Chapter Six
Brayden
I can’t hold back any longer, not when her supple lips are so close to mine. With a feral-sounding groan, I crash my mouth to hers. There’s a need to claim this woman as mine that I can’t begin to explain.
All I know is when Savvy texted me earlier, I’d been gutted.
Savvy: Just saw our neighbors Clara and Casey on a double date with a couple of hotties. How cute are they?!
She sent me a picture, too.
I took one look at the guy sitting across from her and knew I could never compare to him. He was good looking, around her age, and ripped.
I’m just me.
When she came home, I wanted to know what I’d done wrong during our date last night.
Nothing.
I did it right.
And now I’m kissing this sexy woman. She tastes like perfection and sweetness. I want to eat her alive.
A small moan escapes her and it’s a maddening sound. One of my hands slides into her silky blond hair and the other finds her hip. There’s a sliver of exposed skin and I can’t help but stroke the softness there.
She’s so out of my league and yet she’s kissing me like I’m not.
It gives me hope.
Her hands slide up my chest, sending curls of pleasure tickling through my body. My cock is embarrassingly hard. She just turns me on that easily.
“I fucking love your mouth,” I whisper after a pause and a nip to her bottom lip. “I’ve been agonizing over tasting your pouty lips. I’m in heaven, babe.”
She laughs, breathy and soft. “You’re a great kisser. I’m right there with you, babe .”
Even though she’s jokingly calling me babe, it has me wanting to claim her as mine right the hell now. But I know she’s a bit skittish and if I start proclaiming how all-consuming my feelings are, she might rethink her decision to give in to kissing me.
I could kiss her all night.
I could kiss her forever.
When we’re both breathless, I pull away so I can look at her, needing to see how she’s feeling about all this. Her eyes are hooded, and her wet, puffy lips remain parted as though she’s still yearning for my mouth.
“I’m addicted to you,” I murmur. “I could stare at you all damn night.”
Her smile is breathtaking. “I’d rather you kiss me instead.”
I chase her words with another long kiss. Her tongue is flirty, licking and flicking, teasing me relentlessly. What else can she do with her tongue?
That thought nearly makes me nut in my pants. I force myself to not think about sex with this woman. A man can only handle so much in one night.
“Do you want to come inside?” she murmurs against my mouth.
“Yes,” I growl. “But not tonight.”
She groans. “Why not?”
“Because you deserve more than that.” I pull back and give her a crooked grin. “As much as I want to follow you into your house, and I really fucking do, I want you to have some space after this to think about what more might look like with me.”
“I’ve thought about it,” she huffs. “I need you.”
It’s beyond difficult to deny this woman.
“I need you too. Trust me. I’m hard as fuck right now.” I smirk at her. “But I’m not a halfway kind of guy, especially not with you. Before I dive into something I won’t ever come back from, I need to make sure you’re right there with me.”
“I am,” she argues.
But we both know she went on a date tonight.
She needs more time to think. I won’t rush this and have her regret it in the morning.
I step away from her and meet her with a firm stare. “I’m taking you on a date tomorrow night.”
Her eyes widen. “Do I get a choice?”
“Nope.” I dip down and give her a quick kiss. “Wear comfortable shoes and be ready to eat.”
I force myself to back away from her. She gapes at me in confusion.
“Brayden…”
“I’ll be back,” I say with a wide grin. “See you tomorrow, beautiful.”
That’s a promise.
“You and Casey.” Savvy pauses to sip on her Dr. Pepper as if she’s trying to make sense of a difficult calculus problem in Coach Long’s class. “Casey and you. Hmmm.”
I look up from painting trim in Gordon’s old unit and level her with a glare. “Why do you seem so perplexed?”
“She’s, uh, older.”
“Says the girl banging two guys her dad’s age.” As soon as I say that I regret it. Her dad died. I’m a fucking idiot. “Sorry. I’m just anxious about messing it up.”
“I’m not insulting you or anything,” she assures me. “It’s just you two are an unlikely pair. Have you slept together yet?”
Crimson heat creeps up my neck. “We kissed.”
“That’s it?”
“Trust me,” I grumble, “I wanted to do a lot more.”
“And you didn’t?”
I smirk at her. “I’m a gentleman.”
“With the patience of a saint. I have no chill. You should have seen me practically throw myself at Cole and Travis in the beginning.”
“No shade to you, Sav, but I want to nurture this thing with Casey. She’s so fucking perfect. I’m afraid I’ll ruin it if I do the wrong thing.”
She sets her Dr. Pepper can down on the bar and comes to sit down beside me as I paint. “You’re totally obsessed with her. It’s cute.”
I can’t deny my feelings.
“You know you can just be yourself,” she says gently. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. Based on what you told me, it sounds like she’s very much into you. I’m happy you two made this connection.”
Casey deserves perfect, though.
I’m nervous as I walk up to Casey’s back door. She answers right away, a huge smile on her face.
Holy shit.
Is she trying to kill me?
