Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [38]
“I’m quite sure your parents love you, Mitch. But admit it, you weren’t the easiest kid to deal with.”
She saw his wicked grin and knew he was indulging in a little reminiscing about his hellion years.
“I know you’re right,” he said. “I was totally out of their realm. I got more interesting to them when I was older, once your parents helped me overcome my tendency toward self-destruction. And they’re certainly pleased I ended up so respectable.”
He said the word as if it pained him, and Kelsey grinned. “I somehow suspect they know you well enough to be aware that the badass in you is always lurking just underneath the surface.”
He shook his head ruefully, leaned back on the sofa and said, “Kelsey, until you moved into my life, I would have sworn that badass was long gone!”
“Gee, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Mitch,” she said with a self-satisfied smirk.
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
Kelsey slid up on the sofa to sit next to him. Papers and books covered two of the three cushions, and Kelsey nudged Mitch with her hip until he made room for her. He gave a loud, theatrical sigh as she sat down.
“Admit it, I’m not so bad to have around.”
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “There are a few definite benefits to having you around, Kels.”
She liked the sound of that.
“Mainly, it earns me points with your family.”
She elbowed him in the ribs. “Not funny.”
Kelsey reached out to retrieve the stack of pictures on the table, slowly flipping through them again. She sensed Mitch watching her. His body was pressed against hers, from hip to knee. When he stretched his arm across the back of the sofa behind her, she curled up into the crook under his arm. He didn’t pull away. Kelsey closed her eyes briefly and savored the heavy weight of his arm on her shoulders, and the faint scent of his cologne. His neck was inches from her face, and the urge to press a kiss below his right ear was nearly overwhelming. She resisted it by focusing on the pictures. He took a few from her and glanced through them himself.
“You’re wrong, you know,” she said as they finished going through the stack. “You have a huge heart, Mitch. You are not destined to be alone.”
She turned her face up to look at him, staring intently into his dark blue eyes. He didn’t say anything. Kelsey couldn’t stop looking at him, knowing she wasn’t quite staying within the “friends” boundary they’d decided on. She didn’t care. She’d be willing to bet money that he didn’t, either. Especially when she realized he was going to kiss her.
He leaned forward slowly and brought his lips to hers. He kissed her sweetly, lovingly, and Kelsey nearly melted. This wasn’t mindless passion, the heated exchanges they’d shared in the stairway, but instead a kiss of comfort and longing and sweet seduction. She opened her mouth slightly, inviting him to further the intimacy, and he complied, his tongue engaging hers in a slow, seductive dance.
Kelsey didn’t want the kiss to end. But when it finally did, Mitch didn’t jerk away from her. Instead he closed his eyes and moved slightly so his cheek rested against her temple. She felt his heart pounding under her fingertips, which had somehow found their way to his shirt-clad chest.
“Mitch?” she whispered against the side of his neck. “Is that how friends usually kiss?”
“I think that’s possible,” he replied softly.
“Then I’m awfully glad you’re my friend.”
“WE NEED TO TALK.”
Kelsey didn’t look up from the pile of correspondence she’d been sorting through. Mitch was obviously trying to keep busy, to cover up the awkward silence that had ensued after their kiss.
“I’m so sick of talking,” she replied.
Mitch had been brooding for the past half hour, ever since he’d finally moved away from her and gone back to work. She knew he was trying to figure out what to say, how to rationalize that kiss, and she did not want to hear it.
“We kissed. Friends kiss all the time. You said so yourself. Besides, I think it was natural for us to seek a little