Page 15 of It's Love I'm After

“Come here, girl. These little fish ain’t gonna bite you. Look, he’s harmless,” Germayne tells me, dangling a small fish in his hand.

“It’s bad enough that you got me in these woods without something to protect my hair from the bugs and spider webs. Now you want me to mess up my aloe vera soft hands by touching those. Um, how far is the parking area? I gotta get my out-of-place ass out of these woods. This can’t be God’s will for my life.” Ranting, I turn left and right, wondering if I can remember where Germayne parked before leading me into temptation.

Thunderous laughter echoes around the area, causing me to turn and look at Germayne to see him reacting to my statements like he’s at a comedy show.

“Man, I needed that damn laugh. Bring your scary ass over here. I put it back in the bucket.”

“I ain’t scared. I just don’t see why you have to kill that little fish like that. I thought you said this was a date, anyway. I ain’t ever been on a date where the man tortured me. You might need to learn what it means to invite a woman out, because this isn’t it.”

“Awe, poor Chaniya. Come here, suga. A little kiss will make it all better.” The sinister grin Germayne’s wearing has me folding my arms over my chest while staring intently.

“Nah, playboy. I don’t trust you. I’ll stand he—ah! Quit playing! Quit playing!” Screaming, I dash through the woods’ opening when Germayne charges me with a minnow in his hand.

My heart is beating erratically, and my arms are moving like I’m running a race, seconds away from passing the baton. Crackling and swooshing hit my ears as I ran from side to side, trying to avoid Germayne.

“Okay. Okay. Come back, Chaniya. I’m done. I’m done.” Germayne’s humorous voice penetrates my ears, but it takes mea minute to register that he’s no longer chasing me. “Whoa. Wat?—”

“Oh shit!” I shout when I run into a tree branch that slaps me in my face, causing me to fall back and land on my butt, hard. “Ow.”

“How’s that feel? Better?”

Nodding, I lift to look into Germayne’s concerned eyes after he finishes putting the Neosporin on the scrapes on my palms.

“Next time you want to plan a date, . . . don’t. From now on, I’ll be handling all of our outings. You suck at first dates, mister.”

Leaning in, Germayne places a light kiss on my lips before standing to his full height, and I repeatedly blink from the soft caress of what shouldn’t be categorized as a first kiss. Yet, the zing of electricity flowing through my body from the minuscule contact of our lips lets me know that I didn’t imagine it.

“I’m guessing you’re done, and our fishing adventure is over, huh?”

Snapping out of my brief haze, I pout because surely this man doesn’t want me to return to the crime scene. After falling, Germayne scooped me into his arms and carried me to his SUV to retrieve the first aid kit. My comfort with being in Germayne’s arms shouldn’t have been as easy, yet I held onto him like a damsel in distress. This is crazy because I can’t stand weak women, but to be held by Germayne, I will happily put on airs.

“Let’s make a deal, Ms. O’Neal.”

“I don’t know if I like the sound of this, Mr. Malone.” Emphasizing his last name is necessary because, why are we adding them right now?

“If you allow me to erase how this began by starting over, I’ll let you plan our next date.”

“Hm. How’s that a deal when I already stated you won’t have the privilege?”

“The deal comes with me cooking for you to ensure that everything but our do-over sticks with you after today.”

Hm. Intriguing, because I have never had a man cook or offer to cook for me before.

Germayne steps closer, removing the space between us, which charges the air when his eyes glisten with seduction and merriment, making it difficult for me to resist.

Mm. You’re a charmer, I see.

“What do you say? If you allow me to fix this, I guarantee it won’t be something you regret.”

Damn.

The husky, gravelly, and low octave Germayne is using hits me dead center of my lower region, making me give in, despite my reservations.

“Okay.” The single-word answer is breathy and unpreventable from my inability to deny this man.

“Good?”

I blink slowly after Germayne removes his finger from my mouth after allowing me to taste the sauce he’s making. After stopping at a small grocery store to grab things for Germayne to make us dinner, I’m sitting on his counter, taking it all in. The meal is simple yet one Germayne makes appear elegant despite me cooking it often. Caleb is a fan of salmon, so I make salmon alfredo with broccoli on a monthly basis.

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