wants to memorize me.

I’m slow to respond, brain still struggling to catch up, but when I do, it’s all-consuming.

My tongue tangles with his.

A low groan rumbles out of him, vibrating into my side.

I whimper when he pulls back, breath panting against my lips.

I move to chase him, but he brushes his nose along mine instead, smiling.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” he says, voice rough. “I’ve pictured it a million times. What you’d taste like. How you’d respond. If you’d make those soft little sounds.”

Tingles race over my skin, heat pooling low in my belly.

“I… I shouldn’t have kissed you without asking. That’s not how I wanted this to happen… I just couldn’t think of a different way,” he says, so vulnerable my chest aches.

I grab the sides of his face and yank him down hard enough for our teeth to clash.

This time, my kiss isn’t soft.

It’s fast. Messy. Overflowing with everything inside me.

He answers with a low growl, wrapping his hand in my hair and tilting my head to the side for more access.

It’s hunger.

It’s need.

It’s everything we’ve been bottling up for years.

Eventually, our movements slow, turning soft, tender, almost reverent.

Maverick eases me down, his hands gentle as he touches me like I might shatter.

I let him.

I trust him.

Fourteen-year-old Callie would be losing her mind right now.

Giddiness bubbles up my throat, escaping in a giggle.

---