“Are you going to turn weird after again? I like it better when we’re talking.” Kicking at some pine needles, he turned his head away.
“Sorry about that. I liked kissing you.”
“Same.” The shyness in his voice shook some of the truth I’d been holding back loose.
“I just… I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want you to feel convenient. Or, I don’t know, used somehow.”
“I appreciate that, but there are far worse things to be used for than my lips.” His tone was so serious that I had to laugh. Maybe we could get through this awkward part after all.
“I mean it. I don’t want you hurt here. I think you could do better than kissing me.”
His laugh was a harsh bark. “Yeah, Conrad. Because there’s such a long line of guys waiting for the privilege.”
“Hey.” Hands on his shoulders, I turned him back toward me. “Don’t sell yourself so short. You’re a great guy. I meant what I said back at the restaurant. I like you. And I haven’t liked anyone in a long time. Not like that.”
He considered this for a moment before he nodded. “I’m sorry for all the times I implied you were…indiscriminate.”
“Oh, I definitely went through that phase.” I laughed before sobering. “But Angelo and everything else that went down kind of cured me of that. And even if it hadn’t, kissing you…wasn’t that.”
That was as close as I was going to come to admitting that he was something other than my usual über-casual hookups. I still wasn’t sure exactly what other was, but this felt big. Important. As if our bodies had been secretly building toward this for years and our brains were only now catching up. Whatever this was, I knew I wasn’t easily walking away come morning. And scary as it was, I wanted him to know that.
“Then what was it?” he whispered.
“Do we have to name it right this second?” As big as this felt, all my muscles tensed at the idea of trying to define what this was to either of us.
“Maybe not right now.” His forehead creased, uncertainty in his eyes.
“I don’t need a label or technical definition to know that I want to kiss you again so much it’s almost painful. It seems like a waste to not enjoy as much of this trip as we can.”
“Including kissing?” He didn’t sound entirely opposed to the concept, which I counted as a huge win.
“Absolutely.”
“Maybe…” Alden licked his lips again, and I could almost see the gears grinding in his impressive brain, could see the moment when he decided to kiss me again, eyes going darker, more focused as he leaned in. I met him halfway, as much out of eagerness as self-defense, not wanting to bump faces again.
This kiss was softer than the first, slower. We were alone on the path, had been for some time, and besides that, we were slightly hidden by trees. This sense of our own private hideaway made me bolder than the first time. I focused on bringing more of my A game, taking my time to nibble and tease, coaxing little gasps from him. He tasted sweet, as I’d known he would, but not cloying like candy. Rather more elusive and addictive, something unique to him that drove me crazy wanting more of it. His lips were as soft as I remembered, far fuller than they looked, but even more than their feel, the noises he made spurred me on. Figuring out what my buttoned-up control freak liked was both fun and a revelation. He seemed to like it when I took the lead and when I was aggressive, but also was eager to imitate whatever I showed him.
I sucked on his lower lip, making him gasp, shoulders shuddering under my hands. Just as in the game, once he caught on to what I was after, he was a quick study, immediately copying my move in a way that had me almost dizzy with want. His tongue ventured into my mouth, and I captured it, making him groan before he did the same thing to me. At first, my hands stayed on his shoulders, steadying myself, but then gradually, I let them roam over the lean muscles of his back. Following my lead, he did the same thing, fingers electric against my spine. We traded kisses back and forth until I was breathless in a way that had nothing to do with asthma and everything to do with him.
“We should…” His voice trailed off when I stole one last kiss. “We need to head back?”
I loved how he made it a question, like maybe we could simply put down roots here, stay for all eternity in this pleasant little cocoon where the real world couldn’t reach us. But he was right. Damn it.