Baking Me Crazy (Donner Bakery, #1)(61)

Slowly, I shook my head. The shift in my thoughts must have been written on my face, seeing her on my couch and knowing that I could touch her, that she could touch me. Joss' smile curved up, and she slowly turned onto her back, her legs with the knees bent slightly and resting against the back of the couch.

I flopped onto the couch in my normal spot, and she gave me a strange look.

"See?" I told her. "Too far away. It won't work."

"You're right," she answered seriously. "It won't."

I turned, sitting up on my knees as I faced her. My hands curled up the backs of her calves, and even though I couldn't feel her skin under the black leggings she wore, I could feel the heat of her. I shifted her to the side, just a few inches, and she adjusted her head on the pillow as I crept over her so I could wedge between the couch and her body.

"Am I supposed to face the TV?" she asked, clearly not worried about the TV in the slightest since she was now nose to nose with me.

"Nope."

"Okay," she whispered, her hands wandering along the front of my chest and shoulders.

My hands slid up the strong line of her back, and she arched into my touch. Lifting her head slightly to gauge the position of our legs, she used her hand to lift her top leg so I could fit my knee between.

"Don't tell me this doesn't spark some serious joy," I whispered, brushing my lips with hers.

She laughed. Unable not to, I pressed my hips into hers, and the sharp inhale from her mouth killed the laughter in an instant.

I was so hard it hurt, and she felt it. Her eyes widened, her mouth falling open into a small, surprised O. I tilted my chin down and licked slowly along the line of her bottom lip.

Her mouth followed mine, but I didn't deepen the kiss.

"Do you have any idea how sexy you are to me?" I told her.

The way she exhaled shakily against my lips had me closing my eyes. Slow, I reminded myself, take it slow, Levi.

That was when she attacked me.

Joss wrapped her arms around my neck and slanted her mouth over mine. I groaned at her unleashed enthusiasm because what she lacked in practice, holy shit, she made up for in fervor. Her fingers tangled in my hair, and she pulled at the strands. I licked into her mouth, and she pressed her chest against me. One of my hands slid down her back, my hand cupping her bottom, and she whimpered softly.

Her fingers started plucking at the buttons on my shirt, and I reached up to help her.

Together, we managed to rip open about five or six, and when she slid her hand over my chest, I pulled my chin back and hissed in a breath through clenched teeth.

"Your skin is so hot," she whispered, biting at my chin. I could barely manage a chuckle because she'd tipped over the gasoline can, struck the match, and dropped it with a simple flick of her wrist.

I leaned up, turning us slightly so I was over her. Joss dropped her head and pushed her nose into my neck, inhaling deeply.

"And you smell so good," she moaned. "Why do you smell so good?"

"Uhh," I stammered, my mind flustered from the feel of her, the smell of her, the way she arched her chest up into me. "I-I don't know."

I rolled my hips, and our lips fused again with tongue and teeth, and my hands tightened on her hips. Her fingers dug into my chest, pricking the surface of my skin with the fingernails painted soft pink. The same thought rolled over and over in my head.

This is what I've waited for.

This.

This.

This.

Her mouth was sweet and soft, and she tasted like the mint she stole from the glove compartment of my truck. The bright burst of fresh on her tongue had my head spinning when I sucked it into my mouth. The sound that left her when I did that caused me to pull away, and I had to lock it into my brain so that I'd never forget it. The sound was surprise and delight and want.

All the things I was feeling too.

My hands itched to test the soft, warm weight of her breasts and see what the skin on her stomach felt like under my lips. My mouth watered thinking about the slope of her shoulder and the curve of her ribs down to her waist.

The ticks on the clock disappeared, and the only sound was lips and breaths and whispered names as we discovered each other even though we didn't push past boundaries. It was a luxury to kiss her over and over and over. To learn what she liked and have her learn what I liked too.

Joss liked it when I sucked on her tongue.

I had to stop myself from mauling her when she tugged on my earlobe with her delicate teeth.

"We should slow down," I heard myself say. Oh my gosh, I was an idiot.

"Nooooo," she moaned immediately, snapping her hands onto my ass to lock me into place. I laughed into her shoulder before licking the softness of her skin. "No, no, it's so good, Levi. We're okay. We won't go too far, I promise."

"How can you promise that?" I asked breathlessly because I sure as shit struggled to believe it when she raked her fingernails up my back under my wrinkled, twisted shirt.

She blinked, running a hand over her flushed face as she thought. "I … umm, we'll keep pants on." Her smile was brilliant. "Yes, we'll keep pants on. Nothing too important can happen when you're wearing pants. New rule."

There it was again. That slow roll of the organ pumping all the blood through my body. It took everything in me not to tell her right there that I was in head over heels in love with her. That if it were up to me, I'd never leave her. That we'd be together forever. That for me, she was forever.