Page 108 of First Chance

He leans back, and I think I offended him until he hooks his finger under my stool, effortlessly dragging me closer. “You’re an easy woman to love… I’m sorry your family has made you think otherwise.”

I rock back at his words, stunned by his admission. Am I that screwed up?

A little kindness and attention shown to me by a man is all I know of love.

“Hey, don’t. I see your wheels turning in that big brain of yours.” He cups my cheek in his palm, and I lean into it. “I was giving you a compliment.”

“I’m so far behind. I’m not even sure what it means to be in love with someone.”

“You’ll know when it’s right.”

“How?”

“It’ll be warm and easy, exciting but gentle.” He sweeps a loose hair off my cheek. “You’ll know.”

“More wisdom from your grandmother?”

He chuckles, nodding in amusement. “My grandparents are all I know of true love, but my grandmother cussed like a sailor, and my grandfather grumbled about her constantly. So it might not have been easy or gentle, but it was warm and exciting. At least the parts they showed Becky and me.”

“Well, you’re better off than I am, then. My parents’ relationship is probably the furthest thing from love.”

“So, search for the opposite of what they have.” He shrugs like it’s that simple.

“You seem so sure that it’s possible.”

“I am sure.”

I stand up from my stool, placing myself between his legs, and flush against him. His hands envelop my waist, sending a tingle down my spine. “So, what would you call this, then?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I believe that you’re feeling lust,” he murmurs, watching me under hooded lids.

Lust? Is that all this is?

This intense need to be near him as soon as my eyes open, and dreaming about him when they’re closed. Fantasizing about how his lips would feel on every part of my body. Counting the days until my birthday, but dreading that number dwindling because it means I have to leave.

“What about you? You feel it, too, right?”

He grips my hips tightly, ensuring there is only one thing that I can pay attention to. Hislust. “You know I do, darlin’.”

I feel the words rumble from his chest, and it makes me want to curl up against him and never move.

“I don’t think I want to be here anymore. Will you take me home?”

“Yes.” He doesn’t loosen his hold on me until I capture his lips with mine. He won’t take much from me, but he’s greedy with what I’ve already given him. Any chance he gets to claim my mouth, he does so eagerly and without hesitation.

A flutter of appreciation always fills my belly, and it makes me wonder what other things would feel like… Specifically, I wonder how they would feel with Lochlan.

The tension grows thicker in the darkened interior of the Bronco as we drive up the mountain. His hand hasn’t left my thigh, clasping his fingers just below the hem of my dress,inches from the panties I picked out earlier, specifically with him in mind.

My fingers trace the black lines inked across his forearm, paying special attention to each bolt of lightning and every vein.

We hardly speak, and I can hardly breathe because I’m suffocating in anticipation.

What’s he going to do when we get there?

How will I handle it?

Will he throw me up against the car or over his shoulder?

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