There was only so much a man could take.
Before he could question the good sense in his actions, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her against him. Still winded from their play, her chest rose and fell heavily against his and it was hard not to appreciate the full swell of her breasts cushioned against him. But instead of showing anger or discomfort at the display, she seemed to melt further against him. And smiled.
“No fair, Uncle Dominic. You’re cheating,” one of his nieces called out. “Kate was so kicking your butt.”
“You know how boys can get, Natalie,” Kate said, still looking at him. “They don’t like being beaten by a girl.”
“Oh, is that right? I wouldn’t really know, since my record in Scrabble, so far, is undefeated.” He wriggled his fingers along her waist, earning a high-pitched cry as she tried to squirm away. Oh, she was ticklish all right. He did it again and she laughed and twisted her body to escape his fingers. “Oh, wait, you’re not ticklish, are you? Paul, I think you need to come and help me out.”
“Don’t you dare, Paul. Remember, I thought we were buddies,” Kate said, imploring Paul but unable to hide the next giggle.
In ten seconds, Paul was throwing his weight against her, trying to tickle her belly. “Help me out, girls.” It was all the incentive his nieces needed before they pushed against them, too, and they all fell back against the couch, Dominic underneath Kate but holding her against him, trying to fight off the little fingers of the girls trying to get under his neck and arms.
“Hey, you loafers downstairs.” It wasn’t hard to distinguish Benny’s voice from the others. “Dinner’s ready, so get those butts up here now, or Cruz is going to eat all the tortillas.”
The kids squealed as they piled off and ran for the stairs, trying not to be last.
Leaving the two of them alone. Kate still lying facedown on top of him, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath. She felt too good, her body fitting so perfectly against his, he didn’t want to let her go.
His hand reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that was tickling his cheek. Her chin seemed to quiver as she sucked in her breath.
He would have to be a saint to resist taking advantage of the moment.
And he’d never claimed to be one.
With his palm, he cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth down to his. He’d been wondering what she tasted like more times than he could count, and as his lips teased hers, testing her to make sure she didn’t object, he was reminded of honey. He didn’t know what to expect when he deepened the kiss—resistance maybe, or disgust—but the heady feeling of her opening her mouth to him, allowing him to swirl her tongue with his own and fully taste her sweetness, nearly killed him. As when she climbed higher up in his lap and tilted her head to fully enjoy the kiss.
Trusting him.
“Hey, you two. If you’re not up here in ten seconds, you’ll be sitting at the kids’ table,” Benny yelled again. “I can’t hold the rug rats off much longer.”
With great reluctance, Dominic pulled back and watched as Kate’s eyes opened, staring back at him, dreamy and languid. Her lips were swollen and begged him to steal one more taste, but the sound of running feet and scraping chairs reminded him he’d be testing fate. The sounds seemed to seep through Kate’s consciousness, too, for she flushed and practically bolted upright and away from his lap.
“W-we’d better get up there.” She pressed her hands down, smoothing her soft black sweater down over her curvy figure, then repeated the action with her hair.
He smiled despite himself, trying to decide if he should tell her that due to the dreamy look still in her eyes and the swollen lips, no amount of fussing was going to tell anyone less than the truth of what they’d been doing.
He stood and reached out to smooth a lock of hair that was poking up on top of her head. “Yeah. We better.”
He should be reminding himself why that kiss was a bad idea. That it could go nowhere and might even risk things becoming awkward. But he didn’t care.
It had been worth it.
…
Kate could not get enough of the savory, tender pork wrapped in warm tortillas. It wasn’t as if she’d never had chile verde before. There were a number of very good Mexican restaurants within ten minutes of her house, but it wasn’t the same as homemade. Store-bought tortillas would never taste the same again.
She’d eaten one full burrito made of the flavorful stew and was thinking about a second when she saw Dominic was watching her with that gleam in his eyes. And any further thought of food was dismissed.
Only the memory of that kiss.
And Dominic, so strong and firm underneath her, his shoulders as she had gripped him tighter, his chest that she’d pressed herself against. The softness of his hair that her fingers found their way to as she pulled him in to her as she gave into the heady heat o
f his kiss.
She’d been lost.
Even now his gaze dropped to her lips, and she almost opened them, as if he was there now. Her lower belly swirled with desire again.