“You want to be alone with me? After I hit you? Fuck, I’m… I snapped that day. You were yelling and—” He tightened his hand around mine. The grass quickly gave way to sand, and I always loved the way the world shifted from one thing to another, the dry land to the beach. It seemed magical.
“Ya do that a lot?” Jamie asked, suddenly serious.
Dropping my head, I shrugged. We kept going until we were close to the shifting waves of the lake, and since there wasn’t much wind, they were barely a glassy roll on the surface of the water that spread out endlessly. Pinks and purples streaked the sky overhead, and the sun wouldn’t be up much longer. “Not often. Had issues in the past.”
“I’m no shrinking violet. And if I recall, at the time we were under a fair amount of pressure.” He dug the toe of his boot into the sand.
Guilt bit at me. “You don’t deserve that. Ever.”
He huffed. “So don’t do it again. I didn’t think much of it. You’re not the mean sort.”
I tugged him closer by the hand. “Never been with anyone. Have an anger problem. Maybe I shouldn’t.”
He knocked the tip of his boot against mine. “Being furious at the world when it goes wrong is fair, but ya know what isn’t?”
“What?”
He shook our hands around until I glanced up at him, and my stomach flipped. He was so good-looking it hurt. “Ignoring my messages.”
“I didn’t know what to say. How to… to apologize….”
Jamie smiled at me in a way that made me think maybe he understood. I turned toward him and drew him closer. He leaned in, and I wanted him so much that I met him halfway. Our lips brushed, and for a second it was warm and sweet. I’d missed this, even though I’d barely had it, and I couldn’t stand how good it was. Then he brushed his tongue over my lips, and I opened for him. He brought a hand up to hold the back of my head steady and flicked his tongue into my mouth, tangling with mine. Shocked heat blazed to life low in my abdomen.
“Fuck,” Jamie said, pulling back just enough to speak. “Ya know, I thought we would be doing this that night ya left. I thought ya understood I wouldn’t stay upset.” His brows furrowed, and I felt fucking stupid. I could have stayed at the Virtue and had this for the past week.
“You shouldn’t have followed me,” I whispered.
“Give me one good reason.”
“I’m a King.”
He shook his head. “So?”
“I hurt you.”
He touched a finger to my lips and traced my top one. The caress made me feel tingly inside. “Don’t care. You’re too tender with me for me to be afraid of ya.”
He swept his finger back along my bottom lip, and I trembled inside. “I’m terrified of what I might do to people. I’ve done some nutso things. I don’t want to hurt the people I care about.”
“So don’t.” He smiled at me, and I wanted to yell at him to not be an idiot.
“What if it isn’t that simple?”
“Don’t run from me, Hunter. Let’s give this a chance?” He brushed his finger up over my cheek. I’d seen how Rourke looked at Forrest, and Jamie had that same stunned expression.
“You like me?” I felt moronic asking, and it was so stupid that I whispered the words, but he nodded, so he must have heard.
“Of course. You’re not what I expected. You’re exciting. You’re a right wee devil, and ya keep me on my toes. I need that.” He pretended to jab at my face and danced back a step.
“Too soon.”
His only response was to kiss my cheek. I twisted to catch his lips, and he let out a noise that was such a wonderful mix of happy and turned on that I dragged him back against me. I liked that he let me do that. It made me feel strong. We kissed for a while, not taking the touches deeper than pressing our lips together, but I loved it. The wind ruffled my hair and was chilly, but he was scorching hot against my front. Nearby, crows cawed in the trees and seagulls yelled back. He pulled away and grinned.
“How long will you be here?”
He glanced out at the water, eyes narrowing. “A bit.’
He wasn’t going to be here forever. Why not take my second chance at something good for as long as I could have it?
