Page 2 of Back in the Country
Actual.
Fuck.
“Marlee, I can’t—”
“You saidanything,Waylon. I want you to take my virginity.”
I take a step back because with her scent suffocating me, I’m bound to say something stupid likeoh yes, there’s nothing I wouldn’t give to be the man who makes you forget your own name.
“That’s not…” I scrub both hands over my face and growl into my calloused palms. “We can’t. Your brother would murder me.”
“He would not.” She huffs like I’m making shit up.
“Have you met your brother?”
“Yes and he trusts you. So do I.”
“Right, and me sleeping with you would not keep me in the trusted category. Isn’t there a guy you like?” The words are vile and make me want to break things, but Icannotsleep with Marlee.
“Didn’t you tell me to do it with someone who matters? Someone who I love and loves me in return?”
“Yes but—”
“Well then, that’s that.”
She preens like she’s made a fuck ton of sense.
“No.”
“Do you not love me?”
“Of course I love you, just not—” I can’t even finish that sentence because the whisper in my head says that Imay in factbe in love with Marlee Mackay.
“I swear to God, if you say you love me like a sister, I will castrate you in the middle of this road,” she barks with her hands on her hips.
I can’t help it—I burst out laughing. She doesn’t smile, so I blow out a breath and look up at the sky.
“You’re not like a sister; you’re just…more.” I look her in the eyes. “Okay?”
“I’m not asking you to marry me, Way. I’m asking you to be a safe and satisfying first time.”
I stare at her for a long time. With each second that passes, her eyes twinkle a little more. Sheknowsthat she has me. How in the fuck did this just happen?
“I have conditions.”
She beams. “I can’t wait to hear them.”
“I will agree to sleep with you when you turn twenty-one andifyou are still serious about it.”
“What—”
I cut her off before she can protest any further. “Not negotiable. If you find someone you really care about at school, then you can make that choice. But I’m twenty-five and youjustturned eighteen, and you cannot be a teenager if we have sex.”
She pouts, and it’s so damn sexy I want to scream.
“Fine. What else?”
“It’s one night only.”
