It would have been awkward to ask, “Would you kiss me?” So Sarah did the next best thing. She kissed him.
When their lips touched, her heart raced, but he felt cold at first. Like ice. Well, they were outside on a skating rink, what did she expect? Hers were probably frozen, too. She pulled back and stared into his eyes. Instead of sparkling from the lights, an iridescence radiated from them as if they were glowing from inside.
John slid his hand behind her head and claimed her mouth with his. What started out cold quickly became oh-my-God hot. She welcomed his tongue as he aggressively explored her mouth. He tasted good, like cinnamon candy, and she suckled. She couldn’t get close enough and silently cursed their coats. Parts of her body tightened and throbbed.
Kids nearby snickered.
Crap. They were outside. In public.
She broke away, but before she could say anything, someone collided into John and as he fell forward, he quickly twisted his body. He landed with a thwack, but kept his arms around her, protecting her from the ice.
He wasn’t moving. She’d landed with her face buried in his chest, and she squirmed and looked up. “John? Are you alright?”
He wore a silly grin and raised his eyebrows. “Couldn’t be better.”
What did he mean by that? He couldn’t be comfortable with her on top of him. She moved to get off when her leg rubbed against something hard. He uttered a moan that sounded more like pleasure than pain.
Hard. Pleasure.
Oh my God, oh my God. As she struggled to stand, she kept rubbing against him. How big was he? Each touch sent shivers through her body. Damn, just touching him got her excited. She’d climb off him, but his arms were like a vise holding her.
He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, “As much as I’m enjoying this, if you keep it up, I’ll surely embarrass you. Just lay still for a minute.”
Unfortunately, they’d already drawn a crowd. “I think it’s too late. At least try to sit up.”
A skater approached, waving his arms as if trying to regain his balance. And he was headed for them. As Sarah prepared for the impending crash, John stood and whooshed her safely out of the line of fire.
“That was close. You okay?” he asked.
Damn, that was some fast moving. If only she could be so coordinated. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You want to try and make it around the ice again?”
Skate. Ugh. What she really wanted was another scorching kiss from him, but if that wasn’t going to happen, she’d settle for his touch.
After two more trips, her feet and ankles protested the abuse and her face was numb from the cold.
“You ready to quit?” he asked.
Thankful she didn’t have to bring it up, she nodded.
She sat on the bench and worked at untying her laces while John left to fetch their shoes. She had one boot unlaced by the time he returned.
She yanked the skate off and the cold air attacked her socked foot. “Thanks, John. I had fun tonight.”
He straightened from untying his boots and stared at her. “Did you really? Or are you just saying that?”
The question caught her off guard. She might never request to skate again, but she’d do anything that included him holding her. “I had fun with you. But maybe next time we can find something to do indoors?”
He went back to his boots and laughed. “I think I can manage that. I’m sorry you didn’t like skating, but thanks for trying.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he raised an eyebrow as if taunting her to deny it. Damn, she couldn’t do that, not without lying anyway. “You’re welcome.” She bent over and worked on the other skate while John chuckled.
What a relief to get those heavy things off. When she stood and started walking, she almost glided across the ground. It amazed her how she’d adjusted in such a short time.
Sort of like how her body adjusted to John. The longer she touched him, the calmer her heart beat. Of course, being covered in coats and gloves, they hadn’t had much skin contact. Except for that kiss, that wonderful, electric kiss. Maybe she would have to get used to him all over again, but she could live with that. What’s a heart attack—or two or three—when it felt so good?
During the walk back to Wings, she relived kissing him. His lips were everything she dreamed of and better. It certainly kept her mind off turning into a Popsicle.
He unlocked the door to the staircase. “Can you stay a little longer? It’s not too late for you is it?”
She should go home, it would be the sensible thing to do. But she’d been doing sensible all her life. Besides, there wasn’t any place she’d rather be. “I can stay.”
He grinned. “Great.”
Once inside his warm apartment, Sarah took off her winter gear while John shed his own. She shook with excitement, and a bit of nerves, but when he faced her and stared at her with those beautiful blue eyes, desire raced through her and shooed any nervousness away.
In one step, he captured her face and bent down for a kiss. A tingling sensation rode through every nerve. Why had she thought her body was used to him? Like before, he explored her mouth with his tongue, searing her. She grabbed those massive shoulders of his and melted against him. Oh God, she loved the way he kissed.
Slowly, he backed her to the couch, where he lowered her to the cushions. She felt nothing but his lips and hard body.
John left a fiery trail of kisses to her neck, where he stopped to nuzzle. He licked her, which got her juices flowing. Damn. Who knew that was a sensitive spot? When he fondled her breast, she arched into his hand. Even with all the layers she wore, her nipples hardened at his touch and the lower half of her body tightened. The man practically burned a hole through her clothes.
He grabbed her hip, rubbing his erection against her thigh. God, she wanted him. Her heart nearly exploded from the excitement of it all. He could take her now and she’d let him. But was she moving too fast? No, she was thinking too much. Let him do whatever. But she’d let Steven do whatever and look where that had landed her.
Damn! It took a tremendous amount of willpower to push gently on his chest, when she really wanted to hold him closer.
John pulled back. He looked stricken and he was panting as hard as she was. He shot up off the couch. “I’m so sorry, Sarah. It won’t happen again.”
She didn’t want it to never happen again, just not now. “What? Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry.” She sat up and lowered her head. “I feel like I led you on.”
He sat beside her, tugged on her chin, and kissed her forehead, nearly igniting her all over again. “No, you just wanted to kiss. I got carried away, and I’m sorry.”
John put his arm around her shoulder. Sarah smiled up at him, relieved. Whenever she had tried to stop Steven, he’d never listened. Instead, he’d always managed to talk her into whatever it was he wanted. Looking back, she could see Steven had never cared about her feelings at all.
“Maybe we both got carried away. I do like you, John. I’m sorry I’m not more like Lori.”
He laid two fingers over her mouth, hushing her. “If you were more like Lori, you wouldn’t be here. I like you Sarah. Don’t ever apologize for being you.”
Why couldn’t she have met John first? He really was the sweetest man; there wasn’t anything phony about him. But instead, her history with men overtook common sense and that little voice in her head said, “He’s going to hurt you like Steven did.”
So, she couldn’t trust her body. Not yet.
“I should go home. It’s been a long day.”
“I understand.” He stood and offered his hand.
Reluctantly, she took it. She didn’t want to leave. She wished she didn’t have to leave. But taking it slow was better. Smarter.
* * * *
After agreeing to another date on Sunday—which Sarah would plan—John waited until she drove away before he discreetly followed, wanting to make sure Steven wasn’t lurking around her apartment building. Maybe she hadn’t seen the bastard earlier, but why chance it?
Once she made it inside her apartment, John thoroughly inspected the area. No sign of the creep, and a good thing, too, who knew what John would do to the guy? That man didn’t deserve his freedom.
John took his time walking back to Wings. Damn, he was still hard for her. Her scent refused to leave.
Thank goodness she’d had the presence of mind to stop him. Bad enough his fangs had emerged while he nuzzled her, he’d nearly made love to her right there on the couch. With her around, his other head did all the thinking.
Keeping his secret was harder than he imagined, but oh, so worth it. He just needed to take it slow. Steven had certainly scarred her and he would do his best not to do the same. That included getting her involved in the relationship. He got the impression she’d never made any kind of decisions before, and had seemed surprised when he asked her to choose what they would do on their next date. He couldn’t wait to see what she came up with. Hell, he couldn’t wait to see her again.