“You’re judging me about hiding my books,” I teased to keep from passing out from how close he was and the way he was bent over me.
The corner of his mouth tipped up and he stepped away.
I didn’t want him to leave me alone. Words piled on my tongue. I could explain my favorite fan fiction one more time. “It’s a dark story, but the thing that drew me in and held me hostage was that the hero did everything for her. Everything he did was for her—you’d have to read the story.” Because I was not explaining a dark romance to Tenor. My heart would not survive. “But once she was in his life, it was her. And I just loved that. His entire motivation became her. That all hooked me, but I loved the way it ended. The war was over and it was just them. Living life. Being normal and happy together.” I wiggled my fingers in the air. “Wizards and witches living happily ever after. It’s not realistic, I know.”
“Neither are superhero movies and no one gives guys shit about those.” When I snapped my mouth shut, he continued, “It’s the principle behind them. Heroes would do anything for justice. Heroes would do anything to protect what’s right. Heroes dedicate their lives to what’s important and people celebrate them for it. But in the end, they do it so others—and themselves—can live a normal, quiet life.”
I blinked. Whoa. I’d never heard movies explained like that. I enjoyed them, but they were nothing more than entertainment with attractive leads. More than that, Tenor had understood exactly what I had been saying. I didn’t need a man in tights with a cape to keep my car from falling off a bridge. I needed a guy who asked about my day because he really wanted to know.
He pushed a hand through his hair. “I’ve gotta get cleaned up and then we’ll go out.”
“Oh, I need to get dressed.” While thinking long and hard about why I’d taken Brock back twice.
His gaze raked down my body. I wore blue shorts that I often used as pajama bottoms and an orange Zoo Boise T-shirt. “You look fine.”
I most certainly did not, but I appreciated his effort. His goal was to show me how much more I deserved in a relationship, and he’d already made his point. I fanned myself. “Tenor. Stop. You’re going to ruin me for other men.”
His eyes darkened. “Anything you wear looks good, and it’s just Curly’s.”
One thing I knew about Tenor was that he didn’t waste words. I’d take that response and bottle it up to use the rest of my life.
He pushed off the railing. “But if you want to wear that skirt again from last night, I won’t complain.” Then he disappeared into the house.
The skirt from last night I had worn hoping he’d like it. I bit back a grin and kicked the swing back, gazing across the trees. My heartbeat spiked when he got that hot look in his eye. Tenor spun me one way and then the other. How was I going to get through this date without tripping over myself and falling for him?
Tenor
Ruby walked out of the guest room. Her hair spilled onto her shoulders and was pinned up at the sides. Her curls flared outaround the clips. She was wearing the skirt. She smoothed her hands over it, her smile timid.
I could gobble her up. I stuffed the urge into the recesses of my mind. I had years of discipline to call on, but Ruby’s presence could obliterate it all.
She wasn’t wearing a yellow shirt like yesterday. Today’s shirt was a tucked-in, fitted red top. The short heels on her feet with a strap over the top of her foot were innocent but sexy, which fit her perfectly.
Lust punched me hard and low. I envisioned crowding her right back into that room and stripping each item of clothing off of her soft curves. “You look good.” I turned and opened the garage door, holding it for her.
“Oh, uh. You too.”
I’d put on my nicer jeans, the ones I wore when I ran to Billings on Wednesdays, and my shirt was a navy-blue polo, my only one that didn’t have a Copper Summit logo on it.
She passed me to get into the garage, her limoncello scent lingering in the air.
Goddamn. As if I needed to test my resistance more.
I followed her to the passenger door of my pickup and held it open, ignoring the pleasure of seeing her car in the garage parked next to mine.
I might’ve been able to ignore the way her skirt rode up her legs in the dimness of the garage, but when I backed out and sunlight flooded the cab of the pickup, her creamy thighs drew my eye. Everything about her did.
I had made a big mistake. I should’ve just agreed to be her date. I shouldn’t have kissed her.
Then what would I torment myself with at night when I was alone in bed?
I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. The drive to town was quiet. She was pressed to the window, murmuring about the gorgeous view.
My hold on the wheel loosened slightly. I admired my surroundings every day. I never took them for granted, but I’d also never had anyone to share them with.
The cabin was higher up in the foothills where the trees thickened and the pitch of the land increased. This wasn’t a sprawling valley like the places my sisters had. The portion of land I’d been gifted was rugged. Perfect for solitude, which was exactly what I’d been looking for when I’d built out here.
I turned onto the highway into town and the acid in my stomach started a low simmer.
