Page 55 of Unexpected You
“Hugged you like what?” I asked, wanting to know what she had to say about it.
“You hugged me like you wanted to hold me,” she said, and that wasn’t entirely accurate. I’d hugged her like I wanted her, because I did. There was no putting that away or ignoring it anymore.
We’d crossed a line and couldn’t go back.
“I did. I do, but I understand if you don’t want to work for me anymore. I understand if you want to leave and never speak to me again.” The very idea that she would walk out of my life and I’d never see her again was unbearable.
Cadence stopped pacing and spun to face me. “No, you can’t say shit like that. You can’t tell me that you feel something for me and then act like my boss.”
Someone had to say it. “I am your boss, Cadence.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, people have fallen for their superiors before. It’s like a whole romance trope for a reason. Just didn’t know I’d be one of them.”
“I didn’t plan for this to happen either,” I said.
Cadence held both hands up to stop me. “Just so I’m absolutely fucking clear, you like me.”
I bit back a laugh. “Yes, Cade. I like you. Too much.”
She grinned at me and she was so cute that I wanted to pull her onto my lap and nuzzle that smile.
“I like you too. Also too much. I think I lost my mind during that interview.” She shook her head. “I don’t even remember half of what I said.”
“I wasn’t exactly in top form either.”
Cadence did a little twirl. “So what the hell does this mean?”
That was the question. “I don’t know.”
“Conundrum,” Cadence said, stepping close to me.
I looked up at her and saw that twinkle in her eyes.
“What do you want?” Cadence asked. “From me? What do you want?”
“I don’t know.”
She moved closer, forcing me to look up. “I don’t believe that.”
For the first time ever, I didn’t hold myself back. I pushed to my feet and now she was the one looking up at me.
“I want…I want to see,” I said, stroking her cheek. She leaned into my touch and I waited before inching closer by fractions until our mouths were a whisper away and I knew she could feel my lips trembling.
I’d never kissed a woman before. Had never gotten this close. Had never allowed it or pursued it.
Cadence didn’t wait for me to cross that last bit of space between us. No, she dug her fingers into the back of my hair and pulled me down. To her mouth.
I’d kissed men before. And been kissed. It had always been nice, sometimes it had even been great. Before now, I would have said that kissing was a pleasant way to spend time.
Kissing Cadence changed everything in the way that a tornado ripping through a landscape changed everything.
This was a kiss.
Hesitant at first, a gentle press of mouths as her fingers dug into my skin and I cradled her face. So gentle, until it wasn’t. Inhaling sharply through my nose, I angled her face to give me better access and gave in. Let her have it.
She let out a little gasp that ended in a moan and kissed me back. Before I knew it, she had jammed me up against the table, her hips pushing into mine as she utterly devoured my mouth. Cadence kissed like she did just about everything. With wild enthusiasm.
She wasn’t sloppy, though. Oh no. She knew exactly what she was doing. Nibbling and sucking and using her tongue in ways that I didn’t know had been invented yet. She kissed as if she’d written the manual on kissing. As if she toured the country giving kissing lectures.