“When you’re around, I have a hard time looking away from you,” he said, and she watched his lips form the words, fascinated. “But,” he said, continuing, “I tell myself it’s a bad idea and I should stay away.”
That broke her out of the soft, delicious bubble created by his voice. “What? Why?”
“Your brother is my boss and he’s very protective of you,” Rome said, and he dropped his hands. “And I’m just the tatted-up hoodlum he’s looking for any excuse to fire.”
“He wouldn’t fire you for ha**ng s*x with me.”
“Wouldn’t he?”
Well, okay, so Grant might. He was just as overprotective as her parents. Everyone was determined to smother her, weren’t they? God, that was so frustrating. A surge of anger shot through her, burning away any lingering shyness. She was her own person, wasn’t she? If she wanted to kiss and date a man covered in tattoos and piercings, she could.
So she steeled her courage, looked up at Rome, and put her hands on his chest. “What if I’m the one kissing you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if I’m the one kissing you, he can’t fire you for kissing me back, can he?”
Rome’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “That’s not how it works, sugar.”
“So you’re telling me no?”
He sighed. “I should, shouldn’t I? I’m probably the wrong guy for this. I’m not good with this sort of thing, and your brother will kill me if he finds out, and I really need this job.” But then he placed his hand over hers on his chest and rubbed it, clearly trying to soothe her.
Those hands touching her were like magic. She felt each brush of his callused thumb over her skin as if it were sweeping over her entire body. “We just won’t tell him,” Elise offered.
“Your car’s out front, isn’t it?”
Elise sighed in frustration. It was. That meant anyone who pulled into the parking lot would see it and know she was here. The ranch wasn’t busy enough that she could hide her car and hope no one would see it. “Then we meet somewhere else,” she suggested, thinking. She scratched at his skin through the thin material of his shirt, idly fascinated by the hard, warm muscle underneath. “Maybe the bed-and-breakfast?”
“Too public,” Rome told her, and his voice had dropped to a husky whisper that made her skin prickle. Oh god, she loved the sound of his voice when he was speaking low and private like that.
“What about Beth Ann’s salon?” she asked breathlessly. “I have the keys and she’s gone for the next few weeks.”
“Has potential. Tomorrow, then?”
“Tomorrow?” She stared at him, dazed. Her gaze slid back to his mouth, that beautiful, firm mouth with the ring on the side of his lower lip. “What’s tomorrow?”
He chuckled. “You said you weren’t ready for sex today.”
“Oh. Right.” She felt her face heat again. “I need to get ready.”
“Ready how?”
“I honestly have no idea,” she admitted.
He chuckled and put a finger underneath her chin. “I’ll bring condoms if you want. We can meet after work, at six. How’s that.”
Oh god. They were meeting after work. She was going to have sex tomorrow. Elise swallowed hard around the knot in her throat, and she nodded. “Good. Sounds good. And I’ll get the condoms. Don’t worry about that. No problem.”
She didn’t want to seem like a total ninny in front of him, after all.
His finger tilted her chin up. “Look at me.”
She blinked, looking up. She hadn’t realized, but she’d been staring—and talking—to his chest for most of the conversation.
“Do you want a kiss?”
Oh. Oh god. Did she ever. But worry shot through her and she dropped her gaze again. What if she messed it up? What if she was a terrible kisser and he decided to call things off? What if he—
“Elise,” Rome murmured, and his thumb held her chin firmly, angling her back up. “Look at me. Quit panicking. You’re not going to do it wrong. It’s just a kiss. If you’re not good at it at first, you’ll get better. I’ll show you how. Understand?”
She blinked rapidly and looked up at him again, her breath coming in shallow, nervous little pants. Then, she nodded. “Okay. Kiss. Yes. I mean, yes, I would like a kiss.” Her face hurt from all the blushing she was doing.
“Good. Because you’re not leaving here without one.” He continued to hold her chin and his face leaned in toward hers, mouth parted.
And Elise realized he was going to kiss her right now. She gave a nervous squeak, only to have it smothered by his mouth.
Her entire body tensed and her eyes closed. He was kissing her! She should relax and enjoy it, but the shock of it made her mouth firm into a thin line, and she began to breathe faster through her nose—and then stopped, because she didn’t want him to think she was snorting like a bull. She didn’t know what to do. The stubble on his face rasped against her cheeks—not an unpleasant feeling, really, just a different one—and she could feel he was still sweaty from his time on the paintball course. His mouth moved gently over hers, though, and his lips felt curiously hard and soft at the same time. She could feel that ring, too, and—
“Elise,” he murmured against her mouth. “Relax.”
“Okay—” she began to say, but his tongue swept into her mouth instead. She made a sound of surprise, but it was swallowed by him. His tongue brushed against hers, and then her entire body lit up in response.
Oh . . . oh wow. So that was a kiss. His mouth, wet and hot on her own, the flick of his tongue brushing against her own, his lips melding to hers. He was insistent, his mouth working against hers in an almost reflexive, sweeping motion that made her want to open wider. So she did, and his tongue slid deep, so deep that she practically felt it between her legs.
Elise moaned as his tongue thrust into her mouth again, and he kept the kiss deep and wet and slick, working over her mouth. Eventually, he pulled away, and she mewed a protest. But he didn’t go far; instead, he began to press small, soft kisses on her lips. First her upper lip, then her lower. He ran his tongue over her lower lip, tracing it with the tip, and then bit gently on it and sucked.
And she felt all of that, every ounce, between her legs. Her knees went weak. It wasn’t just a kiss. It felt like he was making love to her mouth.