Her long, dark hair spilled over her shoulders as she ran her fingers through it, her frustration clear. “I know it sounds ridiculous. Totally over the top, right? But you don’t know my dad, James. Even if he doesn’t know why he’s supposed to hate you, he still does. Fiercely.”

I looked around her place, my mind searching for an answer in the exposed brick of her fireplace. I wanted to fix this, fix us, or at least figure out how to give us a chance, but I had no idea how to convince her.

“You know Jeanine calls us Romeo and Juliet,” she said, and I sensed her walls softening.

“Is there a version of the story where they live happily ever after instead of dying?”

A small laugh escaped from her lips. “Not that I’m aware of.”

I scooted over on the couch, my body inches from hers instead of feet. “Then, I think it deserves a rewrite.”

I watched as her gaze moved between my eyes and my mouth. Her tongue darted out and wet her bottom lip. The combination of the two only meant one thing; she wanted me to kiss her as much as I wanted to.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked as her eyes focused back on my lips.

I placed my hand on the back of her neck, pulling her toward me, and I let my tongue and mouth do all the talking as I prayed she wouldn’t stop me. I’d been waiting for this my whole damn life.

LOVE OR LUST

Julia

Oh, sweet baby Jesus and all of his friends. Did Jesus have friends? It didn’t matter; nothing mattered because James’s lips felt like home.

The man was skilled, kissing me softly yet firmly. He was slow in his movements but aggressive as well, and I had no idea how one man could command so many contradictory feelings with his mouth, but he did.

I knew immediately that my body would bend and curve to his whim, his hands controlling our pace, his tongue fueling our mutual desire. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had made me feel this alive, like a lit fuse on the end of a firework ready to explode. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever felt quite like this before. Hell, with James’s tongue in my mouth, I could barely remember the last time I’d had sex. That wasn’t true. I definitely remembered it, but it was so awful that I wished I could forget.