Not that his lips and tongue weren’t spectacular and more than capable of keeping her attention, but images of him shirtless came to mind and made her fingers twitch with the need to touch him.
Particularly his chest.
Reluctantly, Mia broke the kiss and hungrily drank in the sight of him. Austin was just as breathless as she was and if she were a little more experienced, she would say something sexy and seductive, but…
Wow…for someone who makes a living out of using the right words, you have none.
Awesome.
His hands were still on her face, but right now he was softly caressing her cheek. “I think I interrupted you.”
Resting her forehead against his, she let out a low laugh. “It’s quite alright. I think you said it better than I would have.”
Tucking a finger under her chin, Austin gently forced her to look at him. His expression was intense as his blue eyes held hers. “I think you don’t give yourself enough credit,” he said gruffly.
It was a war between putting a little space between them and wanting to get closer, but closer ultimately won. Slowly, Mia moved one leg over his lap and she smiled when he grasped her waist and helped her get situated so she was straddling him. Her dress had ridden ridiculously high up—barely covering her thighs—and yet it felt like the most natural thing in the world to her to be like this with him.
Delicately, she reached up and touched his jaw. “I really wanted to say thank you for listening to me ramble on about the struggles with the book. Not many people would be that patient.”
One dark brow arched at her. “So that was a kiss of gratitude?”
She immediately shook her head. “No. That was a kiss because I’ve been thinking about you since I saw you shirtless,” she teased.
His smile was slow and devastatingly sexy. “Yeah? You’ve been thinking about me?”
Biting her lip, she nodded.
“Can I let you in on a little secret?”
Another nod.
“I’ve been thinking about you too.” And before Mia could comment, he leaned in and captured her lips again, and it was all the confirmation she needed. She couldn’t remember the last time a man kissed her like this—with such urgency and thoroughness—and it didn’t matter. This was perfect. Her arms draped over his broad shoulders before her hands raked up into his hair, and it was glorious because she needed something to hold on to.
Beneath her, he was all hard, lean muscle and images of them in this same position but naked came to mind. It was a little shocking for her to realize she would totally be on board with that happening tonight.
Right now.
The sooner the better, actually.
But it didn’t.
Instead, Austin kissed her until she was breathless and desperately needed air, and once she got some, he dove in and kissed her again. Each kiss went a little deeper, got a little wetter, and a whole lot dirtier. Mia didn’t even realize she was shamelessly rubbing against him until he broke the kiss and gently bit her neck.
“Mmm…you’re killing me,” he murmured, his breath hot against her skin. Then those big, wonderful hands grabbed her ass and held her steady.
“Seems only fair,” she whispered, even as she tried in vain to move. When she was settled and caught her breath, she looked at him expectantly and saw him swallow hard.
“It would be very easy to take you inside—or right here on the couch.” He gently nipped at her jaw. “But I don’t think that’s the kind of woman you really are, and I like you too much to just jump into bed with you.”
Now she pulled back and looked at him like he were crazy.
His hands slowly moved from her bottom to her waist and all the way up until he was cupping her face again. “You have no idea how badly I want to take those words back, but I’m not going to. I like seeing the fire in your eyes when we stop to catch our breath, but I also really like seeing them when you talk about your work.”
“But…”
One strong finger covered her lips. “You were so caught up in thinking about writing earlier, that you completely forgot where you were. I know I could take you to bed and get us both to that place, but that’s not what you need right now. You need to write, Mia. Tell me what I can do to help you do that and then when there are no distractions, we’ll come back to where we are right now and I’ll gladly carry you to bed and keep you there all night long.”
She groaned and let herself rub against him one more time.
Unfortunately, he was right.
“Can we stay like this for a little while longer?” she asked, resting her head on his shoulders.
Austin hugged her close and she could feel just how hard he was beneath her. She was relieved that she wasn’t the only one affected by this steamy make-out session.
“We definitely can.” With a soft kiss on her temple, he said, “So let’s go back to when we were in the kitchen…”
“And the brownies…”
“Yeah…maybe we should have some more of them.”
“You’d have to carry me because I’m not ready to move yet,” she said lightly.
“Then they’ll have to wait because I’m not ready to stand yet.”
That definitely made her feel better.
Sighing, she said, “Okay, the kitchen.”
He nodded. “Do you think re-reading the series would help? Because if you do, I happen to know of a book club that would probably love to help inspire you.”
Pulling back again, she looked at him. “Your mom’s?”
“Yeah. And just for the record, I did not mention how you were my neighbor. I completely respect your privacy.”
It was crazy how that little statement made her heart flutter. “Thank you, but…it would have been fine if you did. I’m not someone who inspires people to jump fences or try to climb in my window or anything. It’s sweet that you didn’t say anything, but I’m sure your mom would have been safe knowing.”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t my place to tell her, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m just saying if you wanted to get with a group of people who are fans of your work, you don’t have to go far.”
“I’ve been talking with my editor…”
“Again, I know I’m no expert on this, but I’d bet good money your editor isn’t as invested in these characters are you are and possibly is saying either what she thinks you want to hear or whatever she thinks is going to force you to write.” Pausing, he seemed to consider his next words. “Okay, for me, when I’m struggling with a design on a project, I don’t go to other architects. I go back through ones I’ve done in the past or I look at the work of architects who’ve inspired me.”
“Isn’t that like going to other architects?”
“No, I’m talking ones I learned about in school, not ones I know personally.”
“Ah, gotcha.”
“Maybe talking to readers will give you the excitement to write. I could tell just from one conversation that my mom is already dying for this next book and she can’t possibly be the only one.”
Mia thought about it for a moment and slowly crawled off of Austin’s lap.
And missed it immediately.