Free Hot Christmas Nights by Farrah Rochon

into Nyla’s eyes. Time suspended, all thought vanished; at this moment, everything else ceased to matter.
    His entire body humming with need, Aiden leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly upon hers. At the feel of her soft lips, every dark part of his soul burst into light. His only desire was to remain in this very spot, doing this very thing, for as long as possible.
    He cupped Nyla’s jaw in his palms, his fingertips tingling at the feel of her delicate skin. Aiden drew his tongue along her lips, willing them to open. After three long years, the need to experience her unique flavor was all he could think about.
    He ran his tongue over the seam of her lips, steadily increasing the pressure with every swipe, until finally her lips parted. A groan of pleasure tore from his throat as he inhaled the sweet taste of her. He’d experienced it only once before, but he remembered every single thing about her kiss. The way her mouth relaxed, the warmth, the suppleness.
    He thrust his tongue in and out, stroking the velvet softness, devouring the honeyed flavor. How had he survived without this? Why did he wait so long? It was impossible to imagine going even another day without kissing her like this again.
    He held her head steady as he continued to stroke her warm mouth. He fought the urge to pull her flush against the hardness growing below his waist, but the need to connect his body to hers was more than he could withstand.
    “Aiden.” She spoke his name against his lips, sending an electric current racing through his veins.
    “What is it?” he whispered, shoving his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck.
    “We...we can’t do this.”
    His chest nearly caved with the wave of disappointment that crashed through him. “Don’t say that, Nyla.”
    She pushed against him, breaking the connection. Then she took several steps back, straightening her dress.
    Several people gathered around the fountain snickered and clapped, and Nyla’s pretty brown cheeks turned as red as a beet.
    Just great
. Their first kiss in three years—their second kiss
ever
—and it happened in front of an audience of strangers.
    Aiden took a step forward, but she stopped him, putting a hand up. “Don’t, Aiden. Please don’t make this any harder than it already is.”
    “Why are
you
making it so hard? Can’t you feel what’s happening here?”
    “Yes, and it isn’t right. I’m not doing this to someone else, Aiden. I’ve been the other woman before. I will not put someone else through that.”
    His head reared back.
What?
    “The other woman? What are you talking about?”
    “You have a girlfriend.”
    “What? No, I don’t.”
    “Yes, you do. Before we left my place yesterday, when I asked about the girl in your Facebook pictures, you said the two of you had broken up. When I asked if you have anyone special in your life, you said yes.”
    Aiden pitched his head back and pinched his eyes closed.
    “Goodness, Nyla. Are you kidding me?” he said, his voice strained. He looked at her again and shook his head. “You never gave me the chance to finish answering you yesterday. If you had, I would have told you that
you’re
the someone special that I’m
hoping
to have in my life. I don’t have a girlfriend.”
    “Not even one you occasionally date?” she asked.
    He shook his head. “I’ve tried to get over you, Nyla. I told myself that it would make life easier if I could just forget those months I spent with you three years ago ever happened, but there is nothing easy about forgetting you.” He closed the distance between them. “I’m starting to think it’s impossible.”
    “Don’t,” she said.
    “It didn’t matter how smart or beautiful or funny those other women were, not one of them could ever measure up to you.”
    She dropped her head. “God, Aiden,” she whispered. “Why are you doing this to me?”
    He captured her chin and lifted it until she met his gaze.
    His heart pounded against the walls of his