All Grown Up Read Free Page A

hand on her knee. “What are you
doing?” She hated the panicked virgin tone that emerged.
    “A little experiment.”
    She glared at him. “I’m not into
experimenting.”
    Blake quirked an eyebrow. “Then why are you
going into research?”
    Balling her hands into fists, she said, “I
meant personally.”
    “Indulge me.”
    Eyeing him warily, she asked, “What do you
want?”
    “A kiss.”
    “What? Why?”
    His hand crept an inch higher. “I want to
prove or disprove a theory.”
    “What theory?” she asked with narrowed
eyes.
     
    “I want to see if it’s all of you that
doesn’t like me, or just your mind.” Blake put his arm across the
back of the couch, just behind her shoulders. “I get the feeling
your body likes me just fine, which annoys you.”
    Erin stiffened her spine. “Don’t be
ridiculous. I have to go. I’m sure my sweater is dry now.”
    Blake held up his hands in a classic position
of surrender. “Okay. I understand if you’re too afraid.”
    Knowing he was baiting her to provoke his
desired reaction still didn’t keep her from responding. “I’m not
afraid of you or a little kiss.”
    “Prove it,” he said with an air of
cockiness.
    Stalling for time, she asked, “Why do you
even care?”
    He shrugged. “Let’s just say I’m not used to
women not liking me.”
    Erin snorted. “So I’ve heard.”
    Blake frowned. “What are you talking
about?”
    She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “It
doesn’t matter. I’ve just heard a few stories from Ethan.”
    “Ahh.”
    Erin smirked. “Aren’t you going to ask what
stories?”
    Infuriatingly, he shook his head. “Nope. I
can imagine what he said, and most of it is probably true.”
    She blinked. “So, you are a man-whore?” Erin
clapped a hand over her mouth and cut off a burst of nervous
giggles. “Gosh, I shouldn’t have said that. I apologize.”
    To her surprise, he didn’t look offended. “I
don’t think I was a man-whore, but I have been a bit…indiscriminate
in my past. I’ve been working on changing that for the past several
months.”
    “Good luck,” she said lightly. “I hope it
works for you.”
    “It was.” His gaze dropped briefly to her
chest before returning to her face. “I hadn’t found anyone tempting
enough to break my celibacy…until now.”
    Pretending she hadn’t noticed his declaration
or his gaze on her breasts, Erin cleared her throat. “Well, I
should get dressed.”
    He took her hand when she would have stood
up. “Aren’t you forgetting the experiment?”
    Damn him for reminding her. She’d hoped he
would let it slide. “Not at all.”
    “Good.” He cupped her chin, tipping her head
to meet his.
    Erin prepared herself for a quick, greedy
kiss. The first light touch of his mouth on hers blew away that
notion, as he teased and nibbled her lips, coaxing her to open to
him. Without quite realizing she’d done it, Erin accepted his
tongue, stroking it with her own. Heat coursed through her, making
her nipples hard and her pussy wet, all from just a little kiss.
Imagine what he could do to her if given free rein over her body.
She moaned at the thought.
    Blake deepened the kiss, pressing his mouth
more firmly against hers and sealing in the little sighs that
escaped when he began stroking her hip. Her hands remained demurely
on her lap, but it was a struggle not to thread her fingers through
his hair and pull him closer still.
    A touch of sanity returned when his hand
moved from her hip to below her breast, stroking across the soft
fullness without touching her nipple. Gasping, Erin broke away, not
looking at him while she regained control of her breathing.
    He didn’t move back. Blake maintained the
same position, complete with his hand still almost on her breast.
“I think my hypothesis is right. Your body likes me.” His thumb
flittered across her nipple, making it harden further. “A lot. So,
why doesn’t your head?” He stroked her temple.
    Erin swung her head to