Taboo Kisses Read Free Page B

bordered by recently shorn wheat fields. He turned on the radio. “Classical?”
    “How did you know?” Gemma, of course.
    “I have the rest of the day planned out.”
    “You sound very enthusiastic. Can you give me details?”
    “No. I want to surprise you.”
    Smiling, I settled back into my seat. Ryder was a glass-is-always-full kinda guy, squeezing every last drop of pleasure out of life. Practically every day since Maddox died, when I returned home from work, I forced myself to cook a decent supper, watched National Geographic or Discovery, and went to bed. How dull. I’d become one of those armchair adventurers I despised.
    “Pull over,” I said.
    Ryder furrowed his brows, and I wanted to smooth the creases with a kiss. He seemed puzzled, but he signaled and pulled over to the side of the dirt road.
    Total privacy. No one to spy on us or pass judgment. “Let’s suspend the no romance rule.”
    For a moment, dimples appeared in his cheeks, as if he were a kid who’d been handed a box full of action figures. Adorable. I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid closer to him. Tentatively, I traced his ear, grasping the lobe between my thumb and index finger, pulling firmly until I heard his sharp intake of breath. Even though he’d shaved, his cheek had a rough, manly texture. I placed my thumb on the cleft in his chin. It probably bothered him when he dragged his razor across it. One of his lower teeth was a little crooked. I leaned over and kissed him. It felt better this time, not the forbidden kiss of before, but something I needed, craved—
    Stop !
    The voice belonged to Maddox.
    I broke the kiss and my fingers went to my lips.
    “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, brushing my cheek with his fingertips.
    “No. It’s not about you.”
    “Maddox?”
    “Yes.” And Gemma, who’d shun me forever.
    “Don’t you think you should let yourself move on?”
    I didn’t answer.
    He exhaled, his shoulders slumping. “Do I take you home?”
    Back to my life of reading books, watching documentaries, and gorging myself on comfort food? I didn’t have to give it much thought. “No.”
    “You don’t want to kiss me, and you don’t want me to take you home.” He put both hands on the steering wheel, knuckles turning white, and pulled back onto the road.
    Was he angry? Disappointed? Did he think I was toying with him? How could I expect him to read me, to understand what I wanted, when I barely knew myself?
    “I’m sorry, Ryder. I’m not trying to mess with your head.”
    “I know. I’m patient. Don’t worry.”
    “We’re good?” I asked.
    “We’re good.”
    Half an hour later, I spotted a huge banner overhead. The Big Leap. Bungee jumping?
    “You’re joking, right?” My heart thundered.
    “You never tried it. You told me once, remember? I’ve never tried either. It’s gotta be amazing.” His hand brushed my thigh. “You love to fly.”
    “Hang-gliding is flying. Bungee jumping is plummeting like a rock.”
    “You need to kick-start your life.”
    He said it so simply, so naively. He’d never lost anyone. As we rolled into the parking lot, I looked ahead at a narrow metal platform that stretched between two craggy mountainsides. Arms outstretched, a man readied himself for the plunge. He tipped forward and dove off the platform, screaming like a banshee. I opened the door and walked to the lookout, where I caught sight of him bouncing back into the air, still howling like it was better than sex. The scenery stole my breath. This place used to be a rock quarry, and at the bottom lay a clear blue lake.
    Faint tingles of excitement spread into my belly. It would be a lot like jumping out of a plane, but without terminal velocity. Instead of cruising toward land under the safety of a chute, I’d feel like I was crashing to earth, only to be yanked back into the air.
    “It’s the best site in the country,” Ryder explained. “Two hundred foot jump, one hundred and sixty foot rebound. It’s