Restless

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” And before she could say a word, his lips covered hers.

His mouth moved against hers, his tongue sweeping her bottom lip, begging her to open up and let him inside, and for a split second, she couldn’t think or even breathe. Her heart all but stopped beating and she just stood there, feeling him against her, coaxing her, seducing her.

His arms pulled her close and his body pressed the length of hers, his heat overwhelming her until her knees actually went limp. His tongue teased and his lips nibbled and she couldn’t stop her mouth from opening. He swept inside, tasting and stroking and stealing her common sense for a long, heart-pounding moment.

When he finally pulled away and stared down at her, she simply stared up at him.

“I was right.”

“About what?” she said, still dazed.

“You wanted to kiss me.”

“I…” The word yes was on the tip of her tongue, but it couldn’t quite make it any further. “I’m late,” she blurted. “I—I have to get back to the paper.” She snatched up her purse and notebook and left as fast as her feet could carry her.

She needed to breathe, to think, to figure out what the heck had just happened.

It was the worst kiss of her life.

IT HAD BEEN THE WORST KISS of Paige’s entire life.

Not the kiss itself, mind you. That had been terrific. Wonderful. Stupendous. Jack Mission knew exactly how to slant his mouth just so and stroke his tongue along the length of hers and lick…

She fought down a sudden burst of heat that pebbled her nipples and made her walk faster toward the safe refuge of the newspaper office.

No, it wasn’t the kiss itself that had been so horrible. It had been her reaction to it. The wonder she’d felt, the awe, the total cluelessness. Her mind had gone completely blank and she’d been dumbfounded as to what to do next. As if Jack Mission’s kiss had been her first kiss ever.

Pathetic.

True, it was the first kiss she’d had in months, but it wasn’t the first time she’d locked lips with a man. She knew how to kiss for pity’s sake.

Okay, so she’d only kissed three men and one qualified more as a boy, but she’d had many kisses since her very first during a game of spin the bottle at a birthday party when she’d been thirteen. She’d been married, for crying out loud.

Can’t you do anything right, woman?

The question echoed through her head and brought back a wave of anxiety. For so long, she hadn’t been able to do anything right. She hadn’t been able to dress appropriately or clean good enough or cook well enough or—

Water under the bridge.

She’d started a new life and broadened her horizons. Thanks to her weekly cooking lessons, she could actually do more than boil water. She could strip her no-wax floors better than Mr. Clean himself, and she actually wore more than just jeans and oversized T-shirts.

And the kissing?

Before she could dwell on the question, she heard a voice behind her. She slowed and turned in time to see Shelby gaining on her, his hat in hand.

“Hey, Shelby.”

“I hope I’m not keeping you from something. You look like you’re in an awful hurry, but I really wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I was just headed back to finish up a story. You can walk with me.”

“That’s okay. I’ve got a load of hay to drive back to my place. This’ll just take a second. Say, you did a good two-step the other night.”

“What?”

“I saw you dancing with Jack. You did a good box waltz.”

“That’s what I was doing?” Of course it was. She would have known a box waltz anywhere.

Except with Jack Mission as her partner.

He’d pulled her close and she’d been conscious of only one thing—him.

“Look, I was thinking that maybe, if you’re not busy next Friday night…”

Here it was. The moment she’d been waiting for. Shelby was actually going to ask her out.

“That is, I’ve been meaning to try this new steakhouse out on Route Five and I thought that if you like steak—”

“Geez, I’m late.” She made a big pretense of glancing at her watch. “I’ve got an interview over at City Hall with the sheriff.”

“Sure. I just thought that if you wanted to try—”

“Did you hear that?”

He glanced behind him. “What?”

“That noise. It sounded like Deb’s cat. She’s back at the newspaper office and she’s been so lonely with Deb out of town, she’s taken up howling.”

“They’ve only been gone a couple of days.”

“And the poor thing’s already grieving. I really need to see about her and then get to my interview. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Before he could get in another word, she turned and started down the street.

What the heck had she just done?

She’d been waiting for him to ask her out. Hoping for it.

But that was before the kiss. Before she’d realized how totally inept she was when it came to interacting with the opposite sex on a romantic level. She didn’t know how to kiss right! How could she go out with Shelby when a date was surely going to lead to an intimacy she was totally unprepared for.