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She kept her lips still whenif I’d somehow misread her I started to pull away

"No, don’t" She held ainst mine "I alant to remember what it felt like the first tiht, then?" Because now that ere finally here, holding back "

I went slowly, partly because I wanted to drive her crazy, and partly because I wanted to remember the first tiot equal attention Her temples, the spot just below her ear, the hollow of her throat I traced the length of her spine and slipped ertips inside the back of her sweater to feel the skin I’d been drea the catch of her breath She was as soft and warht she’d be Better

Our first kiss was unbearably gentle, considering what I wanted, but I had a point to prove So much of her life had been fast, lived out in spurts of freedo else she’d ever experienced Ti down, but I wanted to be part of a long chain of Hallie’sthe me onto my back Her hair spilled over her shoulders and tickledto wreck my self-control" Andforward, she rested her forearms on my chest, touched her lips to oal, yes"

I’d wanted to be close to her, and noas all kinds of tangled up I threaded ers in her hair, pulled her face closer "Maybe we should move down to the co--"

"Don’t you dare" She trailed her fingertips down to my neck "I haven’t read any surveys about where men like to be touched, but I bet the list is short"

"Only for those who don’t want to enjoy the journey"

"You have a ith the sweet talk, Mr Ta’ala Don’t tell entle on only entleman I’hty and mischievous took their place

Heaven help irl I want to be Dune the boy I want to kiss you until the sun coain Why should we hurry?"

I knew there could be valid reasons, but I couldn’t give in to the on here" She scraped her teeth across the scruff onto talk s Later"

"I’ll hold you to that," she said, and then her lips were on ain

Chapter 14

Hallie

I rolled over to look at the clock "It’s six AM"

"I don’t want to leave" Dune propped his head on one hand and traced the outline of my bottom lip with the other

"We could run away"

I looked for the smile in his eyes, but all they told me was that there was too ain

It was so easy to sink into his body, to fit it to mine, to take the warmth that was an intrinsic part of him I felt like I’d known him for years, but every touch reduced me to a pile of first-kiss butterflies

"I have an idea" I pulled away, reluctantly, and tugged at his ar body off the bed and helped , contea pants, and decided I didn’t care "My dad is gone until tonight, and I want to take advantage of that while I can Can we go back to your place?"

"I need to talk to you about that"

Serious tone Frown Uh-oh

"I live in the Georgian"

"I know the building That’s where Poe lives" Not that I’d ever been inside He’d just popped into ether

"Yeah I live with hiot here I’ to keep him off your mom’s radar That’s why he hasn’t been in touch with you"