Page 66 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

His eyebrows drew together.

“—and the whole reason not to,” she went on, speaking faster now, because she knew that if she stopped, she’d lose her nerve, “was that I was leaving at dawn and it would’ve been cruel to start something we couldn’t… But I’m not leaving at dawn. I’m not leaving at all. This is where I live now. And you’re here. And I can’t for the life of me remember what we were being so sensible about because—”

“Bea.”

“—because it seemed terribly important last night and now it seems like the stupidest—”

He kissed her.

He’d been going to let her finish—she could tell, even as it happened, that part of him had meant to wait for permission. He wanted to do this right, not to be the man who takes—but then he’d got about as far with that as she had with being sensible, which was nowhere. He crossed the last six inches that had been killing them both and kissed her like a man who’d been talking himself out of it and had finally, gratefully, lost the argument.

Her hands were in his shirt; she didn’t remember putting them there.

When they broke apart, he kept his forehead against hers, and she could feel him not-quite-smiling, that small war she’d learned to read, except this time he wasn’t fighting it.

“Should’ve done that last night,” he said.

“You couldn’t have done that last night. I’d have missed my flight.”

“That was the idea, darlin’.” He looked far too pleased with himself and went as far as actually winking.

“Don’t start being charming. I’ve only just recovered from the restraint—” But she was laughing, and he was kissing her again.

And the way he kissed her. It wasn’t simply a case of her being out of practice. She was certain of that, even though she and Simon hadn’t exchanged anything more passionate than a lingering peck in years—decades, probably. Simon had never once kissed her with his whole self, and that was the only way she could describe what Blane was doing. One of his hands curled around the nape of her neck while his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his very large, very solid chest. Not that she was complaining about that. Not in the least.

But even aside from the sheer size of the man, there was all of him inside that kiss. His whole focus was on her, she could feel it, was enveloped in it. She looped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back, hoping as she did that her whole self was making itself known to him too.

The rest of the world faded away. She was aware only of the feel of him, of them together, of being held close against his large chest, the weight of his arm around her, his mouth on hers.

And then it hit her—it wasn’t just that he was kissing her, she was kissing him too. She tried to stop her mind from chattering away about it, but this was such a delightful discovery. Maybe she was simply old-fashioned. But back when she and Simon were young, that was how it worked—or at least how she’d believed it did—the guy kissed the girl.

But this, with Blane, wasn’t like that. It felt as though they were in it together, and she loved every moment of it. She deepened the kiss and ran her fingertips over the back of his neck. The way he shivered in response made her feel… powerful. Perhaps that was a strange word for it, but realizing she could have that kind of effect on this enormous, contained man was heady.

She had no idea how much time passed while they stood there in the warm Greek darkness. All she knew was that she really wouldn’t mind if this never ended. Of course, eventually it had to. When he finally lifted his head, he was wearing a broad, unguarded smile, and she slapped lightly at his shoulder.

“There’s no need to look quite so pleased with yourself.”

His brows drew together.

“Oh my goodness, no. Don’t look disappointed. I didn’t mean there was anything wrong. I only meant…” She laughed. “I don’t know what I meant. If you want to know the truth, you have every reason to look as pleased with yourself as you like. I don’t mind telling you—that has to have been the best kiss of my life.”

His smile deepened. “Seriously?”

“Yes, Blane. Seriously. I wouldn’t say that sort of thing if it weren’t true.”

“No. Yeah. Right. I get that.” He studied her for a moment. “And for what it’s worth, same here.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“You already know I won’t say things I don’t mean. Or you should.” His mouth twitched. “What I meant was, best ever for me too.”

“Now I’m the one who has to ask if you’re serious. I’m sure you must have had a lot more opportunities for good kisses than I have.”

“I’ve had some relationships in my time, but…”

“Oh, go on. You have to explain what you’re thinking now.”

He didn’t look as though he planned to.