Page 7 of Falling Too Soon
She’s funny. I like her.Do you hear yourself, man? Get your shit together. This is no time to be liking anyone.She shot off a quick text and then put her phone face down on the counter. “So what are you doing up here in this cabin all alone, anyway? Are you meeting someone?” I was so curious about her.
“The smart thing to do would be to lie and tell you that my beefy boyfriend is joining me soon, but for reasons I don’t quite understand, I don’t want to lie to you, so the truth is…” She sucked in and let out a deep breath. “I just broke things off with my boyfriend, who was a complete piece of shit. I booked this vacation rental to escape my life for a while and figure out what’s next for me. What about you? Why areyouup here all alone? I’m still not convinced you’re not a serial killer or something.” She raised an eyebrow and took another swig of her drink.
“Actually, my story is pretty similar to yours, believe it or not.” She waited as I took a sip and then continued, “This was supposed to be my honeymoon, but my fiancé cheated on me and I broke things off. Came up here to clear my head, maybe start my next book.”
“Shit, I’m so sorry. That’s awful. And you’re not feeling weird about staying here alone when you were supposed to be here with her?” She looked concerned, her brows furrowed.
“It is what it is, I guess. It’s a beautiful place, and I’m hoping it inspires a new story.” I shrugged. “You hungry?”
“It’s almost eight,” she announced, looking at me like I was crazy for suggesting food at this hour. “Anyway, I think I’d better sort out where I’m staying tonight.”
“Stay here.” That look that she had given me, the one that told me she thought I was nuts, intensified. Maybe I was nuts, but I knew I wanted more time with her. As crazy as that sounded, it was the only thing that made sense to me at that moment.
“Oh no, you were here first. I couldn’t possibly take your rental now. I’m sure I can find something cheap in town for the night.”
“Look, there’s more than one bedroom, so we can both be comfortable, and I’m sure there are locks on the doors, so I won’t be able to come in and kill you while you sleep.” I smirked. This girl seemed smart. There’s no way she was going to stay, but I had to try. I needed to know her, if only for one night.
“This is crazy, right? Any sane person would have already left. Clearly, you got me on an off day because I’m actually considering this.” She shook her head as she held out her glass for another refill. Although refill may have been an exaggeration, seeing how I was only pouring in a shot each time.
“Oh, come on, this’ll be fun! We can commiserate together. What could possibly go wrong?” I joked.
A few bourbons later, we were sprawled out on the couch watching some scary movie that Daphne had put on and munching on popcorn. We had already done the small talk thing and had kept things pretty surface-level prior toputting on the movie. I wasn’t watching the movie, though. I was watching her. She was exquisite. The warm glow of the fire made the caramel parts of her hair glow and her honey-colored eyes sparkle. Her cheeks were pink. It could have been from the warmth of the fire or the booze. It didn’t matter. I wanted to touch them, caress them, feel my lips against them. This was so wrong. Why was I so drawn to this woman?
When she turned to look at me and caught me staring, she smiled. “What?”
I think the bourbon was working because my filter was gone. “You are gorgeous.” I think I saw her already pink cheeks blush.
“Thank you.” She smiled sweetly and turned back to the movie, trying to avoid my eyes.
Fuck it. I was going in. She seemed into that kiss we shared earlier, and it’s all I’d thought about since. That small moan that left her lips as mine brushed over her neck was intoxicating. I felt the need to know what she sounded like when she came, and I wanted to hear my name on her lips as she lost control.
I inched myself a little closer to her on the couch and reached my hand further to close the distance. With my hand almost touching her thigh, she repositioned herself and moved slightly in my direction. Just enough that my hand grazed her thigh.
Oh fuck yeah, it was so on.
8
DAPHNE
Isaw, in my periphery, that Nathan had moved closer, and boy, did I want him even closer still. We had been watching a movie, but I wasn’t paying it any attention. I was so focused on steadying my breathing and trying to keep my cool, but it wasn’t working. I was on fire. Even though Nathan put on a shirt, it did absolutely nothing to dull how attractive he was. If anything, it made him infinitely hotter. The thin, worn T-shirt clung to him like a second skin. I could see every muscle as if he had nothing on at all.
And then there were those damn sweatpants. I tried not to look. I swear on my love of all things pumpkin spice that I tried to keep my eyes to myself. But listen, this man was blessed in the package department, and it was impossible not to notice. He wasn’t even hard, but the outline of his softish cock had me drooling.
Nathan was so close he could almost reach out and touch me. I made a show of “adjusting my position” to inchmy way toward him, to close the distance until his hand brushed my thigh. That was all it took for my restraint to go right out the door, where I should have gone as soon as I realized I wasn’t alone in this house. Yet here I was, letting myself give in to my desire for him. It had been years since I had a one-night stand, and dammit, I deserved this.
My eyes snapped to his, and we stared at each other hungrily. It was like earlier, right before that first kiss. Everything felt as if it moved in slow motion, yet he was on me in an instant.
He grabbed my face between his powerful hands placed his forehead to mine while breathing me in. “Tell me to stop, Daphne.” His crumbling restraint was evident in his voice.
“Don’t you dare,” I breathed as we fell into each other. His hands were everywhere. His tongue attacked my mouth completely unrestrained. I pulled his shirt up and over his head and took my time running my hands over the smooth skin of his chest. Sliding my hands down, I ran a finger over each dip of his abs.
Jesus, did he live in the gym?
His hands felt so good on me. Everywhere he touched sent electric shocks throughout my body. My body hummed, but I wanted more.
His hands moved under my top, sliding up further until his fingers brushed under the bottom edge of my bra. I arched into him while he reached around to unfasten it. With my next breath, he was lifting my top over my head and tossing it and my bra to the ground. Bare before him fromthe waist up, he took a moment to look at me. “Daphne, you are a fucking goddess,” he said breathlessly as he moved back into my space, pushing me against the couch.
He moved his body over mine and captured my mouth with his again. With one arm bracing himself by my head and one hand on my rib cage, he pressed into me. I could feel how hard he was now, grinding into me, driving me crazy with need. He broke our kiss to move his lips to my neck. The hand on my ribs moved over my breast, and his thumb grazed my nipple. I was a writhing, whimpering mess. He continued his trek down my body and stopped to suck a stiff nipple into his mouth while rolling the other between his fingers. I let out a yelp and drove my hips up into him. I wanted more, and I would take everything he wanted to give me.
