Page 22 of Boxer Next Door

Or would have, if I hadn't realized on our third glass that I kept leaving my hand on his knee when he said something that made me laugh. Fuck, I was unintentionally flirting with him, and I kept pulling my hand away when I realized it so he wouldn’t notice, but it would just happen again.

Behave, woman! I reprimanded myself in my mind.

If I was hoping to hide it from Ken, I was mistaken. The last time it happened, I saw his eyes drop to my hand. Before I could pull it away, he was pressing it down with one of his own. Feeling his larger, rough palm holding my hand had my breath hitching in my throat, as my other hand tightened on the glass.

“You don’t have to keep doing that,” he murmured. My breathing was starting to come in a little fast because I’d realized something in his gaze had changed. There was no longer any humor in his captivating eyes. Instead, they smoldered, and my body reacted to the heat in them. “Pull away, I mean. I don’t mind it.”

I wanted to pretend I didn’t know what he was talking about and ignore the issue, but it had been me that said we were adults, so I had to act like it. Besides, I was the older one, even though that was my problem.

“I need to go wash the dishes,” I murmured, changing the subject, so I didn’t have to answer him.

He held me in place a moment longer before he removed his hand. As I was getting up to go to the kitchen, he also stood up. When I gave him a questioning look, he answered it with a smile that had my breath hitching.

“Let me help you out. I know I’m a guest, but it would be too rude to just leave you to clean up after you gave me such a wonderful evening.”

I dragged in a shaky breath and walked away, Ken following me because I couldn’t find the words. Damn him for being so charming! He wasn’t making things any easier for me!

“Thank you for helping me out,” I managed to say as we stood side by side at the sink. “You don’t have to.”

Ken shrugged. “I’m doing it anyway.”

I bit my lips, facing forward and concentrating on the task. It was hard, though, more than sitting beside him on the couch with only a few centimeters distance between us. I was pretty sure he was deliberately making it even harder.

I washed the dishes in soap and rinsed, then he dried. We were close, to begin with, but every time I handed a dish over to him, he made sure either our fingers touched or our arms bumped. And he would slide closer until I was tempted to step back, but then he’d back away. I was lucky I didn’t drop any of the dishes. It was all so damn innocent, but because this was Ken, my mind had no filter.

We hadn’t finished cleaning all the dishes, but before I knew what was happening, I was in his arms, and he was kissing me. I couldn’t think of anything else as he pressed his lips against mine, my arms sliding up his shoulders to wrap around his neck. I held onto him tightly as I gave in to the kiss. He licked my bottom lip, and I parted my mouth to meet his tongue with mine in a wet, open-mouthed kiss.

This was what I’d wanted on Saturday night when he left me at my door. I didn’t think we would stop at just kissing, though. When we parted to catch our breath, I pressed my palms against his chest, trying to push him back. But his arms around my waist wouldn’t release me.

“Ken, I don’t think we should be doing this,” I groaned. My eyes were closed, and I dropped my forehead on his shoulder because I knew if I saw his face I’d probably give in.

“Then don’t think,” was Ken’s simple retort. I snorted, and he chuckled, then his voice came again, more serious. “Look, I want you, Lydia, and I know you want me, too. I don’t want to just go back to ignoring you like neighbors are all we could be with each other, not when I feel like this about you.”

My heart jumped when he said ‘feel’ but I knew he likely just meant attraction. It didn’t matter, either way, because I felt the same. Need that was quickly overcoming my common sense. I knew that I needed to fight it because things could become complicated later on, then we’d both be acting like idiots trying not to run into each other and into awkward situations.

I wanted him. So badly that I was leaning more toward giving in.

Like he could tell I was wavering, Ken took a moment to convince me, pressing his lips back against mine. I was weak, so I gave in.

He felt it when I did, and suddenly he was holding me tighter, kissing me harder until I was struggling to keep up. Then he was turning us around, moving a little to the side. I pulled away from the kiss with a small yelp when he suddenly picked me up and set me on the counter.

Oh, wow. We’re doing it here.

I was probably jumping to conclusions, but I couldn’t stop my thoughts from being stupid.

“We need to be quiet,” I told him, trying to be stern and probably failing. “Bryson is asleep upstairs and I don’t want to wake him up.”

Ken smirked at me, his hands sliding around my back to my waist, then moving lower until he grasped the underside of my thighs. His fingers tightened, making me gasp, and he tugged until I was right at the edge of the counter. It was just the right height, so when he fit his hips between my legs, I could feel the growing bulge in his jeans.

“Fuck,” I groaned, my voice strained.

“If you think you can keep it quiet,” Ken said, teasing, “then please, go ahead.”

I decided if I couldn’t keep quiet then I’d bite him.

Keeping his hands on my thighs, he ducked his head down. Instead of kissing me, though, his head moved lower, his cheek pressed against mine tilting my head a little, just enough for him to get to my neck. My hands dug into his back as he slowly sucked, nipped and licked his way down my neck, pausing when he got to the collar of my blouse. He was driving me insane, and he’d barely done anything to me.

“Can you take care of this for me?” he asked, biting my blouse and tugging it a little. Then he grinned at me. “I want to take things slow with you, so I need to keep my hands where they are at the moment. Besides, you probably wouldn’t want me to tear your clothes up, right?”