Page 84 of RomeAntically Challenged
“I believe this is a ladies-first kind of situation,” he said, knowing full well he didn’t give a shit who kissed who first. All he cared was that it finally happened.
Actually, that wasn’t true.
Emmitt knew Annie’s life had been a revolving door of disappointment, and he cared about her too much to be one more person to take her for a spin.
“Which also means ladies set the rules. How far, how fast—this is on your terms,” he whispered. “But if you’re asking for my consent, then the big ‘Fuck Yeah’ in my pants is all the consent you need.”
And luck of all that was lucky, she got the message.
One minute her lips weren’t anywhere near his mouth; then she leaned forward and there they were and—Christ almighty—when Anh Nhi Walsh set her mind to something she was fully, completely, and mind-body-and-soulfully committed to the cause. And right now, she was proving that she was a kissing genius of the superhuman kind.
Emmitt had been kissed and he’dbeen kissed, but he’d never come close to being kissed like this. On a scale of scorching to molten lava, Annie was nearing surface-of-the-sun levels.
Not too hot that he’d be afraid of getting burned.
Not too cold that he’d have to wonder if she was going to ditch the shirt and teal lace.
Oh no, his Goldilocks’ kiss was just right.
Teasing and languid, her mouth gently moved against his as if she’d been dreaming of this moment for as long as he had. And knowing her, his sweet and methodical Annie, she had a very detailed plan that, based on the sensation of her fingers gliding down his back and around to his bare chest, she’d worked out every detail. Not that he was complaining.
Nope, Emmitt was enjoying the hell out of every glide and touch.
Her kiss was finally going to shift the debate fromWho gets the bedtowho’s on top. Although she seemed to be headed toward aHeating up the kitchenfantasy, which he was A-OK with.
As for her consent, that came when she smoothed her hands down his stomach, making a brief visit right over,bingo, the front of his sweats. Talk about fantasies. This woman was checking off every box.
Never one to neglect his part of the work, Emmitt made his way out from her shirt and down to palm both cheeks of her ass—and what an outstanding ass it was—molding them until she was sitting on his hands instead of the counter.
“Emmitt,” she said against his lips. Then her hand found its way under the hem of his sweats, going the extra millimeter just for him, and giving a startled laugh when she made contact. “I guess that answers my question about whether you normally sleep naked.”
“I do a lot of things naked,” he said, and then he was groaning because those elegant fingers of hers were exploring up and down and all around his consent.
“Big words for a guy who wears glow-in-the-dark boxers.”
“Don’t let the boxers fool you,” he said, and in a move that was inspired, he had his hands under her ass, her legs around his waist, and she was pressed against the nearest wall while he kissed her with the power of a dozen restless nights spent playing out this exact moment.
Hundreds of hours to dream up hundreds of ways it could go down, and none of them could have prepared him for the real thing. Until Annie, he’d never had anything real with a woman. But she was as real as it got, so instead of one of his hot-and-heavy kisses, he delivered the kind ofwhole-body, these cheeky cut panties are toast, real earth-shatteringkiss that a man gives a woman when he wanted to be clear about just how hard he’s going to rock her world.
And rock it he did, kissing her until his arms were shaking and his head was spinning and one kiss melted into another. They were sharing the same breath, moving with the familiarity of two people who had known each other for years, decades even.
“Emmitt,” she said between kisses, her hands tightening in his hair.
It was a few minutes longer before she spoke again. “Emmitt, wait. No fake promises, remember?”
“No fake promises.” He leaned in to pick things back up, and she stuck a hand between their mouths and held it there until he pulled back.
“I need you to say it out loud so we both hear it, and nobody misunderstands.”
Is she serious?
“I need you to promise you won’t say anything you don’t mean,” she whispered, and he realized she was not only serious, she was completely terrified of his response.
Needing to give her question the consideration it deserved, the consideration she deserved, he walked over to set her on the counter opposite the spot where they’d begun.
Brushing her hair back so he could see her, he asked, “What do you think is going to happen? I make a promise to get you into bed and then tomorrow act like nothing’s changed?”
She glanced down. “It’s been known to happen.”
