Colette rests a light hand on my thigh under the table. “You’re doing it right. All of it. In case you were wondering.”
“Yeah?” I dip my head, brushing my nose against hers as I angle for a kiss.
“Yeah,” she murmurs, leaning back. “I have salad dressing breath.”
“You do. It’s pretty gross,” I tease, kissing her softly, loving the feel of her lips curving into a grin against mine.
It’s been a long time since I’ve smiled and kissed at the same time.
Too damned long.
“Then stop kissing me, jerk,” she says, pushing playfully at my chest.
“I can’t.” I brush my lips against hers again. “You’re irresistible.”
She sighs. “God. You, too. How are we going to make it until tomorrow morning?”
“More of what we did this afternoon. I think I’ve proven I can control myself.”
Colette scoots her chair back, moving out of reach with a stern shake of her head. “No. No more of that,” she insists. “At least not tonight. I can’t take it.”
I blink, surprised by the pain in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I thought I took care of you, Cee. If I didn’t, you should have—”
“No, you did. Of course you did. Don’t be silly.” She cuts me off, fluttering her fingers as she pushes her half-eaten salad away and reaches for her still-steaming bowl of chicken and dumplings. “I can’t wait for the sinful stuff anymore. I have to see if these dumplings are as buttery and delicious as they smell.”
“Colette.” I curl my fingers around her knee. She stiffens as I add in a softer voice, “I thought this afternoon was good. Great, even. You need to tell me if it wasn’t. I don’t ever want to do anything when we’re naked that doesn’t make you feel good.”
She shifts her troubled gaze my way. “Of course you made me feel good. And it was incredible, but I want to make you feel good, too. I need to. It’s just the way I’m built. Taking without giving feels…wrong.”
“You weren’t just taking,” I assure her. “You gave me so much.” I almost tell her about the songs but swallow the words instead. I don’t want to ruin this by spilling too much too soon. “I just love being with you, touching you, discovering you. The coming is secondary.”
“Not to me.” She shifts in her chair, clearing the way for my hand to skim higher on her thigh. She presses a kiss to my neck, making me shiver as she whispers in my ear, “I’m dying to make you lose control. I was fantasizing about it all afternoon. I barely got through five chapters of my book. I kept getting distracted. And turned on…”
I’m so hard I could hang my empty salad bowl on my cock, and food no longer holds the slightest appeal, but I force myself to reach for my bowl of dumplings. I snatch my spoon up with a shaking hand, dive in for a bite, and shove it into my mouth.
Colette sits back with a soft harrumph, eyes narrowing as she watches me chew. “That made you hungry for dumplings?”
I shake my head tightly. “I either eat this or I eat you. Right now. On the table. Spread you open and devour you while the stars come out.”
She bites her lip. “Jed and Nancy might see.”
“Jed and Nancy are going to leave us alone. She’s made that clear.”
“You think?”
“I know.” I scoop another bite into my mouth, barely tasting the perfectly firm dumplings because I’m so distracted by wishing I were tasting every inch of Colette’s skin and her hot, wet pussy. “They can tell. I’m sure anyone looking at us can tell.”
“Tell what?” Her tongue sweeps across her bottom lip.
“That we’re about ten seconds away from fucking like animals at any given moment.”
Her lids drop to half-mast. “More like five.”
“Three. Give or take.”
Her breath rushes out. “How did we do it? Before?”
“Do what?” I murmur.
“Ignore the chemistry.”
“You were with someone, and I don’t like dwelling on things I can’t have. I like dreams that have at least a shot at coming true.”
“Me, too,” she says. “Or at least I used to think that was true. Now…” She shakes her head, her troubled eyes finding mine. “What are we doing?”
“Trying to make a baby,” I say, pushing my bowl away and threading my fingers gently into her hair.
“No, I mean—” Her words end in a moan as I cover her mouth with mine.
Our lips meet and our tongues come together with the urgency of two people who’ve been apart for ages. Separated by oceans. Tortured by time. It’s only been a few hours, but as I kiss her deeply, properly, my ribs vibrate with relief. Yes, I want to be naked with her again, but this is also amazing.
Being this close and knowing she wants me even closer.
We finally break apart, breathing faster. Our eyes meet, and we burst into laughter at the same time.
“What’s wrong with us?” She giggles, swatting me with the napkin in her lap. “Seriously. I haven’t been this bad since I was a teenager.”
“You’re not bad. You’re amazing.”
“You like that I’m becoming a nymphomaniac?” she asks as I brush her hair over her shoulder, fighting to ignore the way her nipples are pressing against the slinky green dress she’s wearing.
“I like knowing you want me as much as I want you.”
She sighs. “Me, too. Though, I confess I’m a little sad that we can’t be trusted in a bed together overnight.”
“Yes, we can. You’re sleeping with me,” I insist, unable to tolerate the idea of being apart from her that long.
“But you need rest. You said—”
“Forget what I said. I was stupid then.”
She arches a wry brow. “Were you? Or are you just horny now?”
“Both,” I admit with a grin. “But seriously, I want you to in my bed if you want to be there. I had an amazing writing session today. If no sleep and tons of sexual frustration are the recipe for magic, we don’t want to mess with that.”
She smiles. “Yeah, I mean…if that’s what it takes to make the magic happen.”
“And that way, when we wake up tomorrow morning, we can make the magic happen first thing.” My hand skims up her ribs, bound for her breast, but she catches my arm before I reach my intended destination. “Nuh-uh. No way, buddy. No more nipples for you until sunrise.”
I groan pitifully, making her laugh. “You’ll live,” she says, kissing my cheek. “I promise. We both will. Now let’s finish supper so we can get to dessert. Cheesecake is my favorite. Aside from ice cream and cupcakes and the rum bread that Theo makes at Christmastime.”
Reluctantly, I reclaim my spoon. “You know that’s fruitcake, right?”
Colette scoffs. “No, it’s not. It’s rum cake, and I won’t believe otherwise. Theo and I decided long ago that we’re way too cool to like fruitcake.”
“You are,” I agree, squeezing her thigh beneath the table. “I’m so glad you’re here with me. I’m enjoying the hell out of getting to know you better.”