“I just… Why?” she asks, clearly still struggling. “Why now, after all these years of teasing me like I’m your bratty little sister? What changed?”
“Guess I finally woke up,” I say, dipping my face closer to hers. “And I’m glad I did, because you are the sexiest friend I’ve ever had.”
Her breath feathers out, caressing my lips, making me hungry for another taste of her. “Yeah, you’re pretty sexy yourself.”
“Thanks.” I smile. “So, can I kiss you now? Are we good?”
She licks her lips, making it almost impossible to resist doing the same, but I force myself to wait. I want to be sure we’re on the same page.
“I still want to keep it a secret from Naomi and Jake until after the wedding,” she says, but her arms twine around my neck, sending a wave of relief and hunger rushing through me. “And I want us to promise that we won’t let anything that happens between us interfere with being good godparents to Noelle. She deserves the best from us, not any drama.”
“I agree.” I draw her closer. “Now can I kiss you?”
Her lashes sweep down and back up before she says in a husky voice, “Not if I kiss you first.”
And then she does, pressing her lips to mine and banishing any lingering doubt that last night might have been a fluke. Her kiss still destroys me, leaving me raw and needy and starving for more of her, though I gorged on her just hours ago. But when it comes to Maddie, I have a feeling I may never get enough of her taste, her touch, the way she moans low in her throat when the sparks between us ignite.
As her tongue dances with mine and her back arches, pressing her breasts tighter to my chest, I swear something…shifts inside me, something big that leaves me different than I was before.
But not bad different. I just get the sense that, for better or worse, my life is now going to be divided to before I first kissed Maddie Whitehouse and after.
By the time we pull apart, my heart is pounding and I’m desperate to be inside her. So desperate I’m already thinking of where we can go to be alone and how fast we can get there.
“This is crazy,” she says, her breath coming fast as she digs her nails into the skin at the back of my neck.
“What’s crazy?” I cup her bottom, pulling her closer to where I ache.
Her lashes flutter before she glances up with a lust-drunk look that takes my breath away. “I want you more than I did last night. Way more, and I was pretty sure that was impossible.”
“Same,” I say, roughly. “I want you so much, I’m tempted to take you right here on the sand.”
Her breath rushes out with a tight laugh. “We should try not to get arrested, though. There’s an old, abandoned lifeguard stand about a mile down the beach. I checked the door earlier today and it wasn’t locked.”
“You checked the door?” I take her hand, letting her lead the way across the sand. “You were thinking about having your way with me again already, were you?”
“All. Day. Long,” she says in a husky voice so sexy I can’t resist swooping her up for a hug that ends in another ass grab. God, I love her ass.
“Put me down.” She giggles and clings tighter to my neck.
“Only if you’ll race me to the lifeguard stand,” I say, loving the feel of her close and wanting her even closer.
She rolls her eyes. “Okay, but we both know you’ll win.”
“We’re both going to win, baby,” I say with a wink as I set her on her feet. “No doubt in my mind.”
Maddie grins and takes off across the sand at a jog with me in hot pursuit.
Chapter Eight
Maddie
I have never kept a secret from my sister.
Not once in my entire nearly thirty years of life.
Naomi and I have been tight since the day I was born. I grew up idolizing her and was her number one fan long before she became a celebrity chef with her own TV show and a multimillion-dollar line of gourmet products.
I share everything with Naomi: hopes, dreams, heartaches, a business—even our extensive shoe collection.
In other words, I have no idea how I’m going to keep my relationship with Jamison a secret from my big sis, but I’m determined to try. I don’t want to cross the Telling-My-Family-I’m-Dating-Jamison bridge until I’m sure the relationship’s going to last longer than a few weeks.
Though if I’m honest, it’s hard to imagine calling things off any time soon.
Even if Jamison were to suddenly turn into an insufferable jerk—which I doubt will happen; he’s a handful, not an asshole—I’d stick around for a few months for the sex alone.
The sex is…Uh-Maze-Zing.