Kiss This (9 page)

Teague laughed. “Half the little house gets
demolished during Christmas dinner and you call it a miracle?”

“No one got hurt. Silver lining, Teague.
Silver lining.”

He lifted his hand that was holding hers so
he could look at the little bandage on her arm. “So what happened
here?”

“It’s a very pathetic story and I’m not
going to tell you.”

“What? Ah hell, please tell me a pathetic
story.”

“Nope.”

“Maybe I should go ask Dave the
paramedic.”

“He’d never tell you.”

“You sure about that? I have my ways.” She
didn’t reply so he pleaded again. “Just tell me. Please?”

“Fine. But only if you win our bet. I’ll add
story time as a bonus as you lie on your half of the bed all by
your naked self.”

He couldn’t help the laugh he responded
with. “I believe the reward of you in my bed can’t be beat, so as
stupid as this sounds, I look forward to your secret just as
much.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Well look
forward to it all you want because it’s only something dumb.”

“Still, I’m looking forward to it.” He
looked down at her forearm. “Too bad I can’t kiss you or I’d give
this a nice, sweet kiss to get better soon.”

Camryn offered a tiny little smile and said,
“I wouldn’t care if you kissed my arm, Teague. Just don’t kiss my
mouth.”

He stopped and faced her. “Seriously? All
this time I’ve followed your rule and it wasn’t even the
right
rule?”

“All this time? It’s barely been twenty-four
hours. And you’ve been defying the rule as it is with your mouth
all over me anyways.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her but didn’t
respond right away. She’d yet to experience his mouth all over her,
but things were already looking up.

Teague took her wrist in his hand and pulled
her arm to his mouth. Pressing his lips softly against her skin, he
placed a soft kiss next to the bandage, and then gently angled it
so he could kiss the other side as well. He looked at Camryn for
her reaction but her eyes were closed. Holding her hand in his, he
slid his other hand against her neck and took advantage of this new
agreement. He pulled her closer and leaned down to kiss her neck,
and when his lips made contact, he felt her breath hitch. He
paused, waiting for her protest, but nothing came. Pulling her even
closer, he pressed his mouth firmly against her skin, taking his
time to kiss her and breathe her in.

“Your skin is so soft,” he whispered, and he
continued to kiss her neck up to her ear.

For something so basic, he didn’t quite
understand the thrill that was pulsing through him at the moment.
His heart was racing, and when he felt Camryn’s other hand slide
around his waist to hold him, an indescribable feeling of belonging
crept into his chest.

Teague might have kept holding Camryn, but
he figured he’d better quit while he was ahead. Giving her one
final kiss on her cheek he said, “I’d keep doing this until you
make me stop, but we already have an audience.”

Camryn turned her head in the direction he
was looking and also noticed the various people around them
glancing their way. Even Kyah was smiling at them from where she
stood with her family.

Without a word, Camryn led Teague across the
street to Kyah, and she gave her a hug. “You guys can come stay at
my mom’s house for as long as you want,” she said to Kyah and her
mom. “The house is so big you’ll have your own floor.”

“Oh, we couldn’t intrude like that,” Loretta
said, shaking her head. “No, we can just go to Lorraine’s,” she
added, nodding to her sister.

“There’s you and three of your kids, right?”
Camryn asked. When Loretta nodded, she turned to Lorraine and
asked, “Do you have enough room?”

Teague knew that Lorraine lived in an
apartment an hour away, and seriously doubted that it would be
comfortable for them all.

“Well…” Lorraine barely shrugged, “We’ll
make it work.”

“There is an entire upstairs at my mom’s
house,” Camryn explained. “Four empty bedrooms. You guys can stay
there as long as you want.”

Loretta frowned. “Oh Camryn, that sounds
wonderful, but your mom… Maybe you should speak to her about it
first.”

“I already did. Whenever you’re ready, come
on over and make yourself at home.” Still holding Teague’s hand,
she left the group and pulled him along.

“You totally just lied to them,” he
chuckled. “You didn’t talk to your mom at all.”

“Shut up,” she warned with a smile. “You’re
coming with me to tell her right now.”

