When he is sad or angry, they dull in color but still retain a blue hue.
When they're stormy, he’s in amood.Asexy mood…
“So, a movie? Withno chill?” He picks up the remote from the coffee table then sits on the couch and splays out.
“Only if I can pick the movie.” I ignore the chill comment because my face is flushed enough as it is from ogling him. As always.
I’m tired of blushing. Can someone tell the author of my story that?
Stone tosses me the remote. I take it and turn on the television. “Okay, Granite. Let’s see…”
I sit down on the couch, but I’m sure to leave adequate space so that my Grandma Netty could fit between us. She’s been pestering me to bring him to church, but the few times I’ve asked Stone to go with me, he’s been busy. Or so he said. I know he doesn’t go to church unless we happen to be in Dasher Valley on a Sunday morning.
Heck, the only reason I think I go these days is to appease Grandma Netty and Hadley. And to keep up an image.
I search for a rom-com because I know Stone loves them. He even helps me with my books when I’m struggling.
Of course I can’t let a man like that walk away from me!
When that genre section pops up on the screen, Stone jokingly groans to keep his manhood intact, and I throw a bright smile his way. After a quick browsing session, I settle onJust Go With Itsimply because I love Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler together. But as the movie begins, I remember this story has a fake dating plot involving an employee and her boss…
I hope Stone doesn’t pay too close attention to the movie.
But my hopes are severed when after the first ten minutes, Stone is laughing and commenting on the hilarity of Adam Sandler. He actually makes me pause the movie while he goes and pops popcorn for us.
When he returns, he sits next to me.
Right next to me.
My shoulder is brushing against his bicep, my thigh squished against his.
All points of contact are molten lava from the volcanic eruption of my heart. His spicy scent wraps around me, mingling with buttery popcorn and a hint of bourbon.
I throw back the rest of my drink, the burn reminding me I need to rip the band-aid off and tell this man how I feel before I burst with all the love-struck feelings I’m harboring. I set the empty glass on the coffee table a little too hard.
“Easy there, Little Lion. You good?” Stone asks. When I glance up at him, his eyes are still sparkling, and as I stare into his very soul, I watch the sparkles fade, replaced with that stormy gray color from the doorway. I am so in love with this man, and that love is going to end up hurting me deeper than any other heartbreak I’ve ever experienced. Stone may struggle with commitment, and while I know that logically and understand the reason behind his hesitancy, my heart seems to think I could be the one woman who could tie him down. He’s tried for me.
Now I have to take a gamble.
What a hopeless pursuit.
“I think I love you,” I blurt. Then I will myself to be bold. “No. I know I love you.”
Since the movie is paused, the silence that surrounds us is deafening. But right as I am about to retract my stupid confession, Stone turns his body and takes my face between his hands, dragging my lips to his. Electricity courses its way through every molecule of being. I’m a livewire and Stone’s lips are the metal initiating the shock. My eyes flutter closed.
He is not gentle.
His mouth moves against mine in a fury of desire. I feel him move closer against me, and then I hear the bowl of popcorn that was resting on his lap tumble to the ground. As he moves his hands from my face and wraps one arm around my waist with the other around my neck, hoisting me to my knees, popcorn crumbles beneath me and I groan into his mouth.
All sensible thoughts are kissed out of my brain. The only word present is his name.
Stone. Stone. Stone…
I love him, and he is kissing me like he loves me. The man terrified of commitment, who has beentryingfor me, kissed me when I said I loved him. That means the world to me, but I need to know…
Breaking free from his soft lips, I ask him through pants, “Stone. What does this mean?”
Searching his stormy eyes, I know Stone has desired me from the moment he closed that passenger door and left the restaurant.
