Page 75 of Almost Always

“The first time you saidsit under the stars with mewas a special night.”

There was a part of him that couldn’t quite comprehend that he had such an impact on her back then. “So now you have two things for us.”

“Technically, I have a lot of things that remind me of us. Put it on?” she asked and gave him the box as she turned around.

She gathered her hair to the side as he took the necklace out and carefully wrapped it around her throat. He pressed soft kisses to her exposed neck, smiling at her whimpers, and closed the clasp. He hadn’t considered the length and if it would overlap with her other necklaces. So when she spun around, he could see that it fit perfectly. The words were right there, at the tip of his tongue, and he was still thinking about how she saidall I see is you.

“Raff, are you okay?”

He nodded, cupping her face in one hand as he stared at her.Okaywas a relative term at this point, he was going to do his best to get through the evening and be present. Dragging his thumb under her delicious red mouth, he released a shaky breath.

“Will I mess everything up if I kiss you?” he asked softly, his eyes fixed on her lips.

“I can reapply the lip?—”

He didn’t give her a chance to finish before his mouth covered hers. The contact made him sigh as he slid his hand from her jaw to cradle her head. She shuddered against him, hands pushing under his jacket to rest on his back. Their heads tilted and lips parted, tongues touching and stroking as they kissed. It was a slow, seductive devouring. One that he’d been attempting to do for days, but usually when he got his hands on Daisy, it was impossible to slow it down. Teeth scraped over tongues before she sucked on his, his low moan echoing between them. His fingers tightened in her hair and she moaned as the kiss turned almost feral. This was more like them, the desperate way they grabbed and tasted each other. He didn’t even know what it would be like once they got each other naked.

“Hotshot.”

The whimper broke him from his trance and with a gentle nip at her bottom lip, he pulled back. She blinked her eyes open, pupils blown, caramel hot and swirling with desire. He was sure he looked just as ravaged.

“You’ve got lipstick everywhere,” she whispered, fingers rubbing against his mouth.

Now he was imagining what it would be like to have that around his dick, but the thought was quickly shaken off when she tugged him to the bathroom. She handed him a wet wipe as they stood in front of the mirror above the sink. He cleaned his face as she touched up her lipstick, skin flushed and eyes burning into his.

“Yeah?” she asked, smiling as she turned to face him.

“Am I imagining you pinned against that counter? Yeah.”

She laughed. “A few kisses and you’ve turned into an animal.”

“Those were not kisses. Those were…something else,” he said, shaking his head. Kisses were pecks of lips and gentle presses of mouths. What they’d been doing since their second first kiss was entirely different. And he loved every minute of it.

“We should go, so we’re not late for our reservation.”

He nodded and glanced at himself in the mirror one more time.

I am so totally fucked.

CHAPTER 23

“Have you gotten a handle on all your work?” she asked once they were seated at a booth in It’s No Truffles. She’d heard of the bistro and Clementine had talked about their wonderful menu, so she was glad he brought her there.

Even if the man had almost rendered her useless for the evening.

They ordered a bottle of wine and a few things on the specials menu, but she had no idea what she’d really picked. All she could focus on was her date. On the drive to the restaurant and as she studied the menu, her fingers played with the necklace he’d gifted her. She’d never received jewelry from anyone other than her stepmother, and the fact that he’d bought her something with so much meaning made it that much better.

“I think so. I got very distracted halfway through my day.”

“What happened?”

“Well, for one, you texted and I spent a good long time thinking about tonight.” She rolled her eyes and poked him in the side. He captured her hand and continued, “Cal and Boots got dirty playing in the garden so I had to hose them downandclean the house.”

“Poor babies. No training today?”

He shook his head, staring at their hands as he played with her fingers. “Since Cal was at home, I opted not to go.”

“You can do that?”

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