“Do I need armor?”

“Maybe.”

“Well Jay is with me so let’s drop him off
at my place first.”

Camryn agreed, and after Teague guided a
very disgruntled and drunk Jay onto the couch, their next stop was
Serena’s gigantic house two blocks away.

***

Camryn knew her mom didn’t want to be around
people in case she had an emotional outburst she couldn’t control.
But she used the news of the accident to her advantage and it
worked. Serena was sincerely heartbroken about it and agreed to let
the Millers have the upstairs.

“What a day,” Camryn groaned, dropping onto
one of the couches in the front room. “This is the strangest
Christmas I’ve ever experienced.”

Teague sat on the couch next to her and slid
his arm around her shoulder, tugging her close to him. Camryn
thought the act seemed so natural to him, like she was his
girlfriend. She rather liked feeling that bit of belonging to
someone. It felt good.

“And what is a normal Christmas for you?”
Teague asked.

“Well,” she sighed. “Normally I go to my
Uncle Tim’s house. He’s got a few stepkids and they’re usually
there. Melanie is there with her most current boyfriend, and a
couple of my uncle’s friends from the gym.”

“Gym?”

“He owns a boxing club.”

Teague laughed knowingly. “Ah, I see. So
that’s why you’ve got a gut-wrenching left.”

“Yep,” she smiled proudly. “My dad started
taking me and Mel there when I was about twelve. Melanie bailed not
long after—wasn’t her thing, she said—but I liked it.”

“And you still, uh, box or whatever?”

“Just for fun. I’ve never competed like my
uncle has. But sometimes I wish I could drag an opponent of my
choice into the ring.”

With a smile Teague replied, “Hmm, anger
issues?”

“On occasion,” she shrugged. “Running,
boxing, dancing… Gets me in a better mood because I like to be busy
doing things.” She stood up suddenly and said, “Let’s go watch a
movie. I really need to sit and chill for a while.”

Teague agreed and followed her to a flight
of stairs that led downward. Camryn anticipated his reaction once
they were standing at the top railing of a two-story theatre
room.

“Holy shit!” he laughed, looking around.

“I know, it’s ridiculous, right?” Camryn
asked. There was a giant projection screen, twenty seats on the
lower floor, and fifteen seats on the balcony above it.

She made her way to another set of stairs
that led to the lower floor and Teague trailed behind. Opening a
large cabinet she said, “What do you wanna watch?”

He scanned the titles but didn’t seem to
actually be reading them. “I don’t really care. You choose.”

Camryn selected a movie, assuming he’d like
some type of action flick, and held it up. “This okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’m not sure if my mom and Lyle ever came
down here, even,” Camryn said, noticing his eyes wandering from
each thing in the room—from the wet bar in the back to the
kitchenette around the corner.

“Well we can put it to good use,” he
smirked.

She caught the glint of humor in his eye but
pretended she didn’t. Even the idea of sitting with him in the dark
made her nervous again. Outside amidst the busy drama, it was nice
to have him there. But she couldn’t deny how infinitely attracted
to him she was and being alone with him was still scary.

It was the way he looked at her, like at the
party when he saw her sitting on the couch and wouldn’t break the
connection; like she was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. At
the beach parking lot was the same thing, and right now it was
similar as well—intense and scorching, blocking out anything and
everything around them—and she felt completely intimidated.

“Um, where do you want to sit?” she asked.
The screen lit up as the opening credits began, and she motioned to
the bottom floor and to the balcony above them.

“Down here is fine. I don’t care where,
though.” To be decisive, he chose a seat in the middle and dropped
into it. “This good?”

“Perfect.” She sat next to him and was about
to make a comment about the movie when Teague’s arm came behind
her, and then his mouth was next to her ear.

“You sure about letting me kiss you?” he
whispered.

She swallowed, staring straight ahead at the
movie to give her something to focus on. His kiss on her neck
earlier had almost buckled her knees right from under her. She had
to hold onto him for support. “Are you giving me a chance to change
my mind?” she asked calmly.

