He towered over her, his eyes locked on hers, and it might have been uncomfortable if it wasn’t so intense. She couldn’t form a coherent thought to save her life.

“Andrew…” she whispered. She wasn’t telling him to stop, that was for sure. Her fingers gripped his arms tighter, her action completing the thought she couldn’t seem to say.

He closed his eyes.

“I have to.” His breath caressed her cheek as he spoke, and a shiver ran through her, down her spine and to the tips of her toes. He touched his forehead to hers. “I have to.” His lower lip pressed upward against her top one. It wasn’t a kiss, exactly…his mouth was open slightly and so was hers, and they weren’t properly aligned. But the feeling of him against her, his nose brushing hers as he shifted to slide both of his lips fully across hers, was earth-shattering. It seared her soul, burning her inhibitions to ash.

She leaned in to him, molding her mouth to his, their lips becoming the single most important connection between them, despite his arms crushing her body close. A kiss could say so many things, and these words had been denied far too long.

I think about you always.

I care about you.

I’ve been wanting you.

I adore you.

She lost herself in his kiss, his smell, his breath. His tongue swept into her mouth and she moaned, letting him in completely. He released a low growl from deep within his throat, and suddenly his hands gripped her hips and she felt herself being lifted into the air. Her butt hit the granite, and he moved between her legs, putting her at the perfect height. Face-to-face, she tilted her head and kissed him deeply.

He pulled her to the edge of the countertop and their hips came together, her legs wrapping around his waist. She arched herself against his broad torso as they kissed feverishly, stopping only for brief seconds to take in ragged breaths.

Andrew’s hands were everywhere and nowhere at once; the second she sensed his touch in one place he moved to another. Her face, her hair, her waist. A few times his lips dipped to her neck or collarbone, only to return to her lips within seconds.

“Never stop kissing me,” he breathed into her mouth. “Never.”

She didn’t stop. Not for a long, long time.

Finally, she mustered the resolve to pull back, but she left her hands where they gripped Andrew’s waist. That part of him was as hard and muscled as she’d imagined. Damn him and his healthy eating habits.

His warm brown eyes were full of passion and affection. She blinked, taking in the gravity of what she’d done.

She tucked her lips between her teeth and furrowed her brow. “Oops.”

He stared at her for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed.