Truth or Dare by Mira Lyn Kelly

for her. Covered the curve of her waist with the heat of his big hand and it was like every part of her came alive, like her entire body was suddenly aware, alert, and yearning for that touch to encompass it as well.
    And then his other hand was sliding beneath her hair and around the back of her neck, his thumb brushing the line of her jaw so her head tipped back and she was looking into those dark eyes and,
oh God,
it had been so long since anything, since anyone—
    “Okay, so this is it…”
    With those words, some far-removed bit of brain function fired to life and Maggie pulled back as Tyler leaned in.
    That little furrow between his eyes dug deeper. “Maggie?”
    “Wait.” Her hands moved to his chest to put the distance back between them so she could explain that wasn’t how the date worked.
    Think, Maggie.
    Use your words.
    Only then she had the firm resistance and solid-packed muscle of Tyler’s powerful chest beneath her palms, more of that drugging heat, this time accompanied by the heavy beat of his heart beneath.
    Strong fingers flexed at her hip as her name ground past his lips.
“Maggie.”
    And oh yeah, the gruff sound coming from somewhere deep in his chest was almost better than the feel of her hands splayed across it.
    She looked up into the face she couldn’t stop thinking about.
    Blinked. Because there was something different about Tyler’s eyes now. They were cooler, as though maybe he’d remembered who he was with and what they were doing.
    “Maggie,” he said again, and yes, he definitely sounded more in control than he had seconds before. “Let’s get this over with.”
    That hazy fog of hormones she’d nearly given herself over to cleared and instead of feeling enveloped in this intimate heat they shared, she felt cold. Alone.
    Better. Definitely better.
    Even if it didn’t actually feel that way, it was.
    “Ty, it’s got to be at the end of the date to count. So there’s no cheating. You know, not really treating it like a date…because the date-y part is out of the way.”
    Tyler’s eyes closed in what looked like an inner-soul search for patience. “Any other rules for the kiss?”
    “Front stoop. Not inside my apartment. No gagging,” she added, aiming for a bit of levity she hoped would carry over through the one last rule. “And…our tongues have to touch at least once.”
    Tyler’s head dropped forward as a low chuckle rumbled free. “Right, no gagging.”
    He squinted at her, shoving his hands through his hair and roughing it up with a few vigorous strokes. “So what time should I pick you up?”
    —
    Inside his apartment, Ty pressed a fist against the kitchen counter, wondering what the hell he’d been thinking going back to her apartment and picking up another one of Maggie’s spare dates. Except he knew.
    He’d been thinking about some other guy putting his hands and mouth and fucking tongue on Maggie. And he hadn’t liked it. Not even a little bit, but he’d tried to walk away regardless, and he’d gotten as far as the hydrant at the corner before he let himself wonder what exactly a
third
date required. And then his feet were taking him back down the block, up the stairs to the second floor two at a time, and into Maggie’s apartment.
    Into the space that smelled like cookies and the woman who baked them, and when it was filled with only the two of them rather than the usual entourage, was quiet and peaceful and warm and calm.
    The worst part? He
wanted
that kiss.
    Bad. He’d been so ready to take it. And all he’d been thinking about was getting Maggie beneath his mouth, learning the taste of her, and discovering what it would take to make her moan…to put his name on her lips because she wanted something only he could give her. Yeah, that was about when he remembered what this date was about.
And what it wasn’t.
    Something Maggie had been trying to remind him herself before he dragged her into that little cave of insanity, where two people who