Chapter 8
Eight
The sky had darkened by the time Adrian sat in the passenger seat of Laila’s car, now parked in her driveway. He’d accepted her offer for a lift home and Whitney slept in the backseat, tuckered out from her playground adventure, followed with a stroll down Main Street for food and then ice cream. So, Ramos savored the silence and willed this date to linger a little longer. Even though Laila’s story about her ex gripped him with an oppressive kind of restlessness.
Despite all these years and his own absent father, he still couldn’t understand how someone could be so cold toward the mother of their child. Much less the child themselves. A part of him itched to unleash his skills and track down Mike. To figure out what his deal was and give the man a piece of his mind. An irrational overstep, sure, but he took some of what he’d learned today personally. That said, he had too much respect for Laila to find this man without her consent.
He turned to his right and caught her gaze, her inky blue stare dark against the night and sweeping about his face. Though his heart pounded in response, he held still, aware that the arrival home was where many dates ended with a kiss.
But her situation was more complicated than any woman he’d dated, and her child did still sleep just behind him.
“I should get Whitney inside.” Though she leveled a half-smile his way, her voice had fallen to a soft whisper and the edges of her eyes smoothed in a way that shifted something inside him. As if she didn’t want to wake Whitney. Or dare he hope that she wanted this date to continue?
But he didn’t know the general ground rules of dating a single mother. Didn’t want to rush things or intimidate this woman, especially since he still had to live next to her. So, he gave a decisive nod and pushed his door open, set to helping her and Whitney get inside their house.
The evening held the moon’s silver-blue tinge as he stepped outside and turned for Whitney’s door, assuming the task of some moderate lifting and carrying the child out.
Except, he didn’t make it too far before bumping into Laila powering toward the same door. He caught her forearms in time to save her from stumbling.
“Jeez Louise!” Her hand came to rest on his chest, as she steadied her footing; before she gave a shaky laugh and snatched her hand back. “I’m so sorry.”
Jeez Louise? He chuckled at the Minnesotan turn of phrase, only for his heart to do a hard thud against his chest wall. Her jovial stare fused to his, falling into complete seriousness, her face slack, while wide pools of black drowned the bright blue in her eyes.
She caught the moment too. The prickling energy urging them together. Perhaps she wanted the typical date ending, after all, but again, he refused to assume.
That said, he wasn’t any kind of saint and still wanted what he wanted, which in this case was her . So, he leaned in, providing a clue that she need only say yes.
“Please. No.”
Not the answer he hoped for!
And even as her hands lashed out and grabbed his wrists, he did as commanded and shifted ever so slightly back.
New panic entered her eyes, her stare darting side-to-side and over his face. “I’m so sorry… It’s just...”
His thoughts slipped back to their earlier talk about not having to work so hard for affection. The time had come to take his own advice.
“It’s fine.” He moved to step back, but her fingers curled harder into the flesh of his arms. “Some other time, maybe.”
She gave her head a wild shake and tugged him closer. “It’s just been a while, yah know? Years, even. And I… I…”
Her voice continued to trail and then she pressed her lips into a resigned, hard line, but he caught her meaning—that this was hugely unfamiliar territory—that nerves got the better of her and she didn’t know what to do next.
His shoulders eased and new air filled his lungs, as he dared to seek a direct answer. “So, you want me to?”
He leaned in again, this time lifting a hand to her cheek and making his own intentions clear. She drew in too and nodded, her fingers releasing from his wrists and rising toward his face, only to fumble around his already raised arms.
Color rose in her cheeks, and he bit back a chuckle, not wanting to embarrass her, while far more invested in helping her navigate unfamiliar territory. He caught her hands and placed them to his chest, the speed of her breaths quickening, though his own racing heartbeat laughed at his ideas that he was the one in control here. “It’s okay. It’s just a kiss.”
The words seemed to hang for a long moment, and he couldn’t be sure which one of them needed more support or convincing. Still, her wide stare held, and she gave a shaky nod.
“It’s okay.” He whispered the words and pulled her closer, cradling her face in his hands. Though he drew his lips closer, her eyes remained open, and she failed to breathe. “It’s okay.”
He made his voice softer still and her muscles relaxed beneath his hold. “It’s okay.”
