Faking with Benefits : A Friends to Lovers Romance(23)

She rolls her eyes, trying to shuffle away, but I hold her tight. “It’s like I said. I’m a bad kisser.”

Josh shakes his head. “No. There’s no way.”

“How could you possibly know that? You’ve never kissed me!”

“I know you have good dental hygiene,” he counters, “and I seriously doubt you try to lick the other person’s tonsils when you go in.”

She shudders.

“Exactly. So you’re not a bad kisser.”

“But I’m not a good kisser, either,” she protests. “I don’t like to do things okay. I want to get them right. But you can’t practice kissing on your own, and I haven’t kissed anyone in years. How am I supposed to be confident on a date when I’m not even confident at kissing?”

I’m confused. “Hang on. You ain’t kissed anybody in years? You said you have one-night-stands.”

She nods. “Yeah. But I don’t kiss them. It feels weird. We don’t even care about each other.”

“Do you like kissing at all?” Josh asks.

“No. It’s boring.”

I fix the strap of her shirt, stroking my fingers down her arm. “I don’t think you’re kissing the right people, babe.”

She frowns up at me. “Will you kiss me, then? So I can practice? Clearly I’m getting something wrong.”

My grin widens. “Oh, baby. I was thinking you’d never ask.” I pat my knee. “C’mon. Lay one on me.”

Layla glances back at Josh, who’s sitting opposite us, watching.

“Go ahead,” he drawls. “I can rate you from one to ten, if you like.”

Layla nods solemnly. “Yes, please. That will be very helpful.”

Josh pinches the bridge of his nose, looking like he wants to die.

I snort. “C’mon, honey. No time like the present.”

“Right.” She shuffles a little closer, awkwardness radiating off her in waves. I sit patiently as she tips her face up and slowly presses her mouth to mine.

It’s barely a kiss. Her soft lips ghost over mine, stiff and unmoving. I breathe in the warm orange scent of her as she gives me one long slow peck, then pulls back again.

I don’t say anything, eyeing her.

She pulls a face. “That was terrible, wasn’t it?”

“Not the best I’ve ever had,” I allow, trying not to smile. “Have you considered maybe participating a bit more? Sort of feels like kissing a CPR dummy.”

She scowls, and I sigh, pulling her a little closer. She feels ridiculously soft and small against me. “You’re holding your breath,” I say, trying to ignore my tightening jeans. “Relax, lass.” I squeeze her hip again, and she forces herself to unclench. “Great. Now, stop being so shy. We’re not seeing each other. You’ve got nowt to lose here.”

She takes a deep breath and nods. “Right. Can I—”

“Can you what, sweetheart?”

She reaches over and pushes apart my thighs. I part them easily, letting her climb onto my knee.

“Good girl,” I grumble, as she wraps her arms around my neck. She runs a hand over my jaw, stroking over my beard. “See, this is much better,” I mutter.

She snorts. “I’ve not even kissed you yet.”

“Kissin’s not just lips and tongue. You can foreplay a kiss just like you can a shag.”

“Huh.” She rubs my beard again, smiling slightly when my eyes fall closed. “You like this.”

“You could touch me anywhere and it’d feel good,” I say honestly. Her smile widens. Digging her nails into the back of my neck, she presses forward, kissing me again. This time, she pecks me once, slow and soft, before letting her lips part and slipping her tongue into my mouth. I can’t help the low noise of surprise that falls out of my chest as our tongues stroke together.

It’s not a bad kiss. I’ve certainly had worse. But her body is still stiff against mine, and all of her movements are weirdly rehearsed. She Frenches me for a few seconds, then goes back to the long pecks. Then she repeats the pattern again. And again. It feels like she’s trying to follow a list of instructions. Which, knowing her, she probably is.

Eventually, she pulls away. I smack my lips, considering, as she waits for the verdict. “Better,” I say slowly.

She looks affronted. “Better? I thought that was good!”

“You’re still thinking too hard, lass.” I run a hand through her pale hair. “I can practically hear cogs turning in your head.”

Her brows furrow. “But… how am I supposed to do it right if I don’t think about it? I’ve not kissed enough people for it to come naturally.”

I hum. “How about you let me take over? You know how to do this, lass, it’s just all locked up inside here.” I tap the side of her temple.

She scowls. How do you know I know how to do it, when—”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” I mutter, sinking my hands into her hair and crashing our mouths together.





FOURTEEN





LAYLA





I gasp as heat wires through my body.

When I was kissing Zack, I was trying to be nice about it. It’s awkward kissing your best friend — I didn’t want to just lean forward and start sucking his tongue.