I looked down at her. “Finding somewhere a little less conspicuous.”
Her gaze narrowed before she looked over her shoulder.
I dragged her down t
he alleyway beside the café and the stretch of pavement that led to the parking lot.
“August, this is—”
I swung around and hauled her up against me. The flare of her skirt gave me enough room to get my knee between her legs. “You really going to say this isn’t what you want?”
She swallowed and wouldn’t look above my mouth. “I don’t know.”
My need to protect her, to make sure she was okay, warred with the instinct to not let her think right now. I didn’t want to be a mistake, but I didn’t want her to slot our kiss—kisses, plural now—as a regret before she saw how good we were together either.
One taste and I knew. Maybe I’d always known, even if I didn’t want to own up to it.
I crowded her into the brick wall beside the side door. I lowered my mouth to hers. I didn’t hesitate. I dived in to show her exactly what I meant.
Her arm went up around my neck, and she flattened her chest against mine. Her heart was hammering, and God, she tasted like everything I’d ever wanted.
I didn’t put myself out there very much. I preferred the quiet of my shop and the wood that I understood. I could touch a stack of lumber and know exactly what it needed to be.
Women weren’t as easy to figure out.
But this woman, I knew. Years of having her around had taught me a few things about Kinleigh Scott. And I needed to tap into that wild girl who sang with her music upstairs. The one who laughed with her whole body. The one who was more excited for a truck bed full of junk than the sparkliest gemstones.
I drew her up onto her tiptoes. Even her heeled boots weren’t quite enough to line us up. But I’d help with that. I cupped my hands around her firm ass and set her tighter against me to let her feel just how serious I was.
She moaned into my mouth as I went deeper. Sought more of those sweet sounds. I rocked her tighter against my leg and groaned at the heat of her blasting through the filmy dress into my shirt and jeans.
Her coat shrouded us from any prying eyes, so I was a bit bolder than I usually would’ve been. I inched up the skirt of her dress while I got very acquainted with her mouth. Jesus, she could kiss.
I thought I’d had the steering wheel firmly in hand, but I was drowning in her taste. Instead of hose or tights or whatever women usually had under these things, I only found a scrap of silk.
“Fuck, Kin,” I muttered against her lips.
“Don’t stop now, dammit.”
I laughed into her mouth. My fingers curved around her soft, slightly chilled skin. I lifted her thigh up to hook over my hip to get closer to her. A barely there thong was the only thing keeping me from her sweet softness.
I hoped the friction was enough for now because I needed a minute to get my head around this. The logistics of it. I was not going to take this woman against the side of a building with people tromping through.
As much as I wanted her and for her to see just how awesome we could be together, I couldn’t disrespect her like that.
My elbow rapped the doorknob and I swore, the pain giving me a second for my brain to engage.
Upstairs.
I knew the code to get into the apartments since I’d helped with some of the work up there. Gideon and his crew were forever rehabbing one of the apartments and where Gideon went, I was usually dragged in to help.
I let her dress fall and cursed.
“What?” She was undulating against me so sweetly. Those big blue eyes were hooded with desire and a bit of hazy confusion.
I lifted her off of me. I didn’t realize just how much she’d crawled up on me. “I want you all over me, in like three seconds. Okay, maybe three minutes.”
“What?” She moved back, her heels clicking on the pavement.