She attacked his mouth with hers, her weight over his pushing him onto his back on the blanket. And when his arms came around her back and hips to drag her closer, she realized it was the first time they’d ever lain down with each other. Every other time they’d kissed, they’d either been standing or straddling the bench in the locker room. How easy would it be, she wondered as he nipped at her lower lip, for them to strip off each other’s clothes and make good on the sensual desperation that was driving them both to distraction?
But before she could so much as reach for the hem of his T-shirt to find out, he’d rolled them over so that she was beneath him. “Slow.” The word came out on a harsh breath. “We’re taking things slow.”
Remembering what Abi had said, that the only reason he’d want to take things slow was if he was in love with her, she said, “Sean—”
He cut off her protest with a kiss, even as he brought them both back into a sitting position. “It’s your turn to do another shot now.”
When he poured it for her, she noticed his hands were shaking slightly. At least she wasn’t the only one who felt like she was rapidly approaching the edge of insanity.
“How do you want it?”
“Your stomach.”
She was as honestly surprised by her answer as he seemed to be. It was just that after reading online about people doing body shots off one other, she’d been unable to shake the idea of doing a shot off Sean’s abs.
“Okay.” He shifted so that he was leaning back on his forearms. “Go for it.”
His T-shirt was already mostly out of his jeans and belt, and she was almost unbearably excited as she reached for the cotton to draw it up and expose bare skin. A few heady moments later, she was staring in awe at his beautifully tanned six-pack.
No, there were more muscles than that, she thought as she momentarily forgot all about drinking her next shot to run her fingertips over his abdomen. His muscles rippled beneath her touch and when she looked up at him, his eyes were darker and more intense than she’d ever seen them.
“Your body is a work of art,” she told him earnestly. “You could make a fortune modeling.”
He laughed, but it sounded slightly choked. “Good to know.” He closed his eyes for a brief moment, as though searching for control. Finally, he opened them and said, “You know the drill, right? Get my skin wet, drop the salt on, then lick it off and pound the shot, chasing it with the lime juice.”
She nodded, her nerves making a sudden reappearance at the shocking realization that she was just seconds from licking a guy’s stomach. She’d never done anything like this before, and even the way Sean had played with her br**sts the previous Friday somehow felt different because he had been the one doing everything and all she’d had to do was let herself enjoy it.
Whereas right now, it was all up to her.
“Serena, it’s okay,” he said gently. “You don’t have to do this.”
The warmth in his voice calmed her, and brought her back to her original purpose. “I know,” she said, “but I really want to.”
With that, she leaned forward and breathed him in for a moment before she slid her tongue over his abs. The muscles tightened as she licked them one by one, and she could see his hands fisting tightly at his sides.
As a model, she’d sold an illusion of sensuality to consumers hundreds of times. But though she’d been taught to be a master at playing her part for the cameras, she’d never before witnessed, live and in person, just what her genuine sensuality was capable of doing to a guy. Or just how much she could make him want her with nothing more than a few kisses, a few touches. Or that Sean’s obvious hunger for her would fuel her own for him so strongly.
Though she’d already gotten his skin wet enough to shake on the salt and move on to the shot, she couldn’t resist leaning close one more time to lick him again. His groan came as a clear enough warning that he was nearing the end of his rope, so she finally stopped teasing him and shook salt onto his abs.
She pressed her mouth to his stomach and sucked on him just as he had on her neck. It was with no small regret that she finally lifted her mouth from his skin and put the shot glass against her lips. This time, the tequila went down much more smoothly, and when she pressed the lime slice between her lips it was deliciously cool and the perfect mixture of sour and sweet.
Feeling warm and loose all over, she smiled at Sean. “Yum.”
He grinned at her as he sat up. “Starting to develop a taste for tequila?”
“Maybe.” She licked her lips. “Or maybe it’s you I’ve developed a taste for.”
“That makes two of us, then.” He pulled her back onto his lap. “How are you feeling?”
The shot hadn’t just made her limbs feel warm and fluid, it also made it so much easier for her to admit, “Like I can’t stop wanting you. Like I don’t ever want to stop wanting you.”
For all his obvious arousal, his kiss came sweet and soft. “And the tequila?” he asked, his deep voice rolling through her like warm waves of a tropical ocean. “How’s that treating you?”
“Good.” She nibbled on his earlobe. “But I don’t think I’m drunk yet.”
“No?” The short word came out a little strangled, as if he was just barely managing to rein himself in.
Instead of answering him, she leaned over to pour herself another shot. She didn’t bother with salt or lime this time, just tossed it down her throat and got back to what she really wanted to do: kiss Sean.
And as he whispered her name against her lips before kissing her back just as passionately, she realized maybe she was ready for more.
Not just for hot sex…but maybe even for falling in love.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sean was glad that the back entrance to his frat house was deserted as he brought Serena inside a couple of hours later. Like every Friday, there would be another party tonight. Already, the bass pounded so loudly from the speakers downstairs that the walls were actually shaking. But he wasn’t planning on either of them making an appearance.
She giggled, leaning into him while they walked. “This place smells bad. Like rotting socks.”
“Alumni say it’s smelled this way for more than a hundred years,” he told her, making her laugh again, the sound slow and warmed by all the tequila she’d put away.