No, don’t do that. This is not the time.
“Oh! Did you feel that?” Oddly, Danica seemed uncharacteristically anxious, her eyes wide and worried.
Titus wished he could kiss the concern away. I will never make it through this night.
“Probably a strong static charge. Ready for part two?”
“We’re bowling next, right? I should warn you that I’m the gutterball champion. Or at least, I was in junior high.”
“I can teach you,” he offered.
“That would be great.”
Waving at Kham Keow, he escorted Danica to the car and opened her door. She angled a look up at him through her lashes. While they were eating, the sun had gone down. Now the sky was all dark velvet. Had anyone ever looked prettier in the moonlight? Before he could talk himself out of it, he told himself to go for it.
She lifted her chin for a reason.
When he lowered his head, slowly enough that she could block the kiss if she wanted to, Danica came up on tiptoe and curled her fingers into his shirt. Her hands grazed his chest as his lips met hers. It had been long enough since he’d kissed anyone that he was slightly afraid he might’ve forgotten how. Then he lost all coherent thought entirely. She was all heat and softness, her mouth so delicate and tender on his, slowly warming to a lush fullness as she parted her lips and touched her tongue to his.
The erection he had been fighting in the restaurant came on strong, and he pressed her against the side of the car, kissing her ravenously. Titus tangled a hand in her wavy hair as she wrapped herself around him. This kiss was everything, alpha and omega, and it erased the memory of everyone he’d ever touched before her. His whole body throbbed with longing, like he had been waiting for this woman, this moment, his entire life.
There was no way for him to get enough. Not of her. Breathless, he broke the kiss and dragged his mouth over her jaw, down her throat, and left little nips that made her shiver, digging her fingers into his back. He imagined she would hold on to him that way when he— Oh God. Suddenly he realized that they were dry humping each other in a parking lot while making desperate noises.
Practically panting, he rested his forehead against hers. “Okay, that escalated a lot faster than I intended.”
He expected her to laugh or to pull away. Instead, she touched his face with the softest of caresses, tracing every feature like she couldn’t believe he was real. Her fingertip trailed down the bridge of his nose, over his lower lip, and the pleasure of it sent an uncontrollable shiver through him. Titus moved away from her then, trying his best to contain his riotous impulses—the ones telling him to find some privacy and have her.
In time, Danica settled in the car, and he paced around it until he felt sure he could join her without embarrassing himself. She buckled her seat belt as he started the engine.
“I admit, I’ve never gotten that worked up from kissing before,” she whispered.
That must be in response to what he’d said five minutes ago. And hell, it was impossible not to feel smug about her confession, even as he ached for her.
“Me either.”
She tried a smile, but longing lingered in her eyes, in the way her gaze glided over him, teasing him with echoes of her touch. “We have chemistry, huh?”
“So much,” he said.
“Enough to light a small town.”
“We should offer ourselves to the mayor as an alternative power source.”
Danica laughed. “How are we supposed to go bowling after this? If you give me lessons, you’ll put your hands all over me, and I…never mind. I retract my objection.”
Titus basked in the pleasurable wave rolling through him. Desire and warmth and tenderness and…no, not that word. Too soon for that one. Affection, then. Wanting had never been so easy before, so easy and right.
If only it would last this time.
Chapter 7
Though Danica had lived in St. Claire for years, she had never been inside Star Lanes, the local bowling alley.
It was all done up in retro style, like a ’50s diner, but they served beer, not just fries and milkshakes. Since there wasn’t much nightlife in town, half the local populace was here, eating or drinking, yelling across the place at people they recognized. It was impossible not to worry about Gram getting wind of this, but her crowd preferred gardening and bingo to bowling and beer. Should be fine, right? Titus received his fair share of greetings, and an older man broke off from his friend group to intercept them.
Titus shuffled his feet, rubbing the back of his neck like he was nervous or embarrassed. Why is that so cute? “Hey, Stan. I didn’t know you bowled.”
“I’m a man of mystery.”
The self-proclaimed man of mystery extended a hand. “I’m Stan. Nice to meet you. I work with Titus at the bakery.”
“You must be his assistant.” Danica shook his hand and made small talk, enjoying Titus’s adorable awkwardness.
Someone called loudly, “Stan, you’re up! You planning to take your turn or what?”
“I’m coming, geez.”
“That’s it, I’ll never hear the end of this,” Titus said mournfully as his assistant sped back to his bowling team.
At least she suspected they must be since they all wore matching shirts with logos for the local oil-changing business on the back along with the name “Lickety Splitz.” True to the claim, Stan threw a seven-ten split and picked up the spare. Danica watched him exchange high fives from everyone on the team; then she turned back to her date.
Date, oh goddess, what am I even doing right now? The memory of the kiss washed over her, leaving her whole body flushed and glowing. Somehow she got herself together enough to respond to his joke.
“I hope I’m worth the teasing.”
“No question. Let’s get our shoes. Sorry about that in advance,” he added, leading the way to the counter, where a bored teen was looking at her phone.
“The idea of renting shoes is tremendously gross. You know that, right?”
“Trust me, I’m aware.”
After putting on the invisible socks she’d packed and the ugliest footwear known to man, she followed Titus to their assigned lane. Danica had never imagined that bowling could be dorky, entertaining, and sexually frustrating, but with Titus, it achieved the trifecta. As promised, she was terrible, but she improved under his tutelage, which involved a lot of his arms around her, showing her exactly the right way to hold the ball. Admittedly, she paid way more attention to the heat of his body pressed against her back than the positioning. Consequently, she shorted out the electronic scoreboard with magical fluctuations. The power flickered when it sparked, and she willed her abilities to settle down.