Softer and softer he spoke those words, until her eyelids drifted shut and she tilted her chin up to him. He shuttered his eyes too, and in the next beat, his world went dark, and the heat of her lips met his. Her pillowy skin there had him holding back a low groan. As much as he wanted to slow this down and give her a full experience, he also gave himself the gift of pressing her into him and driving the kiss deeper.
She released a weak murmur and went evermore pliable in his arms. If not for the sleeping kid in the car, he would have pressed Laila against the cold, hard metal and ravaged her in any and every way she would let him.
He wasn’t used to leashing his desire, and right about now, every exploding and hot sensation within him screamed for release. He wanted to run his hands lower. To explore her body in ways most other women he dated didn’t seem to mind. But this wasn’t his usual date. And Laila wasn’t his usual woman. If he pushed her too far, chances were she’d run.
But even as he contemplated giving her some space, her delicate taste and touch enveloped him, and her fingers curled into his chest. Her own need rose in her soft sighs and the heat from her body exuded the restraint-snapping scent of her fruit and musk perfume.
Just as he thought this moment might be his undoing, she released a frustrated groan and broke the kiss, her forehead coming to rest on his, while her shoulders rose and fell with a series of bursting breaths.
Her hazy stare rose to meet his in a look he could only describe as lost wonder and apology. “Thank you.”
He startled at her gratitude but steered away from voicing his surprise. Never had a woman thanked him for kissing her, but then, he’d never been on a date with a woman and her kid, much less helped that woman overcome a personal hurdle by kissing her. So, her gratitude made at least a little sense.
Since his stay in town would be short-lived and the life he’d carved out came with no real plans, he frowned at the strong likelihood of his “help” one day benefitting some other man.
He didn’t want to dwell on that thought and so turned for Whitney’s door, only for Laila’s hand to catch him before he could pull at the handle.
“Let me do this one, okay?” Her lips curled into a soft smile and her brows pressed closer in that look of easy gratitude again.
So stirring. So unsettling. Yet he stepped back and honored her wishes, having already gotten the strong impression this woman was used to doing most things on her own.
Besides, him carrying Whitney would mean going into Laila’s house, and Laila had every right and reason not to want that. Not yet anyway.
She leaned into the car and pulled Whitney from her seat, the little girl’s head lolling forward onto her mother’s shoulder without a care in the world. He stayed close enough to help close the car door, then stood in the driveway to watch Laila heft her daughter onto her front porch and into her house, but not before freeing a hand from Whitney and sending him a quick smile and wave goodbye.
The sweet parting left him with nothing to do but stroll around the short picket fence between the two houses and up his own driveway, all while lugging the weight of what had just happened. The potential. The risk .
He hadn’t thought much about his expectations with Laila. Not beyond getting her to agree to this date. Only now, an unfamiliar strain gripped at his heart and hinted at something much bigger than what his peas-sized brain had bargained on.
Something fragile. Something complicated. Something riddled with warnings. Warnings he most definitely would ignore and live to regret.
Just like any person, he didn’t know what the future had in store. In fact, more than most, he’d never really cared to find out. Except for now, when a swimming sensation took over his head and his heart, anticipation sweeping hot electricity over his skin and spurring his hurried steps to his front door.
“Hey!”
He paused at Laila’s loud greeting, taking a moment before looking at her. As bright as her tone sounded, there came that warning again…
When he did look, she stood on her landing, arm waving high above her head, her weight lifted onto her toes, as she craned her neck in a bid for his full attention. He wanted to smile at that, to level a smile as carefree as hers, but the prickling at his skin continued.
Don’t fall too fast.
Still, he wouldn’t block her out completely, and rather than round the two driveways, he ambled closer to the fence between them and waited for her to join him. “What is it?”
She jogged toward him and paused a beat, grinning up at him, before she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in. He had no time to gather his senses, before she had him snared in another kiss, one she controlled completely.
Her lips held a hungry force, and her hands held firm to the sides of his face, as if she’d had a moment to think about their last kiss and returned to tie up unfinished business.
Just as quickly as things had started, she released him on a joyful smile. Her stunning blue eyes glittered up at him, while he remained stunned, but pleasantly so.
His astonishment broke only as she turned tail and jogged back to her door, where she punched a hand into the air at her landing and released an excited squeal. All-too-soon, she disappeared back into her house.