Accidental Witness (Morelli Family 1)

Before I can shuffle away, he’s grabbing my books. I falter a bit, but he drops them on the desk behind him and comes right back.

I exhale sharply, backing up against the brick pillar, but this time he moves closer, bracing his weight again, the other hand landing on my hip.

He has me pinned against the wall. My heart hammers against my chest, and my mind races, trying to sort it all out—his hand is on my hip. He’s really close—really, really close.

And then: “Can I kiss you?”

It sounds like I gasp, but I think I was just trying to breathe. I should speak, but I can’t find my words. Instead, I nod.

He leans in almost tentatively, as if giving me time to change my mind, and then his lips connect with mine. At first it’s a light brush of his lips, softer than I expect, knocking what little guard I have left away from me. His fingers tighten on my hip and I don’t know what to do with my hands so they just hang there awkwardly.

Then he coaxes my lips open and his tongue skates across my lower lip. They open, instinctively, and his tongue sweeps inside, and oh, sweet Jesus, my brain suddenly explodes with adrenaline. My hands move to his sides, pulling him closer, and he obliges, flattening me against the wall. As our tongues find a rhythm that works, he fists a hand in my hair and a helpless sound escapes me. He kisses me like he’s going to devour me, and to be honest, I want him to.

My hands slide up under his shirt—I don’t know how or why, but it happens. With the desire coursing through me, stoked with each caress of his tongue against mine, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to rip his shirt right off. I envision him backing me up against the teacher’s desk, climbing between my legs…

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I break the kiss, pulling back. I feel a little dazed, but I’m confused and disoriented by the level of lust I’m experiencing. I’ve never been so… caught up.

Then again, I’ve never been kissed, not like that. Lips brushing, a couple times. Never this.

Distantly aware of the bell ringing, I lean against the brick wall, trying to catch my breath.

No longer swept up in whatever magic his mouth was working on my brain, I’m suddenly embarrassed—not just because I let him kiss me, and I hardly know him, but because three seconds earlier, I wanted him to do more than that.

This isn’t me.

God, what must he think of me?

“We’re late,” I murmur, because I don’t know what else to say.

“We are,” he verifies, but he doesn’t seem too worried about it.

My eyes meet his fleetingly, but then I glance down, a little awkwardly. “I don’t usually…”

He nods, watching me. “I figured.”

“I mean, I never…”

His lips curve up slightly and he nods again.

Sliding away from the wall and off to the side, I move around him to grab my books. “I have to go.”

He doesn’t speak and I don’t look back as I scurry out of the abandoned classroom and through the now-empty hall, hoping he doesn’t follow.

Chapter Six

I don’t expect to see Vince again after that kiss, so when I find him waiting by my car after school, it’s a hell of a surprise. Not exactly a welcome one, either. Given the lust-monster he turned me into earlier, I want to keep a little distance from him.

He pushes off the car when he sees me, offering something like a smile.

“Hey,” he greets.

“Hey,” I say, hugging my books close.

“You kind of ran off earlier,” he points out, by way of explanation. “I wasn’t trying to follow you.”

“I figured.” I pause. “I mean, if you were, you probably shouldn’t wait by my car and announce yourself. It’s not very stealthy.”

“Good note,” he acknowledges.

I nod, glancing into my driver’s side window. “I can’t really stay and chat. I have to pick up Casey.”

“I know. I’ll keep it short.” Shoving a hand into his right pocket, he glances down at our shoes, then back at me. “Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

“That does usually follow Friday, yes.”

“Your mom’s off, so… I figured you wouldn’t have to watch the kids.”

“It’s weird that you know that,” I point out.

Smirking, he ignores my commentary. “Why don’t you come out with me? We can grab dinner or a movie or something.”

My heart stalls, then drops like a rock. “You mean a date?”

He makes a face that’s not altogether flattering, considering we were lip-locked earlier today. “We don’t have to label it.”

Oh, good, a label-hater. Glancing off in the distance, I say, “I don’t think so. Earlier was really nice, but also really unexpected, and I don’t really know you that well…”

“That’s fair. Of course, you could get to know me if you came out with me.”