Page 29 of The Rival in South Africa
Alex and I called goodnight to her and listened while she padded down the boardwalk back to the main lodge. A lone lamp cast shadows around the tent walls.
I glanced at Alex, his dark eyes pools of black in the dark lighting. He took a step toward me, his palm coming up to my cheek. He cupped my face, and I turned into his hand, nuzzling the thin skin at his wrist and feeling his pulse under my lips, the beat fast and strong.
Alex licked his lips before sliding his hand further, tangling his fingers in my hair and gripping the back of my neck, tugging me under him. When I gasped, he slid his lips over mine.
His grip tightened in my hair, the only sign he gave me of tension. His kiss was the opposite: slow embers, teasing and savoring. With one arm banded around my waist, Alex backed me up against the bed.
I broke away, sitting on the edge of the mattress, and Alex’s hands came around my waist, pushing me up towards the pillows. He climbed beside me and gently brushed a stray hair away from my lips.
His finger trailed over my skin, around my ears, down the column of my neck, his eyes following the same course.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, so earnest, so tender.
As he traced my collarbone, I slid my hand to his side, gripping his shirt, and lightly tugged.
Alex came forward, letting his lips brush mine gently before opening me again to his tongue. Hands lingered, small kisses, nips of teeth. It was all such a slow dance.
Time passed. Hours, days, years. Despite the tenderness, I ached. Alex was pressed against one side of me, our legs intertwined. My lips were swollen, my tongue tired, and I did not care one whit. I had never kissed anyone like this before. Like kissing was the only thing that mattered, an endgame to itself. Neither of us rushed—the kissing was justtoo good.
And part of me wondered if the rest of it was going to be exponentially better. That just didn’t seem fair. How could one man be so good at kissing, and everything else too? Surely the universe wasn’t that kind. Though I knew that Alex was an overachiever in many things, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was just as good with his hands, his tongue, his cock.
“We should get ready for bed,” Alex murmured in my ear. I hummed, but Alex wasn’t committed to stopping. His lips dropped kisses along my neck, leaving me sighing.
“Do you really want to get up?”
“No, but if we don’t, we’re going to be zombies in the morning.” He kissed his way back up. “Maybe we should sit out of the drive tomorrow.”
I groaned as his lips teased mine again. They ached a little, but I definitely did not want him to stop. “I can’t sit out the drive tomorrow. I already missed today.”
“Mmm, yes, you did. You naughty girl.”
I laughed as Alex tried to kiss me, making him laugh too. “Do you have a naughty girl fantasy?”
“I have ayoufantasy.”
“Yeah?” I tilted my head, looking up at him.
Alex propped himself up on his elbows, relieving me of most of his weight—except where it really mattered. I squirmed against his erection. He shifted back, and I whimpered.
The corner of his lips tilted up, but his eyes stayed serious. “Nikki, you’re beautiful, kind, and funny. I’ve always had a thing for you.” We stared at each other for a moment before Alex blinked. “Come on, let’s actually get some sleep.”
He pushed off the bed and helped me up too. We brushed our teeth, side by side, watching each other in the mirror and trying not to laugh. I spilt foam down onto my top.
As we tapped our toothbrushes and rinsed, Alex caught my eye again. “I really should shower.”
“Me too. You go first.”
I slipped out and sat on the bed, fidgeting as I listened to Alex undress and start up the shower. Without his body over mine, his lips on me, the cold seeped in, and by the time he was out, I was shivering under the covers.
He walked out in nothing but a towel, and I was momentarily distracted by the expanse of goose pimple-covered skin but shook it off. My shower was quick and hot, and I dressed, again, turned off the lights, and slipped under the covers.
And Alex found me, his lips landing on mine like they’d missed me as much as mine had missed his.
“So much for getting to bed,” I said into the dark between kisses.
Alex’s chuckle skimmed across my lips. “Sleeping is overrated.”
TWELVE
