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and closed. She traced the heart. “He’s totally into you.”

    “He carried me home and helped mend your broken heart. That’s all.”

    She shook her head. “No. He’s totally into you. What guy spends a Saturday night with two chicks watching You’ve Got Mail unless he isn’t totally into one?”

    That was a pretty good point. I fidgeted. “You know he probably did one of those groupies last night before coming to the party.”

    She shrugged. “Maybe.”

    “And I’m not into him, so it doesn’t matter.”

    “What doesn’t matter?” Jesse asked, closing the front door and flipping the deadbolt. My nose wrinkled at the smell trailing behind him. He tucked a pack of gum in his back pocket and popped a piece between his teeth.

    “That you’re nice. That’s going to kill you soon anyway.”

    “Chewing gum?”

    I narrowed my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

    His gaze slid over me, starting at my toes poking out from the tip of the cast, lazily sliding over my legs, pausing for a brief moment on my running shorts, then drifting northward, pausing again at my neck, lips, and eyes.

    A trail of warmth pooled along the path.

    When he spoke, I was sure I hadn’t heard him right.

    “What?” I asked, downplaying the reason for the huskiness in my voice. The drugs must be kicking in.

    “I said I will—for a kiss.”

    “You’ll quit. If I let you kiss me, you’ll quit smoking?”

    He took the pack from his pocket and held them up. “Cold turkey.”

    “Fine.”

    The wrapper crackled as he crumpled the entire pack. Without breaking my gaze, he tossed them into the kitchen trash.

    I lifted my face for a peck. I should have known better. His fingers threaded beneath my jaw and into my loose hair. A hungry lust blazed in his eyes. I’d given him permission and he wasn’t about to waste the shot. From beneath his hooded lids, I read promises and needs.

    My eyes dropped closed. This wasn’t a promise, just a kiss.

    His lips were warm and soft. They feathered across mine and I meant to pull back, but his fingers held me captive. He tilted my head to the left and his tongue swept across my lips. I moaned.

    I didn’t mean to, it just erupted from me. His thumbs stroked my cheeks. He tasted like spearmint and, okay, a little bit of cigarette, but it wasn’t grossing me out like I wanted it to. His tongue pressed against my lips again, asking. I relented and parted mine. His tongue swept into my mouth, softly probing, teasing, asking mine to dance.

    Always asking. Never taking.

    My hands ended up in his hair somehow and the couch dipped as he settled his knee against my hip. I leaned back until the arm of the couch dug into my shoulder blade. I wanted more of him. I moaned again and he deepened the kiss. One hand trailed down my neck to my shoulder, leaving another searing trail of heat. My body was an entire map of hotspots. These drugs must be helping.

    Drugs .

    I sat up fast, cracking my forehead against his chin. “Sorry.”

    He pressed a tender kiss against my lips. “I’ve never been more excited to quit smoking in my whole life.”

    Hair curtained his left eye, but did nothing to conceal the lust. Swelling made his lower lip droop in a sexy curve. Clearly I’d had too many drugs today.

    His fingertips brushed my cheek and tucked a wayward lock behind my ear. My neck tingled. I lifted my fingers to his chest. Hard ridges of muscle jumped at my touch and his eyes flashed to my lips. I pushed him back.

    Kerri cleared her throat. “Um, you guys want me to start the movie?”

    She stood wide-eyed at the counter, two bowls of popcorn in her hands. She’d obviously seen the kiss, and why did I care, it was just a kiss. Something I’d done with lots of guys, just never ones I swore I wasn’t going to date, and not a single musician since I’d come to college.

    I nodded.

    My leg ached.

    My head was going to if I thought about how my heart was still thumping. I shouldn’t have