Chapter 136

TESSA

His mouth is on mine. Not careful. Not gentle. Just hungry.

I gasp, and he takes advantage, deepening it, tasting me like he’s been starving. The plate slips from my lap to the coffee table with a clatter, and suddenly we’re kissing like we might actually die if we stop. His hands are everywhere—firm at my waist, sliding up my spine, anchoring me.

I clutch his shirt, dragging him closer, and he makes this low sound in his throat that just about undoes me.

“You taste—” he breaks off, lips brushing mine as he catches his breath, “—better than the food.”

I laugh against his mouth, breathless, before he swallows it with another kiss, deeper this time, his tongue sliding against mine, slow and devastating. It’s dizzying, like being caught in a storm we both secretly wanted.

“I thought you liked the food,” I murmur when I finally tear back half an inch, lips tingling, swollen.

“I did,” he counters, kissing me again, the word ruined by how de