Kiss This (7 page)

She turned her head to face forward, and
again he thought he felt her body tense up. He wasn’t expecting all
of these cold reactions to some of his words. Didn’t he give her a
compliment? Or maybe she didn’t know how to accept one.

“Let’s walk,” she said, pulling away from
him. She didn’t even look back to check if he would follow, but he
did anyways. Once they were on the sand, they were side by side.
“So tell me about yourself, Teague. Do you work or just stalk
people on the beach all day?”

He smiled easily. “I work and then I stalk
the beach.”

“Ah, I see. So what kind of work do you
do?”

“I work at one of the surf shops up town.
Five a.m. almost every day.”

“Surf shop, huh. Do you also surf?”

“No, I give advice about equipment that I
know nothing about,” he bantered.

“Okay, dumb question. Then you need to take
me out sometime.”

He studied her closely until he realized
what she meant. “Surfing?”

“No, whale watching. Yes, surfing. Just
because I’m from California doesn’t mean I know how to surf. I’ve
been out on boogie boards, but never tried surfing.”

“Oh, uh, well, you probably don’t want to
learn here then. Have someone there teach you.”

She stopped to face him. “Maybe I just want
you
to teach me.”

He met her gaze and swallowed. They were
barely a foot apart again, but then she looked away. He took the
blanket from around her and sat down on the sand against a log.
“Come here,” he said, patting the space next to him. She sat and
leaned against him as he wrapped them both up.

“This is nice, Teague, but it hasn’t
distracted me one bit. Surfing? Will you take me sometime?”

“Sure,” he replied, deciding to just humor
her for now.

“What else do you like to do?”

“You mean hobbies?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Hmm, well, I’m probably your typical guy. I
like sports, cars and motorcycles, food, music, and I especially
like being a conceited asshole.”

She smiled at that. “Noted. And what’s your
last name, by the way?”

He unnecessarily cleared his throat. “It’s
Chandler.” Teague was waiting for lightning to strike him but
nothing happened.

Camryn only nodded, like she was logging it
into her head. They sat for almost a minute without speaking,
listening to the waves crash in the distance, before she said, “You
can smoke if you want.”

He stopped shaking the leg he didn’t realize
he was shaking. “Huh?”

“You haven’t had a cigarette for a while.
It’s okay if you smoke.”

“Oh. Nah, I’m fine. And I quit two hours
ago, remember?”

“Sure,” she chuckled.

“You think I’m kidding?” he smiled, leaning
around her so they were face to face. “I was serious, Camryn. I
told you I was done.”

“You don’t actually expect me to stop
drinking, do you?” she asked dryly.

“Not if you don’t want to.”

They were silent again, listening to the
ocean. After a few minutes, Teague moved her hair to the side and
placed the corner of his mouth against her neck.

“You smell good,” he murmured. He brushed
his lips along her skin, from her neck up to her ear, and then
along her jaw. He pressed his cheek to hers and said, “Do you know
how hard this is, not being able to melt against your mouth, suck
on your lips, your tongue… You do know that, don’t you,” he
stated.

She didn’t respond, which made Teague
curious. He wondered if he’d been pushing his luck big time. So far
she hadn’t said anything about his little ploy to get around her
half of the bet. She seemed to be receptive to his attention, but
uncomfortable at the same time. But he was beginning to realize
that Camryn’s “rule” was a double-edged sword. She probably knew
that too, and he wondered how many other guys she’d tortured this
way.

Well, hell. Maybe it was time for him to
play it cool. He leaned back against the log and adjusted her in
his arms. “So tell me more about yourself,” he said.

She released a breath of air and then
settled her head back against his shoulder. “Well, let’s see. I’m
twenty-two, my sister is nineteen. We rent a house in Fresno,
complete with a stupid ass parrot that Melanie insisted on having.
He’s absolutely useless, but it is pretty funny when he says
‘fucktard’ out of the blue.”

Teague couldn’t help but laugh. “Who taught
him that?” After her brief silence, he laughed again. “Gotcha.”

“Hey, the bastard calls me fatty all the
time. ‘Hey fatty, hey fatty,’” she mimicked.

