“I couldn’t even pick out my own clothes, Oz. Do you know how much of a loser it makes me feel that I needed your help with that?”
“I do not shop for losers,” I said, touching my chest dramatically. “Did you not enjoy me dressing you?”
He pinked up again. “Of course I liked it.”
I’d been waiting for an opening, and this was it. “Good. Because I love it when I see you wearing an outfit I helped you put together.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely. Just last Saturday, for example. You were wearing an outfit I picked out for you, and you were incredibly handsome. Sexy, even.”
His eyes widened with fear. “W-what?”
“At the Rainbow Note.”
“You saw me there?” His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“I did. I would’ve said hi, but you were… occupied.”
“Oh God,” he bleated, then buried his face in his hands. “You sawthat?”
“I did,” I said, enjoying his embarrassment a little too much.
“It wasn’t serious. I didn’t know him. I-I was just testing out a theory,” he sputtered.
“From my vantage point, it looked like you were confirming a theory. If that’s not too forward of me to say.”
His breathing sped up until I was afraid he might hyperventilate. I gently grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his cheeks, waiting until his eyes met mine again.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, you proved to me, once again, that you’re brave as hell.”
“I am? I did?”
I nodded, solemn as I took in his beautiful eyes and tantalizing lips. “I wonder if you’re brave enough to do what you really want to do.”
He gulped. “I-I don’t know. How do I…?”
I leaned in and dropped a kiss on his forehead, then parked my lips next to his ear, whispering, “Tell me this, Walk: if you had your choice of men to kiss, would you still want to kiss that guy from the club?”
“No,” he answered immediately, his voice cracking.
“Mm.” I let my lips drift over the outer shell of his ear. “Who would you want to kiss like that? Tell me,” I insisted. “Be brave for me.”
He huffed out a breath, leaning into the pressure of my lips at his ear. “You.”
I hadn’t had a chance to process his one-word answer before he wrapped his calloused hand around my neck. With one final look into my eyes, he pulled me in for a searing kiss.
CHAPTER19
walker
This kiss was making my insides fizz, rattle, and shake all over the place. I yanked back, startled by my own boldness. The guy in San Antonio had a smooth face, but I preferred Ozzie’s trim beard against my skin. My eyes fell to Ozzie’s lips, which were even softer than I’d imagined. He dipped his head to brush them against mine, and I was gone all over again.
The kiss at the Rainbow Note had been a revelation.
This kiss? Earth-shattering. A sound I didn’t recognize came out of the back of my throat, and it was Ozzie’s turn to stop.
“You okay?” he asked breathlessly, pushing the hair off my forehead.
