The answer pulsed heavy in her bloodstream.Everything.
* * *
Dinner was amazing,but filling, and they both passed on dessert—at the same time, again.
Owen wasn’t in a rush to end the date. The exact opposite, in fact. When they stepped outside, he gestured to the harbour. “Do you want to take a walk?”
Kerry slid her hand into his and squeezed. “We could. Or…” She caught his gaze with her own. “We could go back to my place.”
He wasn’t going to say no. “I’d love to.”
They held hands to his truck, their arms brushing, awareness zinging through him of what might come next. He wanted to taste her, make her feel good. Hold her without having to let her go for a good while.
The conversation on the drive back to Pine Harbour was different. Just as easy, but the pace changed. Less about exploring what they had in common and where they came from, and more about who they are now. Work. Friends. Dating, again, this time about Kerry.
“My career has always come first,” she said. “The midwifery program was so intense.”
“How long was it?”
“Four years, pretty much year round. And on the job training for a lot of it, all over the province. I think I moved six times, and then another three times after graduating.”
“Is that how you see it going in the future?” Owen didn’t like the way his chest tightened up. She’d already been here nearly a year. If she moved that often, how long until she headed on to the next place?
But she shook her head. “I think I’ll settle here. Jenna’s a great work partner, and we’ve already ramped up to full client loads. She wasn’t sure we would, but it was worth it to her to work closer to home. And I’m glad I took the leap with her.”
“I’m glad, too.”
“Now,” she teased.
He shook his head. “I’ve liked you from the very start, Kerry Humphrey. I promise you that.”
“Maybe it was for the best I couldn’t see that back when we met.” She bit her lower lip and smiled. “You would have been hard to resist if the door was open to friendship from that first meeting.”
“That’s a hell of a compliment.” He laughed. “You were hard to resist even when you didn’t like me.”
“I liked you,” she whispered. “Too much.”
Ah, hell. He cleared his throat. “I’m glad we’re getting to know each other now.”
The last ten kilometres dragged until the turn for Pine Harbour came into sight, his pulse thumping at the promise of being alone.
He followed her up the stairs to her apartment like she was leading him into a dream.
“Do you want something to drink?” She asked as she opened the door and stepped inside, turning on the lights.
Owen waited until the door closed behind him and she’d turned around to look at him, then held out his hand. “I want you.”
Instead of coming in for another doorway kiss, she hooked her fingers into his and led him forward, through the narrow and long living room to the bedroom she’d pointed to before. She kicked off her heels, and Owen followed suit, taking off his boots. He should have done that at the door, but she had him in her thrall.
Kerry came to stand in front of him and ran her fingers up and down the line of buttons on his shirt. She was extra little in her bare feet, and he stood still while she explored him. “How do you want me?” she murmured. “Naked?”
A groan ripped from his throat. “Yes.”
“All the way naked, or do you want to peel my clothes off little by little?”
She was killing him. “Yes. Both.”
She laughed gently. “You have to pick one for the first time.”
