I’m so fixated on how sexy she is right now that I barely hear her voice. “What?” I ask.
She scoffs, tongue swiping over her lips. “I asked if you wanted to shower before our date.”
God, she smells like vanilla and cinnamon.
Has she always smelled like vanilla and cinnamon?
“Yes—” I clear my throat and drag my eyes away from her, taking a step back.
Act cool.
“I mean… yeah. That’s smart,” I say, shrugging. “I should definitely shower.”
A crooked smirk lifts her lips. “I forgot how cute you are when you stammer,” she rasps.
“Do you know how hot you are when you do this?” I blurt.
She chuckles softly and takes her hands off the door, then stuffs them into her pockets, her hips angling forward just enough of a fraction that I inwardly whimper.
“Trying to keep my hands occupied,” she admits. “If I don’t…” Her eyes wander over me again, bottom lip drawing behind her teeth, and this time my thighs squeeze.
“What’s wrong with that?” I ask.
She licks her lips again and nods toward the bathroom. “Take a shower,” she says. “I’ll be waiting for you out there when you’re ready.”
I lean in and press my lips to hers before she has a chance to leave me in this pathetic state. It’s a slow, promising kiss, and the deeper it gets, the weaker my legs become. She eventually takes her hands from her pockets and cups my throat. Shit, this is hypnotizing. I forget everything—my name, where we are, what we were just talking about… At some point, she bends slightly to grab me beneath my ass, and when she pulls me onto her waist, I squeal into her mouth.
Hell yes.
I rock in her arms as she moves us inside, though just as I think she’s about to place me onto the bed, she walks past it and sets me down inside the bathroom door. I open my mouth to protest, but she reaches for the hem of my shirt and pulls it over my head, the muscle in her jaw ticking as if it’s the only thing holding her back from taking me into the shower and having her way.
And when I’m undressed, she leans in, kisses me one more time, and backs out of the room.
I’m still in a stupor when I open my eyes and notice she’s nearly on the other side of the bedroom.
“I’ll be waiting when you’re ready,” she says.
I want to slam my head against the wall in frustration.
Still, I reach for the tap.
Because the thought of finally spending a night with her without having to worry about anything else… No band, no immediate threat, no phones, no hesitating, or being scared…
Yeah. That’s worth taking a few extra steps for.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
GEMMA
I keep thinkingshe’s going to run. It wouldn’t be a surprise if I heard her dad’s Jeep crank, and I ran in to find her bags gone. I’m so terrified about it that I can’t face the ocean when I sit on the blanket to wait on her. I cross my legs and sit facing the house, one eye on her bedroom the entire time I’m texting Kade.
KADE
Any messages?
Nothing.
Apartment?
