Page 33 of Tempt (Peachwood Falls #1)

“Logistics, first of all,” I say. “I can’t do a long-distance relationship, and I’m not going to find a job in Peachwood Falls. I can’t afford to move here and support myself.”

He nods slowly.

“And even if I could …” I raise and look at him. “We don’t even know each other, Chase. You can’t make big life decisions over something you’ve only known for a few weeks.”

“ Someone , you mean.”

“Either way.” I frown, taking in his frustration. “Whenever I see or talk to you, I fall harder. I get more comfortable. But every day is a day closer to when I go home.”

He studies me in a way only Chase can. His grumpiness reminds me of the day I met him. It settles over his features, and he narrows his eyes as he navigates his thoughts.

“So,” he says, pressing his lips together. “You’re telling me you’re falling for me.”

I smack his chest. It cracks his demeanor, and he chuckles.

“Do you know what I think?” he asks, swinging us again.

“What’s that?”

“I think it might have something to do with logistics, and that’s fair. And it might have something to do with us just getting to know each other, and that’s fair too. But I think you’re out of your comfort zone with this, and that scares you.”

Asshole .

“I’m not a clown, and you don’t know how to navigate without a circus,” he says, echoing our first interaction.

“Oh, you’re a clown .”

He rolls his eyes, making me smile.

My stomach knots as I feel how he touches me. It’s tender and with respect. But there’s an underlying strength that reminds me that he’ll protect me and, by the feeling of his cock hardening under me, that he’ll fuck me too. And I think I’ll love one just as much as the othe r.

Chase is everything I’ve never allowed myself to have. And I can’t rid myself of the nagging voice that reminds me why I haven’t ever had someone like him. That voice worries how I’ll feel when this ends between us.

If it ends.

When it ends.

I sigh. “Can we stop talking and make out instead?”

He laughs. “I’ll compromise.”

“Do I get your cock at the end?”

“Always.”

I kiss him quickly. “Then let’s compromise.”

He shakes his head, entertained by my antics. “Let’s make a new agreement.”

“Fine. What do you want it to say?”

“I want it to say,” he says, looking me in the eye like I’m not listening, “that I want you in my bed. I want to kiss you whenever and wherever I want. I want you, and you’re important to me. Okay?”

Oh my gosh.

No one has ever said that to me before. I’m not sure I’ve ever been important to anyone besides my mother. And Iyala Nails, if I believe that—but only when it benefits them.

“It’s time that I start factoring myself in my life for a change,” he says. “I don’t think I ever would’ve bothered or even noticed until I met you.”

It would be wonderful to grab his words and let him prove that he means what he says. But I can’t lose touch with reality … and why we weren’t doing this.

“But what about Kennedy?” I ask.

“We’ll take it slow. She likes you, and I think you’re good for her. Kate has lots of opinions and most of them favor me getting to know you.”

I grin. “I think I like Kate.”

He squeezes my ass cheeks and kisses me not-so chastely.

“You’re such a fucking distraction,” he says against my lips.

“You knew that when you met me.”

He swipes his tongue through my mouth. “That wasn’t all I knew.”

I hop off him and start to unbutton my pants. His eyes glimmer with mischief as he pulls his pants down too.

“No one can see us down here, can they?” I ask.

He spreads his knees while I climb on. “Nope.”

“Good. Because I’m going to make you come inside me so hard that there might be fireworks.”

He laughs. But the laughter turns into a prolonged hiss as I sit down on his cock. Finally, he grips my waist before I can move.

“Um, Chase? I want to ride you.”

“I know. But before you rock my world, I want to hear you say you’re my girl.”

My cheeks blush. “Really?”

He seems to be as surprised as I am that we’re having this conversation but also … not. It’s as if he’s resolved that this is the way things are, and he’s cool with it. Happy with it.

That’s good because I am too.

“I thought having you around would be the problem,” he says. “Turns out that having you around and not having you locked down is the real distraction.”

I swivel my hips, my body flooding with heat I can’t extinguish.

I don’t know what I’m doing with this—this man, this relationship, this life.

It could all go wrong—he could change his mind—and there’s little doubt it would break my heart.

But instead of panicking and feeling like an impostor, I give in.

I lean into Chase’s smile. His sincerity. I let myself soak up his words.

“Turns out that having you around and not having you locked down is the real distraction.”

How did I wind up here? How did I get so freaking lucky?

Chase nibbles at my bottom lip. “Tell. Me. You’re. Mine.”

“Okay,” I say, breathlessly. “I’m yours.”

He grinds me down on him and captures my lips with his. The force frazzles my brain.

Chase takes over, moving us together in a slow, easy dance. It’s not the fucking I think it’s going to be. It’s sweet. It’s intentional. It’s something different altogether, and if I’m not careful, I might misidentify it as the beginning stages of something more than lust.