It wasn't a gentle kiss. It wasn't even close to one. It was raw and hungry and desperate, the kind of kiss that had nothing to do with desire and everything to do with claiming. She kissed him like she was trying to burn something into him, like she was trying to remind herself of something she couldn't quite hold onto tonight.
Her fingers tightened in his collar, pulling him closer even as the stool beneath her shifted, and she felt him go completely still for one single second before something in him gave way and he kissed her back just as hard.
His hand came up and gripped her jaw, tilting her face up, and the low sound that came from him when her tongue ran over his sent a heat straight through her that had nothing to do with the beer. She tasted him and he tasted her back like they had all the time in the world and no audience at all, and for one breathless moment she forgot every single thing that was hurting her.
