Page 28 of Wish You Were Mine
“Sure,” I said, my pulse jumping.
“When Nora asked if I’d give you my number at the bar...was that just her trying to make you feel uncomfortable? Or…was there some other reason behind it?”
My cheeks warmed despite the cold. “She might’ve been trying to help me out.”
A slow smile curved across his face, his eyes crinkling at the corners—and wow. He was unfairly attractive when he smiled like that. Honestly, there should be laws about looking that good in a hot tub.
Not that I was complaining. Having Owen’s full attention on me, even for just a few minutes, was definitely not something I minded.
“So,” he said, tilting his head, “is it fair to guess that the person you were thinking about kissing in the hot tub...was me?”
“You’re really putting me on the spot here, aren’t you?” I gave him a mock scowl.
He chuckled. “Just wanted to make sure I didn’t make an unwanted advance earlier.”
“No,” I said softly. “It was definitely not unwanted.”
“So…it was me?”
I hesitated, then bit my lip to keep from grinning too hard.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “And just so you know…you were the one I was thinking about, too.”
“Good to know.” A soft laugh escaped me.
He leaned in, just a little, and the space between us grew even more electric. “You know,” he murmured, “you look really cute when you’re trying not to smile.”
I paused, letting the compliment settle in my chest. Then, after a beat, I tilted my head and took a chance, whispering, “And you’ve got a dangerously good jawline for someone trying to distract me.”
His smile softened, fading just enough to let something darker flicker through his expression as his eyes dropped to my mouth.
“Well,” he said, his voice lower now, “when you say things like that...it makes me think I might just have to kiss you again.”
My heart stuttered. But I tried to play it cool, even as heat bloomed up my neck.
“I think I might be okay with that,” I murmured, my voice feathering into the steam between us.
The grin that spread across his lips then was slow. Confident.Devastating.
He leaned in, brushing a strand of damp hair from my cheek before his fingers skimmed down, cradling my jaw. And when his lips met mine, it was soft—testing—like a secret passed between us. I exhaled against his mouth, chasing the kiss before it could slip away.
He deepened it instantly, the hand at my jaw tilting my face toward him as his other hand slid around my waist, pulling me closer. The water sloshed gently between us, but I barely noticed.
And man, the way he kissed… It was both exhilarating and grounding at the same time. Like he’d been waiting all night to do this, and he wasn’t in any hurry to stop.
I slid my hands up his shoulders and around his neck, anchoring myself as his lips coaxed mine open, his tonguebrushing against mine with the kind of slow, confident ease that made my stomach drop—like the split-second free-fall before sticking a blind landing off the balance beam.
And when he tugged on my hips gently, guiding me closer, I let him. He shifted both of us until I was straddling his lap with my knees, water rippling around us. And wow, if it didn’t feel good to be that close to a man again… It had been ages.
My hands found his chest, solid and warm under the water, and as the kiss turned hotter—hungrier—I melted against him.
My hips tilted forward, instinctive and unintentional, and the quietest sound escaped the back of his throat.
Oops. Is that too close for someone you’ve only met twice?
But then his hands tightened at my waist, applying pressure to my lower back like he wanted to anchor me there.
And yeah…I didn’t want to move.
