“When I was with Rick, it all happened so fast, but it wasn’t right,” I admit softly. “How will I know if it’s right this time?”
Lachlan’s fingers still momentarily and then start up again. “I wish I could say you will just know,” he says, placing a kiss to my temple. “But the truth is, you never know. I was with someone for three years before I finally admitted to myself she wasn’t the one for me. There are no guarantees, Quinn, but I’ve only hung out with you a few times and I can feel the difference. The way my heart beats when you look at me and touch me. The way I missed you all week while I was waiting to hear from you. I could go days without hearing from Shea, and I wouldn’t feel half of what I felt while checking my phone every twenty minutes, all week long, hoping to see a text from you.”
Releasing a content sigh at his words, my eyes flutter closed. “I’m scared,” I confess. “I think I’m falling for you.”
“You don’t have to be scared. I’ll be right here waiting to catch you.”
“I really like you holding me,” I admit through a yawn, snuggling my body closer to his.
“I really like holding you,” he says back. My eyes try to fight sleep, but the moment he nuzzles his face against mine, I’m a goner.
* * *
When I open my eyes, it takes me a second to recall the details of last night. Folding the laundry, which led to playing Candyland with Lachlan and me drinking for the first time in years. The last thing I remember was sitting in his lap on the couch, so when I look around and see I’m lying in my bed, I’m a bit confused. Twisting my head to the side, I notice Lachlan is here and in bed with me. While I’m on one side of the bed under my blankets, he’s on the other side with only a thin sheet covering his bottom half. He’s asleep and shirtless, and I use the moment to admire how beautiful he is. He could’ve taken advantage of my inebriated state last night—and I would’ve let him—but he didn’t.
As I watch his chest rise and fall, I think about everything we talked about last night. I learned a lot about him, and I’m surprised by how much I shared. Even during all the years I spent with Rick, I never felt this comfortable with him. We never just…talked. I really like talking to Lachlan…and kissing him. I really liked kissing him. The way he used his tongue…I can just imagine what that tongue is capable of.
“What are you thinking about that has your flesh heating up like you’re standing close to a fire?” Lachlan rasps, his voice scratchy from sleep. He turns over to his side, and his lips curl into a sleepy smile.
“N-nothing,” I stammer, taken aback by how much Lachlan’s presence affects me. His voice. His smile. Separately, they have the ability to take my breath away. But together…holy hell, together, I feel like I’ve just jumped off a plane and am soaring through the sky without a parachute. “I’m going to make coffee. Do you want any?”
Lachlan, grabs the curve of my hip before I can get away, and pulls me into him until our bodies are flush against each other. “What were you thinking about, Quinn?” he asks again.
I consider lying to him but go for the truth. “I was thinking about how much I enjoyed last night.”
“Oh yeah?” He grants me the most adorable yet sexy grin. “What about it?” He kisses the tip of my nose.
“Playing Candyland.”
“What else?” He kisses my cheek.
“Kissing you,” I whisper, and he glances back to me. “I was thinking about how skilled you are with your tongue,” I admit, shocking myself. What the hell is this man doing to me? “And how I wonder what else your tongue is capable of.” I can feel my skin heating up like a freshly lit stove, but Lachlan doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he flips me onto my back and climbs up my body, placing kisses along my jaw and down my collarbone.
Without him having to ask, I pull my shirt over my head to give him better access. Who is this woman? As he kisses the swells of my breasts, I hold my breath, waiting for him to move downward to my stomach. With one kiss to the center of my belly button, he keeps heading down until he’s lying on his stomach between my legs. He stills for a second and looks up at me, silently asking for permission to remove my pants. Alarm bells go off in my head that this is too soon, but then I remember what he said: when it’s right, it doesn’t matter how fast things move.