It’s hard to be a gentleman when she follows me to the kitchen, trailing a scent of wood smoke with her. But I force my gaze up from her mouth-watering breasts to her innocent wide eyes, reminding myself she’s had a hard day on the road, and whatever her burden, she’s sharing it with me now.
“Where are you from?” I ask after pouring her a mug of peppermint tea. We’re sitting on stools at the kitchen counter next to each other with our bodies angled inward.
She inhales the steam wafting off it, her eyes closing and making my dick twitch to life, then answers, “Jersey. I arrived in Hope this afternoon.”
I noted the rental plates on her car, but they’re North Carolina plates, so I’m guessing she didn’t drive.
“You take the bus here?”
She nods.
“All the way from Jersey?”
That’s over five hundred miles, longer on a Greyhound. No wonder there’re dark smudges under her eyes and dust in her hair. I thought it was from the house, but my girl has been on the road for two days.
“Yeah.” She shrugs. “It wasn’t so bad.”
She bites her lower lip, which makes me think the journey sucked big time. And if she arrived this afternoon and went straight to the Reilly place, where there’s no electricity, she’s probably had nothing to eat.
“You eaten today?”
Her belly gives a loud rumble at the mention of food, and she slides her arm over it as her cheeks flush a deep shade of red, which is fucking adorable.
“Not since a sandwich this morning.”
Damn, my girl must be hungry.
“Here.” I grab an apple from the fruit bowl and toss it to her. “Have this for starters while I cook you dinner.”
She shakes her head. “You’ve already been too kind by letting me stay. I don’t want to be a burden. At least let me cook and pay for the groceries.”
I stand and step closer to her, tilting her head so she looks up at me. Big brown eyes meet mine, and I stroke my thumb over her cheek.
“You’re not a burden. You’re mine, and I look after what’s mine.”
Her lips pop open in a gasp, and I lean forward and kiss her. She hesitates for only a moment before parting her sweet lips and letting me inside.
Heat sizzles between us, and as her lips move with mine, dual sensations ignite within me. Every place my body touches hers sparks to life. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. My body zings with energy, and at the same time, as if I’ve always known her touch, always known her. It feels like coming home.
My hand moves around her neck to cup her head. I tug at the hair tie holding her hair in place, and it cascades over my fingers, silky smooth locks tangling in my grasp.
With my other hand, I nudge her thighs apart and move myself into the space between them. She welcomes me in with a moan, and my hand slides up her jeans to the mound between her legs. As I cup it in my palm, she moans again, and I feel her heat and wetness through the denim. My cock seeps in anticipation.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. My girl needs feeding. She needs the energy for what I want to do to her.
When I slide my hand out from between her legs and step away, she gives a frustrated mewl. We’re both breathing hard as we stare at each other, her expression as full of wonder as mine.
“That kiss …” She looks away, uncertain of her words.
“What is it, firefly? You can say anything to me.”
“It’s never felt like that when I kissed anyone. Is that normal?”
I chuckle with relief that my girl senses it too. “There was nothing normal about that kiss. It’s never felt like that for me either.”
“Oh.” She looks down at her lap. “Can we do it again?”
I want nothing more than to kiss her hard, to experience that connection again, the fire and the comfort all at once. But I’m going to take care of her starting right now.
