From a kiss.
That kiss had been more than just right. And he’d been aroused. The bulge behind his jeans—huge. When my knee had brushed against it—hard. The way he’d hulked over me—hot.
My hand shook as I pushed stray strands of my curly hair out of my face. I was climbing the stairs in front of him, clutching my purse. He was behind me. A wall of heat.
How long would he have kept kissing me if Cruz hadn’t interrupted?
I would’ve been fine for the whole weekend.
When we reached the top, Tenor took my dishes to the sink. At least one of us had our wits about us.
How was I going to face Mae when I’d just had her son’s tongue in my mouth? We were both adults, but I had been a guest yesterday. Today, I’d been tonsil diving with Tenor and loving it.
Tenor braced himself on the counter. “I need a minute.”
I snorted. “I need like an hour.” I pressed my hands to my cheeks. “My face is burning hot.”
“After following you up the stairs, I don’t think an hour is enough.”
“Ha. Right.”
He pinned me with a hard gaze over his shoulder. “Christ, Ruby. You really don’t know?”
Had I done something wrong? “Know what?”
“How sexy you are.”
A nervous laugh escaped me. “You don’t have to?—”
He spun and strode across the room. I squeaked and backed up until my back smacked the wall.
He ran his thumb across my lower lip. “This mouth makes a guy think of nothing but long kisses.” He dragged his forefinger down my neck to my chest. “Don’t get me started about these.” Farther down. He stopped at my waist, but his burning gaze wason my legs. “If I wasn’t a better man, I’d ban tights from the dress code at work.”
He noticed when I wore tights? I did on cooler nights, but the days were growing warmer.
His face was inches from mine. I had the strongest urge to rip off his glasses and smash my mouth against his.
He straightened and stepped back. Cool air flooded between us. “That’ll be my goal for the next month. You worry about keeping Cara and your ex off your back, and I’ll prove the problem in your relationships was never you.”
No one had ever said anything so sweet to me.
He turned, giving me his broad back. Before I could recover from the abrupt withdrawal of his attention, he went for the door and opened it. “Ready?”
Time to face the kindest woman I’d ever met and lie to her face.
Timidly, I stepped out. Goose bumps that had more to do with the loss of his heat than cool air dotted my skin. The breeze carried a warm kiss that promised a nice day.
Mae was walking up the hill from a shed that had a bunch of red and white chickens darting around it. She beamed. “Good morning. I hope you slept well and that the boys didn’t disturb you when they charged inside.”
Tenor fell in step beside me. His jaw was tight. I almost felt bad for Cruz and Lane and the retaliation they’d face.Almost. I could’ve still been kissing Tenor.
“Thank you so much for letting me crash last night.” I twined my fingers together. Just be casual.
I didn’t do well getting introduced to parents. Brock’s mom and dad had asked so many questions about my job in a way that had made me feel two inches tall. They had kept referring to me as an influencer. It hadn’t been the term, it had been the tone.The judgment. The lack of interest. But Mae knew my job. Half the battle was done already.
“You’re welcome anytime.” She hitched a basket full of eggs on her arm.
“Hey, Mama. We’re dating. Just so you know.” Tenor put his hand on the small of my back. Some of my stress drained out of me as if he was absorbing it.
