Page 95 of Kissing for Keeps
I recognize Troy’s voice immediately. He’s dancing with a girl I don’t know, but he chucks his chin in Jack’s direction. “Is this guy giving you trouble, sis?”
Jack shakes his head, while I nod vigorously. He pulls back to look at me with laughing betrayal in his eyes, and our hands drop.
“Just say the word,” Troy says, “and I’ll run him through.” But he’s smiling at Jack.
“Let’s hold off on that for now,” I say, threading my fingers through Jack’s again.
Troy looks down at our hands and lifts a brow. “I’ll just be over there if you need me.”
“Duly noted.” Jack salutes him as he dances off. He chuckles, and his eyes pause on mine for a minute. Then he pulls my hand and leads me off the dance floor.
“Hey, I liked that song,” I say, not ready for our dance cuddling to be over.
He just smiles over his shoulder as he leads me around the head table, which is empty of people now. We pass by the last seat, and he keeps going, pulling us away from the music and down the hall of empty cloisters.
When we’re even with one of the partially crumbling pillars midway down the line of them, he stops and turns to me.
I can’t tell if we’re about to have a DTR or what, but the way he’s looking at me and the way he rubs his lips together make me think he has other ideas right now.
If they’re the sort of ideas I’m thinking of, I’m willing to hear him out.
“You remember what I told you about the next time I kissed you?”
My heart races as I meet his gaze. Idoremember.
“I just need to know if you’re ready for me to make good on that promise.”
I swallow. Iamready. I want to be kissed for keeps. I want to be a big deal to Jack, and I’m having a harder and harder time convincing myself not to believe him when he says I am. So, I do the only thing I can do: nod.
He lets out a breath like he’s relieved, then lifts his hand to my face, letting the backs of his fingers trail down my cheek. His eyes search mine. “Ireallylike you, Siena.” He lets out a breath. “I’m falling in love with you. Every day I fall a little farther.” He smiles slightly. “How far you planning on taking me, Sheppard?”
“As far as you’ll let me.”
He steps closer. “Are you on this ride with me, then?”
“I might have a slight preference”—I pinch the air between my thumb and forefinger—“for you above other guys.” I press my fingers even closer together so they’re nearly touching.
He looks at it for a second, the corner of his mouth pulling up at the side. “I can work with that.”
He slips his thumb and forefinger between mine, spreads them apart, then threads my fingers with his. Cradling my head with his other hand, he searches my face until his gaze finds its target. He closes his eyes and comes for my lips.
We’re kissing in secret again, but this time it’s different. It’s not driven by the forbidden, pushing on the boundaries all around us. It’s soft and slow and private. I can feel Jack’s sincerity in the way he holds me, in the time he takes to convince me this is a big deal, that he’s not just out to have fun.
The fun is just a big, fat bonus.
Finally, we break apart, but Jack’s eyes are still closed.
He stands like that for a second, rubbing his lips together like he’s still savoring the kiss. “Holy cheese snips, Sheppard.”
I laugh, and he puts his hands on my waist with that devilish smile.
The song echoing down the stone hall starts to slow and fade, and I narrow my eyes. “Hey, what did you do to get Austin’s manager to let him come?”
He smirks. “Oh, you know, a little of this. A little of that.”
I cock a brow. “It was a woman, wasn’t it?”
He shakes his head, far too proud of himself. “I did things by the book.”
