| |
Jamila hadn’t thought of taking a step back from Morgan which caught her by surprise because she’d done everything in her power to avoid him before this date he coaxed her into. And this was why. She knew if she ever spent time with him, she would see the good things her friend Nia saw and constantly told her about. She had already admitted to Nia that she thought he was handsome. The dreads, his smooth brown skin – his overall style was a vibe. Her problem with Morgan was the same problem she had with all men – they couldn’t be trusted. She had trust issues in the past and she carried that baggage with her constantly. While other people found ways to move on from theirs, she was holding on to hers like it was something of value.
It wasn’t, of course. It was a burden that she didn’t want to deal with while at the same time realizing it had kept her heart protected.
But tonight, she’d forego her reserves – at least for a moment.
A breath caught in her throat when Morgan lowered his mouth to hers and captured her lips. She instantly drew closer to him, trembling lips and all, and wrapped her arms around his neck as he gently kissed her. She fell right into it and Morgan took advantage, savoring the moment, committing it to memory and making her do the same. Every part of her body writhed as heat encompassed her. Her knees went weak when she tasted the wine on his tongue when she felt his strong arms constrict around her small waist and hold her hostage to his affections. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why she enjoyed being his prisoner. When did she grab two handfuls of his dreads? And at what point did he suck her tongue into his mouth?
And Jamila had yet another question. Where the heck did he learn to kiss like this? He was attentive and thorough – almost too much for her to keep up with as his tongue bathed her mouth. Her mind went blank. And were her toes tingling? This wasn’t supposed to be one of those kisses. It was supposed to be innocent – just a quick peck on the lip and that’s all. But, no, not with Morgan. He was making this kiss memorable. This was the kind of kiss that had Jamila reevaluating all of her decisions regarding him prior to this encounter.
Just when she thought he was letting up, he deepened the kiss even more.
“Mmm,” she moaned.
If this was going to stop, she’d be the one to put a halt to it, but not yet. She let those feelings course through her body like blood and fully encompass her very being to truly find out if this sensation overtaking her was because she had been without a man for so long or because she was genuinely feeling Morgan and his whole vibe.
She decided she needed time to think that through, and right now, thinking was out of the question, especially with the way Morgan’s tongue was wreaking havoc on her mouth and her senses.
Slowly, she pulled away from him and attempted to regain what little stability she had left. The only problem was, she still needed something to lean against. Morgan reached for her arm and helped to hold her steady for a moment until she could secure the back of a chair in her grasp. And she took deep breath after deep breath to get herself together and it was still a struggle. It didn’t help that she looked into his eyes. She was beginning to feel those sensations all over again.
“You kissed me,” was all she could say.
He cracked a cool, confident smile. “No, we kissed,” Morgan said, correcting her. “And you liked it, so don’t try to convince me otherwise, especially now that I know what the back of your throat tastes like.”
A shiver ran through her at the boldness of his words, but he was telling nothing but the truth. The way his tongue swiped the back of her stomach was something she’d never forget.
“It’s getting late,” Morgan said, giving her an out. She was already discombobulated and he remembered that she had to work in the morning. He wanted her to be well rested for her job. He didn’t want to interfere with that.
“Yeah, I should...um...”
“Get home?” Morgan finished saying for her.
“Yes!” she said clearing her throat. “Get home.”
Going home was a good idea right now. She had to figure out what was going on with them. Did his little artist studio put her under some kind of a spell? This was supposed to be a one-and-done date just to get him off of her back. How had it changed from him kissing her to a set of wobbly legs – legs that now had to somehow drive her home?
She took her purse from the chair and hung it on her shoulder. “Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.”
Jamila headed for the entrance and when she realized Morgan was following her, she said, “Oh, you don’t have to walk me out.” She couldn’t risk him trying to kiss her again and the best way to avoid that was to leave him right there where he was.
“Nonsense,” Morgan said. “It’s dark. I’m not letting you walk out alone. Besides, I’m leaving, too.”
“Oh...okay.”
Now how was she going to get away from his lips?
Maybe if I just hurry up and get inside, she thought, but she didn’t want to be weird about it, but that’s how she felt – weird. She’d spent years avoiding this man and now he was making her feel things.
Outside, she used her keychain remote to unlock her door and as they walked to the car, Morgan said, “I hope you have a good night’s rest.”
Jamila reached for the handle of her car door. Morgan darted ahead of her to grab the door handle and open the car door for her.
“Thanks,” she said, then attempted to get inside but was met with his arms around her waist.
Jamila twisted her body around so they were face to face and looked up into his eyes. There were those sensations again.
“I don’t want this to be the last time we do this,” Morgan said.
“We’ll see.”
“What does that mean?” he asked, his eyes seeking her lips.
“It means I’m—um—I don’t know. I—”
Before she could say a word more, Morgan lowered his mouth to hers again. This time he took a small kiss and then said, “Drive safe.”
“I will. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
He closed the door once she got inside of the car and she drove off shortly thereafter, glancing through the rearview mirror, watching him stand there until she was out of sight.
She couldn’t wait to get home and call Nia. She would’ve dialed her now if she was focused enough, but she wasn’t. Her lips were still smoldering from that kiss.
What in the world happened?