“Maybe dancing wasn’t the best idea.”

I knew it. She doesn’t find me attractive. Damn it.

Not sure why the thought bothered her so, she shrugged and followed Alex out the front doors of the restaurant. The beach, painted in hues of violet and blue, emitted a whispering murmur of surf and night. Everything smelled fresh and alive, the air full of excitement.

Or maybe she reacted to the pulsing energy she longed to find an outlet for.

Going through a mental tally of reasons her date—her paid date—wouldn’t like her. From the extra ten pounds she could never lose, to her lack of conversational skills, caused mostly by nerves, there were a thousand possible reasons Alex might not find her attractive.

Lost in thought, she wobbled when Alex spun her, pinned her to a wall, and closed hot lips over her own. Opening her mouth to seek out the other woman’s tongue, she compared it to kissing a man. Similar, but at the same time, very different—softer, sweeter tasting. Unbelievably erotic.

Fire.

The word blazed in her mind as Alex’s body pressed hers against the wall, her lips both seducing and demanding response. Alex’s tongue slid into the recesses of her mouth as if it belonged there, while she caught the hair at Mellie’s nape and yanked her head to the side. Almost too much…but added up to just what she wanted.

The kiss took her breath away.

She couldn’t think. So good. So right, somehow.

And then she surfaced, gasping, as Alex stepped back, licked her lips, and stuffed her hands in her pockets. Her mouth quirked into a cocky grin. “Been wanting to do that all night.”

Mellie nodded, lifting one hand to her throat, fingertips pressing on the hyper-aware flesh. Swallowing, she tried to determine what she thought of the experience.

“Sorry. I mean, if I took you by surprise or whatever.”

Mellie nodded again. Her body a furnace, need welled up like a fist to punch her in the gut. Possibilities stretched out, and she hungered to taste more—wanted to touch and be touched.

“Uh, so…if it made you uncomfortable…?”

She did not want to discuss it.

Live each day like it is your last.

Catching Alex’s wrist, she tugged her closer and merged their mouths.