Page 68 of Dirty Little Secret

I looked at Zandra. “I will.”

The blush on her cheeks made my heart race. That girl did things to me that I couldn’t comprehend.

At that moment, I knew I wasn’t going to make the same mistake I’d made with her all those years ago. I wasn’t going to treat her like a piece of ass that I just had to have. And it hit me suddenly that I’d pretty much been doing just that so far. Well, that would have to change.

The rest of the afternoon and evening went great. Fox had Zandra read him a book when he went to bed, and I met her in the hallway once she was finished. “Hey.”

She smiled coyly. “Hey.”

“Is he asleep?” I leaned back against my bedroom door, putting one foot up behind me.

“Yes, he is.” Zandra’s eyes went to the floor, her hand moving through her hair a little nervously. “He’s really a great kid, Kane. You’ve done such a great job with him. I mean it.”

I crossed the hall to take her hand, leading her down the hall to the bedroom next to mine. “Thank you.”

She watched me push the door open. “So, I guess this is goodnight then.”

“Uh huh.” I ran my thumb up and down her palm. “It is. And I’m locking my bedroom door tonight. And I want you to lock yours too. Wanna know why that is, baby?”

Her eyes dropped a bit. “Because you don’t want me.” Her head fell.

“No.” I took her chin, lifting her face up so she had to look at me again. “I want you more than I can put into words. But I don’t want it to be like last time. I want you to know that I care about you the next time we make love.”

“You do?” she asked breathlessly.

“I do.” And then I kissed her. Softly, with compassion and caring. It was different than any other kiss I’d given her before.

When our lips parted, I saw the shimmer in her eyes. “That felt different.”

“I thought so too. A good different. Not quite so lustful.”

She nodded. “Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight.”