Her gaze jerked to his. “Then you’ve not met very many women, because I’m a mess and feel as if I’m barely keeping all the plates in the air most days.”
He didn’t argue with her, just decided they’d had enough serious talk. When the phone app announced right hand yellow, he reached around her to put his hand on the circle. In the process his body bumped up against hers, just hard enough to make her wobble.
“Hey!” she accused. “I’m on to you, trying to distract me with talk, and then knocking me off my feet.”
“You’re still on your feet,” he pointed out.
She was. How she’d managed to stay balanced, he wasn’t sure, but she had.
“No thanks to you.”
The app said left foot green. Before Stone could move, Carly bumped him with her bottom hard as she maneuvered her left foot onto the green circle.
“Oops, sorry,” she said when he wobbled a little, barely managing to keep from falling.
Her eyes danced with amusement.
“Uh-huh. You’re going to be.”
She laughed. “Probably.”
“Right foot blue.”
They both moved hard against each other, trying to get to the closest blue circle. Carly made it first and Stone shifted his body to where he put his foot on the blue circle to her other side.
The position had her bottom cradled against him. It was all he could do to fight his instant reaction.
He forced sobering thoughts into his head, thoughts that would hopefully kill his physical response.
When the app called out their next move, Carly wiggled her body against him as she stretched to touch her right hand to a different yellow circle.
He groaned.
She wiggled again.
“Right hand yellow,” she reminded him when he didn’t move.
He leaned over her and pressed his chest to her back as he slapped his hand on the yellow circle to her right.
He felt her gulp, was glad that the touch of their bodies caused a physical reaction within her, too.
“Left hand yellow.”
Carly stretched to put her hand on a free circle. The only other free circles were two to the far left and one to the far right. Stone went for the far right and did so by looping his left arm underneath Carly’s body, allowing him to encircle her torso in a hug of sorts.
“Stone!”
“Sorry, it was the easiest to get to.”
“Right.”
In their current position, he couldn’t see her face but could hear the joy in her voice. He hugged her tighter.
She wiggled her bottom.
“Sorry, I have an itch,” she teased.
“I could scratch that for you.”
“I bet you could.”
“Right hand blue.”
They both reached for a blue circle and both lost their balance, tumbling to the floor in a heap of laughter.
Stone rolled, pulling Carly with him so that she rested on top of him rather than vice versa.
Smiling with a carefreeness he’d not seen before, she stared down at him. “If I’m on top does that mean I win?”
Stone groaned. “I don’t think you could convince me that you being on top means I’m the loser.”
She giggled, then dropped her gaze to his lips. “Maybe we could call it a tie for first place. Then, we’d both be winners.”
He arched his neck, bringing his mouth within centimeters of hers, stared into her pretty brown eyes. “I’m good with being tied with you, Carly. In a game, with a rope…”
“You’re bad, Stone,” she whispered against his lips.
Liking the feel of her pressed against his chest, Stone laughed. “Sometimes.”
Smiling, watching him closely, Carly rested her weight on his body, placed her hands on his cheeks.
“Am I too heavy for you?” she asked.
He snorted. “Not even close.”
“Good.” She closed the small gap between their mouths, gently placing her lips against his.
Stone’s stomach turned inside out. His hands automatically went to her low back. Every nerve cell in his body overflowed with testosterone and need for this woman.
For Carly.
Any hopes Stone had had of preventing the hardening in his groin were gone.
All from a sweet, light brushing of her lips against his.
Or maybe it was what shone in her eyes as she stared into his.
The way the color had gone to molten honey, to how he watched her inquisitiveness morph into feminine need. Watched as her gaze filled with desire.
For him.
Despite the boiling need bubbling beneath their surfaces, the kiss stayed slow, explorative, full of questions, full of promise.
Right up until Stone could stand it no more and flexed his hips, pressing against her pelvis in an instinctual move.
“Stone,” she whispered, cradling his face with a tenderness that about undid him.