Page 59 of Guarded from Havoc

It’s like nothing I’ve known.

But it’s our first kiss. Or technically, our second. But still too soon for more than what we’re doing.

I need to take my time with Tatum. Because she’s not some random hookup to satisfy my needs. She’s so much more than that.

I need to do romantic things. Bring her flowers. Candy. Come up with thoughtful gifts that show I’ve been paying attention to what she likes. I need to treat her like the amazing woman she is.

So I drag my mouth from hers, feeling a small burst of pride to see her kiss-swollen lips and desire-glazed eyes. Then my gaze drifts lower, to her taut nipples straining at the fabric of her shirt.

My erection jerks, going harder still.

Hunger surges through me.

I could pull her tank top down to reveal one perfect breast. Take her nipple in my mouth, and?—

No. Not now.

With a rueful shake of my head, I say, “I don’t want to stop. But I don’t want to rush things, either.”

Or at least, my brain doesn’t.

Tatum blinks. Then she smiles. “I don’t want to stop either. But I suppose taking thingssortof slowly wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Sort of slowly?”

“Well.” Her lips quirk. “Maybe we could do more next time? Like… tonight, maybe?”

“I like the sound of that.” I brush my thumb across her lips. “How about we have our first date tonight? It’ll have to be here, but we could have dinner. Watch a movie.”

“And kiss some more?”

That balloon in my chest expands even more. “Yes. To all of those things.” I kiss her lightly. “I can’t wait.”

CHAPTER 12

TATUM

As soon asthe doorbell rings, a kaleidoscope of butterflies takes flight in my stomach.

My heart flutters along with them, jumping and jittering.

Breathing suddenly seems an impossibility.

I thought by our third date, my body wouldn’t explode into a chaos of excitement and nerves at the very thought of seeing Erik again.

After all, it’s not like I don’t see him all the time. Every morning we do yoga together—which I really enjoy, not just because it really is relaxing, but it also means Erik has to touch me—before he jumps into his intense workout sessions that keep him in top shape for Blade and Arrow.

And whew. I’ve watched him run through some of those exercises, and not only are they crazy-hard, but it’s a huge turn-on to watch him doing them. Erik with his shirt off, all his muscles gleaming with sweat, his tattoos flexing as he lifts giant barbells more than twice my weight. Or watching him sparring with one of his teammates, those very impressive muscles working as he dips and dodges and jabs.

Yes, I know we sort of implied we’d take the physical side of our relationship slowly. And it seemed like a smart idea at the time. But seeing Erik like that definitely makes me second guess the wholetaking things slowlything.

But I don’t get butterflies just because of how sexy he is, though it certainly doesn’t hurt. It’s everything about him. His tough exterior that hides a sensitive side that sneaks out at unexpected moments. His goofy moments, so incongruous to his solemn intensity, like when he started juggling the tomatoes we’d picked, making a little show of it. It’s how thoughtful he is. How protective.

And it’s the way his expression changes whenever he looks at me, shifting from serious to affectionate. How his gaze softens. How his smile brightens and does funny things to my belly.

Still. After the hours we’ve spent practicing yoga and meditations, plus our time in the garden, and the two nights previous, when we shared dinner and watched movies together, I would have thought the newness of things would have started subsiding.

Nope. I’m still as nervous as I was before my first real date, back in freshman year of high school, when I went to the winter formal with the boy I’d been crushing on for months.

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