“We’re going to fuck?” she responded, enraptured by his laser focus.
“Not now,” he grumbled. “I know you have to get back to work. But soon, Bobbie. I promise. What are you doingtomorrow after we see the chief?” His mouth was so close she could feel his breath on her lips, and this time it smelled of cinnamon gum.
Yes.
Bobbie was amazed that Buck could make words happen and carry on a conversation right now. Her own brain was currently derailed by the cock that bobbed in front of her, and the lust on Buck’s face.
“Uh…”Well, damn.
Her work schedule finally popped into her head and she groaned. “I have that alumni thing I mentioned. There’s a catered party tomorrow night to kick things off.”
“Saturday? Sunday?” he asked, undeterred.
“Both days are packed,” she told him regretfully.
“Monday, then.” His face fell as he said it. “Shit. That’s when you sail to your job in Canada.”
“I’ll be back on Wednesday, though,” she told him, regretful over the long wait. “How about we make a date for next Wednesday night?”
“Okay,” he agreed with a gravelly tone while staring hard at her lips. “But I’ll need something to hold me over until then.”
“You’ve got it.”
Bobbie palmed his cheeks and…
They slammed their mouths together as if the world was about to end.
Oh, my God!
The taste of him. The feel of his powerful mouth devouring hers. The flesh and bones of his chiseled face beneath her hands. She’d dreamed about this for years, even as she’d told herself how stupid she was; how forbidden Buck was to her after what he’d done.
But those things no longer impeded her. She no longer needed to hold back.
The kiss went on and on, growing soft, then hard again. Their tongues didn’t duel as much as dance, as if they instantly took to the steps that had been denied them.
When the pressure lightened to soft brushes, Bobbie moaned.
“Buck.” She peppered tiny kisses all over his scruffed chin. “I missed you so much. I want to eat you up; freaking absorb you into my skin.”
She pulled back and looked at him with all the seriousness she could muster. “But first… Tell me this isn’t just a ‘do-over’, so you can check me off your list. Tell me we mean something to each other and are going to take this to wherever it goes. Because I…” her voice cracked. “I don’t think I can do it again. Lose you,” she clarified.
Buck, instead of kissing her to shut her up, as someone looking for a quick score might do, sputtered frustratedly and pulled her into his arms so she was nestled tightly against him. His cock was crushed between them, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Bobbie. Seriously? I’ve fucking missed you every day since I left. There’s never been anyone, in all the time we’ve been apart, who’s even come close to filling up the massive hole that was left in my life when we were torn apart.” He grew even more somber. “I know we never said it back then, because we agreed to wait on things that were serious, but it was always on the tip of my tongue to tell you that…I loved you.”
A small, inadvertent sound escaped from her throat.
God. She’d loved him, too.
Buck continued. “If we spend time together now, I’m sure… Oh, hell.” He caught himself mid-sentence. “Who am I kidding? I don’t need any more time. I’ve neverstoppedloving you, Bobbie, and I always will.”
It was everything she’d hoped to hear, and tears filled her eyes. But she had to be honest with Buck, even though it wouldhurt. “I loved you back when we were kids, too,” she admitted in a whisper. “But then I hated you. For a long time, Buck. I mean murder and betrayal kind of hate. I thought you’d screwed me over; ripped my dreams apart. Shattered my heart. I couldn’t square that with the boy I’d gotten to know, and it messed with my head for years.”
Bobbie regretted not being able to tell Buck that she loved him right now, but having been hurt so badly, once, she wasn’t going to head into a future—theirfuture she hoped—and not be extremely cautious.
“I need time,” she told him, gently stroking his jawline. “Time to learn to trust again. Time to see how our lives might fit together after all the time we’ve spent apart.”
His eyes grew troubled, but he nodded, hearing her. Listening.
