The Girl Who Doesn't Quit (Soulless 12)

With our cookies, we left the patio and headed to the dock.

Then the fireworks started, a boom hitting the sky, colors flashing in the darkness.

She halted and almost dropped her cookie. “Oh god, that would have been bad.”

“I would have gotten you another.”

“You mean gotten yourself another because I would have taken yours.”

“Why would I let you take my cookie when you haven’t agreed to go out with me?”

She forced an angry look, but since it wasn’t genuine, it was just cute. “That’s how it is, huh?”

“Yep.”

We stood together and ate our cookies as the fireworks exploded in the sky. The kids cheered, bundled in blankets, enjoying a traditional Fourth of July.

I finished my cookie and brushed off the crumbs by wiping my hands together.

With her arms crossed over her chest, she stared at the sky, the colors reflecting in her eyes.

It was meant to be a glance, but it turned into so much more.

The colors of the fireworks brought a beautiful glow to her face, and when her head was tilted back, it showed off her elegantly long neck, the hollow in her throat, the sharp outline of her jawline. Her hair was down and around her shoulders, a curtain of beautiful strands that trailed down her back.

When she felt my stare, she turned to me.

I didn’t look away. I’d been caught—and I didn’t care.

Her eyes shifted back and forth as she looked at me.

I hadn’t noticed it before because her hostility was my entire focus, but damn, she was fucking gorgeous. She looked as if she’d been airbrushed in a magazine. She looked fake, like a porcelain doll.

“Shit…you’re gonna kiss me.”

I felt my lips pull into a smile.

“Oh my god… This is really happening.”

“You’re gonna like it.”

“I don’t know. It takes a lot to impress me—”

I pivoted my body toward hers as my hand slid into her hair. For the first time, I touched her, touched something besides her hand. My fingers felt the delicate bones of her face, felt the softness of her cheek, felt the silkiness of her hair.

She stopped talking even though I hadn’t kissed her.

I looked into her eyes as I cradled her cheek, then I glanced down to her plump lips.

For the first time ever, she stopped talking.

Her breathing changed. Her lips parted automatically. Her eyes dropped their combativeness and turned vulnerable, the intimate side of her coming out the second I touched her.

Fireworks exploded behind us, her family cheering on the dock. But I forgot about all that—and I hadn’t even kissed her.

My mouth moved in and made a soft landing.

Cloud on cloud.

My eyes closed when I felt her mouth, when I felt myself melt at her touch. My fingers remained in her hair, and I let our lips stay together for a moment, exchanging breaths, meeting each other for the first time. Then I kissed her again. Again. And again.

Her lips mirrored mine perfectly, parting my lips with hers so she could kiss my bottom lip. A deep breath filled my lungs, and she turned her head to kiss me at a different angle.

It was smooth. Really smooth.

I kissed her harder, my hands now digging into her hair and fisting it.

Her arms circled my neck, and she pulled me closer, her kisses more aggressive too, but always orchestrated.

I gave her my tongue.

She gave it right back.

My arm circled her petite waist, and I squeezed her to me, wanting her to feel the hardness in my shorts, to know how much I enjoyed the kiss in case that wasn’t blatantly obvious already.

The final boom sounded, and then there was a long round of applause.

I pulled away, knowing her family might turn around at any moment. Even if Dr. Hamilton had encouraged her to go out with me, I didn’t want him to watch me make out with her and press my hard dick into her hip.

She let me go, her lips still parted, her eyes in a dreamy state. “Damn, that was a good kiss…”

“Is that a yes, then?”

She rubbed her bottom lip with a finger, her dreamy eyes hardening. “I still need to think about it.”

“Jesus, you have quite the screening process.”

“Aunt Daisy!” One of the kids got her attention. “Did you see the fireworks?”

She turned to them, dropping her hand from her lips. “I did. Awesome, huh?”

“Coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Now all her family turned to look at us.

I discreetly took a step back, to make it less obvious that we had just shared the best kiss of my life.

“We have an extra room.” Dr. Hamilton followed me outside to my car. “I insist you stay.”

“It’s okay, Dr. Hamilton. I didn’t bring anything, and I have work to do back home.”

“It’s not safe to drive back right now.”

“Sir, I’m a good driver.”

“But drunk drivers are not.” He stood beside me, his hands on his hips. “At least stay until morning.”