He’s just the one pouring gasoline on the flame.
Ilift my hand and let my knuckles sweep over her cheek. Her skin is soft, warm. I lean in and press a kiss to the corner of her mouth, barely there, testing the water.
Her breath leaves her in a shaky gasp. She trembles, just a little, and that tiny reaction makes something inside me go feral.
My fingers slide down the side of her throat, leisurely, feeling her pulse jump under my touch. She tips her chin up without even realizing she’s doing it, opening to me.
So, I kiss her.
It starts slow, soft, my mouth brushing hers. Her lips are warm and sweet, and when she sighs, they part for me. I lick and nip at her lips, enjoying the taste. Swallowing her shallow breaths.
I don’t rush it. I just stay there, letting the moment stretch, letting her get used to the feel of my body against hers.
Then her hands come up, tentative at first, resting against my chest. I feed an arm behind her and pull her in closer. She gasps when her hips meet mine, and I take the opportunity to deepen the kiss.
I tilt my head, and she follows, our mouths moving together. Tongues wrestling as her arms slide around my neck.
Her fingers slip into my hair, right at the nape of my neck, and tug, just a little. It sends a bolt of heat straight down my spine.
“Stormy,” I murmur against her lips.
She hums in response, kissing me back, faster, hungrier. I step closer to her, and when the evidence of my desire presses against her, she moans.
Fuck me.
I ease the kiss back just enough to look at her. Her eyes are liquid, a little dazed, and her lips are swollen.
“Baby, I need you to get in the truck,” I say against her mouth.
“Okay,” she breathes.
Something loosens in my chest. I lean in again, resting my forehead against hers.
“Waylon,” she says, wiggling under me.
“Mmm,” I say. “Just need a minute.”
She giggles, and the sound vibrates through me, kicking me into action. I step back and swing the door open. She climbs in, sinks into the leather, and her eyes flutter closed.
I don’t know if she’s content or planning her escape, but I’m not waiting to find out.
As I round the hood to the driver’s side and climb behind the wheel, I recall my promise to remember our next kiss. I’m pretty damn sure that one is burned into my memory forever.
Shelby brings her hands up and blows into them as she shivers. And it’s the first time I realize how the temperature has dropped in the last hour.
I start the engine and turn the heater on full blast. The burst of cool air hits us before the truck begins to warm. I reach for her and tug her closer. A little gasp escapes her as I settle her into my side.
I put the truck in gear and reverse out of the parking lot and onto the dark road that leads out of town.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
I shrug because I have no clue. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to take her back to my place. But I know for sure I’m not ready to take her home.
“Just gonna drive.”
She seems to be okay with that because she lays her head against my shoulder. I turn the radio on, the volume low, and we do just that. We drive on the dark, dusty back roads that raised me, where my friends and I used to race dirt bikes and where I wrecked my first truck. I split the trunk of a cottonwood with that thing. Tore it and my momma’s nerves all to pieces. Where I made out with my very first girlfriend, parked on the side of Bear Paw Creek.
I rest my hand on her knee, my finger running a circle on the bare skin of her inner thigh. She squirms a tad, but doesn’t protest. Instead, she buries her face against the side of my neck. Her breath warm at my ear. Then her nose rubs against it before her mouth. She softly flicks my earlobe with her tongue before taking it between her teeth and tugging.
