“You mean stalking,” I corrected because I was me and couldn’t seem to shut up when needed. Nor did it seem like I had any kind of common sense, because not only had I known he’d been stalking me this entire time, I’d thrived off it. I’d loved his attention on me, the way he happened to be around everywhere I was without ever approaching me. I mean, the man was a big guy. With russet red hair and light skin. It wasn’t like he was exactly going to blend into the background. Especially in the bright light of a new day. He’d made me feel safer and more alive than I had ever felt in my entire life. That was saying something since I was an emergency room traveling nurse who lived for the adrenaline rush of helping others.
What about at night?My thoughts drifted. The nights I’d dreamt him next to me. Fingertips that had brushed my hair and body in my dreams. Had it only been in my sleep?You know the answer to that, a little voice perked up inside of my head.
“Tomato-tohmato.” He grinned adorably. I had to bite the inside of my lip. Not because I was in any kind of distress but because I knew what I was going to do.
It was crazy.
It was an immensely huge risk to take.
“You’re impossible,” I muttered without really meaning it.
“I’m yours,” he said. I licked my suddenly dry lips.I’m yours. Why did I like that so much? No, I loved it.
“You know telling me this stuff could freak me out?” His thick thumbs brushed the apples of my cheeks just as his beautiful baby-blue eyes went warmer than I’d ever seen them. “I could be terrified of you and your stalker tendencies.”
“I’m pretty sure you like those stalker tendencies, Elizabeth,” he drawled slowly, his voice slightly scratchy. Austin shifted beneath me, and my lips parted when I felt him. His thick, hard, and long manhood was wedged between us. “What would I find if I slipped my hand down and under this pretty, little dress you have on?” My skin flared with goose bumps. His dirty words turned me on even more.
“Austin.” I whispered his name like a prayer I wanted him to answer. Instead, his other hand dropped and stroked my bare back. I’d never been happier with what I’d chosen to wear in my life. The broad tips stroked my skin with a feather-light touch that made my already stiff nipples harder.
“Would I find you wet, angel?” I shivered with anticipation. That was exactly how he would find me—soaked and dripping, the tiny red panties I’d chosen for tonight with care completely ruined.
Just like he would ruin me in the best way possible.
And I was going to let him.
“You should check,” I dared him. His jaw clenched.
“Elizabeth.” The warning was clear in his voice.
I touched the hand he had on my right cheek and brought it to my lips. Without taking my eyes off his, I kissed his fingertips, one by one, before moving his hand down and dropping it to my side, just at the bottom of the skirt.
“Check,” I urged, my sex clenching tightly, feeling so empty it was close to painful.
“This isn’t how tonight was supposed to happen. I was supposed to—“ His jaw clenched, and he ground his teeth.
“What were you supposed to do?” I asked, shifting, rising on my knees, getting closer to eye level.
“Take you to my place. Serve you a home-cooked meal?—"
“You cooked for me?” The smile on my face was genuine.
“No.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I sked Brett, the cook from the brewery, to stop by. He left me instructions on how to heat it up.” My insides felt all warm and fuzzy from the effort and thought he’d put into our first date.
“Then?” I leaned closer. My hand rose to cup his cheek before I brushed my lips to the other side.
“We were going to go to my backyard,” he rasped. My lips peppered tiny kisses on his check then the other side. “Turn the firepit on, sit by the bonfire while we talked for a bit before we danced.”
“Again?” I was still kissing his handsome face softly.
“I love dancing with you.”
“I love dancing with you, too,” I whispered back, emotions overwhelming me. “And after dancing under the stars in front of a bonfire?” I asked, with a shaky exhale, whispering the question against the shell of his ear.
“I’d kiss you softly and take you home.”
“Home?” My body stilled over his. “After just a kiss?”
“It’s our first date,” he reminded me. I chewed on my bottom lip.
