“The fuck you think? I’m going to leave you out here? Hell, Isabella, can you stop thinking the worst of me?”
I do little to hide my anger again.
This woman that I kissed and respect for who she is, and what she is asking me if I’d abandon her in her time of need is fucking crazy.
“I don’t think?—”
“Yeah, you don’t.”
I capture her chin in my glove, wishing I didn’t have the leather fabric separating me from experiencing her soft skin.
“Newsflash, Iz, I’m not going anywhere. Not at school. Not at class. And not now. Stop trying to get rid of me. It’s just not happening. The sooner you accept that, the better for both of us.”
Her gaze softens, and her shoulders sag slightly.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Yeah, well, it sure as hell sounded like it,” I snap, my anger still bubbling beneath the surface despite my gloved thumb caressing her cheek. “Do I look like the kind of guy who’d leave someone stranded on the side of the road? Especially you? Especially after helping your dad?”
She winces, whether from pain or the sharpness of my tone. I’m not sure. Regret flashes across her face, and it chips away at my frustration, though not entirely.
“I just…” Her voice falters, pushing my hand away from her face and adjusting how she’s sitting. “I didn’t expect you to still care after?—”
“After what?” I cut in with intensity. “After you pushed me away? After you kissed me? After you made it clear, this—whatever the hell this is between us—is complicated? None of that changes the fact that I care. You can’t scare me off that easily.”
Her eyes widen slightly at my words, and for a moment, she looks as if she might argue. But instead, she looks away, her lower lip trembling slightly.
It’s tempting to kiss her, to collect her in my arms, and to assure her that everything will be okay, just like I did in the urgent care. Yet, we are miles away from a vulnerable moment like that. Miles away from the people we were just a short time ago.
Despite it all, I press a comforting kiss against her lips. Something I feel we both need right now to calm the panic that seized both of us from her accident. She’s frozen as I work my lips over hers, and I’m about to end it when she claps the back of my head to keep me in place.
Normally, I’d continue and take this as far as she’ll let me, but now’s not the time. I need to get us off the road and handle her bike before I take her home.
“Isabella.”
It’s a plea and a groan against the lips I’ve fantasized about. I want more, but I know I can’t. She understands. Her hand falls away when I break the kiss.
“We’ve got to get out of here before a car comes, or even worse, a cop.”
She nods, her hand resting on the asphalt beside her.
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure you’re not hurt? I can call for an ambulance.”
She shakes her head, her gaze boring into me as she struggles to reach her feet. My arms instantly circle her body, practically lifting her with little effort. She’s lighter than she appears, more fragile than she looks, and it only heightens my instinct to take care of her.
“No ambulance or hospital. I’m a bit banged up, but I’ll be okay.”
“Make no mistake. We’re talking about this. Not now, but definitely later because every time I kiss these juicy lips, they kiss me back.”
She doesn’t say anything. She just stares at me as I do her, with our arms wound around each other in what can only be described as a loving embrace.
Shit.
This is why I like the climb.
All these little moments seize my heart and lock it away, waiting for the right person to come with the key.
