Page 30 of Perfect Pairing
It wasn’t a question, and Ezra didn’t treat it as such.
“He did.”
“You know this is a bad idea.”
He shook his head, his rough stubble scratching my palm. “Not from where I’m sitting.”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“When was the last time you did something reckless, Brie?” His voice had lowered and deepened, and every word caressed my skin promisingly.
“Never.”
“Because you’re a good girl.”
Ezra studied me for long moments while he waited for my response, and his chocolate gaze dug deep beneath my skin, seeming to cut right to my core. Locking on the girl who’d grown up in the shadow of four stunning and talented older sisters, who wanted nothing more than to chart her own path. Who simply wanted…more.
Giving in to this inexplicable attraction I felt for Ezra—which he obviously reciprocated—was a recipe for disaster, like burning the soufflé minutes before the dessert course at a fancy dinner party and not having a backup plan.
But damn, did I want to get burned.
“You’re right,” I said slowly, angling on my stool and shifting further into his space. “I’ve always been a good girl. But just once…just this time, maybe I want to be bad.” I trailed a finger over his chest, along the column of buttons holding his shirt closed. “What do you say, Chef? You wanna be bad with me?”
“Are you asking if you can have my first kiss of the new year?”
I nodded and leaned even closer, lifting my face until I was centimeters away from his lips, until we were sharing breath.
The scant inches between us felt like kindling waiting for a flint to spark it into an inferno.
God, I wanted to feel that fire.
“Take it,” he whispered.
So I pressed my mouth to his.
Kissing Brie Delatou wassurely the worst idea I’ve ever had, and her father’s warning from the day he hired me rang in my ears. Still, I couldn’t muster an ounce of regret. Not when my entire body lit up like a Christmas tree the second her plush mouth met mine. Not when that point of contact warmed me from the inside out, deep into the marrow of my bones and right through my skin in a way that hadn’t happened since…well,since.
What started as soft and hesitant quickly became fevered and insistent. Our mouths opened in sync, tongues tangling. I explored every hot inch of her, consuming her, learning what made her tick. Discovering that a slow arc of my tongue across hers elicited a whimper. That sinking my teeth into her full bottom lip drew a moan from deep in her throat. That notching my thumb under her jaw and angling her head where I wanted her had her fisting my shirt, pulling me closer.
My hands skated down her sides, along the gentle swells of her hips to her backside. I dug my fingers in, standing and lifting her onto the counter in one smooth movement. The stools toppled over around us, but I didn’t have a fuck to give. Brie’s knees spread, her heels digging into the backs of my legs, urging me closer.
I went to her willingly, fitting my hips between her thighs.
Brie gasped as my cock pressed into her stomach.
“What are you doing to me?” I whispered when I pulled away, though only far enough to direct my attention to her throat, nipping and sucking my way down the smooth column.
Brie tipped her head back and said, “I could ask you the same thing.”
“Let me touch you.”
“You are touching me.”
“Brie…” I groaned, dropping my face into her shoulder.
“I don’t—I’ve never…”
She trailed off, and I lifted my head to stare at her, finding color high on her cheeks.
