“It’s not about you. I guess something’s been simmering. By high school a part of me had started looking down on my dad. Me, I was going to be someone. Look how all the colleges wanted me. Whatever I did, I’d be changing lives. Having to swallow my pride and accept that I’d live a life no different than Dad’s, that stung. I didn’t realize how much it still does.” He paused, his eyes never leaving her face. “I’m sorry,” he said again, his voice husky.
Molly offered a shaky smile. “It really is okay. We all have our triggers.”
His gaze lowered to her mouth. “You trigger all kinds of things in me.”
Her pulse bounded. “Yes,” she whispered, and his mouth settled on hers.
* * *
MAYBE THIS WASN’T THE time or the place or the mood, but, damn, he couldn’t help himself. She was there, her mouth soft and tremulous, her eyes dilating.
“Yes,” she whispered, and he was kissing her without making a conscious decision. The first touch of her lips was cold, but they warmed quickly and felt every bit as lush as he’d dreamed. That first faint tremble was the sexiest thing he’d ever felt. He wanted to dive deep, but somehow knew better. This was a woman to savor. He nibbled on her full bottom lip, touched the tip of his tongue to the dip in her upper lip. He brushed his mouth back and forth, licked the seam of her lips, nuzzled his nose against hers until she smiled, and he felt that down to the soles of his feet.
Finally, finally, her lips parted and he slid his tongue inside, meeting hers. She tasted of coffee and cheese, milk and her, an indefinable taste that was something like a peach. She was holding herself completely still, but she sighed, and then a sound like a moan vibrated her throat. Richard’s control broke, and he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck to position her better. Somehow they weren’t holding hands anymore, either; his squeezed her waist and hers both came up to clutch his shoulders. He kissed her with devastating hunger, and felt equal yearning from her. She sucked on his tongue, and he shuddered. If they were anywhere else…
That kiss might have gone on forever if voices hadn’t intruded. With a groan he lifted his head to look down at Molly’s face, tipped up to his. Her eyes were closed, her lashes long and thick, forming crescents on that creamy skin. He’d mussed her hair plenty, wiping out any pretence of Ms. Cool and Collected Vice Principal. She was a woman, aroused from the way she was breathing and from the dazed look in her gorgeous, smoky gray eyes once she opened them.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, kneading her neck and loving the thick textured silk of her hair tangling his fingers.
Her eyes searched his. Then a smile that was almost mischievous curled her mouth. “You’re sexy.”
He grinned, probably foolishly. “Seems like we’re on the same page.”
Molly gave a throaty chuckle. “And, oh, if our children ever flipped to this page.”
“Oh, hell.” It was next best thing to a splash of that snowmelt river water. “You had to say that.”
She sighed. “It was nice to forget them for a minute, wasn’t it.”
“Nice?”
Molly laughed at his outrage. “Okay, better than nice. I didn’t know if you really wanted to kiss me.”
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since that first meeting in your office, when I hated you.”
All trace of the smile vanished; there was something hugely vulnerable in the way she looked at him now. “Really?”
“Did I hate you?”
“Want to kiss me.”
“Yeah.” His voice was pure grit. He bent forward enough to rest his forehead against hers. “I still do. But we seem to have company.”
“Company?” She stiffened, pulled back, turned her head. “Oh, thank God.”
“Thank God?”
“What if it had been students from the high school?”
“That might not have been the best,” Richard admitted. “Do they make it over here to the river from school?”
“I’m sure they do. We have closed campus for freshmen and sophomores, but the juniors and seniors can head out for lunch.”
He hadn’t felt this good in he couldn’t remember how long. Years. Maybe never. “We’ll make out somewhere different next time,” he said, smiling at her wickedly.
She snorted. “In your dreams.”
“Oh, I’ve been dreaming.”
They’d started toward the parking lot, passing a pair of incurious mothers paying more attention to their offspring than to the other people at the park. Molly’s hand slipped into his. “I’ve been dreaming, too,” she said softly.