Free The Sun and the Moon (Giving You ... #1) by Leslie McAdam Page A

that I was not to do the dishes tonight, despite my loud objection. I kicked and flailed and finally found purchase by holding on to his ass, heh heh. He threw me on the couch, and returned to the dishes, continuing our previous conversation.
    At 9:06 p.m. I wandered back to the kitchen entrance hovering out of reach.  Ryan walked over, touched the end of my nose with a finger covered in soap suds, and smirked, showing me his dimples.
    At 9:22 p.m. he let his finger slip lazily down the side of my neck, as he helped me into my windbreaker.
    At 9:26 p.m. he held my hand, while we walked around my neighborhood on the warm autumn evening, enjoying the Halloween decorations.
    At 9:33 p.m. he continued to hold my hand, while we continued our walk.
    At 10:03 p.m. he continued to hold my hand, as we walked up my walkway to my front door. He gave my hand a squeeze and released it so that I could unlock the door.
    At 10:58 p.m. he brushed his fingers against mine, as he handed me a glass of sparkling water.
    At 11:39 p.m. we both reached for the volume button on the music, at the same time, as we traded favorite bands on Spotify.
    At 11:56:45 p.m. I had enough. I stood in the kitchen, a finger pointed in Ryan's handsome, freckled face, yelling at him, "You impossible man, you said you were not going to touch me until midnight, and you've been touching me all night long!  I'm going to combust." It was all I could do not to stamp like a child. I was breathing hard, and trying not to show it, so I felt lightheaded.
    He looked about the same way that I did, full lips separated, breathing shallow, curly hair messy from him running his hands through it during the evening. Then he gave me a provocative smile. "Just a few more minutes. Let's see how close we can get without touching."
    "Bastard," I grumbled, and then I decided to take him up on his challenge. I stepped closer to him, so that we were facing each other, six inches apart.
    He took a baby step forward, closing the distance between us in half.
    I stepped forward an inch, and my knees and hands started to shake. My fingers twitched, itching to touch him. I licked my lips and he licked his. My toes stopped two inches away from his toes; my knees, two inches away from his knees; and my fingers, two inches away from his fingers. He looked down and I looked up, moving our faces two inches away from each other. He held his torso two inches away from mine, the whole way down his body.
    Then he moved so that we were one inch apart. Everywhere. And then we breathed in and out, for two and a half minutes. The longest two and a half minutes of my life. His pupils dilated, and his cheek twitched. His attractive, clean mansmell washed over me. I felt his warm, sweet breath on my skin and I panted on him. He moved his finger and then stilled it.
    And then the digital clock on the microwave changed to 12:00 p.m.
    Midnight.
    He abruptly lunged at me, palming my face with both of his hands, his long fingers probing my cheekbones, and pressed his full lips to mine, kissing me.
    Then, just as abruptly, he pulled back, and looked at me closely.
    "I wanna be gentle this time," he said softly, as if to himself.
    "I don't," I retorted.
    A low rumbling, deep in his throat, vibrated against my body, and he kissed me hard, again.  Then, in a rush, he picked me up, one hand under my knees, the other under my neck, like he was a groom carrying me over the threshold, kissing me the entire way down the hall from the kitchen.
    "Tough. This time will be gentle. Or at least as slow and gentle as I can go."
    He carried me, at a clip, down to my bedroom, and eased me onto the bed, lingering, bending over me, and nibbling at my neck. He pressed back to stand up, and to turn on the light in the darkened room, and I said quickly, "Wait. No lights."
    This was Rule #1. I didn't have sex in full light. Ever.
    I could see the look on his face from the light in the hallway, and I knew that he knew that I didn't want the