Free Shut Off (Just This Once #3) by Cee Smith Page A

her sentence out before I had my arms wrapped around her back, crushing her to my chest with my mouth absorbing the last of her protestation. The blanket dropped back into the dirt in her surrender.
    I knew if I wanted to, I could convince her to go along with whatever my dick had planned, but I had a better idea. If this was our first and, quite possibly, our last date, I wanted it to be something deeper than a quick fuck. Blaire needed to be convinced that what I wanted from her was more than stolen moments at hotels. I hadn’t quite come out and told her how I felt about her, and as much as I wanted to, I didn’t think it would be fair to start something when I didn’t know what my life would look like in the coming days, weeks, or months. No point in her tying herself to a sinking ship, and according to the phone call I had with my lawyer the night before, it was definitely a possibility, as he garnered no new information from Lara’s deposition.
    I pushed all of that from my mind and did the only thing I could in that moment, the one thing that always felt right between us—I kissed her. She was so small in my arms, as she sank further into the kiss. Her mouth opened against my prying lips, and her tongue reached out to touch mine. So soft, so gentle. My hands held the sides of her neck as I kissed deeper, luring her tentative tongue into my mouth. I felt her moan vibrate my lips, sending tingles across my face.
    Her hands moved up into my hair, tugging my face down until she was no longer on her tippy toes to reach me. I slipped my hands back down to her hips and lifted her up, wrapping those legs around me so our faces were aligned. She nibbled my mouth for entry before tangling her tongue with mine. The hands that had found their way up to my hair were now pulling with renewed vigor as her mouth wrestled mine. Her chest moved wildly against mine as she panted through our kiss. My cock hardened between us, and it was a surprise that I stayed committed to my initial intent. This wouldn’t go any farther than a kiss. Yet the more I tasted the sweetness of her lips, the harder it was to tell myself no.
    I spun us around until her back was to the blanket, where I laid her down. In the dark, I could see the sparkle in her eyes, the glimmer of hope that resided there. We both had been fighting us for so long that it felt unreal that I had her now, there, open for me. She didn’t have to say she wanted me; her body did that for her. I watched her chest climb with her ragged breaths and her legs splay open, just enough to entice me to come down to her.
    I fell down into the bundle beside her, my elbow propping up my body so I could lean over her.
    “This feels like a new Joel. Are you turning over a new leaf?” She tried to sound like a smart ass, but it came out too breathy, too needy.
    “I guess that depends.”
    “On what?”
    “Do you like it?”
    I didn’t wait for her to answer, but I could see she was still thinking as I kissed her neck. I licked her lightly between kisses, tasting the saltiness of her skin mixed with the sweet smell of her perfume. My lips didn’t stop there—I rained kisses across the apples of her cheeks, the column of her throat, her clavicles, right down to the dip between her breasts. I kissed her everywhere her skin was open and available for my lips.
    “I do,” she whispered.
    “You do, what?”
    “I like it.”
    I gave her a wink before continuing raining kisses across her face. Eventually, she pulled my mouth to hers and deepened the kiss as she opened her mouth against mine, breathing in the heat that lingered between us.
    “I’m glad I got a chance to bring you out here,” I said to Blaire as I pulled her against my chest, moments after our lips parted and she found herself searching for air. This night with Blaire was proof that there was still beauty in the world.
    “Thanks, Joel. This is amazing. Who knew you were a bit of a romantic.”
    “Let’s just say I was