Page 59 of Wood Riddance
She gasped, but I didn’t stop there.
“I clearly need a lot more therapy. And possibly some kind of electroshock treatment. But I look forward to seeing you. Hearing your laughter. Usually you’re laughing at my expense, but I’ll take it, because the sound lights me up inside.”
My mouth was dry and my heart was pounding, but it needed to be said. Maybe it was the storm that gave me courage, or maybe I’d finally lost my mind. Either way, I didn’t care. I took another step closer.
“Don’t,” she said, holding up one hand. “I can’t handle games right now.”
Damn. All I wanted to do was close the distance and show her how serious I was. “I’m a grown man. I don’t play games. I go after what I want. Have you not noticed the way I’ve salivated over you for the past few years?”
Slowly, so as not to spook her, I moved another foot closer. Close enough that I could reach out and cup her cheek. And that’s exactly what I did. “I know what my father did. I know that I’m a marginally employed single dad with little to boast about. But never, ever doubt my attraction to you. It could power a fucking rocket to the moon.”
Feeling bold, I looped a hand around her middle and pulled her in until our chests were flush. “I dream about you,” I rasped, looking down at her beautiful face, at the freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose. “I lie in bed in my tiny, shitty apartment, and I think about what would have happened if I’d taken a shot last year. That day, when we found Remy and Hazel, I looked at you, and for the first time, I saw something other than disdain in your eyes when you turned your attention on me. I saw respect and admiration.”
She bit her bottom lip in response. That slight movement alone made all the blood in my body rush south. This woman would probably kill me if she felt my reaction to her. Yet I was desperate for it.
“I could feel the connection building between us. But I was too scared to take the risk. I’ve been kicking myself every single day since. You are my dream girl. Now that we’re stuck here together, I’ll be damned if I don’t shoot my shot.”
Slowly, I tilted forward, brushing my lips against hers. In turn, she pushed up on her tiptoes and dove in. Damn. She wanted this as badly as I did.
Her lips were soft and lush and sent me reeling. Any hope of control was lost in the next instant, when she threw her arms around my neck and gently bit my lower lip. Our lips tangled as my hands pulled her closer until our bodies were flush.
But before I could deepen the connection, she flattened her palms on my chest and pushed me away.
“What the hell?” she yelled, her eyes blazing with anger.
I held my hands up in surrender, but she disregarded my attempt to defuse the situation. She charged me and pushed me again, even harder this time. So hard that I stumbled back and hit the rickety wall behind me.
“I don’t want this,” she shouted, her voice echoing through the building. “I don’t want to want you.”
Damn if I could suppress the smile spreading across my face. “But youdowant me.”
Covering her face with her hands, unable to even look at me in the dark building, she groaned. “Of course I do. But I hate it. I hate that even the slightest touch makes me light up inside. And I really hate seeing how great you are with Merry. It guts me.”
I wanted to throw my arms around her and kiss the shit out of her again, but I refrained. She needed to get this off her chest. “Why?”
“Because it’s so much easier to despise you if you’re an evil Hebert. But you’re not. You are weirdly sensitive. Stupidly hot. And you actually care about people. It’s awful.” Her chest heaved, and every line on her face was etched in distress.
I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in my arms and kiss away all her worries.
Inching closer, I ran my fingers down her arm. “Sounds terrible.”
“I hold grudges for life. Ask Sarah Murray or Luke Pierre. You’re supposed to be an asshole. Not funny and sexy and really good at axe-throwing.”
Biting my lip, I held back a smile, lest she decide to murder me for making light of her tribulations.
“I truly don’t know whether to strangle you or rip off your pants right now.”
Throwing my head back, I guffawed. “It’s early. We’ve got time for both.”
Her responding laugh unlocked another well of desire inside me. I had never felt a need this great, and I needed her to understand. But before I could voice my thoughts, she was pushing me up against the wall, her strength evident in the force of the impact.
And then she was kissing me again, leading the charge with her lips and her tongue and her hands. It was wild and frenzied and everything I’d ever dreamed of. A loud crack of thunder boomed in the distance, but nothing would stop me now. Without hesitation, I explored her body, stroking and grasping at every inch of her perfect skin.
Angling my head, I dove in deeper, pulling her ponytail to give me more access to her luscious mouth. The need to pull back and take a breath was becoming urgent, but I never wanted to stop. Finally, I couldn’t fight the sensation any longer. I pulled away slightly, though I kept my hand tangled in her hair.
Her breaths were as ragged as mine as the storm raged outside. The old building did nothing to soften the sounds of breaking tree limbs and the rain lashing against the roof. “This doesn’t mean I like you.”
“Then what does it mean?”
