Suddenly the shadows move until I can make out a figure. My heart leaps to my throat, and fear ripples through me.
Run, Hailey.
Just as I spin around, I hear, “Hailey, it’s me.”
A gasp explodes over my lips, and my eyes dart to Carson just as he steps into the light of a street lamp.
Darting toward him, emotions rush through me, and when I throw my arms around his neck, I press my face against his skin and take a deep breath.
Happiness hits me like a tsunami, making trembles shudder through my body.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” I squeeze the words out through a tight throat. “I missed you. So much.”
Carson’s arms wrap around me, and it makes everything feel right again.
We stand for the longest time just holding each other, and then he says, “I tried to stay away.”
Pulling back, I slap his shoulder. “You’ve been watching me? It almost drove me insane!”
Carson steps back. “I’m sorry.”
Seeing his face makes another wave of happiness hit, and moving forward, I hug him again. “It’s so good to see you again.”
When I finally let go of Carson, he presses a hand against my lower back. “Can we talk?”
“Sure. My place?” I ask as we begin to walk the short distance to my cabin.
“Yes.”
I keep glancing up at his face, needing to make sure he’s still here even though his hand is on my lower back.
I notice how my fingers are shaking when I unlock the front door, and stepping inside, I turn on the lights. When Carson walks into my temporary home, it really sinks in.
He’s here.
I shut the door behind him before he can change his mind and decide to leave. “Can I make you some coffee?”
He shakes his head, his eyes drifting over me with emotion tightening his features as if he hasn’t seen me for years.
As if he missed me.
As if I mean something to him.
“I needed time to figure things out,” he says, and it has me gesturing to the living room. I wait for him to sit before I plop down next to him.
“And? Did you figure things out?” I ask to get him talking again.
He shakes his head. “No.”
Fear that he’ll disappear again creeps into my heart. “What things are we talking about?”
His eyes lock on mine, and the intensity hits harder than it ever has. “Us.”
Wanting to lighten the tension, I joke, “So you’re admitting there’s an us?”
It doesn’t draw a smile from him. Instead, he takes a deep breath then says, “We come from different worlds.”
“I know. You’re Russian. I’m American. You’re an introvert. I’m an extrovert.” Scrunching my nose, I say, “It can work between opposites.”
“It’s not that.”
I hold up a hand to stop him. “Before you tell me why you think it won’t work…” I take a deep breath and push through, “kiss me. If it sucks, we’ll know, and we can skip the whole talk about why it won’t work. At least then we can be friends because I really like you, and I’d like to keep you in my life. If it doesn’t –”
Carson moves so fast, I barely have time to register it, and then his mouth slams against mine. His hands find the sides of my jaw, and holding me in place, his tongue drives into my mouth.
A second passes before my mind catches up. My emotions explode like fireworks in my chest, setting my insides on fire.
Carson tilts his head, and everything I ever thought I knew about kissing, about dating, about relationships fade away.
His mouth begins to devour mine, making me burn up to the point where I start worrying about spontaneous combustion being an actual possibility.
Carson’s kissing me.
The thought rockets through me like a missile, and then I become aware of how amazing it feels to have his mouth on mine. The way his lips knead mine. How addictive he tastes.
A satisfied moan leaves me as I press closer to him. With my focus solely on Carson, I get swept away on a cloud of pure bliss as our mouths explore each other.
This is what I was scared of never experiencing.
With our lips tugging, our teeth nipping, our tongues stroking, I quickly become breathless.
There’s no sign of my recluse. Carson dominates me, and all I can do is submit.
This is the part of Carson I haven’t seen yet. The side I knew was always there. It’s where the intensity comes from, and it’s one hell of a turn-on to finally experience it.
Chapter 9
CARSON
Even though Hailey’s all I’ve thought about, I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do.
That’s until I get to taste her.
Until she moans into my mouth.
Possessiveness takes over every part of my rationality, and I lose control.
Breaking the kiss for a moment, I push Hailey back on the couch until I have her beneath me. She opens her legs for me to settle between, and then I take hold of her jaw and crush my mouth against hers again.