Page 38 of Not That Ridiculous

The sarcasm seemed to go over his head but he obediently hushed while I hunched over the cup and did my thing.

Kevin also hunched over the cup, pressing himself close beside me, and watched as I made small, quick movements with my wrist to draw a pattern in the microfoam.

“Ooh,” Kevin said admiringly. “That’s a lovely heart, Charlie.”

It was a bit lopsided. And I was intending to do a leaf. I set the jug down on the counter and leaned into my elbows. “That,” I said, “is not my best work.” I turned my head and looked into Kevin’s warm brown eyes, approximately three inches from mine.

He wasn’t looking at the latte, he was looking at me. His lids were half-lowered and his lips were parted.

Something twisted low in my stomach. I quickly glanced away and went to straighten, but before I did, Kevin put his hand on my jaw and turned me back to face him.

His gaze flickered down to the pulse he must have been able to see banging at speed in my neck.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I love it.”

And with that, he closed the distance between us and put his mouth on mine.

9

Isucked a sharp breath in through my nose and tensed.

Kevin licked over my mouth and used the hand on my jaw to ease me upright. He turned me and pinned me with my back to the cabinets. “Open up,” he murmured against my lips, and like the absolute fool I was, I did. He made a dark, satisfied sound and slid his tongue in and along mine.

It went straight to my dick. My hips bucked into his and my hands flew to his waist. I gripped, hard. He made another of those sounds—less satisfied and more hungry now—and flexed into me subtly, even as he lifted my chin higher and kissed me deeper.

Goodgodhe was good at this.

His touch was pure confidence, and he used his extra height and muscle to keep me right where he wanted me as his tongue dominated mine. He brought up his other hand to hold my face and he worked my mouth with the same focused concentration I’d seen him use at the gym. His lips were soft and plush, but for all that, not remotely gentle. He was all demand.

He pulled back a little, leaving me open-mouthed and panting, and then he drove back in and did something horrifyingly, arousingly flexible with his tongue,flickeringit before drawing mine into his mouth and sucking on it.

My eyes flew open and locked onto his.

He was watching me.

I blinked. He didn’t.

I wasn’t what you’d call experienced when it came to kissing—or anything else—but I wasn’t entirely clueless.

I’d kissed a guy. Two guys, in fact.

I watched porn on occasion. I’d seen people canoodling in my coffee shop.

I’d seen Adam canoodling with a flustered Ray in my coffee shop on more occasions than I liked to think of, and thrown them out for it at least four times.

My general sense of things was that people kept their eyes closed, didn’t they? While kissing? What did it mean that Kevin—oh.Ohhhh.

He bit my lip softly once, then again, then tilted my head to the other side, pressed closer and arched me over the counter before doing it again, except this time after he’d bitten it, he sucked on it.

My eyes fell closed and I panted loudly.

Really loudly.

Weirdlyloudly—no. That wasn’t me. It wasn’t Kevin, either. It was accompanied by a very familiar thud-thud-thud of a tail on my kitchen floor.

“Wait.” I twisted my head away, gasping when Kevin’s fingers tightened before he released me. I shoved my way upright.

Phil had come back inside and stuffed himself right up beside us. As soon as he had the attention he’d been seeking, he nudged my leg with his big head. He’d had his supper, he’d been out in the garden and attended to business like a good boy, and now he wanted his treat. “Phil,” I said, and internally winced at how feeble my voice sounded. Breathless andsoft. “Give us a minute.”

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