Leaning in, I pressed a brief, polite kiss to her cheek. As I pulled back, Aspen touched her damp skin with two fingers and glanced at me.
Feeling more self-conscious after this small peck than all the open-mouthed, heated kisses we'd shared before, I cleared my throat and tried to shrug it off. “What? It’s a tradition for me. And your parents aren’t here to take you away afterward, so...why not?”
Her lips lifted into a smile, and I blew out a relieved breath, glad she wasn’t pissed.
We spent the rest of the ride in quiet contentment, taking in the reflection of the sunset off the water of the river below.
“Okay, that was fun,” she admitted once our feet were back on solid ground.
“Aren’t you glad I made you try it?”
Lifting her chin, she tightened her lips as if to hold in a grin, but I saw it anyway. “Yes. Yes, I am.”
“So what now? Bumper cars? The scrambler?”
“I have a better idea.” Grasping on my hand, she started off. I followed, charmed by this carefree, eager side of her.
When we passed a tent, she dodged right, taking me into the quiet, shadowed spot next to it, squeezing us between canvas and the hut holding the puppet show.
“Wha...?”
She stopped abruptly and faced me. That’s when I realized... Oh, shit.
My skin rippled with buzzing energy. I refused to react. I’d promised her I wouldn’t try anything untoward. But I’d never said she couldn’t. And obviously, she wanted to.
She lifted her hand, and I held my breath. But then her fingertips barely grazed my cheek, and air hissed from my lungs, unable to stay in. It sawed through my teeth until my nostrils flared.
She didn’t say a word; I didn’t either. Turning her hand over, she brushed her knuckles up my jaw and over my short sideburns. When they combed through my hair, I closed my eyes and bowed my head so she could reach me easier.
“Aspen.” Her name cracked on my lips. My body was so wired I just knew I’d see electric sparks igniting over my flesh if I opened my lashes.
“Aren’t you going to touch me back?” Her voice was husky; she was just as turned on as I was.
“You asking me to? Because I promised I wouldn’t.”
Her breath heated my lips. Fuck, she was right there. “Noel,” she whispered. I opened my eyes just as she added, “Touch me.”
Her mouth met mine, and I felt it zap through the entire length of my dick.
As I hardened in my jeans, her lips parted and a warm, moist tongue darted cautiously forward.
Gasping, I clutched her face and tipped her jaw until she was following my lead, clutching my arms and straining onto her toes to press against me. She tasted of cotton candy and cola. Thrusting my hips against her softness, I tried to alleviate some of the insistent throbbing. But she was so warm and pliable right now, nothing except release was going to bring me down from my high.
“God, you know how to kiss.” She was driving my mouth crazy with her shy, curious exploration.
She pulled away to pant against my throat. “I do?” Since she didn’t sound as if she believed me, I thought I’d just show her.
“What do you think?” I returned my mouth to hers and took things a little deeper. She seemed eager to go where I took her, her hands smoothed up over my chest, along my arms, into my hair...
“Jesus.” I broke off to catch my breath. My shallow gasps stirred her hair. She shivered and cuddled into me, so I wrapped my arms around her. We held each other as the music from the Ferris wheel poured over us and a cool breeze from the setting sun brushed past. The scent of popcorn and hot dogs made it almost surreal, but we were really here, really doing this, a college football player and his literature professor fraternizing.
I rested my mouth against her temple and soaked her in.
“I’m in this if you are, Aspen. I know we have a lot to lose. But I fully believe we have more to gain if we start something. So, it’s up to you completely. You have to make the final decision.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Angry people are not always wise.” - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice