A smirk curls his lips as he notices my reaction. “Come on,” he cajoles, “I’m waiting.”
My guess is that Kingsley is used to girls falling all over him. Not only is he hot, he’s a nice guy on top of it. Even with my limited experience, I know that’s not easy to come by.
Instead of answering, I grumble, “I plead the fifth.”
He chuckles before lifting his hand and stroking his fingers against my jawline. “You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed.”
Then he must find me adorable quite often.
Is it weird that all I want to do is press myself against him?
“Summer?”
I blink out of those thoughts. “Yeah?”
“I’m going to kiss you,” he murmurs, voice filling with heat.
“Okay.”
Thank God.
He scoots closer, removing my glasses before doing the same with his own. His body hovers over mine as his lips descend. When the velvety softness of his tongue brushes over the seam of my mouth, I tilt my chin upward.
There’s a sweet tentativeness to his exploration. As if he doesn’t want to push me too far, too fast. I don’t realize my arms have tangled around his neck until I’m dragging him closer. His lips slide into a smile, and our teeth scrape against each other.
“You taste so sweet,” he murmurs before delving in for more. He’s all controlled finesse. Only giving me a little when all I want is everything now. The need pooling at my core is a new and heady sensation. Guys have kissed me before, but not like this. Not like they actually knew what they were doing.
When he finally draws away, my lips feel swollen and sensitive. As he picks up his head, I gradually blink back to the present and glance around, realizing with a start that the sun has dipped beneath the horizon and there’s a distinct chill to the air.
Exactly how much time has passed? It feels like only a matter of minutes.
“We should probably head back to the marina,” he murmurs.
Disappointment surges through me. How can the day be over already? It went by much too fast. All I want to do is hang out on the boat and feel his mouth roving over mine as the blistering sun beats down on us. I want to swim in the water and wrap my body around his. What I don’t want is to leave him.
“Okay,” I agree, knowing it’s the responsible thing to do.
Kingsley searches my eyes before pressing another kiss against my lips. His tongue slips inside my mouth one last time before he groans and rolls onto his back. He throws a muscular arm over his eyes, his breath erupting in short choppy bursts.
My gaze roves over him, sliding from his partially covered face, to his broad chest, tight abdominals, and—
I flick my wide gaze to his face, but his arm continues to shield his eyes. My attention is drawn back to the thick erection tenting his boardshorts.
Holy crow!
My teeth sink into my lower lip as I stare. I’m so tempted to reach out and stroke my fingers over the hard length. Instead, I squeeze my hand into a tight fist. A gasp leaves my lips when he jerks up, jumping to his feet.
“Sorry,” he mumbles, rushing toward the back of the boat.
“I—”
Have absolutely no idea what to say.
Silently, I rise to my feet before following. I find him standing in front of the steering console, staring at the dials and buttons. A guarded expression has settled over his features. The easy-going boy I spent the day with has vanished.
I want him back.
What’s the protocol for a situation like this? Am I supposed to pretend I didn’t notice his boner, or do I crack a joke to ease the strained atmosphere now permeating the air? I don’t have a clue. The thing is, we’ve had such an amazing day. I don’t want it to end on an uncomfortable note.
Carefully my hand flutters to his bare shoulder. “It’s not a big deal.”
He glances at me, his lips quirking before he jerks his shoulders to downplay the situation. “You turn me on.”
Happiness bursts inside me like a bubble. “You do the same to me.” Maybe it’s knowing that after this week, we’ll probably never see each other again and that prompts me to be more honest than I’d normally be comfortable with. There’s no reason to lie or hide my feelings from him.
His smile stretches into a genuine one as we exchange a long, heated look.
“We should go,” he says, clearing his throat.
I nod and take a seat on the bench, curling my legs beneath me before slipping the glasses over my eyes as Kingsley starts the engine and we head back to the marina.
This has been the best day of my life. And if I’m lucky, I’ll get to spend the next three with him.
Chapter Four