Page 51 of Take a Hike
Luckily, Charlie wasn’t easily scared.
She eagerly met each kiss with her own, almost giddy with the thrill of finally kissing this man on his scowling face, nipping at the lips that snarled grumpy things. Who knew that his kisses would be so sweet?
Jerking her head back, she sucked in a breath, just now realizing that she’d stopped breathing while they’d kissed. “Told you that you have a squishy center.”
His growl made her shiver and lean closer, eager to start the kissing again, but it was his turn to pull away. “Nothing squishy about me.”
Charlie wanted to argue, but she knew that would just prolong their kissing hiatus, so she held back the words forprobably the first time in her entire life. Instead, she just smiled at him and made a noncommittal sound as she pressed their lips together—or at least, shetriedto press their lips together, but he held her back.
“What did that sound mean?” he grumbled, the warm air from his words hitting her damp skin, making it feel as if his voice could actually caress her.
She shivered again, wondering if there was a limit to how turned on she could be. Squirming in his lap, she tried to close that tiny distance between them, but still he held her back. He wore a stern expression which shouldn’t have pushed her lust buttons even harder, but somehow it did.
“Charlotte Calamity Pax.”
Even her hated full first name didn’t sound so bad in his growly voice. “Yes?”
“Why aren’t you arguing with me?”
Her laugh came out sounding husky, almost sultry. She wasn’t sure who she was becoming after having been exposed to lip-to-lip contact with him, but she kind of liked the sexy seductress—especially if her transformation meant more making out with Kieran. “Youwantme to argue with you?”
“Yes—no—argh.” It was so fun to see him all flustered like that. “You’re holding back just so I’ll keep kissing you.”
“Well…yeah.” Darting in, she nipped his lower lip and then retreated again, eating up his reaction, his indrawn breath and full body jolt. She loved the way she could affect him. “If I argued, this”—she bit lightly at that full lip again—“would be delayed.”
“Good point.”
Then his lips were on hers again, and he was kissing her as if she were the only source of life, and he’d fall over dead if he stopped. That feeling of being irresistible and the reason he was going out of his mind with desire was intoxicating and addictive. Who would’ve thought that she, Charlie Pax, would cause a man to lose his entire sanity with just the power of her lips?
At that point, she had to stop thinking, because his enormous, hot hands were sliding under her shirt and against her skin. Her nerve endings lit up until she was surprised the truck cab wasn’t glowing like an enormous firefly.
As his fingertips brushed the bare skin directly under her bra, she couldn’t hold in the tiny sound that escaped—a sound that was embarrassingly close to a moan. Although it was muffled against Kieran’s mouth, she knew he had heard it, since his lips turned up under hers. Even though she couldn’t actually see his small smile, she just knew it was obnoxiously smug.
Pulling back, she nipped his lower lip in retaliation, but by the way he chuckled, dark and deep, he didn’t find that to be any kind of punishment.
“You’re like a little Chihuahua,” he murmured, his mouth brushing against her throat. That felt very nice, so she raised her chin, giving him more access to her vulnerable neck. “All yappy and bite-y.” He set his teeth against her skin, pressing so lightly that all she felt was a pleasurable zip of sensation running up her spine.
The Chihuahua comment couldn’t stand, however, so she made a valiant effort tonotmelt into a puddle of goo at thesensation. “Well, you’re a bulldog. All muscle-y and grumpy-looking, but a total sucker for scritches.” Proving her point—and satisfying her deep need to touch him everywhere—she ran her hands over his head, letting her short fingernails lightly scratch at his scalp. From his groan and the way his eyes went heavy-lidded, he liked her touch just as much as she loved touching him. “See? I’m surprised your leg isn’t thumping the floor.”
“What?” His eyes popped open, although she noticed he didn’t move his head.
“You know…” She kept getting distracted by how soft his hair was, despite the short cut. “The twitchy leg thing a dog does when you find just the right itchy spot.” She gave him a scratch behind one ear and couldn’t hold back her laugh when he growled and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly against him.
“Thatisn’t my itchy spot,” he teased—actuallyteased—and she melted as she laughed even harder.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugged him back. Although her body was still buzzing with unsatisfied need, she was surprisingly content. “Kieran Sullivan Byrne, I like you a lot.”
“Didn’t plan on it, Charlotte Calamity Pax, but I like you too.”
The gruff way he admitted it made her feel even more special, and her arms tightened around his neck until he gave a groan of protest and patted her shoulder. “Did you just tap out?” she asked, giggling again as she loosened her hold. This clingy-monkey behavior was not like her, but for some reason, she couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of Kieran.
“I did.” There was no shame in his admission. In fact, smug satisfaction was thick in his voice. “You’ve wrestled me into submission.”
“Hmm…” She studied his face in the dim moonlight. “What should I do with a submissive Kieran?”
So close to him, she saw his eyes spark with heat before lowering to half-mast. “I have a few suggestions.”
Ignoring the answering hungry flare in her lower belly, she pretended to think. Despite all the times she wondered what it’d be like to kiss—and do more—with Kieran, she hadn’t expected the reality to be so explosive. The intensity was new and bewildering, and as much as she wanted to continue their make-out session, another part of her needed to hole up in her room and just process.
