He opens his eyes and frowns. “Was that it?”

“Yes!” I shout, on the verge of a meltdown. “Why? Was it that bad?”

“No, it was perfectly fine, lass. If I were your grandma.”

His lips curl up, and I realize he’s laughing at me.

“Oh my God, you’re impossible.”

I whirl away, but he grabs my arm and gently drags me back. “You were just nervous, lass. It was a good first effort, nothin’ to be embarrassed about. But if I could make a suggestion . . .”

I stand in front of him vibrating with embarrassment, my cheeks so hot they’re glowing. “What?”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

“Oh. I was doing that, wasn’t I?”

Cam nods. “Just try to relax into it. Also . . .”

His pause terrifies me.

“A real kiss includes tongue.”

I grimace. “To be completely honest, I’m afraid my tongue has a mind of its own. You might find yourself in a wrestling match to the death with it.”

He tries to suppress the laughter shaking his chest by clapping a hand over his mouth but isn’t successful.

“It’s not funny!”

“It’s hilarious, and you know it!”

I look into his sparkling eyes and have to admit he’s right. I groan. “Oh God. I’m so pathetic.”

Instantly, Cam’s laughter vanishes. “No, goddammit, you’re not,” he growls, his eyes blazing. “Now kiss me again before I change my mind and take you over my knee for bein’ such a bloody idiot.”

I search his face for a moment, wondering why he gets so mad when I say things like that, then decide it really doesn’t matter.

What matters is Michael. So here we go.

I step into the space between Cam’s spread legs, remove my glasses and set them on the counter beside him, flatten my hands over his chest, and, with a final exhalation, press my lips to his.

FIFTEEN

If I thought Cameron McGregor tasted good with his mouth shut, he becomes the most succulent, delicious bonanza of flavor when his lips part and my tongue touches his.

His mouth is sweet, hot, and plush. He applies gentle pressure, sucking lightly on my tongue, and makes a low sound in the back of his throat.

That sound—combined with the taste of his mouth and the hard heat of his body pressed against mine—sends an electric current of pleasure shooting through my veins.

“Oh!” I jump, startled by the shock of it, and pull away. I stand in front of him with wide eyes, my heart thumping, my mind a writhing snarl of dangerous thoughts like a box full of snakes.

Cam’s eyes drift open. “Easy, lass,” he says softly, pulling me back to him. “We’re not done yet.”

Before I can decide if I want to keep going, he decides for us both by taking my mouth again and easing his tongue between my lips.

Boy, he’s being a really good friend.

“Think of pretty boy,” he whispers when I stand there stiff as a board, uncomfortable because I’m liking this little experiment a tad too much. “Pretend I’m him. Pretend it’s his mouth on yours. His body against yours. His hand in your hair.”

Cam’s hand is in my hair. When did that happen?

I discover with a twinge of terror that I don’t care because I like it so much. He holds my head in place as we kiss with his hand fisted at the scruff of my neck, an action so wholly and unexpectedly erotic my mind blinks off-line. I sag against him, desperately drawing breath through my nose.

Oh God. Oh that. Oh yes, that. Do that again. You’re a genius. My nipples could cut glass.

He’s so big, and hard, and hot as a furnace, but his mouth is the softest thing in the world. It’s a cloud. A sweet, delicious cloud that’s impairing my thoughts and kicking up the release of eggs from my ovaries until I’m sure I could make omelets on a hotel brunch’s buffet line with all of them.

Somehow my arms have wound around his shoulders. Somehow his other arm has become an iron bar around my waist. Somehow I’m making desperate growly kitten noises and grinding myself against his body.

Somehow he’s making desperate growly wolf noises and grinding back.

The doorbell rings.

We break apart like we’ve been caught plotting the overthrow of the government and stare at each other.

“Someone’s at the door.” My voice sounds like I’ve swallowed a toad.

“Are you gonna answer it?” His voice sounds like he’s swallowed a handful of gravel.

I wheeze out an asthmatic breath. “It could be important.”

Cam’s gaze drops to my lips, then flashes back up to my eyes. The heat in his eyes almost incinerates me. “More important than this?”

Whoa. Was that an earthquake? No, we don’t have earthquakes in Manhattan. Then why is the ground moving?

Sounding irritated, the doorbell rings twice more. It breaks the weird spell I’m under, and I’m able to jerk away from Cam and draw a breath before I throw myself back into his arms and beg him to do naughty things to me.

I wonder if his ChapStick is drugged?

I grab my glasses and shuffle to the door with a jolting, stiff-kneed gait, like a zombie. When I open it, Mrs. Dinwiddle stands there in a royal-blue lounging robe with peacock-feather trim at the sleeves and hem, a martini in one hand and an unlit cigarette in a long black holder in the other. Her turquoise sequined headband sports a spray of seed pearls on one side that bob as her head moves.

I’m too discombobulated to bother with small talk. “Since when do you smoke, Mrs. Dinwiddle?”

“Good gracious, Ducky, I don’t!”

I look pointedly at the cigarette holder in her hand.

She waves it around like Hermione casting a spell. “Oh, this! Isn’t it elegant? I found it in a trunk yesterday afternoon, packed away in the back of my closet with some of my old stage costumes. I had Blessica run to the store for a pack of cigarettes, because it looked quite sad without one. Ducky, did you know a pack of cigarettes costs thirteen dollars? Shocking!”

She doesn’t look shocked. She looks positively giddy. I wonder what number martini she’s on. “How can I help you, Mrs. Dinwiddle?”

She sails past me into my apartment on a cloud of Chanel No. 5, shedding peacock feathers. Mr. Bingley scampers over and starts batting at the feathers, his tail bristling with excitement.

“I had a thought, my dear, since you’ve embarked on your program of self-improvement.”

I close the door behind her. “Who told you I’ve embarked on a program of self-improvement?”

She spins around, chin lifted at a regal angle, cigarette holder with its ridiculous unlit cigarette held aloft. The cat scurries around her floating feathered hem with insane-o hunter eyes.

“Cameron did, my dear.” She notices him leaning against the counter in the kitchen. “Oh! Hello, Cameron!”

“Hullo, Mrs. Dinwiddle.”

She squints at him. “Are you all right, my dear? Your face looks funny.”

At the same time, Cam and I say, “Intestinal gas.”

Our gazes meet across the room. I look away first because I’m not sure what my expression might be doing.

“I’ve got something for that, my dear. I’ll have Blessica bring it over, along with my makeup kit.”

“Your makeup kit?” I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

“We’re giving you a makeover!” she crows in glee, then turns practical. “Now that Michael is getting divorced, we have to move quickly. We don’t want another girl snapping him up. And forgive me, Ducky, but I thought you might need professional help with your hair and makeup. It’s Friday night, so we’ll have plenty of time to experiment with different looks.”