Page 81 of Stone Temptation
His laugh came deep and delicious, shaking the bed. “More sugary than stinky. Wait. Is mine like rotten eggs?” He checked.
“Rotten eggs?”
“Ah, bollocks. Is it bad?”
I giggled. “Not at all. It’s…oaty.”
He cocked a brow. “Right. Probably best we stopped there.” He rolled onto his side. “What was that?”
Heavy regret encroached on our fledgling relationship. “I don’t… I’m mortified.”
“I can see that. But you don’t need to be.”
“I’m so, so sorry.”
“Hey, hey. Don’t be. It’s this new connection. It’ll sort itself out. We’re confused by the intimacy. And me kissing you might have, I dunno, triggered something.”
I couldn’t look at him. “I think it did. I wanted…crap.”
He sat up. “Don’t be embarrassed.”
I glanced at him.
He wiped the side of his mouth with his thumb. “I liked it.”
“It can’t…” I sat up, rubbing at my eyes, not feeling so fresh anymore. “It can’t happen again.”
“Agreed. Let’s keep things professional.”
“Yes.”
“For now.”
A thrill of excitement got me off the bed. “What do you mean?”
Asher’s entire body language screamed sex, every brush of the artistry that created him designed for seduction.
Come back to bed, it said. And get those pesky clothes off.
“It means nothing is set in stone,” he answered. “Unlike the other Asher.” He nodded to his crotch.
Get. Inside. Me.
“Honestly, I liked kissing you. But let’s leave it there for the time being.”
“Do you want to kiss again?” I blurted, caught in the web of heady lust.
“I refer you to my previous comment.” He chuckled. “No more snogging for you today.”
Why not? “You’re saying you want to do it again?”
“Listen, I’ll be honest with you.” He shuffled up to the headboard, folding his hands behind his perfectly shaped skull.
I pulled at the collar of his jumper. “It was nice but can’t happen again. There’s too much to figure out, bigger fish to fry and all that. And, well…” I crossed my legs, toes brushing nervously against the cool stone floor. “I’m not looking for anything more than friendship. Which sounds so arrogant. Just because you kissed me, doesn’t mean you want to take me on a beach picnic and feed me strawberries.”
“Beach picnic?”
Cooked lobster had nothing on me right now. “Oh my God. Ignore me.” I found a crystal to focus on, refusing to meet his eyes after that outburst.