“Hell no,” he answered, pressing his lips
against her neck. “You always smell good,” he murmured, kissing a
trail up to her ear. He softly bit her lobe as his other hand
cupped the opposite side of her neck, and then his lips backtracked
to where he started. From there, his mouth brushed along her
collarbone, and when she tipped her head back, he kissed her all
the way to the other side of her neck.

Camryn felt singeing heat wherever he
touched her, and it spread in a ripple all over her skin. It was
both scary and amazing at the same time. She flipped up the cup
holder that separated them and pulled him closer to her. It was her
natural instinct. His mouth felt so good, she loved the smell of
him, and it felt wonderful to be with someone physically again.

And then the fear returned, washing over her
in a giant wave that wanted to drown her. But instead of stopping,
she wanted to fight it. If the wave wanted to do some damage it
could try, but this time she would just hold her breath until she
emerged from it. She was ready to move on and she couldn’t run
every time she was scared.

She gripped his back with one hand, and the
other hand slid over his thigh to his erection. He sucked in a
breath of air when she began to press against it, and after a
minute of making out this way, Teague left his seat to kneel
between her legs.

Camryn’s heart began crashing in her chest.
He was looking at her
that way
again. It wasn’t fair. She
couldn’t think straight when he did that. She couldn’t come up with
something witty to deter him if she needed to, or rationally
justify it within herself if she
didn’t
want him to
stop.

He started to unbutton her shirt with his
large hands, making eye contact the entire time. She knew he was
gauging her reaction, making sure she was okay with what he was
doing. That was definitely a good sign and it helped her relax a
little bit. She watched him lean forward to press his lips against
her collarbone. Only three buttons were open, just enough to reveal
the top half of her lacy bra, and he kissed his way down to her
breasts as his hands held her sides.

Camryn ran her fingers through his hair when
he slid his hands behind her, pulling her forward to him.

“God, you are beautiful,” he whispered as he
unbuttoned the last buttons.

Something seemed to catch his eye and he
smiled. Camryn didn’t have to look down to know he noticed the
diamond piercing she had in her navel.

He looked up at her and their eyes met. “You
said I could kiss you anywhere but your mouth, right? Is this okay,
Camryn?”

Just the fact that he would ask made her
soften a bit more, but hearing him say her name in such a manner
sent excitement zinging everywhere in her body. His voice was deep
and soft, and it was somehow a mixture of sweet and sexy. That was
the only way she could describe it. He sounded so delicious, yet
caring and gentle. This was far beyond what she thought she’d be
okay with when it came to Teague, but she wanted him to keep
going.

Camryn refrained from noticeably swallowing
and nodded. “Yes, this is fine.”

Teague’s hands slid up her back underneath
her shirt, but the realization hit him before Camryn had to say
anything. With a smirk, his hands returned to the front again, and
his index finger tapped against the clasp between her breasts. His
question was asked silently with the lift of an eyebrow, and Camryn
answered with a tiny smile and a nod. Teague paused before he did
it and it made her anxious. His fingers traced the shape of her bra
until they met in the middle, and then he finally unclasped it.

“Holy fuck,” he exhaled softly, as the lace
parted to the sides.

At first he didn’t touch her, and he just
gawked for a few seconds. Camryn surprisingly enjoyed his
admiration, even though she felt slightly self-conscious. But she’d
studied those hands more than a dozen times since knowing Teague,
and just
imagining
them on her was overwhelming. When he
finally placed them against her skin, heat traveled from his touch
all the way down between her legs, wetting her even more.

His hands slid to the sides of her breasts,
his thumbs lightly pressing over her nipples. He leaned forward and
bushed his lips along the top of one, and then kissed his way to
the other. Camryn closed her eyes, enjoying every second, but when
he suddenly stopped, she opened them.

He was looking at her again, the heat and
passion in his eyes burning through her. Then his tongue circled
her nipple a few times until his lips tightened around it. His
intense gaze followed by
that
made her nerve endings go
crazy and she arched into him. He lightly sucked, pulling it out
just barely before releasing it. He moved to her other nipple and
performed a similar routine.