Page 11 of Autumn be His Wife
His mouth curves, and he notices the container in his hand. His head tilts, but he doesn’t ask. He doesn’t need to. I can see the curiosity in his eyes.
“I saved you some.” Cracking open the container, I hold it out to him. “But I don’t have anything to give you to eat it with.”
There’s no way I’m giving him the fork I slobbered all over.
The corners of his eyes crinkle as he takes in my offering. “I see you’ve made your own rounds. Picked one of the best pie shops in the state.”
Heat creeps up my throat as he plucks up the small chunk of pie with his fingers and lifts it to his lips. My eyes follow every movement, and I swallow right along with him as he enjoys the bite.
Then, his tongue flicks out to catch the leftover sweetness on his fingertips, and something twists deep inside of me, leavingbehind a hot trail ofsomethingleading straight between my thighs.
Oh boy. Here we go again.
“Is it good?” The question leaves me automatically, and I’m not even sure I actually want to know the answer. Rather, I kind of just want to keep watching him as he makes sure not to leave an ounce of stickiness behind.
While I thought the dessert was delicious when I ate it with my plastic fork, would it taste any better if it were his fingers pressing a piece to my lips?
Just imagining it has my blush spreading to my cheeks.
“Haven’t stopped by in a few weeks. Makes me want to swing by here soon with Eli. The women there like to sneak him a little extra when they don’t think I’m looking.” He grins, clueless to the mess that’s happening in my head. “I could eat two full slices and try to return for more if I didn’t have great self-control.”
I don’t think I can say the same thing for myself. When I see something I really want, even if I can’t have it, it won’t ever leave my mind. It’ll linger like a curse, haunting me.
Right now, I’m not feeling a sad longing like I had when I looked at all those delicious desserts. Rather, I’m feeling…impatient. It’s the strangest thing, and while I’m not sure what to do with these feelings, it claws less at me when I linger near him.
“Forest Grove has a lot of secret treasures throughout the streets. I’ll have to show you around.” He hums as he thinks about it. “If you’ve got a weakness for sweets, we’ll swing byGourd for You.They’ve got pastries out of this world, too.”
He speaks like he expects me to remain by his side for more than today. Does he plan on letting me stay until I find who I’m looking for?
What happens if I just…stop looking? What if there’s a chance I already found who I wanted?
Biting the inside of my cheek, I don’t call him out for how he’s talking, but I soak in the future he’s painting.
Tossing the trash away, I follow him out of the clinic. “Hope that didn’t ruin your appetite for a future lunch?”
I’m sure this hunger I’m feeling will turn into my stomach rumbling any moment now.
“Not even close.” His chuckle fuels my tingles as we reach his truck. As he pulls the passenger side door open before I can, he leans against it. “We have a few stops first, but one of the ranches I tend has a mess hall. Pretty solid food. How does that sound?”
If he listens closely enough, he’s going to either hear how hard my heart is beating in my chest, or he’s going to hear the flapping of butterfly fingers banging around my rib cage.
“Sounds…really good.”
Too good to be true.
Ever since I hit this town, I’ve been hit with a kindness I’ve never known. Sometimes, I wonder if this has all been a dream. If it is, I never want to wake up.
He lifts his chin, motioning me to climb in.
Suddenly, what happened earlier pops back up in my head. Remembering how it felt to have his hands gripping my sides, his warmth soaking past my clothes…
“Can you help me?” Once more, I have no control over what comes out of my mouth. “It’s a tall truck. I can’t… I mean, Ican, but—”
“Yeah.” He nods, the word coming out rough like he’s choking on it. If it’s something that makes him uncomfortable, then I don’t want—
He steps toward me without another word, his hands finding my sides like he’s already familiar with my body. As soon as he makes contact, my thoughts sizzle up into nothing but the realization that Ienjoyhis touch. Not in the appreciative sense.
He lifts me like I weigh nothing more than a feather, and it’s completely different than how it felt when he helped me down. Instinctively, my hands shoot out to grip his shoulders like my body is afraid of falling.
