A tap dance starts in my chest, quick and delicious. I like him. I like him a lot. “Sure.” I scan the empty sidewalk stretched out before me, then I glance back and grin. “If you can catch me.”
He eyes me warily, opens his mouth, and I’m pretty sure he curses when I take off. Soon, my legs burn from pushing the pedals. Rain whips my face, hair sticking to my neck and back. The loud rumble of his truck follows me, and I know he’s letting me win.
I bite my lip, shaking my head. Poor guy doesn’t know me at all.
We reach the park, and I cut in front of his truck. I hop off my bike and pull the tires over the curb, then drop it by the park bench. I’m breathing hard, and my skin is flushed, but it’s more from the adrenaline pumping through me than the exercise.
Turning around, I walk backward and watch Joshua slam the door of his now-parked truck.
He slows his steps when our eyes meet, and we have the most heated stare-down I’ve ever had the pleasure of participating in. He’s already almost as soaked as I am. His shaggy, dark hair falls over his forehead, water dripping down his neck, and his T-shirt clings to his chest and abs. I would laugh at his serious expression if he didn’t look so freaking sexy.
His gaze slides over me, lazy and hot, and he rolls his lip between his teeth. My heartbeat thunders in my ears, warring with the sky.
Something feels different—in the space between us and the air blanketing our skin. What happened on his couch last night didn’t just change one night. It changed everything.
I slip out of my sandals and take another step backward. Wet grass sinks beneath the soles of my feet.
Joshua narrows his eyes. “Blue ...”
Another step. “Joshua ...”
“Don’t do it,” he warns, his voice gravelly and blending with the storm.
But the thing about his warnings is they only make me want to test him. I want to find out how far he’ll go. Mostly because I don’t even think he knows.
Like a lion honing in on a grazing gazelle and trying not to scare its prey, he moves cautiously forward. And like the smart little gazelle I am, I bolt.
“Goddammit—”
I laugh, running as fast as my feet will carry me. The small playground blurs past, then tree after tree after tree, and I’m breathless and aching but blissfully liberated. It’s been way too long since I’ve run like this.
Joshua’s on my heels. The distinctcrunchof heavy footfalls connecting with leaves makes me tense in sweet anticipation. Each quick footfall behind me sends a shiver down my spine, and I can’t help but wonder what Joshua will do when he catches up. Something tells me he’s not the type to run alongside me.
I push my legs faster. We’re beyond the park now, deep in the small and secluded tree-ridden slopes just on the other side.
I look behind me. Butterflies leap to my throat when his grip curls around the back of my dress. He tugs, and I gasp as I stumble backward—straight into his hard chest. He wraps both arms around me in a death-grip, and we tumble onto the slippery grass. I yelp and squeal, landing in a wet tangle of arms, legs, hair, and heavy breaths.
I’m pressed against him, face-to-face, with his back on the ground from him taking the bulk of the fall.
He winces dramatically, rubbing the top of his head. “Jesus, Blue,” he groans, but a seductive smirk pulls on his lips, “you have a really shitty landing.”
“You didn’t have to chase me,” I pant.
“Course I did.”
My pulse ticks faster.
I’m not used to him saying things like that, let alone being this close to him, and it does something funny to my stomach. He stares up at me, his stormy gaze in sync with the dark clouds above our heads as it travels from my eyes to my mouth.
A shudder rolls through me despite the rain letting up, and I breathe a little harder even though we’re lying still. With each inhale, a dose of exhilaration fills my lungs.
“You totally missed me,” I whisper, echoing my words from last weekend.
“I didn’t—”
“So much.”
The hand on my back glides upward until he’s palming the nape of my neck, and he pulls my face to his. His eyelids lower. “You’re a pain, you know that?”
