Page 10 of Crash with Me

“You’re probably right.” I cast a sidelong glance at Seth and lower my voice. “Are you still doing okay?”

“I’m fine.” He faces me and offers a light smile. “I just hate the way people keep looking and staring. Like I’m the lion at the zoo.”

I glance around and catch more than a few people looking away suddenly. “It does seem like they’re waiting for you to do something.”

“I don’t know what they expect from me.”

“You should just kiss already and get it over with.”

Seth and I turn in unison to gape at her. She shrugs. “What? I’m just saying, if you give the people what they want, maybe they’ll leave you alone.”

“And the people want us to kiss?” Seth says.

“Probably.”

With a shaky laugh, I lift a shoulder. “Well, I guess we should give the people what they want so we can all get on with our lives.”

“It’s okay.” He leans toward me, whispering in my ear. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”

His warm breath on my skin sends a shiver down my spine.

“No, it’s okay.” I pull back a little, so our lips are a breath apart. “I want you to kiss me.”

“You do?”

I nod. And then, before I can second-guess whether or not this is a good idea, I do the very thing I’ve wanted to do since I first saw him.

I close my eyes and press my lips to his.

FOUR

SETH

Her smooth lips brush against mine, and my whole body comes alive.

It’s like I’ve been a tightly wound spring. The moment we touch—finally—I come apart.

The kiss starts off light. A gentle brush. But once we’ve breached the invisible wall keeping this arrangement of ours professional, there’s no holding back. A flood of desire rushes through me. Sliding my hand to cradle the back of her head, I angle my head and urge her lips apart.

With a gasp, she relents. Our tongues lightly touch, and the want inside of me rages into a need. A need as essential as taking my next breath or having a drink of water.

Kissing Heidi feels necessary. And I don’t want to stop.

But as much as I want to lose myself in the moment—to lose myself in her—the gasps around us remind me we aren’t alone. With a final nibble, sucking her bottom lip, I pull back and rest my forehead against hers.

We’re both gasping for breath. My thumb strokes the smooth skin behind her ear as we take deep gulps of air and let our heartrates return to normal.

“Well, then.” Stacey clears her throat. “I guess you showed them.”

I pull back slightly and search Heidi’s gaze for any sign of discomfort. She just gives me a smile. It’s almost shy and so damn sweet. It’s more than a little surprising, but endearing, coming from a woman who has been so damn confident from the moment we met.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Mmm hmm.” She rubs her lips together, as if she’s savoring my taste. “For the record, we can do that again any time you want.”

I chuckle. “I may take you up on that offer.”

“Please do.” She looks as if she wants to say more, but she pulls back and gives a polite smile as Kelly and Dad move toward us.

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