I gape at her, eyes bugging out of my head. “Wow. You look amazing, babe. Seriously. Now I can’t remember my own name.”
She laughs and her tits jiggle with the movement. The dress she wears has some sort of binding in it—like a corset or something—that pushes her breasts up. She’s fully covered by the floral material, but her boobs are on full display.
How the hell can I think straight with this beautiful sight?
The dress hits her above the knees, and she wears wedge heels that put her close to my height.
“Are those for me?” Her eyebrow arches. “Did you steal those from the pond?”
I grin devilishly at her, my spell of stupidity broken. “Only the best for my girl.”
She takes the orange tiger lilies I’ve bundled together with some ribbon I got from Savvy. I follow her into the house, nearly tripping over Mo who rushes past me.
“He can’t get enough of you.”
She smirks as she pulls a vase out of a cabinet. “You or the cat?”
“Touché.”
I can’t keep my eyes off her as she fills the vase with water. Her ass is so cute in that dress. It’s impossible to focus when I keep eyeing her backside.
How am I going to take her on a walk with a damn hard-on?
“Where are we going?” she asks after she places the flowers in water.
I glance down at her feet. “We’re walking there. Those are sexy as fuck, but do you have something more comfortable to wear on your feet, unless you want me to carry you.”
She snorts. “No. I don’t want you to attempt that.”
Attempt?
I’d carry this woman anywhere and everywhere if she wanted. She’s a bit independent though, so she’d probably prefer to just change her shoes.
Once she comes back with Chucks on her feet, I take her hand and lead her outside where my bag is waiting. She eyes it curiously but doesn’t try to peek inside.
We walk toward the back of the complex, passing several townhomes until we reach a fence. Behind our property is a wooded hill. Since no one can build on it, it remains wild and untouched. But I’ve been escaping here since I was a child and have carved out a path to the good part.
“I’ve never been back here,” she says, leaning in close. “It’s dark. Anything to be scared of?”
“Nah,” I assure her. “Squirrels and rabbits mostly. Plus, I’ll protect you.”
She seems satisfied at that answer which makes me puff up in pride. The moonlight shines brightly through the trees, making our trek easy to see. It’s a steep incline and we have to weave around some of the bigger trees and roots, but we eventually make it to the opening near the top.
Years ago, Dad helped me build a picnic table up here, so I’d have a place to sit. Tonight, it’s decorated with a yellow tablecloth weighed down by a couple of rocks. More tiger lilies sit in a vase in the center beside several candles.
“Oh my God,” she says under her breath. “This is the most romantic thing ever.”
“Have a seat while I get things ready.”
She sits down at the picnic table, eyes lit up with anticipation. I set down my bag and retrieve a lighter. Once all the candles are lit and adding to the mood, I begin pulling out the containers of food I prepared.
“At home, I do all the cooking. I always felt bad for my dad and wanted to help him whenever I could. When I was a kid, and he needed a sitter, I’d go over to Maggie’s. She taught me to make quite a bit of stuff. The rest I learned from Pinterest.”
“Pinterest.” She grins at me. “You’re continuously surprising me, Brayden Foss.”
I wink at her and then start telling her about all the different courses I made. We start with a simple Caesar salad with homemade croutons. Next, I offer her some stuffed mushrooms.
“It’s my first time making these, so if you don’t like them, I won’t get upset.”
She takes a bite and groans happily. “They’re so good.”
I devour two in a row and completely agree.
“This is the main entree.” She laughs when I open the container. “Real lasagna.”
It’s the good, homemade kind with a ton of ingredients. None of that fake, frozen shit. Her eyes twinkle when I grate fresh parmesan over her food.
While we eat, she tells me about her day at work and how busy they were. I like how her face lights up whenever she mentions what she does for a living. I’m proud of her for helping people in pain so they can heal.
If only someone could help heal her heart…
I hope I can be the one for that job.
“This is such a sweet gesture,” she says after finishing her lasagna. “No one has ever done anything like this for me before. Not even…”
“It’s okay to say his name,” I tell her. “I’m not threatened by him.”
That’s not the total truth, but I want her to feel comfortable confiding in me.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she says quickly. “Derek was a good man. He just…he never spoiled me like this.”
“His loss.”
Her gaze softens as she watches me put away the lasagna container in the bag. I pull out dessert for last.
“Do you like chocolate?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.
She throws her head back and laughs. “Who doesn’t love chocolate?”
Our eyes meet and hers are filled with joy. I made her happy. Me.
I poke at the chocolate dessert with a fork and then reach across to offer her a bite. Rather than take the fork, she leans forward and wraps her lips around it. Her eyes never leave mine as she pulls away. The whole thing is hot as fuck, and I’m left speechless.
“You’re killing me, babe. Fucking killing me.”
“My turn.”
Who knew being fed cake by a hot ass woman would be so damn thrilling?
I’m falling deep and fast for her.
I’ll have zero hope of ever escaping.
Nor do I want to.