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“Wish I could say yes, but I’ve always been a go-getter. Where are you going tonight?”
“The movies,” I answered, turning back to stare outside. “Some kids’ show.”
“Sounds thrilling,” she muttered. “Glad I’m staying here.”
“Any plans?”
“You mean other than a man between my thighs?” She took a healthy drink of her wine and sighed. “Nothing better than that.”
“Don’t you get tired of it?”
“Wine? All the time. I love a good cocktail.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
She shrugged. “I know. But I love a good cocktail.”
I turned beet red when I got her meaning. Vira never held back. I didn’t understand her or feel we were anything alike, but I still liked being around her. Thankfully, Jason pulled up and I was able to scoot out of the house without enduring any more of her comments.
The moment I stepped onto the porch, tingles spread over my body. Jason stepped out of his truck wearing jeans and navy T-shirt that stretched across his chest perfectly. Everything about him was so sexy, down to the boots he wore.
I blushed as he caught me staring at him. I definitely wasn’t ready for more, but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate the way he looked. I hadn’t even made it down two steps when he met me at the bottom of the stairs, holding out his hand to me.
The earlier warnings that jumped out at me every time I saw him were beginning to recede—not enough that I was never nervous around him, but enough that I could walk up to him without flinching if he held out his hand.
“Izzy, you look beautiful.”
Blushing, I looked down at my jeans and blouse, wondering what he thought was so special. “It’s nothing. Just everyday clothes.”
His thumb brushed against the back of my hand as he stared intently at me. Leaning in, his lips skimmed over my cheek. “It’s not the clothes,” he whispered before stepping back. His large hand spread across my lower back, guiding me to the truck. Just that little touch made my body respond in such an embarrassing way. I could already feel my panties turning wet, and all it took was the smallest touch.
“Just so you know, Carli may not stop talking your ear off.”
“Why’s that?” I asked, glancing up at him as we stopped just beside the passenger door.
My breath was stolen from my lungs when I saw the dark look cross his face. It wasn’t the dangerous steely gaze from a week ago that made me frightened. This one was something more along the lines of lust. My tongue shot out, licking my dry lips involuntarily. All I could hear over the sound of my own thumping heart was the desperate noise keening in my throat.
“Izzy?” Jason asked, a smile touching his lips. “Did you hear me?”
God, I was such a mess. “Um…sorry, I got lost for a second.”
His eyes narrowed knowingly and I quickly dropped my eyes. “I said that she’s excited because Tahlia promised her a day out.”
“Oh,” I nodded, trying to pull myself together. “Is that safe?”
“I told you,” he said, brushing his knuckles along my cheek. “I’ll always make sure you’re safe.”
It hadn’t escaped my notice that after the morning he dropped me off at home, he returned the next day with bruises all over his hands and a cut above his eye. When I asked him about it, he gave some cryptic answer, which I could only assume meant that he was doing something for work.
“I’m sure she’ll have a lot of fun with Tahlia.”
“She wants you there, too,” he smirked.
“Me?” My eyes widened in fear. “I don’t know anything about little girls.”
“Well, you are a girl,” he pointed out.
“Right, but not four,” I countered.