“So what is this place?” she asks, nodding to the courtyard around us.

I look up at the small twinkle lights strung above the area. “Right now it’s just storage space. But Jake wants to make it into a dining patio. You know, so people can rent it out for private parties or whatever.”

“It’s cute.” She walks around, checking out the rose bushes that line the fence and the Tuscany-inspired mural painted against the back wall.

“So where you off to?” I step closer so we’re both beside the painted wall. “Back to your humble abode at the Quickie Stop?”

She scoffs. “Humble indeed. But yeah.”

I glance at the dark parking lot beyond the fence and the even darker streets that lead to the edge of town, and frown. “By yourself?”

She faces me with a cocked eyebrow. “Yeah. I’ve got my own driver’s license and everything.”

I smile at the ground. “Okay, that’s fair.” I glance at the dark streets again. “I’m just a concerned citizen that wanted to make sure you got home safely. That’s all.”

She nods. “How very kind of you, citizen. Would you rather I be going back to the Quickie Stop with someone?”

The idea of Kayla going home with someone—anyone, other than me—rakes down my spine like nails on a chalkboard. I don’t know when I got so possessive of this girl but holy hell. My veins are on fire.

How very unexpected. And somewhat annoying.

I don’t get possessive of women. Ever. Sure, I care about Amber and Pixie but that’s different. I care about them like sisters. I’m protective of them. I couldn’t really give a damn who they, or any other female in this town, go to bed with.

But Kayla?

Hot jealousy darts through my veins.

How very annoyingly unexpected.

I set my shoulders back in a casual manner. “Not particularly,” I say coolly. “I just wasn’t sure if you had a ride or not.”

“Oh.” She runs a finger over her lips. “And what, you were going to offer me a ride?”

I watch the tip of her finger skim over the pink fullness of her bottom lip and my breath hitches. She can’t say things like “give me a ride” and touch her mouth at the same time. That’s just not fair.

“Well I might have offered you a ride,” I say, inwardly cursing as I remember sweet, precious Monique, “except I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to take rides from strangers. And since that’s what you and I are…” I sigh dramatically. “It would have just been a waste of time to ask you.”

She smiles behind her moving fingers and I start to wonder if she’d let me kiss her. My guess is, yes. Maybe.

I want to kiss Kayla. Badly. But the idea of kissing her, of touching her at all, also makes me a little nervous. And I’m never nervous when it comes to women.

Goddammit. Everything about this girl is unexpected.

“You’re so obsessed with us not being strangers,” she says, and her eyes shine. “That can’t be healthy.”

I probably shouldn’t kiss her. We have an inheritance to claim tomorrow. We have shit to follow through with. Kissing her is a bad idea. A very bad idea.

“No. Probably not.” I step closer so we’re only inches apart. “But I can’t seem to let it go.”

She doesn’t move away. She doesn’t break eye contact.

Yes. She’d definitely let me kiss her. I’m sure of it.

My heart pounds and it’s all I can do to keep my nonchalant demeanor in place.

“Is that what we are, Kayla?” I lower my voice with a crooked grin. “Strangers?”

She meets my crooked grin and raises me a tipped chin. Her eyes are steel and sure, not giving anything away, and I suddenly feel unsure.

I lean in.

She doesn’t react. But she also doesn’t back away.

Kissing her is a bad idea.

Her lips part, ever so slightly, a thin seam of wet flesh forming between the soft skin of her pretty lips, and all my reservations vanish.

9 Kayla

I jolt in surprise when Daren’s mouth meets mine. I was flirting—shamelessly flirting—with him, but only because I didn’t think he’d act on it.

Clearly, I underestimated his audacity.

I’m not even sure what possessed me to tease him in the first place. I’m never like this. I don’t flirt. I don’t lure. I’m quiet and careful, and usually shut off from all males unless they go out of their way for my attention. Not because I’m a snob, but because most of the time guys just want to get me naked and I don’t have the time—or the patience—to entertain random guys for the sake of getting them off.

So everything I’ve done tonight leading up to this moment with Daren is completely out of character for me. Yet here I am, with his lips pressed against mine in this little courtyard and all I can think about is how good his mouth feels up against me.

His hands skim up my arms and cradle my face, drawing a shiver out of me as his lips softly swipe over mine. My eyes flutter closed and I gasp, unsure.

Sensing my hesitation, he pulls back slightly. His lips set before my mouth, a featherlight touch as he loosens the cradle of his hands. The pad of one thumb brushes my jaw as he waits.

I know I should pull back and walk away. But the careful stroke of his thumb moving up my cheek and to my ear, the hot breath of his exhales warming the tender skin beneath my jaw…

It’s all so good, so fulfilling, sending pleasures of warmth through my body and awakening a hunger in the depths of my being. A hunger that only grows when he runs his thumb over my lower lip and gently pulls it down so my lips are partly opened.

“Tell me to stop and I will,” he whispers. His words drift between my lips and tickle my waiting tongue.

Fighting between my better judgment and the lust sprawling through my lower belly, I sink against him and whisper, “Don’t stop.”

Instantly, he crushes his lips against mine, more fully than before, and I eagerly kiss him back. He grips my jaw, not roughly but not gently either, as he runs his tongue down the seam of my lips and I open for him, softly moaning as his tongue slips inside my mouth and rolls over my own.

Our mouths meet in a hungry collision, kissing and pulling and licking at each other. My breaths come out in shallow pants as my body becomes alight with need. He tips my chin up, exposing the sensitive skin of my throat, and moves his mouth to my windpipe where he lightly suckles.

I exhale into the night, my eyes fluttering once again in the hazy glow of the twinkle lights above us, as I arch my back and push my chest into him. My nipples tighten with need, brushing against the hard muscles of his chest as his hot mouth moves against my throat, up to my jaw, and then to my ear.

Letting out a little whimper, I grab at his shoulders as he trails his hands down my spine and to my hips. Our kissing becomes rough and heavy, hot tongues gliding over each other and licking furiously at lips and teeth and skin as I roll my hips into his. I feel his hard erection against my belly and wetness pools between my legs.

He nips my bottom lip and I sink my nails into the back of his shirt with another quiet moan. Grabbing my hips, he yanks me against his body and I rub against his hardness feverishly, wanting him with an unfamiliar desperation. He groans and pulls back for air. My pupils widen at the sight of his swollen lips, wet from our kissing, and the heaviness in his eyes.

Seeing him want me just as badly as I want him has me licking my own swollen lips, and his eyes follow the slow movement of my tongue. Then suddenly, I’m no longer standing. He lifts me into his arms and presses my back against the painted wall behind us. Opening my thighs to wrap around his waist, I shiver again as the new closeness brings friction to my most needy area.

As the softness between my legs grows hot and wet, I let out a succession of whimpers, jerking my hips a little when he rubs against me just right, and my eyes roll back into my head.