At her silence, a muscle ticked in his jaw. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk this morning.”
“It’s not your fault. Avery was there, and it was busy with everyone getting ready for work and school.”
“Still, I wanted to talk to you about last night.”
A nervous prickle ran down her spine. “You’re not going to apologize again, are you?”
If he did, she wasn’t sure if she’d scream or cry. Probably the former.
One side of his mouth lifted. “No. I’m not going to apologize. The opposite, actually. I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed our time together.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the smile. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm…and if you’re interested, I’d like to see where this takes us.”
This time her heart went into a full-blown gallop. “What about the age gap, and the relationship I just got out of, and Avery?”
“Age is just a number. And you said your relationship ended long before the engagement did. And we don’t have to tell Avery yet.”
“It’s a risk.”
“But is it a risk you want to take?”
Yes. The answer was a shout in her head, but she kept it inside because she wanted to hear his answer first. “Is it a riskyouwant to take?”
He inched closer, releasing her foot as his hands glided up her thighs before bracketing her hips. “Yeah, it is.”
For a moment, she had to remind herself to breathe. To suck one breath in after the next. Then, finally, she whispered, “Me too.”
A slow smile curved his lips, and he lowered his head. “Good.”
The second he touched his mouth to hers, she leaned into him, letting the softness of his lips send sparks of awareness straight to her core.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her fingers sweeping into his hair, sliding through the thick locks. She felt him everywhere. His chest against hers, his hands sliding beneath the fabric of her shirt, his tongue as it tasted and explored.
She wanted more. She wanted to grind against him. To feel every inch of skin. But too soon, he was pulling away. She groaned, only to have him chuckle in response.
“Sadie, we can’t—”
When he stopped, her eyes flicked open to see him looking out the window, brows tugged together. She followed his gaze, but there was nothing there.
“Everything okay?” she asked, turning back to him.
“Yeah. I just saw the back of someone, but they were probably just walking past.” The frown cleared from his face. “How’s your day going now?”
She couldn’t stop the gigantic grin from curving her lips. “Better. A lot better.”
CHAPTER 15
Eastern scrubbed a hand over his face as he watched Denny be hauled into the station, an officer on either side of him.
“What the hell are you doing back here?” Eastern growled.
“I’ll tell you what I’m doin’ back here,” Denny slurred. “I’m being dragged by these goons who took me against my will after having a simple fuckin’ drink.”
Charles rolled his eyes. “Denny was served by a new guy at Meridian who didn’t know he wasn’t welcome. Then he decided to go outside and throw rocks at cars.”
Eastern was surprised Denny had slipped past his brother.
