Page 91 of Party Favors

Shaking my head, I said, “I never should have told you about that.”

“Probably not.” He grinned at me.

That spin had me feeling a bit disoriented, which was bad, given that I knew his kisses were going to make my balance situation worse.

“Everly.” He said my name reverently, like a prayer and a wish combined, and it disconnected my legs from my body so that I felt like I was floating. His eyes roamed over my face, and there was the look I’d been waiting for since the first night we’d met. Desire, lust, a promise that he was about to take me in his arms and kiss me senseless.

There was no mistaking it. I wasn’t imagining things or hallucinating.

It was very real.

A heaviness pressed against me, the type that came from sharing this sort of wanting gaze. My pulse beat slow and thick. Despite the fact that it was freezing outside, my body flushed and I was hot all over, like it was noon and the sun was beating down on me.

He nuzzled his nose against mine, frustratingly ghosting his lips over my mouth. I realized that he was giving me a chance to change my mind, even though I was the one who had orchestrated this entire thing.

I wasn’t going to change my mind. I wanted him to kiss me so badly my teeth ached.

He reached up to cup my face, and I noted that his hands seemed to be slightly trembling, as if he wanted this as badly as I did. His thumbs stroked my cheeks while he continued to keep his tantalizing lips just out of reach. He was bewitching my hormones and my soul.

I knew he was taking his time, drawing it out, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. My body voted for bad as it had waited far too long for this moment. He did not need to ratchet up the tension—I was about ready to burst from desperate longing.

“Do you want me to kiss you, Everly?” he asked, the words warm against my lips. I knew why he was asking. This was going to change things. If there was a friendship boundary line, we were about to irrevocably cross it.

“Yes, kiss me.” Three one-syllable words. And they were like a match that sparked a flame.

Because his mouth finally descended to mine and the first thing I thought was,Vella was wrong.

She had incorrectly surmised that because he was bad at dancing, he’d be bad at kissing, but I was personally discovering that she couldn’t have been further off. He had zero coordination or rhythm problems while he kissed me mindless.

His touch was warm and gentle. As far as first kisses went, it was pretty perfect. Like someone had scripted it, directed it, and Max was the award-winning actor who’d been hired solely for his on-screen kissing skills.

It was more than just a kiss. It was like an answer to every question I’d had since I’d met him.

His touch, his kiss, was soft and gentle. Perfect. He held me tight, like I was something precious and special to him. I’d never done drugs,never had the desire to. But if there was a drug that was like kissing him, I might have reconsidered my stance.

“Max,” I whispered, in complete awe. “You’re really good at this.”

I felt his mouth curl up in a smile against my sensitized lips, and then he moved to trace my jawline with the tip of his nose. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“Vella thought you’d be bad at it. But I knew.”

“Knew what?” he breathed, pressing a delicate kiss to my jaw.

I sighed blissfully. “I knew it would be like this.”

“So did I,” he said before his lips devoured mine, creating shivers that moved in waves up and down my spine.

His kiss was more intense now, and I arched against him, a soft moan escaping from the back of my throat. I parted my lips as an invitation and he eagerly accepted, deepening the kiss. He ignited liquid fire in my stomach and it spread slowly to all of my limbs, burning as it went.

I felt his desire in his kiss. That he wanted me. It was undeniable.

It was also too much.

A still-functioning but frantic part of my brain warned me to protect myself. I didn’t want Max and me to be caught up in some fantasy, kissing on the Empire State Building in formal wear. I wanted him to kiss me because I was Everly, and for no other reason.

I pulled my head back slightly. He didn’t release his hold on me and took the opportunity to press heated kisses to my cheeks, the corners of my neck, the delicate parts of my earlobe.

“Why didn’t you kiss me before this?” I asked, aware of how breathless my voice sounded. “Is all of this because I wore some makeup? The dress?”

---