“What if I don’t want you to jump at all? Can’t we just sit here and take in the view? Maybe give me a second to recover from my first near-death experience.”
“First?” She cast me a charming grin. “That’s your second. First was when you jumped off the Whiskey River Bridge to sorta, kinda, but not really save my life, right?”
I shook my head, pulling down the tailgate of my truck and throwing an old blanket I kept in back out over the rusted metal bed. “Come.”
Her eyes flared once before shifting across the little nest I’d made and back to me. “Okay.”
She crossed the dirt parking lot, and I threaded her fingers with mine when she was close enough. I lifted her into the back, making sure she was comfortable before following her in.
“Is that all it took to get you into bed? A near-death experience?” She pressed her bikini-clad body up against mine, trying to wiggle ever closer.
“Calm those hormones, sunshine. No one’s gettin’ in anyone’s bed.” I adjusted her under my arm.
The soft little pout that pulled down her lips made me want to kiss her.
The age gap between us never seemed greater than when she was pouting for something I wouldn’t give her.
Only lately, what she’d been wanting and I’d been withholding was sex.
“Told you I’m not taking your virginity until the time is right.”
“Well, when in the hell is that gonna be? I might as well start calling you Saint Fallon.” She pushed up on her forearms, legs swinging off the tailgate as she attempted to ignore me.
I laughed, sliding to the edge with her and grazing her shoulder. “Nothing saintly about me, I just want what’s right for you. Also, don’t want to give your mama and daddy an excuse to put me in jail. And if they found out how old I really was…”
“They won’t. Dad just spends his time watching oldCOPSepisodes and reliving the glory days. And Mom hasn’t left the house since before we met.”
“Doesn’t change the law, Augusta Belle. And while you may be stubborn enough to lie about your age—”
“It’s not lying.” She screwed up her face at me.
“Lying by omission is lying.” I corrected her.
“Plus, I just had a birthday,” she defended.
“I know, and you made me celebrate with you without once telling me how old you were turning.”
She shrugged again, amber gaze turning back to the river that flowed down below us. “I operate on a need-to-know basis, and I’m still not convinced that’s something you need to know.”
I didn’t bother rolling my eyes; I was used to her wordplay by this point.
“Sure, telling your twenty-two-year-old boyfriend is of no consequence at all.”
She caught sight of me over her shoulder, flirty twinkle pulling me into her orbit a little further. “I’ll tell you if you have sex with me.”
I barked out a laugh. “The fact that you’re willing to negotiate your virginity proves my point about waiting.”
One delicate eyebrow arched up before she jumped off the tailgate, kicking off her flip-flops. She spun, nailing me with a radiant smile before looping her thumbs into her waistband and pushing the cutoffs down her thighs.
They landed in the dust at her feet a second later, and she kicked them off, then pushed her hands through her thick hair and wound it into a high bun. “Guess I’m going cliff-divin’, then.”
I pushed off the tailgate, closing the distance between us and pulling her into my arms, against my hard, imposing body. “How many times you gonna defy death before you realize what you’re lookin’ for is right here, Augusta Belle?”
She didn’t answer, just let me keep her in my embrace for long minutes.
“Stop running and let me hold you.”
NINE
