Page 146 of The Holiday Heartbreaker

“Am I?”

He got up and moved away from her. “You might’ve told me that you were a virgin.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s fucking hot.”

She felt color stain her cheeks, pleasure flooding her. “Is it?”

“Yes. I might’ve liked to know that I was the first man to be inside of your body. I got a little kick out of that.”

“You wouldn’t have been more gentle with me?”

“Why? Did you need me to be?”

She shook her head. “No. I didn’t want you to be at all. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

“Of course not. You told me to give you what I wanted. And so I did.”

“Thank you.” She looked at the wall behind him, her head swimming. “That was what I needed.”

“Rough sex with a stranger?”

She nodded. Decisively. “Yes. It was. I might’ve been a virgin, but I’m not an idiot. I know it turns me on.”

“And none of the boys in town did it for you?”

That was an interesting way of looking at it. Because she had been convinced that it was something to do with a defect in her. But the truth was, she never got close enough to any of the men in town because they didn’t turn her on.

“Yes. That is exactly it. I knew none of them could give that to me. Whether because they don’t have it in them or because I’m Pastor Clarke’s daughter. Nobody wants to defile me and then have to look at my father from the front pew on Sunday.”

“Lots of eligible men at your church?”

She couldn’t help herself. She laughed. “No. That’s more of a metaphor than anything else. But they all know who my dad is.”

“Yes. I know how that goes.” He looked her over. “Come on. Let’s go down to the creek.”

“Why?”

“To get you cleaned up. To get me cleaned up. I don’t have running water in this place.”

“Oh. Of course. That makes sense.”

“Come on. There’s nobody up here. At least not usually. I have had a little redheaded intruder the last few days.”

“Well. You had my backpack.”

“I did. Good thing you came back for it.”

She nodded slowly. She should leave. She should get dressed and go and sit in her shame. Because she should feel ashamed. Any minute now, the buzz from the sex would wear off, and she would realize that she had done something terrible. But it wasn’t washing over her, and frankly, she didn’t want to go.

So instead, she followed him, completely naked, out into the sunshine.

CHAPTER FIVE

HE COULDN’T HELP but stare at her ass as they walked out the door. She stopped. “I don’t actually know the way to the river.”

Well. That meant he wasn’t going to be able to stare at her the whole way down.

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