“I’ve thought about you all day.”
His seductive whisper sent a shiver through her, and when he squeezed her thigh, she sucked in a breath. He gazed at her with serious eyes.
“Want me to stop?” he whispered.
Gosh, no. She shook her head, reached her hand around the back of his neck, and pulled his mouth to hers again.
“Leanna,” he whispered.
She opened her eyes.
“You’re sure you want this?”
“Yes.” Oh, yes. Now, please.
He kissed her softly. “You’re exquisite. Everything about you. You’re not at all awkward.”
She tried to work the buttons on his shirt, but her hands were trembling.
He pressed his hand to hers and held it against his chest. “You’re shaking.”
“A little.”
He kissed her hands. “Are you nervous?”
“A little.” A lot.
“We don’t have to…” His gaze turned serious.
“I want to. I’ve never wanted anything so badly in my life.” Oh, no. Did I just say that out loud? Her gaze darted to his. Oh no! He was looking at her with an amused little smile.
“Me either.” He removed his shirt and rolled it up, then placed it beneath her head. He shifted his eyes to Pepper, fast asleep in the sand. “Think I can untether him?”
“Yes. Quick. Yes.”
He removed the leash from his leg, and Pepper opened one eye, then closed it and went right back to sleep. She felt as if she were under a spell, her eyes locked on the gorgeous broad-shouldered creature before her. Planes of lean muscles and warm skin there for the taking, and boy did she want to take. Anticipation thrummed through her. He came to her then, and she wanted to reach for him, to touch him and love him, but she couldn’t move. He must have noticed, because he came to her, and she finally felt like she could breath again. She needed to feel his heart beating against hers. Being in Kurt’s arms stole the emptiness from her heart and filled it with an unfamiliar contentment that she never wanted to lose.
“Told you I was awkward.” She bit her lower lip.
He kissed her softly, then brushed his lips over her cheek and looked at her with his sea-blue eyes. “I don’t notice a bit of awkwardness. You’re perfect.”
Chapter Eleven
A COOL BREEZE came off the bay like a sigh and rolled over Kurt and Leanna, now fully dressed and lying on the blanket gazing up at the stars. Pepper’s leash was tied to Kurt’s belt loop, and the dog lay quietly beside them. Leanna’s leg was draped over Kurt’s, her head rested against his chest, and her index finger traced the ripples of his abs.
Kurt covered her hand with his. “You’re nervous.”
She didn’t respond.
“Was this too public? It was new for me, too. I’m sorry. Maybe we shouldn’t have—”
“No. It wasn’t that. I mean, it was public, but I wanted to be with you as much as you wanted to be with me, and this was fun. I’m glad we have a first for both of us.”
A first. Our first. He loved that. Kurt brushed her hair over her shoulder, thinking about firsts. Women thought about their first time, their first kiss. He knew that many of the things that were momentous in women’s lives revolved around men. His firsts, however, were tied to his writing. The first manuscript he completed, Beneath the Stillness. His first rejection letter. His first agent request for a full manuscript. The first offer of representation. His first publishing deal. His first live television interview. His first book award. If he really drew on his memory, he could pull the name of the first girl he’d kissed, Madeline Bern, but it was last in a long line of firsts. Firsts with women had never felt very momentous. This first went to the head of the line.
A first for both of us.
Kurt wasn’t a talker. His family and friends knew this about him, and they accepted it. He enjoyed observing more than being in the midst of the goings-on, but Leanna had flipped a switch inside him. He felt himself changing, wanting more, and it surprised him. Rather than fight these new feelings and climb back into his writer’s mind—the safety of his writer’s cave—he wanted to remain in her world.
“I feel like I’ve had a few firsts tonight,” he admitted.
“A few?”
She touched his cheek, and he closed his eyes for a breath, relishing in her touch. Her palm was warm and soft, loving.
“For the first time in years, I’m not thinking about writing.” He leaned up on one elbow and gazed into her eyes. “For the first time in as long as I can remember, I really and truly enjoyed making love.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I enjoyed making love to you, Leanna, being close to you. I like you. A lot.” His pulse sped up again. “And you’re wearing off on me. I never talk this much.”
She smiled, but she didn’t respond, and Kurt’s stomach tightened. He was moving too fast, baring his heart when he shouldn’t. He’d watched his brother Jack fall in love, and he’d caught glimpses of what it was like for him to really let someone into his life. Something inside him that he didn’t even know existed felt drawn to Leanna in that way. He wanted to let her in.
But was she pulling back? He wasn’t practiced enough at reading women to be sure. Worry snaked its way into the back of his mind.
“I didn’t exactly take you on a date, did I?” He sat up and leaned his arms over his knees. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at this.”
She laughed softly as she pulled herself up beside him. “What are you talking about?”
“We had sex on the beach when I should have taken you to dinner, a movie, something more date-like. There’s probably some dating rule I know nothing about. No sex until the third date or something?” He shifted his eyes to her with a smile.
“You’re so funny. I don’t know many people who go out on three dates before they have sex.”
“Really?” He had always thought timelines for intimacy were odd. He either felt something or he didn’t, but he also wanted Leanna to know he really liked her in a way that was much deeper than just sex. “That’s kind of weird, too, isn’t it?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I probably would have slept with you at my cottage this morning, and we hadn’t even gone out on one date.”
He pulled her close. “Then why do I feel like something’s wrong right now?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just embarrassed. Now you know about my weird inability to be in sync while we’re…” She glanced at the blanket.
“Oh, thank goodness.” He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness?”
“Yeah. Here I was thinking I’d done everything wrong.” He pulled her onto his lap and gathered her thick hair in one hand and lowered his lips to her bared skin. “You’re perfect, sensual. Not awkward. Not weird. Perfect.”
“Come on, Kurt.” She rolled her eyes.
“Maybe we should do it again so I can prove it.” He smiled and she laughed. “Seriously. I’m not sure why you are so worried. We were perfectly in sync.”
She lowered her forehead to his. “I love when you lie to me.”
“I never lie, babe. It’s one of my faults. I’m not even sure how to lie.”