Page 92 of Party Favors

That got him to stop kissing me. He still held me close, our chests moving in unison, our hearts thundering against each other. “Is that what you think?”

I shrugged, not able to say the words.

He pressed a soft kiss to my lips and then immediately retreated. “That’s not why I kissed you. I kissed you because you finally let me. I would have kissed you every moment since we met if you’d let me.” He kissed me again, brief, fleeting, gentle.

“Why?”

He smiled and shook his head like it was a silly question. “Because you are sexy and desirable and it’s all I can do to keep my hands off of you.”

“Even the morning of the royal wedding?” I asked, remembering how terrible I’d looked then.

He grinned. “Especially the morning of the royal wedding.”

I didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. Even if he was saying this because he thought I wanted to hear it, I. Did. Not. Care.

I reached for him, pulling his mouth back to mine, and my stomach jumped when we collided against each other, hungry and wanting. It overwhelmed me, this sensation of my entire body being on fire, like somebody had replaced my bones with molten lava.

I’d predicted Mount Vesuvius and I had not been wrong.

It was so overwhelming, too much and not enough all at the same time. He seemed to sense what I was experiencing and quickly adapted to it. Like he could feel my hesitation and he backed off, gentling his kisses. But then when he intuited my need and enthusiasm for more, he deepened the kiss, engulfing my lips, moving against me in a way that had me panting and desperate for more.

This time he was the one who broke off the kiss, resting his forehead against mine. “I shouldn’t be doing this.”

My brain was so hazy and fuzzy I couldn’t understand him. Why shouldn’t he be doing it? I was very enthusiastically into it. Kissing him was the only thing I wanted.

The only thing that mattered.

“Yes, you should,” I insisted.

“No, you don’t understand—”

But I stole his words by kissing him hard and was rewarded with him groaning against my mouth, the sound reverberating deep in his chest. I showed him how much I’d been dreaming of this moment. I kissed him with all the longing I’d kept buried since we’d met.

He responded, flame calling to flame, burning hotter and higher until I thought I would melt away completely.

His fingers were in my hair, pressing against my scalp, down my neck and arms, creating prickly sensations everywhere he touched. His hand drifted down to my waist and pulled me against him. He turned me so that he could place me against the wall of the building, and I was grateful for the extra support.

Because this man kissing and holding me had caused me to lose touch with the parts of my brain that controlled speech and judgment.

Maybe it was the wine?

No, it wasn’t the wine. It was all Max.

“Everly?” It was like an alarm bell suddenly sounded; we weren’t alone. It took me a full ten seconds to realize that it hadn’t been Max who had spoken my name.

We broke apart, both of us breathing hard, our chests heaving. I was glad to know I wasn’t the only one affected this way.

I looked over Max’s shoulder and saw Hollis grinning at me. He was the one who had called my name. “I’m about to go off shift. Y’all need to call it a night.”

“We’ll be there in a second,” Max said, his voice sounding rough and tight. When he heard the door close, he turned his head toward me, taking in my face. “Are you good?”

Good? I was ecstatic. Euphoric. I was so far past good it wasn’t even funny.

“Yes.”

“We should go,” he said, then pressed one last kiss on the tip of my nose. It was so adorably sweet and intimate that I shivered again. How long had we been outside? It could have been anywhere from twentyminutes to twenty years. That kiss had somehow simultaneously lasted an eternity and was over far too soon.

He took me by the hand and we met Hollis just past the door. I returned the key and he locked the door and then we all rode the elevator down together. Hollis was speaking, but I couldn’t hear him.

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