Covet Thy Neighbor

this amazingly aggressive was also one of— fuck , I didn’t care. I just wanted him. I cradled the back of his neck and parted my lips for his insistent tongue. Jesus, he cut right to the chase. Straight for the deep kiss from the get-go, and two could play at this game.
    I pulled him closer, kissed him harder, and he growled softly, digging his fingers into my shoulders.
    He broke the kiss as abruptly as he’d started it, and held my gaze. “Wow. I . . .” He swept his tongue across his lips. “I wasn’t quite expecting . . .”
    “That makes two of us.”
    He blinked. “I . . . I’m sorry. I’m not usually this . . .”
    “I didn’t say it was an unpleasant surprise.”
    “Well, no, okay, it—” He took a breath. “I’m not normally so . . .”
    “Aggressive?”
    “Yeah. That. Not with someone I just met.”
    “Well, if it’s any consolation—” I shoved him up against the wall. “—I am.”
    He shivered, and I had a split second to remember he was a damned minister before we were kissing again, and from his kiss, I wondered if maybe he’d forgotten too. Or just didn’t care. Whatever. I kissed him harder, pressing into him and groaning when he pressed back.
    Once again, we broke away, and once again, we stared at each other. My hand was on his neck. Both of his were on my waist, tugging just slightly at my belt loops like he didn’t want me to pull back. The tension thrumming between us was impossible to read. Disbelief? Pure arousal? I didn’t know anymore. I knew I was hard, I knew I wanted him, and I knew there were reasons I shouldn’t even let myself fantasize about this going any further.
    Guys like him don’t do things like this with guys like me .
    Guys like him don’t do this.
    Darren’s eyes darted toward his door. “You want to come inside? For . . . a drink?”
    My heart sped up. “You actually feel like a drink right now?”
    Darren held my gaze. Then he tightened his grasp on my belt loops. “Not really, no.”
    “Then what . . .” I hesitated. “What do you feel like right now?”
    “What do you think?”
    I think I want you. I think you want me. I think . . . I think . . .
    He spoke first: “Question.”
    I lifted my eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.
    One corner of his mouth rose, and his eyes narrowed just right to fuck with my blood pressure all over again. “Door number one?” He nodded toward his apartment, then mine. “Or door number two?”
    All the air in the hallway disappeared.
    “Are you—” I cleared my throat just to get some air moving. “Are you serious?”
    “You’d better believe it.”
    And he kissed me again.

That kiss ended in a rush of breath from both of us.
    I touched my forehead to his. “Holy fuck.” My tight grip on the back of his neck was the only thing that kept my hand from shaking. “And here I thought you just wanted to get beers.”
    “I did.” He brushed his lips against mine. “I changed my mind.”
    “Me too.”
    “Let’s go inside. My . . . my apartment. It’s—” His eyes darted between the doors. “—closer.”
    I drew back a little, meeting his eyes. “Not for drinks?”
    Darren grinned. “Not for drinks.”
    “Lead the way.”
    He led the way. Into his apartment. Into his living room. Fuck, were we really doing this?
    He flipped on the light, and we faced each other again. The smoldering hunger in his eyes matched—might have even surpassed—my own, and I was a heartbeat away from putting him over a stack of boxes or up against the wall again when he nodded toward the hallway. Wordlessly, without touching, we followed the short hall toward his bedroom.
    I liked the way he worked: get in the house and go straight to the bedroom. Straight to business.
    And the second we were in his bedroom, he was against me. And this time, I was against the wall. Kissing, grinding, grabbing . . .
    Wait. Isn’t he a . . .
    Do ministers do this?
    Then his lips were on my neck, and my hands were under his shirt, and apparently ministers did do this.
    We stumbled toward his bed. Somewhere in the kissing and shuffling, our shirts disappeared; one second we were fully dressed, and the next, his chest was hot against mine. Shoes came off, nearly tripping us, but somehow, we both stayed upright.
    My leg brushed his bed. I groaned and kissed him harder, the reality of what we were doing finally sinking in.
    Darren pulled back. Panting, he looked around, brow furrowed like he was either confused or searching for