25. Shiloh #2
He chuckles, and the vibration of his laugh makes my bones shake.
His large hands turn me to face him before lifting me onto the banister. I grab his shoulders to steady myself and lock my ankles at his back.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs.
And I know in my gut. In my heart. He does. He won’t let me fall.
We’re eye to eye with the help of the railing. “I know this is our first date and you’re supposed to wait until after the meal to kiss the girl, but…”
I grin and tilt my chin up. “What are you waiting for, sheriff?”
He huffs, amused, and slips a hand to the back of my neck and at the base of my spine before pressing his mouth to mine.
I sigh into the kiss, and it feels like relief. He lifts the pressure off everything. Maybe even gravity because I feel like I’m floating.
“You’re so demanding,” he says between kisses.
I smile and kiss him again. “I don’t know why you keep pretending you don’t like it.”
He shakes his head and sweeps his mouth over mine. It’s not rushed. He’s tender and gentle, and it makes the heat pooling in my belly turn to magma. It’s about to burn right through me.
The tip of his tongue grazes mine, making me shiver, and he releases my mouth as he presses warm lips to my cool skin.
“I need to check the steaks,” he murmurs.
“I swear I have the worst luck on the planet,” I mumble.
Ledger chuckles and helps me down. “I don’t know how flipping steaks and eating good food is bad luck.”
“Well, it’s definitely something.”
Ledger opens the lid and flips the steaks. “Or you’re just terribly impatient,” he says, looking at me as he shuts the lid and adjusts the temperature.
“And maybe you’re too easily distracted?” I toss back.
His stern gaze levels completely on me, and I straighten. Ledger’s full attention is nothing short of overwhelming. He’s the first sip of whiskey and the perfect finish all in the same look.
He stalks over to me and presses a hand between my shoulder blades, hauling me to his mouth. “Trust me, Shy, I’m perfectly capable of focusing on what matters.”
A rush of air evacuates my lungs, and they struggle to inhale. His thumb brushes over my pulse, and my thighs clench.
“I’m not so sure you can.”
Ledger throws his head back in a shout of laughter, and I can’t help but smile as his chest shakes with laughter. It’s contagious, it’s beautiful. I want to hear it over and over again.
Then his expression sobers, and his brows scrunch together, palming my cheeks, and kisses me again, as if he needs my mouth against his.
Leaning his forehead against mine, he says, “I’ll do a hell of a lot more than that.
I’ll show it to you because I’m a firm believer in backing up words with action. ”
“I hope so,” I whisper.
He searches my eyes for a second before releasing me and taking the steaks off the hot grill.
He takes them inside, and I spin around, soaking up the scenery.
I need a minute to steady myself because he tilts my world.
He throws me off the axis I’ve been on, and everything is tilted, but in reality, it’s all straightening.
Balance is coming back. Foundations, stability, they’re being built.
I glance at the glass door, and Ledger is standing by the island, watching me with curious eyes.
It’s as if he hears the thoughts in my mind.
My heart picks up, my skin prickles.
He’s the one building them for me, for us.
A cross between bone-shaking bewilderment and burning need consumes every part of my being.
I don’t know what our future holds. I don’t know if he really wants one with me, even though we’re already married and he says he’s serious about me.
Maybe it’s dramatic, but he’s ruined me for all other men, and he’s barely touched me. A seed of doubt settles in the back of my mind, but I shake its roots loose.
My chest gets warm, feels heavy. His curious gaze turns predatory as he stalks toward me.
Somehow the air thickens.
He seems to sense the change, and I’m glued to the floor as he prowls toward me.
The door flings open, and I wince as it hits the house, bouncing against the frame.
Steaks forgotten, the right order of things flew out the window.
Ledger stands in front of me, his body practically vibrating. His hands fist, and relax as he gazes down at me.
He’s waiting for me.
He’s waiting for permission.
I know he wanted to take this slow, and realistically I knew that was the right thing.
In fact, I told myself I wanted to wait until the right man came along.
One I can see myself walking down the aisle too.
The man I can see holding our children. I decided I was happy to wait for the one I can see forever with.
And I would have never guessed, and I’m not ready to tell him, but I already walked down the aisle to him. I can see it with Ledger.
I can see a future that’s stable, safe, a place to grow. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.
He takes a step closer, reaching for my hand. Our chests bump with short, sharp inhales.
The tension is so thick I feel like I’m swimming.
He lifts my hands between us and kisses my knuckles on each.
Heat pools in my belly, melting over me like warm honey.
Then he places my hands around his neck and wraps his arms around me before dipping his head to mine.
The kiss rebalances my soul. All of him complements all of me.
Two pieces of a single whole.
It’s like stepping into a river and slipping beneath its surface, deeper than you thought. Surprise, relief, peace, fall over me as his mouth explores mine.
I moan into his mouth, gripping the back of his neck, and he squeezes me harder.
He groans, grabbing my thigh, exposed by the slit in my dress, pulling me tighter.
Then, all in one motion, Ledger untangles himself from me and stoops down, throwing me over his shoulder.
I shriek in surprise, and his one hand squeezes my thigh as he steps through the door and closes it behind him.
He heads straight down the hall to his room.
Ledger kicks the door closed, sets me on my feet, and spins us around so my back is against the door. I gasp and he claims it.
Our teeth click as his tongue seeks mine, and my heart beats so fast blood rushes in my ears. He presses me against the wood with his strong body, stooping down sightly as he trails his lips over my collarbone, while his hands slide under the hem of my dress, gliding up my thighs to my hips.
I sigh, pulling the string to release the back, and drag my fingers through his hair as he dips his nose into my cleavage and breathes me in. He groans and continues pulling my dress up.
He stops short of my bra and looks me in the eye. “Shy, are you sure?”
I know it doesn’t make sense too many, but it makes sense to me, and it only has to make sense to him too. I have real feelings for him, and they’ve only gotten deeper, more profound, more earth-shattering.
I’ve learned my lessons. I’m not diving in headfirst.