Page 39 of Chasing Forever

Doc lowered his head back onto the bed.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

The door opened a second later, and I lifted my gaze from the book I was pretending to read. “Hey.” Now that she was standing right in front of me and I could see for myself that she was okay, I was able to pull in my first full breath since she left the house earlier this morning.

Merritt glanced down at the book then up to me. “Hi. What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I stated casually. “Just reading.”

The corners of her mouth trembled. “You read romance?” Of course it was one of her books I snatched up. “Yeah, sure. I read a bit of everything. I have diverse tastes.”

She curled her lips between her teeth to hide her smile. “The book is upside down.”

Son of a bitch.

I slapped the cover shut and tossed the book back on the coffee table, giving up pretenses. I raked my fingers through my hair as I stood up from the couch. “I’ve been going out of my mind.”

She moved toward me, her expression softening as she closed the distance. “Were you worried about me?”

I couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her as soon as she was close enough. I tucked a strand of that dark, glossy hair behind her ear and trailed my fingers down her jaw before forcing myself to drop my arm to my side. “I always worry about you when I know you’re going into a situation where you could end up hurt.”

“There were guards everywhere. There was no way he could have gotten to me,” she attempted to reassure me.

“I don’t just mean physically, Dandelion. Too many people have been indifferent to your feelings in your lifetime. I want to protect you in every possible way. I know I can’t, like I know you’re capable of taking care of yourself, I just can’t stand the thought of anyone hurting you.”

Something moved across her beautiful face just then. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“That day in your car, when you pressed your forehead to mine. Did you want to kiss me?”

My heart shot up into my throat, making it hard to breathe all of a sudden. Her question lit a fuse inside me, setting my blood to an automatic boil. “What?”

“Did you want to kiss me?”

Her eyes pleaded with me to tell the truth, and there was nothing I could deny her. “More than I wanted my next breath.”

Her chest rose on a soft gasp, and her sage green gaze went glassy. “What if I gave you a chance to do it over?”

A deep rumble moved up my throat as my hands came up to cradle her face. “Baby, I need you to be completely sure of what you’re askin’ me. There can’t be any doubt or miscommunication.”

“I don’t have any doubts. Tristan, I want you to kiss me.”

That was all I needed to hear.

Bringing my mouth down on hers, I brushed my lips over hers, once, twice, testing her limits to make sure it wasn’t too much. When she didn’t pull away, I increased the pressure, flicking my tongue out for that first small taste.

“Tristan?” Merritt breathed against my mouth, forcing my eyes open.

“Yeah, baby?”

“I’m not delicate. Please stop treating me like glass and kiss me.”

The iron grip I maintained on my self-control these past few months snapped, and I slammed my mouth onto hers. My tongue swiped in and slid against hers, eliciting a moan from deep within her chest. The sound went straight to my dick, making me want more.

My hands slid farther back, tangling with the hair at her nape as I took her mouth harder, deepening the kiss. Her arms came up and wrapped around my neck and held on as I lost myself in the kiss, in her. I couldn’t get enough. I never wanted it to end, and would have gladly suffocated if it meant I didn’t have to stop.

Merritt pulled back and sucked in a deep breath as she whispered my name. “Tristan.”

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