A Hopeful Kind of Love (Kinds of Love 1.5)

When the music stopped, they were both panting and breathless. She couldn't stop smiling. It had never been this much fun to dance with someone in school. He was laughing and breathing hard, apparently having a good time himself.

“Again?” he asked.

She nodded as the music started up with another fast-paced swing song. Ethan spun her across the floor, leading her into dance moves that she hadn't done in years. It was if he knew her better than she knew herself. He kept his fingers on the small of her back, pushing and pulling in all the right places to make her turn into or away from him. As long as she paid attention to his touch, she knew she wouldn't clock him again.

Two songs became four. Luckily, there were slow songs interspersed between the fast ones, so they had time to catch their breath. Laura almost wished the slow songs would never end, For those, he held her close to his body, their chest pressed together and arms wrapped like lovers. As much fun as the fast songs were, having his body pressed to hers was better than anything.

“I think I need a drink,” Laura whispered as a slow song ended. Her hips were up against his, and she wished there wasn't so much of crowd. Or as much clothing. The way his hand caressed her back had her thinking of things that required a private room and at least three dates. She needed to stop touching him because she was craving more with every minute.

They walked over to where they'd left their wine glasses before dancing to find they'd been taken.

“At least we know the staff is really on it, right?” Laura joked to him. He chuckled.

“I'll buy you a new one,” he offered, motioning toward the open bar.

“You'll buy me a free drink?” she asked. “How does that work?”

“I go to the bar and get two drinks instead of one,” he replied with a grin. “I'm a big spender. I'll buy you free drinks all night long.”

Laura laughed. “Well, I'd hate to spend all your hard earned money, but I do like drinks. I'll take another white wine.”

He grinned at her and started walking past the display on dinosaur mating habits. Laura looked up to see the mistletoe still hanging there. She smiled. She still wanted to touch him, and this was the perfect excuse. Laura took the opportunity.

She ran over and kissed him.

For one terrifying second, he just froze. Laura was sure that he was going to back off and say there were mixed signals or something along those lines. But he didn't. Instead, he stepped back, smiled and then put his hand on her neck and brought her in for a better, less surprised kiss.

There were some men who just knew how to kiss. He was one of those men. He was the kind of man that was able to start a fire with just a touch. He was the kind of man that romance novels were written about. This was a kiss that would make Romeo and Juliet jealous.

His lips fused to hers as he sucked the rest of her energy and swallowed her whole. Heat zinged down from her lips, through her chest, and straight to her core. She was fairly sure her little black dress was about to go up in flames.

“Wow,” she whispered, panting with desire. She'd never been so turned on by just a kiss in her life. She suddenly understood the phrase, “panty-melting,” because hers were ready to puddle around her ankles after that kiss.

“What if we check out an exhibit?” he said, taking a step back, but keeping his hands on her.

“An exhibit?” She was confused. She didn't' want to see a science exhibit. She wanted to kiss him. And do more than just kiss him.

He nodded. “No one has gone into that Rocks, Crystals, and Gems exhibit. It looks pretty empty.”

“You want to go look at rocks?” She frowned, trying to figure out what was going on. “I mean, I guess they're kind of related to climbing, but really?”

He nodded again. “No one has gone in there all night. We'd have it all to ourselves.”

“Ooooh.” She smiled as she realized what he was saying. She looked around to see that their kiss had more than a couple of people watching them. An exhibit without any onlookers suddenly made a lot more sense. “I would love to look at some Rocks, Crystals, and Gems with you.”

He grinned and grabbed her hand, leading her to the exhibit. It was a clever exhibit if she had actually been paying attention. It was designed to mimic the inside of a mine, with displays placed like mother-lodes throughout. It was dark and very private.

They did a quick scan of the exhibit, making sure that the place really was empty. She'd never been happier to have a science exhibit all to herself in her life.

His hand went to the back of her neck again, pulling her into him. His big hand tangled in her hair and he tugged gently as he kissed her. She felt the pull from her scalp to between her thighs, and she whimpered.

“That's a dangerous sound,” he whispered, his voice low and full of desire. He turned her, so she pressed up against the glass of a display. She thought it had gold or something inside of it, but she really wasn't paying attention to the display once his hips pressed against her. She could feel his desire press up against her, and she moaned again.

Sweet, hot, and her tongue tangled with his as he kissed her again, stealing her moans. He gripped her hair harder, wanting still more and she arched her hips into his. All she had on under the dress was a very tiny thong. It wouldn't be hard to slip it to the side. If he undid his fly, he'd slide right in. The idea made her shiver with desire.

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” she whispered, pushing her hips against his. The way his pupils dilated nearly did her in.

He nodded, reaching for the hem of her skirt. His hand was hot against her thigh as he felt her skin. He took his time, tracing his palm along the hem of her dress. The waiting made her want it all the more. Slowly, so slowly it made her writhe, he slid his hand up her skirt. She held her breath as she waited for him to reach the top of her thigh.