“What? No way.”

“Yes way. So I figured I’d name him
Fucktard.”

“Who taught him ‘hey fatty’?”

“I have no idea. Mel got him from a guy down
the street. He’s kind of an asshole; the type that would talk to
women like that.”

“Sounds like a winner. So the bird knows his
new name now, huh? Fucktard,” he laughed softly, shaking his
head.

“Yep. But I’m betting he’s probably dead by
now, since Melanie most likely hasn’t remembered to feed him. Maybe
there’s a silver lining to me having to be up here.”

Teague considered that for a second. “And…a
dead bird would be the
only
perk for you having to deal with
your mom?”

He could see her smile at the hint. “Nah, I
can think of other things.”

“Hmm, like what?” he asked in a low voice.
He was close to her face again, but resisted the temptation to get
closer.

“Well,” she mused. “Like being near the
beach to run.”

He expected some sort of tease like that.
“Definitely a bonus.”

“And…it’s kind of nice to have a break from
my sister, even though I’m worried the house could be burned to the
ground when I get back.”

“So did you upgrade or downgrade by trading
her in for your mom,” he joked.

“Ugh, you’re right. Hmm, guess my silver
lining is a little bleak, huh. Damn it.”

“Well, you’ve still got the beach nearby to
run.”

“True.”

“And if your sister burns down the house,
Fucktard goes down with it.”

She laughed out loud. “Oh my God, you’re
right!”

“See? Always another silver lining that
could appear later on.”

“Very true. You’re wise, Teague. And how old
are you?”

“Not much older than you. Twenty-three.”

“Oh thank God you are older, though.”

“You don’t prefer younger guys, huh?” He
tried to keep the laugh to himself.

“No,” she scowled.

“Hmm, then I’m seeing another silver lining
here… And by the way, you have a beautiful laugh.”

Camryn’s smile seemed to question his
compliment. Did she think he was making fun of her?

“Well…thank you,” she finally replied. “So
do you. It feels good to laugh with someone after…dealing with
stuff.”

“You mean your mom? Is there anything I can
help with?”

She smiled at him with surprise. “No, but
thanks,” she answered, playing with a section of her hair that fell
over her shoulder.

His eyes were fixed on her fingers for a
moment, and then he looked at her face. She was a gorgeous girl,
and now that Teague knew she was a dancer, he could only imagine
what it was like to watch her body move. He shouldn’t be thinking
about things like that, though. Just wondering what her lips tasted
like was bad enough. His natural instinct was to kiss her right
now, but he wouldn’t get far with that before she branded him a
loser and left him in need of a cold dip in the ocean.

Well fuck it. He couldn’t force his hands to
behave any longer, and he slid them under her jacket and into her
shirt. She might have tensed just slightly, but she didn’t object,
and just feeling that small amount of her flesh against his fingers
was enough to break him down.

His discipline became lost at sea.

Chapter Seven

Camryn couldn’t decide which was louder, the
pounding in her chest or the crashing waves. She couldn’t forget
Teague’s lips on her skin from earlier. He’d also said some really
nice things to her and her body reacted automatically, and because
of that, she wasn’t so sure she appreciated his compliments.
Whatever Teague was doing, it was working. She hadn’t let a guy get
this affectionate with her in the past
two years
. Brandon
gave her little kisses here and there, but it was never this
intimate. Her body had never reacted to him like it did with
Teague.

And now the fear was surfacing again and she
wanted to send it away. She was ready to make an effort and Teague
seemed like a nice candidate. That very fragile organ in her chest
still needed protecting, but the soft and gentle way that Teague
handled her felt assuring. He was definitely pressing his luck by
putting his mouth on her all the time when he “wasn’t” kissing her;
and now she could feel his fingers against the skin on her lower
back and she didn’t know how to react.

“So tell me more about yourself,” Teague
finally said, speaking softly.

She didn’t answer right away. Just having
him that close killed the resistance in her that was normally
automatic. And when Teague whispered in the dark, it knocked her
down even more.

“Well… I’m kind of a nerd, I guess,” she
shrugged. “I like to read a lot. In fact, I rarely even watch TV
because I’d rather read a book.”

