Page 79 of Sweet Temptation

My cheeks felt hot, and my brain went into overdrive. Did he just like me or did helike melike me? Because there was a huge difference between the two, and I had no idea which kind of like I wanted him to be feeling.

It didn’t help that he looked so cute as he spoke. His warm brown eyes were gentle and filled with hope, and it was hard not to be pulled in by his easygoing smile. Wes was hot and sweet; a girl would have to be absolutely crazy not to want to be with him. Was I crazy for not immediately jumping for joy that he said he liked me? Probably, but I didn’t want things moving too quickly. I’d fallen fast for Noah, and that had been a disaster. I couldn’t make that mistake again, especially not when it might mean ruining my friendship with Wes.

“I really like you too, Wes,” I admitted. “You’re one of my closest friends here.” Yep, I’d dropped the friend bomb. It was the equivalent of throwing a bucket of cold water on the guy, but it seemed far safer than saying anything else.

Wes didn’t seem put off though, and he lifted one eyebrow in response. “Do you kiss all of your friends like that?”

“Uh, only the really good ones.”

It was a terrible answer, but he chuckled, and the sound danced down my spine. He wasn’t looking at me like a friend right now, and my heart beat quicker as he continued to stare at me.

“I’m just not ready for another relationship right now,” I murmured. “And I don’t think you are either.”

He took a step toward me so we were standing only inches apart and reached up to tuck a stray curl behind my ear. The gesture didn’t feel even slightly friendly, and the intense look in his eyes made me feel like he wasn’t listening to a word I said.

“So, can we just pretend the kiss didn’t happen?” I continued.

“I can’t do that,” he said. “Kissing you was the only thing that’s felt right to me in weeks. Tell me you didn’t enjoy kissing me, and I’ll forget it ever happened.”

My mouth suddenly felt dry. “Wes, it was a one-time thing.”

“So, you enjoyed our kiss then.” Apparently, he wasn’t discouraged.

“Of course, I did, but we’re friends. It would be weird. I—”

He didn’t wait for me to continue as he lowered his head toward me and brushed his lips against mine. They felt like nothing more than a feather lightly grazing against my skin, and my whole body tingled. He didn’t deepen the kiss like I wanted. Instead, he pulled back a few inches, so I could still feel his breath against me.

“Did that feel weird to you?” His voice was slightly deeper and more gravelly than it had been before. It seemed like he was just as affected by my lips as I was by his.

I answered by pulling him back to me and kissing him fully like my body craved. All thought and reason fled from my mind as he wrapped his arms around me, tugging me closer still. I didn’t care if we were just friends or something more in that moment. And there was definitely nothing weird about kissing Wes again. If anything, his kisses erased any apprehension I had. Wes was right; this was the first thing that had made sense recently.

The sound of Sawyer groaning interrupted us. “Oh, man, get a room.”

Wes and I jumped apart, and my cheeks burned with embarrassment as I turned to see Wes’s brother lounging in the doorway.

Wes wasn’t nearly as flustered as he answered. “I have a room. I’m using it.”

“No, this isourroom. You could have at least put a sock on the door,” Sawyer said, coming inside and closing the door behind him. Now that I took a proper look at him, I could see he was grinning widely. He clearly wasn’t as annoyed as his voice portrayed.

“Isobel.” He tilted his head at me. “I see you took up my rebound offer. You got the wrong brother though. That’s Wes you’re kissing.”

Wes shoved a hand against his shoulder. “She doesn’t think I’m you, you idiot.”

“Are you sure?” Sawyer turned to me again and puckered his lips. “Because I’m ready to rectify the situation…”

I scrunched up my nose. “Ew, no.”

“Why not?” Sawyer laughed. “Wes and I have never kissed the same girl before. Finally, we can find out who is the better kisser.”

“Dude, that’s messed up,” Wes muttered.

“You need help,” I agreed. “I’m not going to kiss you, Sawyer.”

“But this feels like a bet I could win…”

Wes took his brother by the shoulders and steered him back toward the door. “You can leave now.”

“But it’s my room.”

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