A flash blinds me even through my closed lids, and regretfully, I pull back to see who the fuck is interrupting my first kiss with Willow.
Olivia is grinning like a loon, fanning her flushed face with her phone held up. I shoot her a glare and turn back to Willow, but the moment is fading. She looks shell-shocked and blissed out from just a kiss and my pride swells up at that.
Oh, darling, if you thought that was something, just wait until I’m kissing you all over. “Let’s go,” I say, taking her hand in mine. My fingers wrap gently around hers, caressing her and making sure that this is real and not another figment of my imagination, which has been getting quite the workout after our dinners. Hell, I barely made it home one night and almost had to jack off on the side of the road in my truck. But I’d managed to wait . . . just barely. Mostly out of fear that Chief Gibson would catch me and never let me live that shit down.
I open the door for her, that same creak the door’s always had meaning something else entirely now. It almost sounds like a song, like the start of something new.
Olivia calls out, “I’ll text you that picture, Willow, though I don’t think it’ll be going on your blog.” One glance back tells me that she’s still looking at the picture on her phone. I’d like to see it too. Me and Willow, our first kiss.
Our last first kiss, if things go the way I’m thinking.
I lead her to my truck, opening the door and helping her climb inside. It’s not too jacked up, not like Brody’s truck, but it’s high enough that it needs side rails to climb inside comfortably. I shut the door behind her with a finality, a signal to my overworked heart that it has what it’s wanted for so long.
Her. Willow.
I damn near jog around the hood and climb into the driver’s seat. The engine growls to life, and Willow flinches ever so slightly. I glance over to find her looking as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof.
“Hi,” I say soothingly.
She pushes her hair behind her cute little ear and softly replies, “Hi.”
“You good?”
Rookie mistake to give her an out, but I don’t want her to regret this later. I get the feeling that if Willow backslides, there will be no two steps forward afterward. She’ll go back into her shell, the one I’ve carefully chiseled away over the past few days, to make a little hidey-hole for myself inside her walls.
She licks her lips again, but this time, it’s not an invitation. She’s preparing herself, and I give her time to do so. “I just . . . I’m not sure . . . what you expect.” She sighs like that was the hardest thing she’s ever said.
Everything.
But that’s not what I tell her. “Anything, Willow. I want to know you, spend time with you.” Dropping my voice a little lower and quieter, I admit, “Kiss you again.”
Even in the fading light in the cab of my truck, I can sense her blush. “Oh. Okay.”
“Okay,” I agree, my voice heavy with intention as I lean across the center console. I reach out to cup her cheek again as she leans forward. It feels like a victory, like she’s giving in to this inferno between us . . . the one I’ve been trying to withstand without her. But now that she’s in it with me, it feels like a warm caress that’s gently melting the frost from my bones.
Our lips meet, tender as we explore each other. I breathe into her, and this time it’s her sweet tongue demanding more. Growling, I take the kiss deeper, hotter, wilder, and to my surprise, she’s right there with me. No holding back, no reserve . . . just free and passionate.
“Mmm.” She moans as her hand works its way into the too-long hair at the nape of my neck.
“Fuck,” I groan when I feel her give my hair a little tug. My dick lurches in my jeans, trying to get to her.
But it’s way too soon for that.
No, it’s not.
My dick tries to argue, but my brain wins. Actually, I think it’s my heart that wins, because it’s yelling at me, don’t fuck this up, asshole!
Too soon, I pull back. She chases me for one more kiss, and I’m this close to giving in, but I stay still. “I promised you a tour. I keep my promises, Willow.”
She sits back in her seat, another one of those blissed out smiles on her face that I want to keep there always. “Okay then, show me what you . . . I mean, Great Falls . . . has to offer.”