Pure Temptation & Old Enough to Know Better: Pure Temptation / Old Enough To Know Better

“Yes,” she murmured. The more he stroked her hair, the less capable she felt of standing on her own.

“Did you like it?”

She took a shaky breath. “So much it scared me. So I started goofing around.”

He began tracing the contours of her face with the tip of his finger, ending with her mouth, which he outlined slowly and with great care. “I still remember how your mouth felt that day.”

She held as still as she could, considering the fine quiver that seemed to have taken over her body. She focused on his touch, wanting to record every subtle variation in pressure.

He brushed her lower lip with his thumb. “Your mouth is still as soft as it was then.”

She gazed up at him, trying to make out his expression in the shadowy twilight.

He cradled her cheek. “The last time I touched you like this, I was putting an ice pack over your eye, where you got hit by a baseball.”

She could barely see his smile in the darkness. “You didn’t touch me like this,” she murmured.

“Sure I did.” He slid his hand along her jaw and leaned closer.

“No. You were rougher.” Her heart thudded with anticipation. “You were mad at me.”

“I was mad at myself.” He tilted her head back ever so slightly. “I was the one who hit that ball.”

“And I’m the one who bobbled it.”

“Mmm. Your mouth looks sexy when you say bobbled.”

“You can’t even see my mouth.”

“Yes, I can. There’s a little bit of light left over. That’s why I tilted your head back, to catch that light. I wanted to see your mouth, to know I’m going to kiss it soon. Say the word again.”

Desire curled and stretched within her. “You’re crazy.”

“Yeah.” He drifted closer. “Say it for me, Tess.”

“Bobbled.”

“Again.”

She felt his warm breath on her mouth. “Bobble—”

His lips touched hers, and in that instant, she knew that the world as she’d known it had ceased to exist. For she was really, truly kissing Mac, and now nothing would ever be the same.

* * *

TESS HAS BEEN forbidden fruit for so long that when Mac placed his mouth on hers, he half-expected a lightning bolt to strike him dead. Instead, her velvet lips welcomed him so completely that he drew back, his heart racing. Damn, this was going to be good. Too good. A man could lose himself to a kiss like that. If he’d ever secretly wondered if she was a virgin because she wasn’t sensual, he’d been dead wrong. She was on fire.

“Mac?” she whispered. “Is something—”

With a groan he returned to her full mouth, committing himself to the kiss, to what would follow the kiss. To hell with what it might cost him. But he had a sinking feeling it would cost him more than he could ever guess.

For her mouth was a perfect fit for his. He didn’t have to think about kissing Tess—it happened as effortlessly as breathing. She opened to him as if they’d been doing this for years, and although his body pounded with excitement, her invitation to pleasure seemed natural, almost expected. And he accepted without hesitation—tasting her richness, probing her heat, shifting the angle so he could deepen his quest.

Joy surged within him as she responded, pressing closer, moaning softly as he made love to her mouth. He thought of all the wasted years when she’d been there, only a touch away. But she was here now, so alive and warm in his arms, so ready.

Very ready. As she molded herself to him, he could feel her nipples, tight and aroused, pressing against his chest. His erection strained against his jeans. If he didn’t slow down, he’d violate the terms of tonight’s agreement and make love to her out here in the desert. That couldn’t happen, first of all because he believed what he’d said about not rushing the process, and second because he had no birth control with him.

With great regret he drew back, breathing hard. The sun had gone down, and the stars didn’t allow him to see her expression very well. He wished he could, but maybe it was for the best. Tonight promised to be intense enough without being able to see desire written all over her face.

“I…liked that,” she said. Her breathing was about as ragged as his.

“Yeah.” He rubbed her back and took a deep breath as a chorus of crickets started up in the nearby sagebrush. “Me, too.”

She wound her arms around his neck and leaned back to look up at him, although she probably couldn’t see his expression, either. “You’re aroused again. I can tell by your voice.”

“Any guy would be aroused if you kissed him like that.”

“Was I too…uninhibited?” She sounded genuinely worried.

“God, no. You were great.”

“I wondered, because I don’t usually get so…” She paused. “Excited.”

Man, he loved hearing that. “Really?”

“Especially the first time I kiss someone. You’re, um, very good at this kissing business. I guess it’s all your practice that gives you such good technique.”

“That wasn’t technique.” He loved running his fingers through her hair. “That was… I don’t know. You inspired me, I guess.”

“Oh.” There was a world of self-satisfaction in that tiny syllable.

He began itching to kiss her again. And he had all the rest of the territory labeled as “making out” to enjoy. Even knowing he wouldn’t have the ultimate experience tonight didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for the next step. “Ready to climb in the back of the truck?”

“I’ve been thinking. Are you sure you should?”

He laughed. “I think we dispensed with that a while back. No, I probably shouldn’t, but I will anyway, because it’s still the best solution.”

“No, I mean, with the way you react when we kiss. I’ll bet you’re not used to just making out with a woman and not finishing the job. You’re liable to get awfully frustrated.”

He grinned down at her. “So are you. That’s the idea—to build up to the main event, so we’re really ready for it.”

“I can understand that strategy for me, because of my lack of experience, but I’m afraid I’ll be torturing you. I know from my reading that some men are able to draw out foreplay for a very long time, but I’m sure they extend that time gradually, so their bodies are used to delayed gratification. You wouldn’t be in that category.”

He sorted through that little speech until he thought he understood. “Are you saying you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for my benefit?”

“I…yes, I am. We don’t have to stop with just making out if you find that you’re too…uncomfortable.”

Oh, God. Heaven was within reach and he’d been caught unprepared. He took a deep breath. “Well, as willing as you are to make the supreme sacrifice for me tonight, it won’t be possible. I don’t have birth control with me.”