Page 31 of My Rose

Again.

Howcould someone so hot be so infuriating and still look so good doing it? How could I still see the pure side of him—that heart of gold he displayed by simply listening to what I said and being there for me? How could I be driven so mad by the man sitting next to me while he drove a stupid, ridiculously expensive car that could be sold to house several families quite comfortably? And, above all, what the hell did he want withme?

“I’m sorry, Rose.” He shifted gears to start driving away to wherever he was taking me. Honestly, I didn’t care where we went. I just wanted his mouth on mine again.

Briggs’ hand slid over my thigh, his fingers giving a light squeeze. Instead of tensing up like I did the few times August tried the same move, I relaxed into his hand. Possibly melted under it.

“Go on.”

He chuckled. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t good for you.”Here we go. His eyes locked on mine for a moment before refocusing back on the road. When his fingers moved higher up my thigh and squeezed once more, I stifled a moan that almost left my lips. Minnie was right. I was such a virgin, it wasn’t even funny. I guess saving yourself for the man of your dreams—or, rather, the man you thought was the man of your dreams—truly went nowhere in giving me the experience I suddenly desperately wished I had. Briggs was obviously not a virgin. I knew that right away when I saw how his ex acted at the party, and after the way he kissed me, the way his hands held me…

A shiver rolled down my spine just thinking about how hard he was beneath me.

“So what happened, then?”

“You did.” His hand slid along my thigh as his eyes found mine again before landing back on the road. “You happened.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, right. Is this the part where you drop me off somewhere close enough to my house to make yourself feel better?” His jaw tensed like he completely disagreed with what I just said.

“I'm serious, Rose.” His fingers tapped along the wheel. “And I would never just leave you somewhere for you to find your way back. You should know that by now.”

I let out a softmmm. “But I don’t understand.”

Briggs’ tongue swiped over his bottom lip. “You don’t understand what you’re doing to me?” His thumb trembled as it grazed my jeans, and the air in the car suddenly became too hot. “Or you don’t understand why I’m not taking you home right away this time?”

I gulped. “Both.”Where are we going?“But I guess I’d prefer an answer to the second one.”

“I’m sorry, Rose,” he repeated, probably because he thought I was still angry. I guess I was, but my brain was melting under his touch. “I’ll answer your questions and apologize to you even more as soon as we get to where we’re going. If I need to do that on my knees, then I will.” Another gulp escaped me as his hand inched even higher, then stopped. Briggs' pinky was on the seam of my jeans, and I sucked in a breath as it moved to trace the thread.

“Are you going to tell me where it is you’re taking me?” My voice came out uneven, like my heartbeats were.

He smirked at me and jerked his chin toward my window. “We’re here.” He pulled into a spot in the grass, removing his hand to shift down and cut the engine.

“A park?” He nodded, then reached his hand back over to unbuckle my seat belt, sending tingles up into areas that were getting increasingly difficult to ignore. Especially around him. Really, only around him. He stepped around the car and opened the door for me, holding his hand out to help me out of the seat.

And then he dropped to his knees as I stood in front of him. My lips parted as I looked down at him. “Rose, I’m an idiot. I should have treated you better, and you were right. Will you forgive me?” His green eyes glimmered against the fading sun even as the clouds thickened above us, the wind picking up more now that we were away from the few buildings in town. The storm that was coming in mimicked the swirls in my stomach as I continued to hold his gaze with mine.

I couldn’t fight the smile that formed on my lips. “You didn’t need to get on your knees. I accept your apology.” Although him on his knees, groveling, was…hot.

He stood and dusted the dirt from his black jeans. “I know, but I felt like you needed something dramatic to make you see that I’m done playing games when it comes to you.”Come again?

“So you admit to being an asshole, then? Like truly, fully committed to acknowledging it?” He nodded and cupped my jaw, his callouses and cuts scraping soothingly across my skin.

“Yes. And I promise I’ll behave from now on.” His hand fell from my face as he reached down to take my hand in his. “Come on.To answer your second question from earlier—I want to show you where I go sometimes when I’m trying not to be an asshole.”

We walked for maybe three minutes down a trail that ended at a stream with a small waterfall to the right. It was beautiful, serene. Somewhere I would go if I’d known it existed. Now that I did, I didn’t want to leave. But the storm wouldn’t allow us to stay long. We’d be back in his car soon enough.

He let go of my hand and sat on a large boulder that faced the stream. As I approached, he reached out and tugged me by my waist into his lap. “Too forward?” His brows drew together as he looked at me.

I shook my head, then laced my fingers behind his neck. “No, it’s just surprising, I guess.”

“Is it? I thought the way I kissed you at that bonfire told you plenty.”

I quirked my lips to the side. “Yes, well, then you pushed me away when you…you felt something, didn’t you?”

His arms wrapped around my waist, and then his fingers started to trail up along my ribs, right over the spot he pulled back from before. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t want you to think…fuck.” He pulled me in tighter. “I just wasn’t expecting it.” His tone shifted, turning darker. But we’d broken some massive barrier between us, and I didn’t want to be the one to turn it into a crater of hell again. If I was being honest with myself, I liked being here, with him. And I wanted to stay like this for as long as I could.

“I got these the night my parents died.” I pushed my hand over his, guiding him beneath my shirt until I stopped right above themarks. “They’re burn marks.” He nodded, then rested his chin on my shoulder.

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