Free Do Anything by Wendy Owens Page B

think I’ve experienced enough things in my life yet.”
    “I don’t understand. Do you think Anne Rice has ever actually met a vampire?” His question makes me laugh.
    “Well, no.”
    “You jumped on a plane to a place you’ve never been and had a pretty hot and steamy encounter with a stranger in the middle of the night. I don’t know, but your life sounds pretty damn interesting to me.”
    “I …” I have nothing to say in response.
    “Exactly.”
    “Shut up and kiss me,” I growl, leaning back on my elbows.
    “Oh, I can definitely help you out with that request,” he replies, climbing on top of my body, his lips meeting mine without hesitation.
    The kiss begins tender, then he presses firmly against me, and I allow his tongue to explore the inside of my mouth. I drink him in, as he tastes me, the sourness of my last drink of wine lingering on my palette.
    He pulls away, kissing my neck, and I push my lips against his ear and whisper, “You’re right. You’re a really good tour guide.”
    I feel his body convulse with laughter, as his head moves down my body, and he lifts up my shirt, trailing kisses down my stomach. My hips lift toward his head in anticipation. I close my eyes, waiting for him to tug at the button of my pants, but nothing happens.
    I open my eyes, and he’s staring at me.
    “What?” I gasp.
    “We better get back,” he says, standing up.
    “Huh?” I squeak, exasperated.
    He reaches out a hand to help me up. I take hold, and he yanks me upright, pulling my body close to him. “You said you wanted to slow down last night, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
    “I changed my mind,” I moan.
    Holden laughs; Jesus, I love his laugh. “Uh-huh, come on, give me a hand,” he directs me, grabbing the empty containers and tossing them back into the basket. Though I’m frustrated, Holden has just piqued my curiosity.

I bounce down the stairs, each step exuding energy. The last two weeks have felt like a dream. I’ve spent about every waking moment with Holden. Kenzie still can’t believe I haven’t screwed him yet. She can’t seem to wrap her head around the idea that two people might be able to spend almost every minute of every day together and simply enjoy conversation.
    We do enjoy the occasional kiss; all right, perhaps more than the occasional kiss. His hands have also explored my body many times, but he doesn’t seem to be pushing me to speed things along. Though it sounds cliché to Kenzie, he’s a gentleman. I’ve told him about Jack, probably more than I should have. I explained that we had been together since college, and that I’d never really had a serious relationship besides him.
    When I lay in bed at night, unable to sleep, I tend to dive into our relationship. Analyzing every detail. My conclusion is that we’ve both been hurt. Maddie left him at the altar, and I … well, we don’t need to rehash my issues. Two people who have experienced our kind of hurt start off in a common place. Maybe it helps to relate to one another, but I think it also makes us cautious; hence why I haven’t ripped his clothes off yet, no matter how bad both of us have wanted to.
    I doubt at any stage in my life I’d sleep with a man after only two weeks. Though the idea makes me curious, it isn’t who I am. And while Kenzie likes to play off that she is a wild child, I know her too well. Through all of her complaining, she loves Ben and would never be unfaithful to him, no matter how much she claims she could be tempted.
    Holden is stationed behind the bar. My stomach flutters when I look at him. Our eyes meet, and it’s like that little shock you get when there is too much static electricity in the air. I push all the air from my lungs as I walk by him and cross the room, taking a seat in front of the fireplace. I prop my feet up on the small stool in front of me and pull my book up in front of my face, cracking the pages. It’s funny to me how comfortable I feel