Sunday Sample - The Long Game

Today's sample comes from The Long Game, a friends-to-lovers romance.

Ayisha sighed and avoided my eyes. "I've told you already, you can't be the man I need, so it doesn't make sense to try."

"You're hurting my feelings, Ayisha."

She whispered, "You have the hide of an alligator, so try again."

"You have a point, but you also have a way of getting under my skin."

After licking her lips, she said, "Is that right?"

Nodding, I grazed her cheek with my lips. I wasn't sure when we'd gotten so close, but my hand spanned the back of her neck and she didn't move when I nuzzled the skin below her ear. I planted tiny kisses on her skin and when I got to the corner of her mouth, Ayisha turned her head so her lips brushed mine.

A hairsbreadth remained between us, and then my mouth closed over hers. For a second, I wallowed in the pleasure of being this close to her. I nudged her mouth open, wanting all of her sweetness.

The kiss was slow, sweet and filling, like having something I loved but hadn't tasted for a long time. Her tiny moan spurred me on and my tongue delved into her mouth and mated with hers in a slow dance that had me pressing her closer, overcome with the need to lay her down somewhere and …

My phone rang, killing the mood instantly.

Ayisha pushed me away, picked up her glass and took a huge swallow. She might have been trying to wash away our kiss, but I didn't intend to let her off the hook that easy. Now, more than ever, we had things to talk about.

I pulled the phone out of my pocket.

Corinne.

Crap.

I couldn't help the lack of enthusiasm that colored my voice. "Yeah."

"Vance, are we still going out this evening?"

"Did we plan to?"

"Don't you remember we talked about this on Thursday?"

"Oh, we did? My brain must be gathering water."

"At least you recognize that."

"You're not the only one," Ayisha muttered as she took up the pizza box, along with the bamboo mat and walked toward the kitchen.

Corinne couldn't have chosen a worst time to call, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. At least now I knew Ayisha wasn't as immune to me as I thought. The knowledge was enough for me to continue working on her, professional troubles or not.

The Long Game is on Kindle Unlimited. If you're interested in reading more, grab your copy at lrd.to/long-game