I should say something, but the words won’t come, not when she’s looking at me like that. Cheeks flushed, dress clinging to every curve, nipples hard and pointed.

Fuck! My cock betrays me!

She grins, noticing the betrayal. “Oh, is this why you don’t want to talk about my father? You’re embarrassed that you’ve got the hots for his much younger daughter?”

“I don’t have the hots for you, little girl. I’m just helping you out.”

“Little girl?”She grins, and her voice stays playful as though the lake water has washed away the last of her inhibitions when she says, “That’s hot… and your cock is really hard for a guy who’s not into me.”

I’m not sure what’s happening. It feels like a dare, like a tear in the fabric of reality, like a second skin I step into, like the beast I’ve been holding back cracks the code and steps out of his cage. Without thought, I pull her close, lean into her lips, and kiss her hard and fast.

She gasps but doesn’t pull back. Her hands fist into my shirt, and that’s it… all the permission I need.

“This is wrong,” I mutter against her mouth, the words barely hanging on my breath.

“Then stop,” she whispers.

But I don’t. I can’t.

Chapter Five

Sienna

It’s like someone scratched a match across my skin.

Tennessee’s mouth is on mine, hot and hungry, like he’s been starving for years. I melt into him, ignoring the fact that we’re standing ankle deep in freezing lake water. I’m nearly forgetting a lot of other things too, like how he knows my father. Right now, though, I don’t care. He could’ve been best friends with my father, and I’d still want him.

His giant hand moves like sandpaper across my wet skin, and he groans low in my ear as though he’s trying to stop himself from feeling, but it’s not working.

“Little girl,” his tone is rough and graveled, “this is dangerous.”

A prickly warmth travels through me and buzzes against my thighs before settling on my clit. I love the way he calls me‘little girl.’ It shouldn’t undo me the way it does, but it’s so sweet sounding, like he’d take care of me above all else.

“How is this dangerous? We’re two consenting adults,” I say, my lips nearly touching his. “We’re allowed to have fun.”

He leans into my neck with rough kisses as he moves toward the lobe of my ear. He’s careful where he puts his hands, though a few times they’ve been fantastically close to my breasts. “We can have fun at what expense?” he swallows hard as thoughhe’s stamping down his feelings again. “I can’t take you and walk away like nothing happened. I’d want all of you.”

“All of me?” My voice cracks as I speak. I’ve never heard words like that before from anyone.

“All of you,” he repeats, his hand on the side of my face, warm against the chill in the air. “I want to know your favorite flavor of ice cream, what you do in your free time, what movie makes you laugh so hard you snort, and your awful high school haircut stories. I’d want you for more than today. I’d want all your Friday mornings. All your fears and all your happiness… I’d need it all.”

The wind stirs, lifting the ends of my hair. No one has ever shown this much interest in me. I mean, sure guys have tried being physical, but no one has ever really wanted toknowme. Not like this.

“I like strawberry ice cream.” I step closer until there’s barely an inch between us, my voice shaking as I say, “I crochet little vegetables and sell them online in my free time. In high school, my mom hacked off all my hair in some attempt to teach me that I need to take care of it better. I’m terrified of being alone, and right now, this moment is making me happier than I’ve ever felt in my life.” I let out a breath, desperate for him to bend. “I want to know you in the same ways.”

He growls low in his throat, a slow, crooked smile flickering across his lips. “I like butter pecan, always a triple scoop. I spend most of my free time fixing motorcycles. In high school, my mom was famous for givingactualbowl cuts, where she sat the bowl right on my head. And I never much thought I was scared of anything… until I met you.”

My brows narrow as I breathe in the scent of leather and pine that surrounds him.“You’re scared of me?”

“Terrified.” His thumb brushes across my cheek. “You make me want things I thought I’d never get a chance at.”

The lake is somehow still now, as if even the world is pausing with bated breath.

“So take me. Let’s see where this goes.”

His hand slips from my face toward my hips with a groan as though he’s losing the battle with himself. “I can’t touch you, little girl. But…” There’s a dark shatter in his voice as he speaks. It’s as though he knows what he’s about to ask for is wrong,which makes me want to say yes even more.

“What?” I manage, willing my heart to stop beating in my throat.