Chapter 3
Tiago
Reagan is so adorable. It’s making my cock painfully hard. I watched her through the window of her shop for a few minutes before entering. She was totally organized and level-headed. She didn’t start fidgeting until I stepped inside.
I discombobulate her, and I’m not sorry about it. I love that she’s off-kilter. It means I’m affecting her. And she’s sure as fuck affecting me. I’m just hiding it better.
Reagan rubs her thighs over and over as I follow the directions on the GPS. It doesn’t take long for us to reach our destination. I park her car and turn toward her again.
She swallows. “This feels like a date.”
“It is a date,” I confirm. “It’s your last first date.” I lean forward and give her a quick kiss. I don’t linger. I just peck her lips before I turn to climb out of the car. After I grab her backpack and settle it on my shoulder, I help her out of her side of the car, lock it, and pocket the keys.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Tiago?”
“It means we’re on a date, and after this date, we’ll go on another date tomorrow.
And the day after that, we’ll have our third date.
And so on and so on until they really aren’t dates anymore.
Until we’re obviously a couple who sees each other every day.
” I take her hand and head toward what is obviously the beginning of a path.
There’s a map next to the trail that indicates a five-mile loop, so I’m sure this is what my girl planned for us.
“You’re so confident,” she argues. “What if we don’t like each other?”
“We like each other,” I say as I stare at the map. I’d rather stare at her, but I kind of like that she thinks I’m aloof and cocky about this. About us . It’s cute.
“Tiago…” She jerks her hand free from mine and sets her palms on her hips. When I turn, I find her glaring at me. “Slow down.”
I look at my feet. “We haven’t even started walking yet. Am I going too fast?”
She rolls her pretty blue eyes, trying to remain serious, but she can’t stop herself from giggling.
“Ha ha.” She cocks out a hip. “You can’t just declare we’re a couple.
We don’t know each other. You hired me to take you on a hike.
Maybe we could talk during the hike. Maybe we’ll find out we have some things in common.
Maybe afterward, you might ask me out on a date. ”
I shrug. “Why ignore the obvious?” I know I’m being extremely dominant, but it’s too easy with her.
She likes it. I’ve never met a woman I felt so connected to.
I’m starting to wonder why I ever went on a second date with anyone else.
And I’m really wondering why on Earth I ever dated one for three years.
Never once in all that time did I feel one-tenth of what I feel with Reagan.
I just know.
I owe Ryder an apology. This must be what he felt when he met Claire. I’ve been giving him shit for three weeks over his caveman behavior. Now I get it.
She shakes her head, making her braids swing back and forth. She’s got this adorable Little House on the Prairie look going today. Last time I saw her, she only had one braid. This time, she has two of them tucked behind her ears.
She looks young like this. Really young. I keep reminding myself that she is twenty-six. Not so young. Old enough. It’s just that I’m so much older.
“Tiago… Be reasonable for a moment.”
I’m not sure who she’s trying to convince. Me or her?
I grab her braids and gently tug her forward until she’s an inch from me. Her chest is rising and falling heavily as she tips her head back to meet my gaze. “Do you normally kiss boys on the first date?” I ask.
She licks her lips and lowers her gaze to mine. “No.”
Why does that make my cock jump to attention?
“I mean, I can’t remember. It’s been a long time since I went on a first date.”
“How long?”
She lifts her gaze to mine again. She bites her bottom lip, hesitating.
I lift a brow, waiting.
She sighs. “If you’re looking for a woman with a lot of first dates in her background, you’re going to need to find someone else.
I went on my only first date during my freshman year of high school, and no, I didn’t let him kiss me.
I didn’t let him kiss me on the second date either.
I made him wait about six months. We were fourteen.
And then I didn’t let him in my pants. I’m not sure if he really liked me or not.
Maybe he dated me because he thought I was pretty.
Maybe he stayed with me through most of high school because there weren’t many other options.
Maybe it was just expected. Everyone thought we were destined to get married.
But it turned out Greg eventually ran out of patience and slept with Tammy.
She was a junior. She got pregnant, and now the two of them have four kids together.
