Page 33 of What I Should Have Felt (Anchors and Eagles #4)

Goosebumps prickled at my skin, and a chill danced up my spine. We were both in our thirties? How responsible and adult-like was this? But it felt nice to be reckless again. Besides, I’d opened this bottle already.

What would you want?

I’d barely tapped send when his reply crashed into my phone.

You.

One word. A very clear answer that couldn’t be misinterpreted.

I stared at his single-word response as the oxygen around me thinned.

The lights dimmed, and there was nothing but the steady drum of blood pounding into my ears.

This wasn’t some romance book I’d read. This wasn’t some fictional scenario I’d fantasized about in my head.

This was a real conversation, and that text was an actual message on my phone.

Me. He wanted me.

But we were discussing a hypothetical situation… Right?

My hands trembled, and the screen blurred.

Not because I was afraid that it would happen, but that it wouldn’t.

The logistics of how he’d followed me before and known I was in danger every time the Rougarou had shown up were of no consequence right now.

Knowing that he would eventually catch me, no matter how confident I was in my ability to navigate the woods between our houses, elicited a desire on a level that made my cheeks heat up .

Shifting my stance, I attempted to close my legs tighter together.

Don’t look at him, don’t look at him , I repeated over and over in my head because I knew the moment I did, my arousal would take over the self-control holding me against this wall.

All those years and effort of hiding the fact we were lovers would fly out the fucking window behind him the—

Vibration shot through my palm, and I jumped. An involuntary squeak left my throat, and the three girls I’d forgotten I was still standing by stopped talking. Their gazes sparked to me as I squeezed the phone in my hand tighter.

Phone.

Vibration.

Notification.

I quickly glanced at the screen and sighed. “Uh, I gotta take this,” I muttered and flashed my screen at them. A phone call from Azelie was my quick escape from a situation that I created.

With a tap on the answer button, I placed the phone against my ear and pushed off the wall. “What’s up?” I asked, weaving through the crowd.

“So, Macy and I were hoping we could stay for one more round of bowling. I know it would put me past my curfew, and we would both need a ride home since Macy’s parents can’t come get us that late,” she explained, and the racing in my heart slowed.

“Cory’s there?” I asked.

Silence ticked between us for a couple seconds. “Yes,” she finally muttered .

“Is Becca there too?” I paused at the base of the stairs.

“Becca? No, why would she be? It’s just Macy, Thomas, Cory, and me.”

“All right,” I replied as a shadow swallowed the light around me. “You can have one extra hour, and then I’ll be there regardless of if the game is finished or not. Thank you for calling, and please be safe.”

“Always, Mom. Love you,” she answered, and the line went dead before I had a chance to say anything in reply.

“Everything okay?” a deep voice asked.

With a jolt, my shoulder slammed against the wall. “What the hell, Ford?” I hissed and stuffed my phone in my pocket.

“Sorry,” he said with a quiet chuckle.

I rubbed my hand against the tender skin, knowing a bruise would form later, and faced the very man standing beside me. “Yeah, everything’s good. Azelie just wanted to stay a little longer with her friends at the bowling alley tonight.”

His shoulders fell, and he nodded. “Good. Good.”

Suspicion crept through my skin, and I tipped my head. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, well, the motion sensors went off at the house, but both of our parents are still at the restaurants. Must’ve been some critter or something.” He ran a hand over his hair.

“We—”

“Ford! Get your ass over here and play a round of pool,” Turk shouted over me, and I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth.

Ford cocked a brow. “Hold on!” he loudly replied without removing his gaze from me. “What were you going to say?” His deep-set eyes intensified as if they were staring into every corner of my soul and soaking in every ounce of pleasure from me.

“Nothing. Go hang out with Turk. You haven’t seen him in a while,” I whispered with a subtle nod of my chin.

Ford lingered. Just a moment longer, his gaze clung to mine as his chest expanded and deflated with silent breaths.

He was the strokes of paint I hardly saw in the breeze anymore.

He reminded me of the silver stars at night and the cotton clouds in the day, adding that adventure onto a canvas filled with one plain color.

Our timing had never synced, but at least, as he stood quietly in front of me, our clocks ticked in rhythm with each other right now.

As he turned away, his fingers brushed briefly against mine, and then he was swallowed by the crowd forming around the pool table.

Clearly, no one else had seen his tender touch.

No one else had noticed our private and intimate interaction, for if they had, I would’ve never been able to slip away.

I needed some time alone with my thoughts, so I drove to the bowling alley, parked, and then simply waited for the hour to be spent.