Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
I could almost forget that I’d kissed him, and no—I would never forget that.
Oh, my God. I kissed him.
Shoot, shoot, shoot.
I pressed my thumbs against the swirled edges of a tattoo at the base of his neck. This was a bad idea. I had to think of something to say. Ezra wouldn’t be interested in discussing the space-time continuum or the new booth designs for Renaissance in the Park.
Think, think, think.
I was about to ask about his ink when he wriggled, tugging at his briefs as if trying to get comfortable.
“Are you okay? Too soft or too hard?”
He cleared his throat noisily. “It’s good, but um…talk to me. Tell me about your day or somethin’.”
“You already know about my day. I taught, went to the store for ice on my way home, and pulled a prank that went awry,” I reported.
“And broke up with Marlon.”
“Yes.”
An awkward silence stretched between us, making it difficult to breathe. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t touch him. This wasn’t okay.
“Are you all right?”
I released my grip on his neck and sat beside him, wringing my hands fretfully. “No, I’m sorry. I can’t pretend that didn’t happen. I kissed you and—”
“And I liked it.”
Silence.
“You…I don’t—” I squinted as if that would help me understand him. “That was supposed to be a joke kiss.”
“Got it. I didn’t think it was real,” he replied logically. “We’re roommates.”
“I know,” I whispered.
Ezra cocked his head. “You want to do it again?”
Yes, I did. I one thousand percent wanted to kiss him again. I wanted to touch him too and—
Wait. He was joking.
“Why can’t you be serious about…anything?” I licked my lips nervously and plucked at my duvet.
“I am serious,” he replied with an inscrutable smile. “I told you I liked it. A lot.”
Still joking.
Or was he?
The scientist in me wanted to get off this roller coaster and dissect the moment the world tilted on its axis because something new was happening here. I could practically feel the sizzle of electricity in the air.
“It’s a bad idea. You don’t even like me, Ezra.”
He almost looked hurt as he shook his head and inched away from me.
“That’s so far from true, it isn’t funny. My problem is that I like you too much.”
“Huh?”
He frowned. “You know what? Let’s pretend I didn’t just say that. In fact, let’s agree to collective amnesia about…all of this. Although, let’s be real, a kiss isn’t really a big deal. People make out all the time—girl with guy, girl with girl, guy with guy. Sometimes it’s real, sometimes it’s an itch or an experiment. I met a cute girl on day one of Coachella and…”
I tuned him out as confusion wrestled with a tsunami of desire. I’d spent months ignoring my inexplicable attraction to this man. We were hostile and often waspish foes who couldn’t find common ground to communicate.
But I didn’t want to hear about other people he’d kissed.
I wanted…
I wanted—
I roughly grabbed his neck and crashed my mouth over his.
Pleasure shot through me, sending tingles along my spine, then skyrocketing when Ezra took over a moment later.
And gosh, he knew what he was doing. Ezra molded his mouth to mine, gently at first. Little by little, he cranked up the pressure till I was the one angling my chin to deepen the connection. I let go of his face and ran my fingers over his jaw. I couldn’t help it. His soft lips were a perfect contrast to his end-of-day stubble.
My instincts told me to keep going. He wanted this too, so I might as well add my tongue to the equation, right? I sucked his lower lip seductively and—
Beep beep
I jolted, silencing the alarm on my cell as I sat back on my heels, my heart thundering in my chest.
The Earth was definitely off its axis for me, but other than looking slightly dazed, Ezra seemed relatively calm and collected.
“Um…”
He touched a finger to his lips. “Yeah, I like that.”
Me too. This would be an ideal time to jump off the bed and offer to help him move the cooler. But I couldn’t pull myself away from him. It was like I was stuck in his orbit.
My arm felt heavy as I gestured to the door. “I, um…I should…we should—”
“Do it again,” he finished.
“Wh-what?”
“Just kiss me, Holden.”
4
EZRA
Here’s the thing…if I’d known kissing him felt like this, I’d have made a move on Holden months ago. I was burning up.
This was hot.
He was hot.
I sucked on his bottom lip, then plunged my tongue deep, knocking him off balance with my enthusiastic lip-lock. He fell onto his pillow and pulled me on top of him, raking his fingers in my hair when I twisted my tongue around his.
Holden gave as good as he got, and I fucking loved it. There was no hesitation. I didn’t worry that I was too rough, too wild, or too intense, ’cause he was right there with me, making greedy, sexy noises like he just couldn’t get enough. Holden’s eagerness fueled a fire in me. I feasted on him like a starving man at a banquet.