Page 39 of Sweet Passions at Bayside
He stepped closer to the shower, cutting her off mid-lyric as he sang his own rendition of the song. “I hear you, doll. I feel your worry. But before you make up your mind, I gotta know…”
He heard her gasp, and he let the words fall free. “What if we were made for each other? What if we were meant to be? What if the stars aligned and we had ourlastfirst kiss in the deep blue sea?”
The water turned off, and the towel slipped from the top of the stall. Dean held his breath, and just when he was sure he’d blown it, her melodic voice filled the cool night air.
“What if I mess us up? Break our hearts in two?” She was quiet again, and he heard the sound of her pulling on her shorts and hoodie. The wooden door opened, and she stood before him, a vision of beautiful vulnerability. Her hazel eyes were shadowed with trepidation, a few wayward strands of hair stuck to her cheek, dripping water onto her clothes.
She nibbled at her lower lip, her long lashes fluttering as she whisper-sang, “What if I don’t know how to do this? What if I hurt you? What if—”
He reached behind her, taking the towel from where it hung on a hook, and used it to gently blot her hair dry as he sang, “You won’t hurt me, because hurting me will hurt you, too.” He tossed the towel onto the bench inside the stall and tucked her hair behind her ear. Gazing into her eyes, he gathered her close, swaying to the soft tune he heard in his head, and sang, “What if I show you how incredible you can be?”
“Dean,” she whispered, touching her forehead to his chest.
He tipped up her chin and gazed into her eyes. “What will it take for you to believe that whatever happened with your previous guy friends will not happen with us?”
“I know that now,” she said, surprising him. “Whatever this is between us is nothing like anything I’ve felt before. It’s stronger. I can’t, and I don’t want to, deny it. But that doesn’t mean I’m not worried that I’ll mess it up.”
“I have faith in my woman,” he said earnestly.
“Yourwoman?”
“Don’t fight me.” He grabbed her, holding her bottom. Her eyes widened with surprise. “You know we belong together. I just watched you attack the waves until you figured out a way to conquer them. You asked for help, which I’m sure you struggled with as if your life depended on it, and the end result wasn’t conventional, but I don’t think there’s a single thing about you that’s conventional. And because I know you,becauseI have spoken to you nearly every single day since the day we met and I know how caring and strong a person you are, I am one hundred percent certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that if youwantthis to work, you won’t allow yourself to mess it up.”
“I told you I don’t know when I do things that make guys angry.”
Her response came too fast. It was too much of a knee-jerk reaction to be anything but an old standby. He knew she hadn’t really heard and processed what he’d said, so he tried a different approach. “You know what, doll? While I believe that you might not be cognitively aware of the things you do, I’m not buying that you don’t knowexactlywhat you’re doing on some level. Even if subconsciously.”
Her eyes narrowed, and he felt her stiffen against him. “Did you just call me a liar?”
“No,Miss Rebellion. I called youhuman. We all hide from ourselves on some level. Maybe you knew those guys weren’t right for you, or maybe you were scared of getting too close. I don’t know, and frankly, it doesn’t matter. What does matter isthis. You might not have been aware of your actions before, but that doesn’t mean you’ll keep yourself in the dark in the future.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” she said, her shoulders dropping a fraction of an inch.
He flattened his hand on her lower back, keeping their bodies flush, until the defeat in her eyes turned darker and her body began to melt against him. And then he remained quiet, letting their silent seduction take over. The desire that had been there all day, that had exploded to epic proportions in their kisses, thrummed between them. An inescapable force she’d refused to see for too long.
When her tongue swept across her lower lip, leaving it shiny and alluring, he brushed his lips over hers, lingering there in the silence, reveling in the quickening of her breathing, the press of her fingers into his chest. Oh yeah, she was too into him to mess this up. He was sure of it.
“You’re worth holding my breath for,” he said in a voice so raw with lust he didn’t recognize it. “We’ll just have to spend a lot of time together so you can expose me to all those supposedly horrible things you do. Only then will I know the truth. And make no mistake, beautiful girl. I am fully aware that if you want to mess this up, you will. I’m willing to take that risk.”
“Promise if I screw up, we can still be friends?” she asked.
There was no thought involved with his answer. Honesty didn’t take thought; it only took courage. Dean was thekingof courage. He’d spent his life going against his father’s wishes.
He threaded his hands into Emery’s hair, greedily soaking in the desire in her eyes. He tangled her hair around his fingers, shifting her mouth beneath his, and said, “No. I won’t promise you that, because if you mess this up, it’ll be intentional.”
DEAN’S MOUTH HOVERED above Emery’s, his warm, minty breath teasing over her lips. She’d always thought she had her act together, except in the relationship department. She knew she was broken. Her whole family was broken.The Andrews: Too Messed Up for Happily Ever Afters.But if what Dean said was true, if she was sabotaging any chance she had at happiness, she wasreallymessed up.
She swallowed hard, knowing she’d practically worn a neon sign telling him to run away. Only he refused to go—and she didn’t want him to!
He stayed.
He pushed.
She loved his pushiness, and she craved his intensity. He’d catapulted her right out of denial and into the land of desire so powerful she was drowning in it. And she only wanted to satisfy it withhim.
His lips grazed hers, sending shivers down her spine.
“Kiss me,” she said breathlessly.
