Page 26 of Buck (Diver Downeast #2)

“Okay,” he agreed with a gravelly tone while staring hard at her lips. “But I’ll need something to hold me over until then.”

“You’ve got it.”

Bobbie palmed his cheeks and…

They slammed their mouths together as if the world was about to end.

Oh, my God!

The taste of him. The feel of his powerful mouth devouring hers. The flesh and bones of his chiseled face beneath her hands. She’d dreamed about this for years, even as she’d told herself how stupid she was; how forbidden Buck was to her after what he’d done.

But those things no longer impeded her. She no longer needed to hold back.

The kiss went on and on, growing soft, then hard again. Their tongues didn’t duel as much as dance, as if they instantly took to the steps that had been denied them.

When the pressure lightened to soft brushes, Bobbie moaned.

“Buck.” She peppered tiny kisses all over his scruffed chin. “I missed you so much. I want to eat you up; freaking absorb you into my skin.”

She pulled back and looked at him with all the seriousness she could muster.

“But first… Tell me this isn’t just a ‘do-over’, so you can check me off your list. Tell me we mean something to each other and are going to take this to wherever it goes.

Because I…” her voice cracked. “I don’t think I can do it again. Lose you,” she clarified.

Buck, instead of kissing her to shut her up, as someone looking for a quick score might do, sputtered frustratedly and pulled her into his arms so she was nestled tightly against him. His cock was crushed between them, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Bobbie. Seriously? I’ve fucking missed you every day since I left.

There’s never been anyone, in all the time we’ve been apart, who’s even come close to filling up the massive hole that was left in my life when we were torn apart.

” He grew even more somber. “I know we never said it back then, because we agreed to wait on things that were serious, but it was always on the tip of my tongue to tell you that…I loved you.”

A small, inadvertent sound escaped from her throat.

God . She’d loved him, too.

Buck continued. “If we spend time together now, I’m sure… Oh, hell.” He caught himself mid-sentence. “Who am I kidding? I don’t need any more time. I’ve never stopped loving you, Bobbie, and I always will.”

It was everything she’d hoped to hear, and tears filled her eyes.

But she had to be honest with Buck, even though it would hurt.

“I loved you back when we were kids, too,” she admitted in a whisper.

“But then I hated you. For a long time, Buck. I mean murder and betrayal kind of hate. I thought you’d screwed me over; ripped my dreams apart.

Shattered my heart. I couldn’t square that with the boy I’d gotten to know, and it messed with my head for years. ”

Bobbie regretted not being able to tell Buck that she loved him right now, but having been hurt so badly, once, she wasn’t going to head into a future— their future she hoped—and not be extremely cautious.

“I need time,” she told him, gently stroking his jawline. “Time to learn to trust again. Time to see how our lives might fit together after all the time we’ve spent apart.”

His eyes grew troubled, but he nodded, hearing her. Listening.

“We’re different people now, Buck,” she went on. “We’re older. We’ve established lives for ourselves. And we have the shit with my brothers to unravel. I think it’ll be better if we take things slowly.”

“Why do I hate this, but know it makes sense?” Buck finally responded, heaving an enormous sigh.

“Because I’m so much smarter than you,” she managed to quip, bringing back a favorite old gag they’d always used for teasing-fodder.

“Oh, yeah?” he responded, his mouth quirking up at one corner.

Bobbie could see that Buck was disappointed, but like the boy of old she’d once known, he let her steer their conversation onto safer ground.

“You know I am,” she responded cheekily. “ And I have the best ideas.”

“Like?” he questioned, his grin growing as he raised a brow.

“Like more kissing before I have to go back to work,” she asserted.

“You know what?” he questioned in response. “You are smart. But do you want to know why I’m smarter?” he questioned with sass.

“Uh, why?” Her grin just wouldn’t quit.

“Because I’m going to take you up on it.”

Coming up for air after who knows how long, wasn’t something that Bobbie wanted to do, but one of the dogs in the back eventually gave a loud, whiny yawn, then both pups began to stir.

Buck grunted and pulled away first.

“Okay. I get it. Fun time is over.”

“Yeah,” Bobbie agreed, pushing the hair back from her face. “Time to be a grownups again, right Reyghan?”

The little dog yipped, as if she already knew her name.

“And speaking of which,” Buck put in with a chuckle. “What are you going to do with Reyghan while you work? I don’t think the health department is going to like it if you have a mascot-puppy wandering around your food-service area.”

“I thought of that,” Bobbie responded. “I was actually going to take her back to my apartment after you drop me off, then get her settled there before I head back to work.”

“How about I take her with me and Cooper, instead?” Buck proposed. “I can make a stop at the big-box pet store and get things like training crates, collars, leashes, food…”

“Doggie beds? Toys?” Bobbie’s mind was going a hundred miles per hour with things she’d stupidly not thought of before.

“Yeah. All that. And I can keep her as long as you need since this is a busy weekend for you.”

Bobbie bit her bottom lip, which reminded her giddily of how tender it was since she and Buck had practically attacked each other. “I had imagined going back and forth between the job and my apartment to make sure she got walks and love. I have employees who are well trained, but…”

“But you like to be on scene, because you’re a control freak,” Buck supplied with a snicker.

She gave him a playful swat on his chest. “You remember that, huh?”

“How could I forget. It’s part of your charm. So what do you say? Shall I keep Reyghan and Cooper together until…?”

“Uh, Sunday night?”

That would be a double-win. It would mean Reyghan wouldn’t have to spend time alone, and it would give Bobbie another chance to see Buck before she sailed north.

“Great. Sunday night. But what about Monday?” Buck asked astutely. “Are you going to take her with you?”

“That’s my plan,” Bobbie answered succinctly.

She had thought that one out. She wanted Reyghan to get used to sailing right away, and would get her a safety harness, then cobble together a nice spot in the cuddy cabin of her boat that would feel like a safe spot for her.

While Bobbie was busy on Tuesday with her prep and service, Reyghan could chill out, leashed on deck or below, and better yet, with permission from the owner, Bobbie would have her puppy join her in the carriage house for her overnights.

If her client didn’t like that idea, Bobbie would sleep on her boat with her new little buddy.

“So, as much as I hate to call it quits right now, uh… To be continued Sunday night?” Buck looked hopeful.

“Absolutely,” Bobbie answered without a second’s hesitation.

Looking equal parts relieved and expectant, Buck gave her his address, then, even with the two dogs beginning to whine in protest, he proceeded to kiss the stuffing out of her again.