“This?”
“You in my arms,” he admitted. My nipples might have been standing at attention before, but now they were straining for his attention. Almost begging as the scraped against the material of the sports bra I’d tossed on that morning. I was oblivious to the fact he wasn’t just walking us through his workshop, but suddenly, bright sunshine shone down on us.
“You’re going to drop me,” I mumbled, trying to ignore the beautiful feeling that started to sweep through me as his words slowly processed.
“I’d never drop what’s mine, snowflake.” It wasn’t just a promise; it was a vow. Like his word was law and no one could ever break it.
“Stop calling me that,” I argued for the sake of arguing. The cool chill in the air reminded me of the storm we were going to be hit with soon.
“Wait… Where are we going?” I asked.
“To eat.” He sounded very much like a man with a plan.
“Where?” My face flamed as the curls bounced around my face.
“Diner. In town.” He carefully set me down next to his truck. I looked at him then at the house behind us.
Luck favors the bold.We’d already kissed and established he was interested in me.In for a penny….
“Or…” I started to say as his fingers stroked the small f my back, “we could…” I left the offer hang between us before I pointed towards the house, and it felt like time stopped.
I watched as his broad chest rose and fell, his breathing shallow. I licked my lips as I noticed the dark hair that lay beneath the flannel showed through the top two buttons that had somehow come undone. Probably when we were making out. His usually styled hair was mussed up from my hands, and his mouth? His usually full lips were plumper than usual. All from my kiss. He’d said he was territorial, and maybe I had a little bit of that in me, too, because I liked the idea of his lips swollen from mine as a mark that he belonged to me just as much as I belonged to him.Belonged?I was getting way too ahead of myself.
“Candy, I take you into my house, we both know the only one eating will be me.” My knees wobbled, and the wetness between my thighs grew.
The image of Onyx’ large, tanned body kneeling in front of me, shirtless and sweaty, flashed through my head. His big hands gripping my thighs to keep me where he’d want me. His sinewy muscles flexing and bulging.
“You make it sound like that’s a bad idea when it sounds like a really good one to me,” I breathed, unsure of how the hell I still stood upright. A deep animal-like sound trembled between us as he pulled me in, keeping his hands on the small of my back.
“Snowflake, you’re going to kill me.” His forehead rested against mine. “I’ll be eating you. Soon.” It wasn’t just a promise but a vow. “But my priority is you. Making sure you’re okay.”
“It is?” I asked.
“It is,” he confirmed. It had been a long time since I was a man’s priority, if ever. His dark gaze, steady and intense, was lost for a moment when he kissed me.
This kiss was sweeter, gentler than the one in his garage. Longer and unrushed but somehow more sensual, and leaps more intimate. The two of us were both breathless when we pulled away.
“Diner?” he asked, and I nodded. Somehow, even through the lusty haze of being around Onyx and drunk off his kiss, I found a way to be my sassy self around him.
“Only if you’re buying,” I responded, and he laughed, the sound fulfilling and warm as it surrounded me for a long moment before he got us moving into his truck.
The conversation flowed easily. Easier than it had in a long time. Probably because now I knew why he’d said what he’d said. He hadn’t meant it. He thought about me! About touching my hair.
Holy crap… Onyx Trejo likes me!I miraculously managed not to freak out and act like a total nerd while he drove us to the diner. Shockingly enough, the place wasn’t crazy busy, and we were seated quickly in a booth. And instead of sitting across from me, Onyx shocked me again by taking the seat next to me.
Everything might have felt oddly easy as we chatted and ate, but there was no denying the way my body was hyperaware of the man next to me. Every brush of thick thigh against mine or his arm touching mine. I was a walking hormone ready to pounce.
It turned out Onyx was so much more than I had let myself imagine before.
Despite believing what I had, I’d known he was a good guy, but talking to him, being close to him with both our guards down? He was what women wrote about in romance books cometo life. Not only that, but by the time he’d driven me home, I’d also realized just how dangerous this was and why.
Not only did I really like him,okay, fine, loved him, but I didn’t feel the need to be anyone but myself around him. There was no fake pretense trying to be someone I thought he would like. I was just me. Smarting off and sassing him, calling him out on things most probably wouldn’t dare to. He felt familiar yet exciting to be around in a calm way.
Weird.
And damn it, that made me love him even more.
4
