Page 40 of Bad For Me (Rock Canyon, Idaho 5)

With a groan, Everett wrapped his arms around her, lifting her against him. She stiffened as he set her on the hood of her Jeep, and his hand cupped her face.

“Trust me, Callie.”

Then Everett’s mouth covered hers gently, his warm lips coaxing hers open. Kissing was something she had purposefully ignored in the few sexual encounters she’d’ experienced since Tristan. In fact, she hardly ever encouraged anything more than some light touching before the main event.

Sex was a way to chase off the demons. Once she’d given up alcohol, she’d had no outlet to calm the roller coaster of emotions that would sometimes overwhelm her. Fucking helped, and running did too. But it never gave her quite the same kind of calm she got from drinking or screwing a stranger’s brains out.

Intimacy definitely wasn’t what she was after with sex, especially when it meant explaining why she had seven-inch-long scars from her shoulder to her abdomen—the reason she never took her shirt off during sex. Men could think she was in a hurry or imagine she’d had a bad tummy tuck; she didn’t care. Each of them was nothing but a dick to her.

But Everett’s kiss reminded her exactly what she’d been missing.

Heat flowed back through her as she opened her mouth and let him in, her tongue touching his. Lights exploded behind her eyelids as he moved closer, his hands releasing her face to slide along her neck and shoulders. He tasted amazing, and when his body pressed flush against her, a low moan escaped her.

She remembered kissing as being fun and flirty, but this wasn’t lighthearted. This was intense. Need raced through her body as she held on to the broad shoulders she’d been lusting after since the first time she’d bumped into him. She wanted to stay like this forever, lost in his amazing lips and his warm scent.

And then, just like that, he was gone.

Blinking slowly, she refocused on his face, smiling tenderly at her.

“Have a nice day.”

Huh?

He reached up to pull her hands from his shoulders, bringing first one set of knuckles and then the other to his mouth, kissing them softly. When he released her hands, he didn’t say anything else. Just turned his back on her and walked toward his truck.

And all Callie could do was stand there, trailing her fingers across her lips.

Chapter Ten

ON MONDAY AFTERNOON, Callie sat in the back of Chloe’s Book Nook, her friend Gemma Bower’s bookstore. She had agreed to come by and have lunch with them so they could plan Gemma’s baby shower, but she’d hardly touched her salad, too distracted by thoughts of Everett. Absently, she fed Ratchet a bite, tuning out the argument around her.

“Come on, Gemma. Who wants to go to a baby shower during the holidays?” Gracie McAllister said, throwing up her arms.

“Lots of people!” Gemma’s pretty face was fixed in an ugly scowl as she stared down her best friend. “If we wait until after, I’ll be eight months and huge. I’d like to be able to walk around without waddling at my baby shower.”

Callie sighed, staring off into space. She hadn’t heard anything from Everett since Saturday, but she hadn’t been able to get him or his kiss out of her mind. It was crazy to think that with one short, slow kiss, he had literally made fireworks explode in her brain. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t concentrate.

“Come on, Callie, weigh in here.” Gracie burst in on her thoughts.

“Gemma’s right,” Callie said, not caring either way.

“Damn it!”

“Yes!” Gemma jumped up and danced, despite her already protruding belly. Gemma and her husband, Travis, had found out in July that she was eight weeks’ pregnant with twins, and since then, she seemed to be growing at super speed.

“Fine,” Gracie said, grumbling. “We can do it the week before Thanksgiving or the week after, but if it’s too close to Christmas, I’m afraid people will skimp out on prezzies.”

“Travis and I were going to tell people not to bring gifts anyway.”

Gracie’s face suddenly began to turn an unhealthy purple.

Callie jumped in o

n this one. “Okay, now that’s crazy.”

“Dude, you are having twins! You are going to need double everything, and besides, shopping for a baby shower gift is the best!” Gracie made a face before adding, “Unless your best friend decides not to find out the sex of the babies just to piss you off.”

“We want it to be a surprise.” Gemma shot Callie a pleading look.