Page 16 of Dreaming at Seaside
The feel of her body against him remained as she moved away and scanned the other photos.
“Are these your parents?” Bella pointed to the picture of his parents, each holding one of four-year-old Evan’s hands.
“Yeah. They live in Boston.” He made a point of taking Evan back every two or three weeks to visit his parents, and they were due to make another trip soon.
“They must really miss him.”
Bella was an interesting mix of brazenness and tenderness, and when she gazed up at him with eyes full of compassion, he felt another emotion that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. The urge to climb into a woman’s inner circle and allow her into his. He took a step closer and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“They do miss him, and I think he misses them, too.” Caden missed this—talking to a woman about things that mattered. Wanting to share them with her and wanting to know more about her and her life. Was she running from someone painful in her past? If so, who was important enough for her to box herself off like she was trying so hard to do? Or was her decision to move as simple as she’d said—a life change she wanted to make? He was no stranger to running from pain. In fact, he’d done it for years. He’d run from the pain of Caty leaving, not so much for him, but for Evan, but he’d had Evan to love and nurture and fill those empty spaces that could have eaten him alive. What did Bella do with all those empty spots she was walling off, and why did he want to be the glue that held her together?
She dropped her eyes, and he felt her shift her weight back on her heels, distancing herself again. Her fingers skimmed his waist, giving him more contradictory signals. One moment she seemed interested in him, and the next, he could practically see her zipping herself into her own private bubble. She ran her tongue along her lower lip and lifted a sensual gaze to his face. He was too drawn to her to stop himself from covering her mouth with his.
She tasted sweet and hot and too good for just one quick kiss. His hands slid around her waist to her back, and he pressed her soft curves against him. Just as he worried that he should pull away, she slipped her hands beneath his shirt and pressed them flat against his back, holding them chest to chest. He deepened the kiss, aching for more. A sexy, needful moan slipped from her lungs to his, intensifying his desire. They were definitely on the same page. He hadn’t made out like this in years, and he wasn’t thinking, or pushing. He was just going with it. Like everything else with Bella, it felt natural, and he didn’t care why. Some things were just meant to be.
He tangled his hand in her hair and tugged her head back, exposing her supple neck for him to taste, suck,devour. Her skin was sweet and salty, and he couldn’t resist sliding his other hand down her hip, and holding on to her bottom. His name sailed off her lips in a hot breath as she clung to him. He took her in another greedy kiss and felt her body vibrating against his as they breathed air into each other’s lungs, then drew apart in need of more.
She looked up at him with a sexy smile, and he kissed her again, slowly and tenderly, this time. He laced his fingers with hers and brought them to his lips, gazing into her confused eyes.
“Why did we stop?”
“Bella, I really like you, but…I can’t.” The truth came easily. Unfortunately, the pain did, too. “I’m sorry. I don’t take intimacy lightly, and you don’t believe in commitment.” He looked at the photographs on the mantel. He’d never been overly impetuous, but after Caty took off and Evan had been left without a mother, the ramifications of his feelings and his actions were driven home. He’d become even more careful with both. He drew Bella close again and kissed the top of her head.
“I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have…”But wow did I want to. He felt his resolve soften at the sight of her flushed cheeks and the desire that lingered in her eyes. He gritted his teeth against the lust that burned within him. “I couldn’t help myself. You totally got to me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “So, are you like a tease? Make a girl excited, then drop her?”
He knew that she meant it as a tease, but she hadn’t even heard the part about commitment. “Have you been with guys like that?”
“No, but…”
“No,” he said too harshly. He took a step back. “I’m not a make-the-girl-excited-and…come on, Bella.”
“Well, what am I supposed to think?” Her voice hitched, and he realized it wasn’t anger that drove her harsh reaction. It was pain, or embarrassment, or maybe both.
“What should you think? I don’t know. Maybe that I’m a guy with a teenager who knows that sex has ramifications, or a man who’s incredibly attracted to you but doesn’t want to be the guy you sleep with and then walk away from.” He paced the floor, feeling guilty for touching her and hungry for more of her. One big confused mix of emotions. “I’m sorry. It’s been a very long time since I’ve felt like this, and I don’t really know how to handle it.”
She looked away. “Can I use your bathroom?”
Way to avoid the situation.
“Of course.” He showed her to the bathroom and went to splash some cold water on his face. When he returned, she was looking out the window at the garden in his backyard. He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt her body stiffen.Damn. He loosened his grip and took a step back. She clutched his forearm, holding his arms around her.
She turned to face him and pressed her hands to his chest. “I’m sorry for my reaction. I was just…I’m in a weird place right now.”
“Then we make a great pair.” He kissed her forehead.
“Still want to go to the beach?”
She sounded as confused by their connection as he was. “Let me get my suit on, and I promise to try to keep my hands off of you for the rest of the day.”
Her voice trailed him into the bedroom. “Way to squash a girl’s hopes in one sentence.”
Could he get any more confused?
