Page 39 of Keep Your Guard Up
“Wanna know a secret?”
“Mmm.” I nodded my head.
That glorious fusion of music and whiskey found a third friend—those forget-me-not blue eyes staring down at me.
“I took dance lessons when I was first starting out in boxing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, helped me with my footwork.”
I smiled—beamed, I’m sure. “Why does that not surprise me?”
His gaze slowly snaked its way up my face, and it dawned on me that he’d been staring at my mouth.
“You’re far too smart to be surprised by things as trivial as that,” he replied.
Feeling an uncomfortable weight from the compliment he’d just paid me, my eyes fell to our hands.
“Don’t do that.” His hand left my waist and tenderly pulled my chin up, my face much closer than a moment ago.
“Don’t do what?” I whispered as his tongue swiftly coated his lips slick, the bottom falling between his teeth for a split second.
“Don’t turn away from a compliment, Sunny. You of all people deserve them.” His drunken slur was lost, those last few words clear and as bright as day.
His fingers moved up to trace the line of my jaw, and Igroanedwhen they tangled in my hair.
“Congratulations, you’ve found something I’m bad at.”
My eyes fluttered shut as his fingers lightly tugged on the strands of hair, his face inching closer.
“Don’t tell anyone.” My pulse skittered and my breathing hitched. The smell of him, mint and cologne, was more intoxicating than the alcohol I’d drunk tonight. This second, this moment, thisman—that was all that mattered. I was utterly lost in him.
Him.
Gorgeous, glorioushim. The man who had driven me up the fucking walls since he’d gotten here. The man who was so gorgeous it hurt. The man who poked at me, challenged me to be better.
“Let’s practice, shall we?” he mumbled in my ear. “Your mind, Trevino.” His lips brushed against my earlobe. “Seeing that brilliant mind of yours in action … You’re arealmartial artist. You move like water, smooth and flowy with the fluidity of power that so many could onlydreamof.”
A gentle pressure from his mouth tugged at my earlobe. A hot breath followed, sending a shiver shooting up my spine.
“You’re sharp and strong and capable,” he murmured.
That pressure moved to his lips as they fell to the middle of my neck. Chance inhaled deeply, the action ripping gooseflesh to the surface of my skin.
“And fuck if that doesn’t drive me insane.” After growling the last word, he nipped at the base of my neck, catching the delicate skin just above my collarbone. He pulled those remarkable lips away, the cool air finding my neck instantly. His fingers gave my hair a gentle tug again, asking me to open my eyes.
“And…”
His lips were so close to mine, his taste already overwhelming my senses.
“You’re sexy as hell, Sunny baby.”
He began moving us to the music once more, never retreating an inch from my face but staying in time with that chorus that felt oh-so-fitting for this moment.
And with every chorus, every verse, he kissed me.
One kiss.