Greg works at the grocery store. Tammy stays home. They aren’t happy.” Reagan smirks.
I laugh. Hard. It takes me a minute to stop. Her story was filled with so much emotion. “But you’re not bitter about it, right?”
She shakes her head. “Fuck, no. I was humiliated in the middle of my senior year, but my grandfather set me straight really fast. Greg wasn’t worth my time. I’m glad I didn’t give him my virginity.”
I’m grinning. I’m glad she didn’t, either. But… “Wait. That was your only first date?”
“Yes, smart guy. I had big plans. They didn’t involve getting pregnant like half the girls I know who spread their legs for the first guy to smile at them.
I held out for so long that I heard every girl’s story in the locker room.
It didn’t seem to me that any of them were actually enjoying being fucked by a teenage boy, so I didn’t jump on that bandwagon. ”
I have questions. So many questions. I release her braids, take her hand, and angle us toward the path. We might as well start hiking while I grill her. “What did you do after high school?”
“I got my business degree. I couldn’t afford to go away to college, but I found an online school. My grandfather used every bit of his meager savings to pay for it. I worked, too. I started taking visitors on hiking tours when I was nineteen.”
I glance at her. She’s so passionate. “Hiking is your passion?”
“Yes. Nature. Hiking. Rock climbing. Anything athletic and outdoors really.”
“So, you put your love of the outdoors and your degree together and opened a business.” She’s amazing.
“Yes.”
“But no more men?”
She shudders. “Have you seen the slim pickings in this town?”
I chuckle. “To be honest, I haven’t paid attention to any of the men, single or otherwise. I’ve only seen one woman, too. After I met her, I stopped looking.”
She hesitates for a moment and then faces me. “You’re so cheesy.”
I thread our fingers together and shrug. I don’t care if the entire town thinks I’m cheesy as long as I get the girl.
We walk in silence for a few minutes until I finally look at her again. I need to know definitively if what she’s alluding to is true. “You’ve dated no other men?”
She draws in a slow breath, not meeting my gaze. “No.”
“Have you hooked up with anyone?”
She yanks her hand free of mine, stops walking, and cocks that hip again. This time, she crosses her arms, pushing her breasts high on her chest. “I have not hooked up with anyone , Tiago. I’m twenty-six years old, and I have not had sex. Happy? That’s what you want to know, right?”
I did want to know, but I don’t like how defensive she is about it. “Reagan…”
She shakes her head. “I’m sure I seem like a child to you.
I practically am a child to you. I’m a small-town girl.
I’ve been here all my life. I never knew my father.
My mother left me with my grandfather and took off.
She never came back. My grandfather is a wonderful man.
He did the best he could raising me on his own.
I owe him my life. I would never disrespect him by acting like a fool.
So, if you see me and think I’m some dumb unattached girl you can fuck around with, you’re wrong. ”
Wow . Now I’m in love. It’s going to take some work convincing her, but I’m up to the challenge. I take my time stepping closer to her, giving her a chance to step back, but she doesn’t.
Reagan is strong-willed and spunky. She’s sexy as fuck when she’s all riled up. She’s cute and fun, and I’m going to love going head-to-head with her for the rest of my life.
I lift my hand to her face, cup it, and gently stroke her cheek with my thumb. “Thank you for sharing all of that with me, baby. I would never disrespect you or your grandfather. I can’t wait to meet him. I like him already.”
She holds my gaze. “I’m not going to sleep with you.”
I smile. “I’m not even going to ask. I don’t need you to sleep with me to figure out we’re perfect for each other.”
Her eyes widen.
I shrug. “I think I’ll make you wait until our wedding night.”
She gasps. “You can’t be serious.”
“About which part?” I tease.
“All of it.”
“Dead serious. I didn’t realize how important your virginity was to you until now, but I’ll respect it. I can keep my cock in my pants until you meet me at the altar.”
She starts panting. Thank fuck. I know I’ve rattled her but in a good way.
“You are serious,” she murmurs.
“Totally.” I slide my hand down to hers, thread our fingers together, and nod toward the path. “It’s going to take us a very long time to hike five miles at the rate we’re going, baby.”