Ryan Hunter

Something Liza would remember for the rest of her life…and smile when she did. She’d hate me if I spoiled this for her. But heck, when I looked at her cute pout, I could hardly withstand the temptation. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, Matthews,” I growled.
    “Well, it won’t kill me to find out, right?”
    It wouldn’t kill her, no. But she might kill me, if I screwed this up. Her eyes fastened on mine. Holy shit, what if I just gave it a try? If I made it good for her, she might acquire a taste for it. More me .
    Taking in a deep breath, I drawled, “Okay. But r emember, I gave you fair warning.”
    Liza looked like she couldn’t make up her mind between being stubborn or scared as hell of what I was going to do with her in a minute. Well, she didn’t have to be scared. The girls I’d been out with bragged about me being a good kisser for a reason.
    With a quick glance at Philip, I nodded, and he filled the two glasses with tequila, obviously happy about the new development. Rachel grabbed the bottle from his hand when my glass was only half-full. “That’s enough for him,” she insisted.
    That was okay. There could have been water in the shot, and I wouldn’t mind, because the most essential part of this game was actually not the drink but the half slice of lime that Phil just placed on my glass.
    While my anticipation grew to a point that reached my pants, Liza looked every bit ready to back out. I gave her a half-smile, one which I knew made her go stupid and dreamy . “You still game?”
    “I don’t have to drink this, do I?” she whispered uncertain.
    “No, you don’t ,” I assured her, hoping she’d keep up her bravery. “That’s for me. You only assist with the lime.”
    She looked at the juicy fruit then back at me and nodded. “Game on.”
    That was my cue. Smiling to myself, I took the lime off the Tequila, clinked my glass to Philip’s, and held the slice out to Liza. “Bite.”
    “What?”
    “ Bite ,” I said again as I put the glass down and dragged the brim of my cap around to the back of my head so it wouldn’t poke her in the eye. Then I knocked back the shot, the sharp taste of liquor burning down my throat.
    Liza’s eyes staked mine as she leaned forward and bit i nto the fruit I held out to her. With a grimace, she jerked away. All right, that would do. Tossing the slice into my empty glass, I reached around her neck and slipped my hand under her soft hair. There was no time to think, or I might have changed my mind…for her sake, not for mine.
    Her eyes grew wide with surprise as I yanked her toward me, and with my mouth pressed gently against hers, I slid my tongue across her tender bottom lip, licking away the sour taste of lime juice . Just because she deserved it for her earlier sweet pout, I gave her lip a gentle nip. Then I went for the full taste. With a little more pressure in the right place, I worked her mouth open with mine.
    I realized that I had stunned her breathless, but when I roamed her mouth with my tongue, she was ready to give me back in full. In a sensually slow motion, I stroked her tongue with mine, savoring the beguiling mix of Coke and lime, together with Liza’s sweetness.
    God, how long had I been waiting for this moment. For this first real taste of her. It seemed like forever, and it was totally worth the wait. Getting high from her amazing smell and from how soft her skin felt against my palm when I caressed her neck and cheek, I didn’t want to ever stop kissing her. But if I also wanted her to live through this, I knew I had to pull away, so she would finally start breathing again.
    I pulled a tiny inch back and told her with a soft, low, and utterly happy voice, “Thanks for your help with the lime.”
    “Uh-huh. ” Her gorgeous eyes turned a darker shade of green with innocent passion. “Anytime.”
    I loved her being baffled, because her luscious lips were slightly parted, inviting me back in. She stared at me as though we were the only people in the room. Hell, if this was true, she’d be lying on that bar now, trapped underneath me, and a simple kiss wouldn’t fucking do.
    Rachel squeezed in between me and Liza, sending a disapproving scowl at Phil and me. “Look what you did, you oafs. You scared the poor girl.”
    “Nah, she isn’t scared.” Giving up my place next to Liza, I winked at her over my sister’s shoulder. “I bet she enjoyed it.”
    And now the sweetest smile slipped to Liza’s