Kiss Me at Midnight(5)
Author: Diane Alberts

She’d been crushing on him since freshman year, even if he’d been clueless about it. Which meant tonight was twelve years in the making. They’d both been too shy to make a move back then. She’d be damned if she was going to shy away tonight.

He brought his glass to his lips. She watched, way too mesmerized by how kissable his lips looked as he swallowed. “You’re staring.”

“I’m thinking,” she corrected.

“A penny for your thoughts?” he asked, his lips quirking.

She played with the rim of her glass, her finger tracing it slowly. “I was just thinking…well, remembering actually. I wasn’t kissing Roger because I liked him. It was an experiment.”

He cocked a brow. “Do tell.”

“He’s g*y. I was his guinea pig.”

His features froze in shock. “No way! Roger? Gay? I never would have guessed.”

She understood his reaction. By all appearances, Roger had been the stereotype of the quintessential, All-American, football captain straight man. It had created quite the scandal once he finally came out. As far as Ashley knew, Ethan didn’t keep in touch with people from high school. He’d hated almost every second of being here and had lit out like a fire was under him after graduation. She wasn’t surprised that Ethan hadn’t heard about Roger, given all of that.

He shook his head. “So I created all that drama back then over…nothing.” He laughed but it was laced with bitterness. “Damn it.”

While she couldn’t deny the amount of time they’d lost was a waste, she wasn’t going to spend another minute on what ifs. That was then. And tonight was now. She grinned, remembering that night with Roger. It felt like a lifetime ago, really. “He said it was like kissing a dead fish. That’s how much he enjoyed it.”

Ethan chuckled, then quickly forced it back down with a gulp of wine. “Sorry.”

“I think that assessment was his problem. Not mine.” She leaned closer, resting her hand on his knee. “I have it on good authority I’m an excellent kisser.”

He moved his leg closer to her, shifting his position so he faced her more fully. “Hm. I’ll have to take your word on it, won’t I?”

“You’ll never know until you try it,” she said, reaching out and laying a hand on his hard bicep, her mouth watering at the way he felt under her palm. Strong. Hard. So freaking hot. His skin, even through the protection of the shirt he wore, burned her. “Maybe it’s time you tried.”

His bicep flexed under her hand. His eyes were narrow and burning a hole through her. All she could think was yes, take me now. He looked so determined to do exactly that.

She moved her fingers over the table restlessly, tracing invisible patterns in the wood. He caught her hand and trapped it between his and the table. Her breath caught in her throat as he scooted closer, his knees touching her left thigh. She drew in a deep breath.

After giving her a slight smile, he played with a lock of her hair. When he tugged on her hair slightly, it sent shivers down her spine and heat coursing through her blood.

“It might sound crazy after all these years…” He tugged her hair harder, and she bit back a moan. How could something so stupid as him playing with her hair make her want to jump his bones? “But I missed you so damn much, Ash.”

So he wanted to get all handsy on her in public? She could play that game. She turned and pressed more fully against him before resting her hand on his knee, creeping upward slowly, inch by inch. His nostrils flared, and he took a big gulp of his wine.

Good. He looked as affected by her as she was by him.

She trailed her hand a little higher up his thigh and leaned in close. “I hear you’re an IT guy now.”

“I heard that, too.” He dropped her hair. For a second, she thought he might be pulling away. Rejecting her. But then his hand touched her lower back, and he urged her even closer. It was like the years they hadn’t spoken had faded away. Hell, it was like the years they had spoken had faded away, too. This was a whole new dynamic between the two of them, and it had been a long, long time coming.

God, she wanted him. Now. Here.

“Do you live here now? Or are you just in town visiting family?”

She moved her hand a little higher on his thigh and smiled at him, her eyes lowered. Just right. “Why do you ask?”

He gave her a cocky look. “Because we both know what’s happening here, and we both know how it’s going to end.”

“Oh?” She leaned in even more, her nose practically touching his, until she could feel his warm breath on her skin. “And how might that be? Enlighten me.”

He chuckled, his hand pressing on her lower back more determinedly. “Okay. Look. I don’t play games with women.” She cocked her brow at him, and he grinned. “Not anymore, anyway. If I see something I want, I go after it. And you know what I want right now?”

She let out a whoosh of air. He was so…so…alpha male. She couldn’t wait to see how take charge he was in the bedroom. Hot damn. “What do you want?”

“I want you naked and screaming my name out so loud the whole town hears you.” He ran his other hand up her thigh and under her skirt, making her entire body clench down in need. He stopped at her upper thigh, not even edging closer to where she most wanted him. “I want to f**k you until you’re so sore you’ll be limping for a few days after I’m done with you. I’ve wanted to have you since I was nothing more than a stuttering kid, but now? I need you. So my only question is…are you in, or are you out?”

She took an unsteady breath. Well, okay then. That was one way to kick things off. Honest and forthright. She could work with that. “Just for tonight, right? No strings attached?”

He shrugged as if he didn’t care what she wanted, as long as she went home with him. “Yeah. Think of it as a night of fun between old friends. Catching up on lost time.”

“In that case…” She chugged the last of her wine and set it down on the table with a clunk. “My condo is a three minute walk from here.”

He removed his hand from her thigh and stood up. “After you.”

His cheeks went red, and she knew it was because he stuttered. He always got embarrassed when he lost track of his words, but it only made her like him even more back then. He had been so freaking handsome with his soft brown hair and dark brown eyes that him having a quirk that he hated only made him more real to her.