Only Mine (Fool's Gold #4)(25)
“All of which you’d rather be doing,” he said.
She smiled. “Absolutely.”
“Is leaving an option? Do you ever think about living anywhere else?”
“I’ve lived other places. Got my undergraduate degree at UCLA, my masters and Ph.D. at Berkeley. But Fool’s Gold is home. It’s where I belong. Do you think about leaving South Salmon?”
At one time he had. When he’d been Sasha and Stephen’s age he’d dreamed of seeing the world. But then his parents had died and he’d had two brothers to raise. There hadn’t been time for dreams.
“I have a business there,” he said. “Leaving is impractical.”
“And you’re a practical guy?”
“I’ve learned to be,” he admitted.
“You said you were wild before.” Her gaze locked with his. “Would I have liked you?”
“I would’ve liked you.”
He felt the awareness crackling between them. Everything about Dakota appealed to him. Sure, she was pretty, but it was more than that. He liked listening to her. He liked her opinions and how she looked at the world. Maybe part of him liked that she was as firmly connected to Fool’s Gold as he was to South Salmon. They couldn’t make a mistake because it couldn’t go anywhere.
Wanting stirred. It had been a long time since he’d had the time or energy to be interested in a woman. Given how concerned he was about his brothers, it was extraordinary he was interested now. Which begged the question—what did he do next?
“I have dessert,” Dakota said, coming to her feet. “And it’s not soy-based. Interested?”
He stood as well, then came around the table. He supposed he should ask. After all, this wasn’t just about him. Dakota was a rational, thoughtful woman. She would appreciate getting all the details out of the way first, assuming she was interested at all. But instead of asking, he moved closer. He cupped her face in his hands, leaned in and kissed her.
CHAPTER FIVE
DAKOTA HAD EXPECTED SOMETHING along the lines of, “What flavor of ice cream do you have?” She hadn’t expected Finn to kiss her.
His hands were warm on her face, which was nice enough. But what really got her attention was the feel of his mouth on hers. His lips were soft enough to tempt her and firm enough to allow her to relax. He kissed her gently, but deliberately enough to let her know that he really meant it. He kissed like he was hungry and she was an unexpected buffet.
His lips teased hers, moving lightly, as if searching for the best place to land. It’d been a long time since a man had kissed her. A long time since she’d wanted one to. Last fall, before she discovered she was broken inside, she would have said she wanted to be in a relationship. After, everything had changed. Now she wasn’t sure. But with Finn, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t staying and anything between them wasn’t permanent.
A very freeing concept.
He dropped his hands to her waist and drew her against him. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned in to the embrace. Her head tilted, he moved closer. He tasted of the wine they’d had with dinner. He smelled clean and masculine. As she moved her hands from his shoulders to his arms, she felt the strength of him.
The kiss continued. Skin on skin, warm. Appealing. Then something changed. Maybe it was the way he shifted his hands to her back and spanned the length of her spine. Maybe it was her thighs brushing his. Maybe it was the placement of the moon in the sky. Or maybe it was finally time for something good to happen to her.
Regardless of the reason, one second she was enjoying a perfectly respectable kiss from a very charming man. The next, fire swept through her body. It was as unexpected as it was intense. Heat was everywhere. Heat and hunger and the kind of wanting that stole a woman’s will and left her prepared to beg.
Instead of holding on to him, she found herself clinging. The need to get closer grew until it overwhelmed her. She parted her lips, hoping to deepen the kiss. Thankfully, he read her mind. His tongue swept inside, brushing against hers.
It was heaven. Every stroke made her insides clench, her legs shake. She kissed him back, enjoying the growing sense of arousal. She wanted to be swept away, to be reminded of exactly what her body could do.
She’d been numb for so long, she realized. Disconnected from everything but the pain. She’d blocked off nearly all emotions, going through the motions so well, she’d even fooled herself.
He kissed her more deeply. She closed her lips around his tongue and sucked gently. He tensed in her embrace, as if holding back.
He was going to stop. But he couldn’t. She needed this. He had to…
Only he didn’t have to do anything. This wasn’t her, she told herself firmly. She didn’t attack guys in her kitchen—or anywhere else. The polite course of action seemed to be to step back.
Oh, but she wanted him. Her br**sts ached. Her ni**les were so sensitive, the feel of her bra was nearly agony. Between her legs, she was swollen and hungry. She wanted his big hands to touch her everywhere. She wanted to see him naked and hard in her bed. She wanted to be filled over and over until she found her release and with it, maybe a little healing.
It took every ounce of self-control, but somehow she managed to drop her hands to her sides and put some room between them. She was aware of her frantic breathing and hoped she didn’t look too desperate. Sexual confidence was attractive. Desperation tended to send a man running.