A heartbeat passed, or maybe it was longer. Maybe the sun stood still in the sky. She wasn’t sure, because everything else ceased to exist. Everything except his eyes, fixed on her, laden with desire.
Kiss me.
He rose onto his knees, coming closer, and now she was looking up at him. Then, as if he’d read her mind, he took her face in his hands and pulled her to him.
His warm breath whispered against her lips, and Grace’s eyelids fluttered shut. And then she lost all coherent thought. She was just feeling now. Feeling his firm touch. His bold mouth. His solid frame.
She felt the brush of his lips on hers, soft and confident and so,so good. She felt the warm squeeze of attraction deep inside and the wild beating of her heart.
And the intense need for this kiss to go on forever—she felt that too. Because really, how would she bear it when it ended?
Somebody whimpered. Maybe her. She roped her arms around his broad shoulders, plowed her fingers into the soft hair at his nape.
He responded with a moan.
She took everything he offered and gave back freely. Her stomach fluttered, her skin tingled. There wasn’t a square inch of her unaffected. How was this possible? This was not her first kiss. Had she been doing it wrong all along? Or just doing it with the wrong person?
When the kiss ended she didn’t have a clue how much time had passed. She was out of breath and out of thoughts and out of words.
What was...? She’d never... This was...
His face slowly came into focus as if she’d blacked out or something. Maybe she had. She was delighted, at least, to see that he looked as flustered as she felt. His heavy-lidded gaze, flushed cheeks, and ardent expression made her want to grab some seconds.
But he was easing away, putting space between them. Only inches, but it felt like miles as cool air rushed between them. She instantly missed the feel of him against her.
The look on his face shifted, making her remember the way he’d kept her at a distance when they’d met—had it really only been ten days ago? Anxiety squirmed into her heart like a worm into an apple. Did he regret the kiss? He’d just turned her entire world upside down with his mouth.
“I didn’t intend to do that.”
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry, Wyatt.”
He stared at her for a long minute in that inscrutable way of his.
She steeled herself for his rejection. Braced herself for the hurt that would follow.
“Go out with me.”
She blinked. Okay, she hadn’t seen that coming. “You aren’t seeing enough of me now?”
He drew his knuckle down her cheek, leaving a wake of warmth. “No.”
She could point out that he was only visiting Bluebell. That he had a life that was far away. That she was tied up here. But she couldn’t even think past the feel of his touch.
“So, on this proposed date... Where would you take me?” As if that would factor in at all.
His mouth twisted into a smirk. “Not putt-putting.”
She tilted her head at him.
His gaze roamed over her face as if searching for something. “I think I’ll surprise you.”
“You seem to be very good at that so far.”
“Are you free tomorrow night?”
“I have a dress fitting for my brother’s wedding at three, but I’m free after that.”
“When’s the wedding?”
