She tried to swallow the tightness in her throat. “In fact, I saw the way that girl in our sociology class—what’s her name—Lisa, has been looking at you lately.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
“I believe you’ve got yourself an admirer.”
“But I’m only interested in you.”
“Charlie, listen. I think you’re a very special person. I—”
“Shh,” he demanded softly as he parked in front of Ellen’s house and turned off the engine. He slid his arm along the back of the seat and caressed her shoulder. “I don’t want you to say anything.”
“But I feel I may have—”
“Ellen,” he whispered seductively. “Be quiet and just let me kiss you.”
Before she could utter another word, Charlie claimed her mouth in a short but surprisingly ardent kiss. Charlie had kissed her on several occasions, but that was as far as things had ever gone.
When his arms tightened around her, Ellen resisted.
“Invite me in for coffee,” he whispered urgently in her ear.
She pressed her forehead against his shirt collar. “Not tonight.”
He tensed. “Can I see you again soon?”
“I don’t know. We see each other every day. Why don’t we just meet after class for coffee one day next week?”
“But I want more than that,” he protested.
“I know,” she answered, dropping her eyes. She felt confused and miserable.
Ellen could tell he was disappointed from the way he climbed out of the car and trudged around to her side. There was tense silence between them as he walked her up to the front door and kissed her a second time. Again, Ellen had to break away from him by pushing her hands against his chest.
“Thank you for everything,” she whispered.
“Right. Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Oh, Charlie, don’t start that. Not now.”
Eyes downcast, he wearily rubbed a hand along the side of his face. “I guess I’ll see you Monday,” he said with a sigh.
“Thanks for the lovely evening.” She didn’t let herself inside until Charlie had climbed into his car and driven away.
Releasing a jagged breath, Ellen had just started to unbutton her coat when she glanced up to find Reed standing in the living room, glowering at her.
“Is something wrong?” The undisguised anger that twisted his mouth and hardened his gaze was a shock.
“Do you always linger outside with your boyfriends?”
“We didn’t linger.”
“Right.” He dragged one hand roughly through his hair and marched a few paces toward her, only to do an abrupt about-face. “I saw the two of you necking.”
“Necking?” Ellen was so startled by his unreasonable anger that she didn’t know whether to laugh or argue. “Be serious, will you? Two chaste kisses hardly constitute necking.”
“What kind of influence are you on Derek and the others?” He couldn’t seem to stand still and paced back and forth in agitation.
He was obviously furious, but Ellen didn’t understand why. He couldn’t possibly believe these absurd insinuations. Perhaps he was upset about something else and merely taking it out on her. “Reed, what’s wrong?” she finally asked.
“I saw you out there.”
“You were spying on me?”
“I wasn’t spying,” he snapped.
“Charlie and I were in his car. You must’ve been staring out the window to have seen us.”
He didn’t answer her, but instead hurled another accusation in her direction. “You’re corrupting the boys.”
“I’m what?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What year do you think this is?” She shook her head, bewildered. “They’re nineteen. Trust me, they’ve kissed girls before.”
“You can kiss anyone you like. Just don’t do it in front of the boys.”
From the way this conversation was going, Ellen could see that Reed was in no mood to listen to reason. “I think we should discuss this some other time,” she said quietly.
“We’ll talk about it right now.”
Ignoring his domineering tone as much as possible, Ellen forced a smile. “Good night, Reed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She was halfway to the stairs when he called her, his voice calm. “Ellen.”
She turned around, holding herself tense, watching him stride quickly across the short distance that separated them. With his thumb and forefinger, he caught her chin, tilting it slightly so he could study her face. He rubbed his thumb across her lips. “Funny, you don’t look kissed.”
In one breath he was accusing her of necking and in the next, claiming she was unkissed. Not knowing how to respond, Ellen didn’t. She merely gazed at him, her eyes wide and questioning.
“If you’re going to engage in that sort of activity, the least you can do—” He paused. With each word his mouth drew closer and closer to hers until his lips hovered over her own and their breath mingled. “The least you can do is look kissed.” His hand located the vein pounding wildly in her throat as his mouth settled over hers.
Slowly, patiently, his mouth moved over hers with an exquisite tenderness that left her quivering with anticipation and delight. Timidly, her hands crept across his chest to link behind his neck. Again his lips descended on hers, more hungrily now, as he groaned and pulled her even closer.
Ellen felt her face grow hot as she surrendered to the sensations that stole through her. Yet all the while, her mind was telling her she had no right to feel this contentment, this warmth. Reed belonged to another woman. Not to her...to someone else.
Color seeped into her face. When she’d understood that he intended to kiss her, her first thought had been to resist. But once she’d felt his mouth on hers, all her resolve had drained away. Embarrassed now, she realized she’d pliantly wrapped her arms around his neck. And worse, she’d responded with enough enthusiasm for him to know exactly what she was feeling.
He pressed his mouth to her forehead as though he couldn’t bear to release her.
Ellen struggled to breathe normally. She let her arms slip from his neck to his chest and through the palm of her hand she could feel the rapid beating of his heart. She closed her eyes, knowing that her own pulse was pounding no less wildly.
She could feel his mouth move against her temple. “I’ve been wanting
