He leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead and breathed in deeply, enjoying her scent. His hand skimmed lightly under her chin. Her breathing quickened and his fingers lifted her face toward his. He kissed her cheek and slid his lips down to her jaw. She raised her chin and exposed her neck, moaning softly. He gently kissed the tender skin on her neck where her blood pulsed madly. He moved back up to her face and feathered gentle kisses on her jaw and around her parted lips, never quite touching them with his.
He pulled away, breathing shallow breaths and concentrating to hold himself back. Emily’s eyes fluttered open, her eyes on his lips, moistening her own with her tongue. Abruptly, she leaned toward him and offered her mouth to him, her soft lips pressed to his, her tongue darting out, enticing him. With a groan he answered her invitation. His mouth slanted against hers. Their lips crushed together in passion.
His world shrank. He was aware of nothing but Emily. Nothing but her face, her mouth, her lips, her tongue, her neck. Nothing but the sensations that spread throughout his system. He pulled back and gasped for air, stopping himself just before his hand dropped down from her neck to forbidden parts. She sat up stiffly, pulling away, smoothing her mussed hair, staring at Spencer in alarm.
“That... that didn’t count. That was a farewell-to-kissing kiss.” He forced a smile, still trying to catch his breath.
“It has to be the last one,” she rasped. “We almost... You see what I mean—kissing is dangerous.”
“Nothing happened.”
“It almost did.”
“It did?” He couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped.
“Spencer, this is serious.”
“Sorry, sorry. It won’t happen again.” He made a vain attempt to sound contrite.
“Okay. That was the last time. Right?”
“Right,” he answered, hoping she couldn’t detect his insincerity. “Ready to take the milk inside?”
They climbed the steps side by side and entered the door without speaking. He was lost in thought. He’d waited a long time to find a girl he wanted to kiss, and it was even better than he thought it’d be. There was no way he wanted to give that up. There had to be another way.
Chapter Thirteen
“Mom gained two pounds,” Charlie told Emily as they rode toward the climbing gym in Steven’s limo. “The doctor says the antihistamines may be helping. She’s actually starting to eat something other than crackers.”
Emily tried to picture how her skinny mom would look with a full term pregnancy. “She’s got a long way to go before she even starts looking pregnant. I still can’t believe it. I think I’m going to feel more like an aunt than a sister to this kid.”
“Me, too. But I think it could be fun. I’m really happy for Steven.”
“I agree. I know he’s putting on a really brave front for Mom, but I can tell he’s worried she won’t make it all the way.”
“Don’t their chances of making it go up if she gets through the first trimester?”
“I think so, but he’s still too nervous to leave her at home alone. It’s too bad, though. It would’ve been fun to see Josh’s face when Steven showed him up on the climbing wall.”
“Yeah...” Charlie muttered darkly. “I can’t believe I let him bait me into this. I’m sunk if he’s had experience, and I think he has.”
“But you’re really good, and you’ve had a lot of experience. Don’t you think you can beat him?”
“No. I don’t have the upper body strength to do the really hard climbs—the ones with overhangs, like Steven did last fall.”
“Maybe he’s out of shape,” Emily argued. “He’s been really busy with med school and now with the residency.”
“Are you blind Emily? You hiked with him for an entire day, and you didn’t notice his muscles?”
Emily tried to picture Josh on the trail at Devil’s Path. “No, not really. I think they were mostly covered up.”
“No, Sister. Believe me, they were quite visible.”
“Well then why did you agree to a climbing contest?”
“I don’t know... He’s so egotistical, and he made me so mad.”
“And what exactly did he do to make you so mad? What happened when y’all went in the living room?”