Читать книгу 12 Gifts for Christmas - Джулия Кеннер, Джулия Кеннер - Страница 30

“THAT wasn’t what I was trying to do.” Mari’s head was spinning; she could barely think straight. Her lips still tingled, sending waves of molten heat swirling down to her belly.

When Mari was sixteen, Declan had given her the best kiss of her life. It’d set a high bar for every brush of the lips she’d had since. It’d taken until she was twenty-four for anyone to raise that bar. Didn’t it just figure it’d be him again?

“We shouldn’t have kissed,” she decided breathlessly. “There’s no way anyone will believe your denial if we’re seen making out again.”

“They wouldn’t believe me if I hauled out film footage and played it at the movie theater, darlin’. And since there’s no point wasting our time trying to convince them, let’s focus on something else.”

Mari was getting a pretty strong clue just exactly what he wanted to focus on, too. His hands traced a path down her spine to settle under her coat on the small of her back. Despite the cold, his palms warmed her hips as he pressed her closer.

She breathed in his scent, male and inviting. The contrast of his hot body and the cool air only added to the surreal sensation as her brain once again checked out and she stood on tiptoe to meet his descending mouth. His lips were soft, his tongue teasing as he coaxed the heat up a couple hundred degrees.

He was so freaking delicious. As long as he kept on kissing her, she didn’t care what people said.

She heard the sound of a car starting up somewhere in the distance. As if she’d been set on fire, Mari ripped her mouth from Declan’s and jumped back.

So much for not caring. The look Declan gave her—part exasperation, part disappointment—made it clear he knew the reason behind her abrupt movement.

She bristled, her chin shifting higher.

“I’m not trying to deny my part in that kiss. Or to claim it wasn’t …” Incredible. Sexy as hell. Orgasm on a stick. “ … nice … But we barely know each other. We haven’t spoken in years, so I just think it’s a little too soon to get that familiar. Okay?”

He arched a brow. “And when do you think it’ll be soon enough?”

Mari bit her lip, wanting to say that two more seconds would be plenty of time. But she couldn’t. She had returned to Ponder Hill to start a new life for herself. To build a business and become a part of the community, something she’d missed in the hustle and bustle of California living. And she was pretty sure the community wouldn’t embrace their new hairdresser getting hot and heavy with the town bad boy up against a plywood donkey. And she knew her mother definitely wouldn’t.

“I think we’re getting sidetracked,” she hedged, needing to get this back on topic. “I came over to talk to you about those rumors, remember?”

“I’ve got things to do,” he snorted, obviously feeling a little pissy. “You ever stop worrying about other people’s opinions, you give me a yell. Otherwise, let’s call that our second kiss goodbye.”