Tethered by L. D. Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

my board okay?” I questioned him, looking around for it.
    “You just busted your head on the pavement and you want to know if your board is okay?” he asked disbelievingly.
    He was kneeling beside me with one hand on my shoulder.
    “Well, is it?”
    He sighed. “Your board is fine. Come on.” He stood up and helped me to my feet. “Is your head okay? Does it hurt?”
    He gingerly touched the back of my head and watched my face for a reaction.
    “It’s fine,” I murmured.
    He was standing too close to me. I could feel the warmth radiating off of his body. I took a step back and he took a step forward. This startled me, and I stepped back again and managed to mess it up. I started to fall backward, but Emmet’s hands snaked around me. I was roughly pulled into his body and we both stumbled. I grabbed onto his jacket to steady myself and after a moment we were still again.
    I started to laugh, but this was so not funny. I was pressed up against Emmet and his arms were around me and he was looking down at me with a weird expression that made that feeling in my chest explode inside of me. I held my breath. I should have moved away, but I felt frozen in his arms.
    One arm squeezed me tighter and a hand was suddenly close to my face. I flinched and he sucked in a breath and looked angry, but when his fingers pushed loose strands of my hair off of my face, his face softened. My breath exploded out of my mouth and I prayed that it smelled okay. I mean, I brushed and rinsed, but you never know about breath. Especially after a night of drinking.
    “I am going to give back what I stole,” he said in a soft tone that made me shiver against him.
    Those green eyes burned into my eyes and I started to whimper, but I managed to swallow it.
    “Did you steal my money?” I questioned stupidly.
    “No,” he gave me a small smile.
    I swallowed hard. “Did you steal my hidden stash of junk food?”
    He grinned and shook his head. His grin faded back to a slight smile.
    “I stole your first kiss,” he said gently. His hand pressed lightly on the back of my head as he moved his face closer to mine. “I am going to give back what I stole.”
    Emmet’s lips softly met mine. I began to tremble. He smelled so good, and his lips felt…Oh my god, I would have never imagined this would be how Emmet’s lips felt against mine. Warm, soft, but…demanding. He gave me a moment to get acclimated to his lips on mine, and then his tongue was tasting the seam of my lips. I gasped. He could have taken advantage of my parted lips and slipped his tongue into my mouth, but he didn’t, not yet.
    When he gingerly pulled my bottom lip between his and leisurely ran his tongue across it, I was shocked and embarrassed to hear myself moan. It was a very quiet moan, but there was only the two of us in this lot. Of course he probably heard it. I was so embarrassed, but my embarrassment was forgotten when Emmet’s teeth softly sunk into my lip. Another sultry sound escaped my throat. This time he used my hopeless noises to his advantage. His tongue slipped gently and smoothly between my lips.
    When his tongue touched mine, I didn’t know what to do. I understood the basic mechanics of French kissing, but I didn’t want to shove my tongue down his throat. I didn’t want to mess it up. I didn’t know what to do with my tongue, so it just sat there.
    Emmet seemed to not mind that I was so stupid. He repeatedly teased my tongue, giving it small strokes with his tongue. It started to kind of tickle. To relieve that sensation, I moved my tongue and I gasped again. My tongue hit Emmet’s and oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. I did it again and I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t want to stop feeling my tongue move with his and his lips against mine. I didn’t want to stop but it was so…wrong. Wasn’t it? It didn’t matter. I’d worry about it later.
    When Emmet finally released me, I was dazed and breathless. I stared up at him. I was shocked,