Page 41 of Dreaming at Seaside
Oh, yes.A shiver of worry skittered up her spine. With her eyes still closed, she whispered, “I know I can commit, but you might find I’m not all you were hoping for.”
He pressed his lips to her cheek. “You’re exactly the woman I’ve hoped for.”
Her throat tightened.
Caden drew back and cupped her cheeks in his big, strong hands. “Look at me, Bella.”
She forced herself to open her eyes, and the compassionate, loving look in his told her everything she needed to know, and his words drove that feeling home.
“I’m not afraid to commit, and I’m not afraid to love.” He searched her eyes, pausing, Bella assumed, long enough for his words to sink in.
“But we’re adults, and Evan’s still just a kid. I’m not a free agent, Bella. My life includes Evan, and always will. My decisions affect him, so if there’s any chance you’re going to run scared, then let’s take things slow.”
She tightened her grip on him. “Slow? It doesn’t matter what we call it, Caden. Our hearts and bodies don’t knowslow. At least not when we’re together. You’ve weaseled your way into my heart so fast. I have no desire to go slow with you. I just want to…Oh, Caden, I don’t want to make a life decision about my job, or my house, and then get hurt. I need to make those decisions without the rest, but that seems unrealistic.”
He brushed her hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. “Then how about if we just make sure we don’t hurt each other? Because I need that same level of commitment from you. I can’t afford to be hurt. Evan doesn’t need a lovesick father making his life more complicated.”
“I don’t cheat or lie. I never have,” Bella said adamantly.
“Neither do I.”
He sealed his mouth to hers in a tender, drawn-out kiss that made her long for more.
“Tell me what I need to know before I take you into your bedroom and make sweet love to you until neither of us can remember how to talk.”
She could barely breathe, much less think straight.
“I…I break rules,” she managed.
The left side of his mouth quirked up. “In the bedroom or in general?”
She placed her hands on his bare chest and felt his heart beating as fast as hers. Every breath, every second, pulsed with heat. She forced herself to answer.
“Both.” She didn’t really break rules in the bedroom, but now, with him, the idea was tantalizing.
“Holy…I’m not a cop in the bedroom.” He lowered the strap of her top and kissed the curve of her shoulder, sending her mind reeling. “Tell me about the rules you break outside the bedroom.”
He ran his tongue along her collarbone. Bella closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his hard body against hers, his tongue on the skin above her breasts.
“Fireworks,” she said in one long breath.
“You see them now?” he whispered. “Or you use them?” He slid his hands up her ribs, making her feel small and feminine—and crave the feel of them everywhere.
“Both.” Another breathy word. She couldn’t help but bring her lips to his chest. He smelled like passion and strength. Earthy, musky, and sweet all at once. She kissed the arc of his pecs, nipping at the muscle.
“I can’t break the law,” he whispered.
She heard restraint in his voice. “I would never ask you to.”
His eyes darkened as he grazed the underside of her breasts with his thumbs.Oh, yes. She couldn’t have pushed words from her lips if her life depended on it. She was too focused on his hands on her. She felt ripe and ready, hot all over.
He kissed her again, then whispered, “Tell me all the bad stuff now so we go into this with our eyes open.”
He captured her mouth with his and took her in an impatient, tongue-thrusting kiss. When he drew back, she was dizzy, drunk with desire.
“Eyes open, baby. No secrets, no lies, no hidden agendas.”
She opened her eyes, and his hungry gaze brought the truth to her lips.
