Chapter 6 #2
Now Macie felt bad that he was blaming himself. “I shouldn’t have torn it off the pad,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“No,” he said immediately, shaking his head.
“This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. I should’ve manned up and asked Truck for your number anyway.
Shit.” Colt blew the dust off the note and walked back to the small table.
He put the note down, making sure to put the pen on top of it so it didn’t get blown off again, then he came back to Macie.
He took both her hands in his and looked down at her.
“I would’ve called that day if I had found the note, Mace.
I would’ve told you then that I had a wonderful night with you, even if it hadn’t started under the best circumstances.
I would’ve asked you to lunch. Then after we had lunch, I would’ve asked you to go with me on a dinner date.
I would’ve asked permission to kiss you at the end of the date, after I’d driven you home.
And I would’ve texted you nonstop after that, and called you when I got home from work, just to hear your voice.
I would’ve bought you silly presents so you wouldn’t forget about me.
We could’ve watched movies in your apartment and here at my house.
We would’ve laughed together, and I would’ve been there for you if you had an anxiety attack.
I’m so fucking sorry that I didn’t see your note. So sorry.”
Macie could feel her heart beating fast in her chest, although this time it wasn’t a bad feeling. “We can still do all those things,” she got up the courage to say. “It’s only been a month and a half since we met.”
“I want to do those things,” Colt said immediately. “And more. But I still hate that we’ve missed out on a whole month of being together.”
Not liking the look of regret on his face, Macie brought her hand up to his neck. Her thumb caressed his chiseled jaw and she said, “Ask permission to kiss me, Colt.”
And just like that, the regret faded from his face, to be replaced by hunger. “May I kiss you, Mercedes Laughlin?”
“Yes. Please,” she responded.
Macie thought he might crush his lips to hers immediately, but he surprised her by leaning down and placing his lips on her forehead.
Then her right cheek, followed by her left.
Then he took her hand from the side of his neck and kissed her palm.
He dropped it and placed his hands on either side of her neck, his thumbs caressing her jawline much as she’d done to him.
“We’ve somehow managed to screw things up from the get-go, haven’t we?
” he asked quietly. “But as much as I regret not finding your note and causing you even a second of worry about why I hadn’t called you, I love that you’re currently living in my house.
Sleeping in my bed. In my arms. I haven’t pushed for more because the last thing I want to do is rush you—”
“Push me,” Macie said, interrupting whatever he was going to say next.
He shook his head. “No. I refuse to rush this. We only have one first kiss. One first time making love. I like this feeling of anticipation. Of knowing that the giddy feeling inside me has returned. It has, hasn’t it? You feel it too?”
Macie licked her lips, and loved how his eyes immediately went to her mouth. “Yeah, Colt. I feel it too.”
Reverently, he ran a thumb over her lips. Then his beautiful gray eyes met hers and his head lowered.
Macie shut her eyes and waited.
His warm lips brushed hers. Lightly. Achingly soft.
“Heaven,” she heard him whisper before his lips were on hers again, this time harder. His tongue brushed against the seam, asking permission to enter. Macie granted him that permission. She opened her mouth and then they were kissing.
Really kissing.
Macie had been kissed before, but nothing compared to how she felt in Colt’s arms. His hands kept her head still as he devoured her.
She made a noise deep in her throat and gripped Colt’s uniform shirt as she took all that he gave her.
It was beautiful and carnal at the same time.
And the best part was that she didn’t feel one inkling of anxiety.
Usually when she was with a man, she worried about where she should put her hands, if her breath stunk, if he was enjoying himself…
but with Colt, everything else fell to the wayside.
All she could think about was him. And how he made her feel. Nothing else mattered. No one else existed in their little bubble.
Eventually, the kiss gentled. Became less heated. Less desperate. Colt finished their kiss with small pecks and then rested his forehead against hers.
“Wow,” Macie said softly.
“Wow, indeed,” Colt echoed with a smile.
“You should know something,” Macie told him.
He pulled back and took her in, his eyes roaming from her eyes to her mouth, then the slight blush on her cheeks, before returning to her gaze. “Yeah? What’s that?”
“There’s no way I would’ve let you kiss me like that a month ago,” she said honestly. “And as much as I hate that there was a misunderstanding between us, that kiss made up for it.”
He grinned. “It did, didn’t it?”
Macie nodded.
“For the record,” he added, “I will always remember our first kiss as one of the most exciting, emotional moments of my life.”
“Colt,” Macie whispered, feeling overwhelmed. He had a knack for saying the perfect thing at the perfect time.
“Pack,” he said, running the back of a hand over her cheek before stepping away. “I’ll change and meet you downstairs. We’ll hit the road at soon as you’re ready.”
She nodded. Suddenly the weekend seemed even more exciting than before. She’d been to Austin, but seeing it with Colt somehow seemed more special.
Macie headed for the door. Even though she’d been staying in his bed each night, her things were in the guest room, where’d he’d put her suitcases the first day he’d brought her here.
She looked back right before she exited his room to see him running a finger over her note on the nightstand.
He looked up and caught her staring. “Things work out the way I hope they do, I’m going to get this framed so it never gets misplaced again.”
Macie’s throat closed up with happiness and she couldn’t say a word. She simply smiled at him and turned to go pack.