Page 167 of Small Town Firsts
“I’m filthy.”
He buried his nose in my hair. “You smell like lilacs and sunshine.”
“Liar.”
“Baby shampoo and lilacs?”
I tried not to smile, but I had no defenses for this man. The worst part was I was sure he knew that. And Seth Hamilton was always on the lookout for weaknesses to exploit to get what he wanted.
How the hell was I supposed to move out of his crosshairs?
Did I want to?
His hand slid along my midriff, his thumb grazing the underside of my breast. I groaned. “Honestly, you have to pick now to do this?”
“I’ve been thinking about this for days.”
I turned in his arms. “So this was all a ruse?”
“No. This was the last act of a desperate man. She’s been a handful all night. She misses you.”
“Low blow.”
“You’ve spent Mother’s Day with us since Marj left.”
I shut my eyes. “I know.” Didn’t he realize how hard this day was for me? Not only because it was Mother’s Day for Laurie, but the first without my mom?
He knew on some level. He’d sent me flowers, hadn’t he? But all my emotions were raw today. It just wasn’t fair that he was right here and finally noticing me.
Except he wasn’t seeing me as a partner. No, he was only seeing me as a woman because I had a functioning uterus.
He wanted something from me. It was just handy that he was attracted to me. It was how the world had propagated all these years. Just a biological response.
He swiped his thumb along my jawline. “I know today was rough. And it was completely unfair of me to push you to come over here and save me.”
I ground my teeth together and growled. I looked up at him. “Don’t be sweet, dammit.”
His fingers slid up into my hair and he gathered it tight at the nape of my neck. “You got it.”
I didn’t have time to dodge or pull away from him. I didn’t have the heart to do it either. I’d had a truly shitty day and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Finally.
For years I’d seen women come and go from his life. A knowledge always seemed to live in their eyes when they touched him. I wanted that too. I wanted to feel something other than sad and frustrated.
I met his gaze. The dark, turbulent anger swirled with something else. Something I couldn’t define. I had a limited scope with men, but I had some.
Nothing came close to this man though.
I shifted against him and my damp T-shirt met with his wrinkled Oxford blue. Working class and old money between us in every way. And then none of that mattered.
He lowered his mouth and covered mine. My eyes fluttered shut and I fell into the kiss.
Nothing soft and hesitant here. He was no fumbling boy. I was pretty sure he hadn’t been one of those in a very long time.
His other arm wrapped around me from the back, gripping the hem of my shirt until his fingers curled into the belt loops of my shorts. His grip drew me up until I rose on my tiptoes, desperate for more.
He dragged me closer and opened me for his invading tongue. No easy transition into a carnal kiss. Instead it was a tempest of flavors and heat.