“What do you like to read?”

“History, actually. And biographies. That’s
really nerdy, right?”

He lightly laughed. “Nah, that’s cool. Means
you care about the world and the people in it.”

“I like murder mysteries, too. What about
you? Do you like to read?”

“Sure.
Sports Illustrated
,
Motor
Trend
,
Dirt Bike, Surfer, Newsweek
…”

“Magazines, huh?” she smiled.

“Yeah. I like to read stuff, but I’d rather
do
instead. Maybe I just don’t have the attention span to
read anything more than a few pages at a time.”

“You’re a busybody, or do you have ADHD?”
she chuckled.

“Maybe both,” he smiled. “Speaking of
bodies…”

Camryn was well aware that his fingers were
still on her skin. They moved slightly and she could feel tingles
race up her spine. “What about bodies?” she barely whispered. Hell,
he was staring at her lips now and she didn’t mean to lick them.
But his eyes met hers, and her hand that had been resting in the
sand seemed to sink deeper into it.

“I like yours,” he spoke softly.

His fingers slid up her back further, and
she liked the feel of his soft touch, but he made the mistake of
coming close to her ribs.

“Jeez!” she jumped, and she automatically
yanked her hand up that was immersed in sand, flinging a pile of it
all over his chest and lap. Even in the dark she could tell what
she’d just done. “Oops,” she said, biting off a laugh.

“Yeah, I’m full of sand now,” Teague said,
but he was smiling.

“I’m so sorry. I’m kind of ticklish
there…”

“Huh, good to know. I’ll remember to make
sure we’re not in sand next time.”

She smiled as Teague pulled himself onto his
feet, but she was dwelling on what “next time” meant.

He gave Camryn his hand to pull her up, and
then started shaking the sand off of his body. “I haven’t had sand
in my clothes for a while.”

“You live on the beach,” she stated. “How is
it avoidable?”

“I don’t go on the beach.”

She stopped brushing the sand off of herself
and paused. “What? What do you mean?”

Teague picked up the blanket and shook it
gently. “The first time I saw you run by was the first time I’d
touched sand for ten months.”

She watched him fold the blanket haphazardly
and tuck it under his arm. “How come?”

***

He paused, silently chastising himself for
admitting that.

“Bad memories,” he shrugged, and he started
walking back toward the Jeep. Camryn walked right beside him,
slipping her hand in his. He was surprised she didn’t press for
more information, but he was grateful. And the act of something as
simple as handholding—with Camryn—was endearing enough to distract
them both.

He felt her glancing at him until she said,
“Merry Christmas, Teague.”

He slightly nodded as he turned to look at
her. “Yeah, I guess it is well after midnight. Merry Christmas to
you, too.”

They walked in silence until they reached
the parking lot. The street light nearby cast a dull glow on them
and Teague could see her better. He reached up and brushed a bit of
sand off her cheek, and then let his hand linger.

“So is that what that was back there? A
Christmas gift?”

She barely smiled as she looked down at the
ground. “Sand in your pants? Not exactly.”

He gave an easy laugh and leaned up against
the Jeep, pulling her close to him so they were front to front.
“Well I’m definitely not complaining,” he said, sliding his fingers
into her back pockets.

He took in a subtle breath of air to torture
himself with the way she smelled. He could feel the heat from her
body and it enticed him the same way. She still wasn’t looking at
him; like she couldn’t bear the way he was studying her. Her focus
seemed to be on his chest—anything to avoid looking him in the
eye.

“Camryn, I’m not going to kiss you if you
look at me. I guarantee I never lose a bet.”

He thought she’d laugh at his arrogance, but
she slowly looked up to meet his gaze. “I should probably get home
to check on my mom,” she said suddenly.

Teague felt his expression darken but he
didn’t respond with words. He removed his hands from her pockets
and turned to unlock the passenger’s door, the mood seeming to
shift instantly. Neither of them said a word as they got in the
Jeep and left the parking lot.

It was Camryn that spoke first once they
were on the road. “What are you doing for Christmas tomorrow?”