Page 37 of Heat Exchange
Her eyes met his and he held her gaze, wondering what was going on behind that mildly amused expression. And he couldn’t help but wonder if his own expression was giving away his thoughts. Despite what had happened, and despite the alarm he’d felt when she said Ashley knew about it, he still wanted her.
Maybe his eyes did give it away, because she stood and carried her glass to the sink. After slowly dumping what remained of the ice and water down the drain, she set the glass on the counter and wiped her hand on her jeans. He got the feeling she was composing herself or struggling with something or stalling. He just wished he knew which.
He stood up, thankful he had a little bit of self-control, since he was wearing only the snug boxer briefs and, when she turned around, he noticed she kept her eyes on his face.
“I should go.” She opened her arms and stepped forward. “Thank you for accepting my apology.”
By the time he realized a hug might be a very bad idea, she had her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands slid over her hips and up to her back.
“Maybe I should have shaken your hand,” she said, but instead of pulling away, she dropped her forehead to his chest. Her hands were splayed against his back muscles and Aidan was careful to keep any body contact limited to above the waist. The boxer briefs were growing more snug by the second.
“Do me a favor,” he said, “and keep in mind you can’t chase me off this time. I live here, and I’m not wearing any pants.”
“Trust me, I’m very aware you’re not wearing pants. Or a shirt.” Her fingertips trailed down his spine.
Aidan lowered his head to kiss her temple, and she tilted her head so he could work his way down her neck. When he got to her collarbone, he put a finger under her chin and tilted her head back. He wanted her mouth.
There was no hesitation in her kiss. She opened her lips to him, her tongue meeting his. He slid the finger under her chin down to the hollow at the base of her throat before cupping the back of her neck.
There was body contact below the waist now, and it took every ounce of Aidan’s self-control not to grind against the front of Lydia’s jeans. The hunger he felt in her kiss matched his own, and he wanted to bury himself deep inside of her, right here on the kitchen floor.
She broke off the kiss, resting her cheek against his so he felt the breath of her sigh. “We shouldn’t do this.”
And there it was. He pulled back so he could see her face. She’d saidshouldn’tnotcan’t, and he didn’t want to misjudge the significance. “Why not?”
“I don’t remember, but I think it was probably a good reason.”
“I think you’re right, but I’m having trouble caring right this second.” He touched his fingertip to her bottom lip, and smiled when she caught it between her teeth. But this push/pull thing they had going on wasn’t fun and he’d rather common sense killed the mood now than later, if and when they made it into his bed. “You know what? Let’s not do this.”
Her eyes widened and she let go of his finger. “What?”
“No, notthisthis. I want to do this, believe me. I just don’t want games between us. We both know sleeping together is a bad idea and we both know why. I’d rather we decide together, right now, if we’re going to do it anyway.”
“Making a decision to not sleep together isn’t going to make me not want you, which will make it hard to be around you. I’m going to try too hard not to look at you, and then fail because there’s no way I’m not staring at your ass when you walk by. People are going to notice something’s up because we’re trying unnaturally hard to act natural.”
He grinned because he knew exactly what she meant. “So we should get it out of our systems, then. Or try to.”
She took his hand in hers, threading their fingers together. “You have more at stake than I do, Aidan. I mean, yeah, they’re my family, but I can handle them. They have to come around eventually because Iamfamily. But you, they can alienate and it’ll matter. You work with Scott. If the other guys think you’ve done him wrong, you’ll suffer for it. My dad means the world to you, and you guys all go to the bar. You play hockey together. It seems like there’s no part of your life that wouldn’t be affected.”
“I’m willing to take that chance.” Maybe it wasn’t the right decision, but in this moment, it was the only one he was capable of making. “I want you so much, every part of my life alreadyisaffected.”
When she hooked a fingertip under the elastic of his boxer briefs, running it back and forth across his hip, he sucked in a breath and she gave him a smile that promised there was better to come. “There’s only you and me in this room. Nobody else.”
Aidan shoved everybody and everything out of his mind except for the woman standing in front of him. “Just you and me.”
Lydia enjoyed running her finger around the inside of the waistband of Aidan’s boxer briefs. He was mostly made up of hard muscle and tough skin, but the flesh under her knuckle was soft and sensitive.
Every time her finger came close enough toalmostbrush the hard length of his erection, which was straining against the cotton, his breathing would change. She changed direction and worked her finger back toward his hip.
When she used her other hand to cup him through the fabric, he hissed and grabbed her wrist. “Gimme a minute to run box scores through my head or something.”
“Your hose fully charged, is it?”
He groaned. “If you’re going to crack lame firefighter jokes during sex, at least try to be original. But, to answer that ridiculous question, yes.”
She laughed as he grasped both of her wrists and pulled her hands up toward his chest. It pulled her closer to him at the same time and he kissed her. She loved the way he kissed. His mouth wasn’t gentle or tentative, but neither did he just mash his lips against hers. She thought she could happily spend hours kissing him. Until his hands slid down her arms and sides to the hem of her T-shirt, and then she decided there might be better things than kissing in store for her.
“Keep your arms up,” he said, his voice low and firm in a way that made her shiver. He slowly pulled the shirt up and over her arms before tossing it aside. His eyes widened slightly, and then he stroked the lace edging of her bra. “I don’t know what this color is, but it’s my new favorite.”
