Page 62 of Hot Summer Nights

“Princess…”

I roll my eyes at the ridiculous nickname and try to squash the butterflies that take flight in my stomach every time he calls me that.

“Stella, do you trust me?” He asks, bracing his hands on the doorframe of the truck.

Do I trust him?

“Yes,” I say, shocking myself.

Kit smiles at me, a full-blown grin, and I swear my heart flips over in my chest at the sight.

“That’s good, Princess. Then come inside. Let me get you something to eat and a change of clothes. You can stay the night here, where you’ll be safe, and tomorrow I promise that I’ll take you anywhere that you want to go. Okay?”

I think over what he said, weighing my options. I know that if I said no, if I demanded that he drive me home right now, that he would. Some small part of me wants to see where things go with Kit. In the end, I trust my gut. It hasn’t steered me wrong yet and I’m trusting it again right now. I want to find out what Kit will do next.

“Okay,” I say, finally taking his hand and slipping out of the truck.

My dress rides high on my thighs and I’m sure that Kit can see my panties as I hop out of the truck. When I look up though, his eyes are on my face.

“You have the most beautiful eyes that I’ve ever seen,” he whispers as he brushes some loose hair away from my face.

I gape at him.

I can feel heat spread on my cheeks and I freeze. I can’t remember the last time that I blushed.

What is this guy doing to me?

Kit picks my hand up in his, lacing our fingers together as he leads me over to the side door. I take a look around his garage, noting the neat tool bench and the gym equipment in the corner. There’s a bike hanging on one wall and some shoes lined up outside of the door leading inside. He pauses to hit the garage door button before he leads me into the house.

We walk out of the garage and right into the kitchen. I blink my eyes as Kit turns on the overhead lights. The kitchen is warm, with spotless counters, white cabinets, and gleaming appliances. Kit leads me over to the fridge and pulls the double doors open.

“What are you hungry for, Princess?” He asks as he looks inside.

“I’m not that hungry,” I try to tell him.

“You have to eat something. You’re practically wasting away in front of me,”

“Just a grilled cheese or whatever you have is fine,” I say, trying to look around the rest of the house.

“I’ll give you a tour and then you can take a bath,” he says, taking my hand in his once again.

He laces his fingers through mine and tugs me after him. He shows me the first floor first; the living room, home gym, and a little home office. He walks fast and I try to take in as much as I can. For the most part, the house seems empty, bare. I know he only moved back a couple of months ago but I still thought he would have more than he does.

The walls are all painted a creamy beige color and they’re mostly empty, with just a flat-screen tv and a couple of MMA shots hanging up. The floors are all hardwood and I look around for some cozy rugs or something but come up empty. There’s the typical dark wood furniture and leather sectional in the living room and a desk and office chair in the other room. The desk is stacked high with some papers and I wonder what he was working on.

Kit leads me up the stairs next and we walk down a long hallway, past a couple of closed doors, until we reach the end. He pauses outside of the last door and turns to face me.

“Those other rooms are just guest rooms and the guest bathroom. You can stay in here,”

He pushes open the door and I realize right away that this is his room. I can smell him as soon as I step inside, like leather and man. His room is much like the rest of the house in that it’s pretty bare. There’s a king-size bed in the center and a dresser along one wall. A door to the left leads to a short hallway and Kit leads me down it to the bathroom. We pass by the walk-in closet on our way and I look inside to see a few shirts and suits hung up on the racks. Everything is in its place and I realize that Kit is a neat freak.

“You can take a bath in here while I make you something to eat, Princess.”

He leads me into the bathroom and I look around at the double sink and the large walk-in shower. There’s a clawfoot bathtub tucked into the corner and I watch as Kit walks over to it and starts to fiddle with the faucets, running his hand under the water to check the temperature.

“You don’t have to run me a bath. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can take care of yourself, but you don’t have to. You’re a princess and princesses deserve to be treated with care.”

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