For Keeps Read Free Page B

unscrewed the lid from the jar. Her breath caught when he dipped his finger into the chocolaty spread and popped it into his mouth.
    “Mmm,” he hummed. “So good.” His tongue swept across his lower lip.
    “It is,” she mumbled, the most coherent string of words she could assemble. How long before I melt into a puddle on the floor?
    Cooper dipped his finger into the jar a second time.
    “You’re cheating,” she said. “No double-dips.”
    He shook his head and his eyes softened, drawing her in as her pulse quickened. “It’s not for me.” He eased closer and held out his finger. “You know you want some.”
    Her mouth gaped, but more from shock than a craving for chocolate. She drew in a long, slow breath. Is he doing what I think he’s doing? He let his finger rest on her lower lip before sliding it into her mouth. Her tongue quivered with anticipation of the sweet reward. She cursed her impatience, but immediately closed her lips around his finger and sucked. Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy, but closing them was an idiotic idea. The smolder in his eyes told her she’d done exactly what he’d been hoping for.
    He pulled his finger from her mouth and she dropped her chin in disappointment. If the highlight of her entire weekend had just happened, that would be sad. Luckily, he didn’t step away. Instead, he leaned closer. His hand slid around to her back. At first, she was confounded by his lighter touch until he began to caress her back with the tips of his fingers. They rode along her spine in long passes, even over her bra strap.
    He lowered his head and she sensed what was about to happen. She’d been in this position before but never with Cooper, never with a man she’d fantasized about in such detail. Her mind raced to make sense of it all—up was down, left was right. Everything else was backward. She could feel every drop of blood pumping through her body as she raised her chin. She debated whether or not to close her eyes, but eventually they fluttered shut as she began to act on nothing more than pure instinct.
    Cooper’s lips were on hers, warm and giving, at first the most exquisitely gentle pressure, then more insistent. He urged her closer, flattening his hand against her back while heat bloomed where her stomach pressed against his. His mouth opened as she kissed him back, a hint of sweet chocolate traveling between them. She rose on to her tiptoes as he suggested he wanted more with a commanding tug at her waist.
    As mind-boggling as the kiss was, her mind scrambled for a reason. Is he doing this to see what it’s like to kiss an older woman? He had an entire weekend with me in my apartment and he didn’t try a thing. Her shoulders became rigid, her back tight, even when she wanted only to surrender.
    “Are you okay?” he mumbled, still grazing her lips with his. “Was I out of line?”
     
    Allie shook her head and dropped back to a flat-footed stance. “No. I mean yes. Shit.” Her eyes were wide with bewilderment but they softened when he smiled. “I’m fine. I was just surprised.”
    He reached for her hand, gathering her cool, slender fingers in his. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”
    Pink colored her cheeks and her mouth sat open in an enticing “O”. She moistened her lower lip with her tongue, which he took as a possible sign of approval. “You do realize that I’m significantly older than you.”
    “Twelve years is nothing.” He saw the doubt in her eyes and he wished it would go away. His hand went to her hip as he became determined to show her that he wasn’t feeding her a line. “I mean it.”
    “You’re saying that to make me feel better.”
    “Nope. You couldn’t be more off base if you tried.” He slid his hand to her hip and sneaked his thumb under the hem of her t-shirt, caressing the petal-soft skin. It was meant as reassurance that he truly wanted her, but that one touch set off fireworks in his belly. He dragged his fingers around