Worth It (Forbidden Men, #6)(35)

“Damn, City Girl,” he murmured into my ear. “What’re you so jumpy for?”

He knew exactly why I was jumpy, and that cocky little grin he sent me said so. I frowned. “You’re really going to call me City Girl from here on out, aren’t you? You couldn’t think of anything else.”

“Nope. I like City Girl. It suits you.”

“Does not.”

“Does too.” He kept holding my hip until he had me sitting next to him, close enough that our thighs brushed and I was nearly in his lap.

I forgot to argue back. Taking a deep, shuddery breath, I laid my shoe out on the dock next to the clean one to dry out in the sun. Then I dangled my legs over the side of the dock to dip my toes into the water.

Knox smiled approvingly and caught a piece of my hair.

I sighed, happy and relaxed as he began to play with a couple locks. The dock bobbed in a lulling rhythm under us. “It’s nice out here. The water feels great on my feet.”

“Yeah.” He sounded distracted. “We should wear our suits tomorrow and go for a swim.”

I snorted. “You’re crazy if you think I’m swimming in water that stains clothes.”

With a shrug, he grinned. “We’ll skinny-dip, then.” As my mouth dropped open and words failed me, Knox just kept smiling. “Can’t stain clothes if you’re not wearing any.”

“I...you...that...”

He threw back his head and laughed. “I’m kidding.”

I would’ve slugged him on the shoulder again and told him how funny he still wasn’t, but his brown eyes danced with so much enthusiasm when he looked at me, I forgot what I was going to say.

I knew he could read all the temptation and longing in my expression when his smile died.

“Do you ever think about kissing me?”

My mouth dried up and my mind turned to mush. “Wha...what?”

He just kept watching me as he coiled my hair around his finger. “Because I do. All the time. Right before I go to sleep each night, first thing when I wake up in the morning, whenever I’m coming out here to meet you, whenever I’m with you.”

The last part was a whispered confession he made as he leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine.

I closed my eyes, afraid to breathe and even more afraid to reopen my lashes in fear this moment would end and I’d find out it was all a dream.

“But what the hell am I thinking?” His whisper turned harsh. “You’re a Bainbridge. I’m a Parker. We should hate each other on principle alone. I shouldn’t even be your friend, much less want to kiss you.”

My eyelashes fluttered open. “You shouldn’t?” I have no idea why I asked that as if to make sure he was certain of his claim. He’d just said he shouldn’t, so he shouldn’t. Except I really wanted him to.

His brown eyes blazed into mine. “I won’t,” he swore, his jaw hard with resolution.

“You won’t,” I murmured.

He shook his head. But he was right there; our faces were so close. Maybe I could be the one to just lean in and...

When I did lean toward him, he leaned toward me, meeting me halfway. Oh God, I was going to kiss Knox Parker. I was going to press my mouth to his and—

What the heck did I think I was doing? This was insane. “You’re right,” I said, shaking sense back into my head and pulling away, dislodging his hold on my hair. “We probably shouldn’t even be friends. I should go.”

I yanked my feet from the pit and began to pull on my slippers.

“City Girl,” he said, as if apologizing, trying to explain.

“No, you’re right. This is... It’s insane. I’m going home and never—”

“Hey,” he whispered.

He caught my hand when I tried to stand.

After drawing in a bracing breath, I turned back to meet his gaze. I expected him to spill out some other significant reason why we shouldn’t kiss, why even talking together and meeting in the woods was so wrong, why we were supposed to be enemies, blah, blah, blah, but instead...his mouth pressed against mine.

Too stunned to respond at first, I just knelt there, my knees digging into the dock, as he cupped my face in one palm and leaned in close. Then he tipped his head to the side and brushed his lips across mine again.

My eyelids dragged closed, and a whimper escaped my throat.

His mouth was so freaking soft. And warm. I pressed back, clutching his shoulder until my nails burrowed into his shirt.

He made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a growl, and his second hand cupped my face too before his palm slid across my cheek so he could sink his fingers in my hair. When his lips parted and his tongue came out to touch the seam of my mouth, I gasped from the bold sensation it caused...between my legs.

“Sorry.” He pulled his face back immediately but kept his hands in my hair. “Too much?”

He meant, not enough, right?

Breathing hard, I only gaped. “But you said...we shouldn’t...kiss.”

He grinned and swept his lips over my cheek. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t handle making you sad. And you looked sad when you tried to leave.”

A smile bloomed, bright and broad, across my face. He smiled back and bit his bottom lip. Drawn to him and tempted beyond anything I’d ever felt before, I leaned toward him, but he jerked back.