Chapter Two #2
“She’s an adult, right? Responsible for her own choices.
” And I really didn’t want to spend any more time on her.
I mean, I hated seeing anyone waste their potential, but I didn’t plan to be friends with her.
In the grand scheme of my life, did she matter?
“Tell me more about these lovely scones. Or muffins. Do you bake muffins, too?”
Lacey’s whole face lit up. “Girl, I bake the best muffins.”
“She really does.” Dan’s chuckle rumbled near my ear, his body shifting away from his friends and toward me.
He grinned at Lacey and filched a spiced pecan from my board.
“Josh left a box in the squad room the other day at shift change. Looked like vultures descending on it. Thought I was going to lose a hand trying to snag my orange-cranberry.”
I leaned my shoulder into his chest. “Oh, well, I’ll need to stop for breakfast two days then, so I can try a scone and a muffin.”
The corners of his mouth tipped higher, pleasure glowing in his dark blue eyes. “I’ll meet you. We can have breakfast together.”
A breathless sensation fluttered in my chest. What this man did to me . . .
I finally pulled in enough oxygen to find my voice. “I’d like that.”
The easy grin spread, and he flexed his fingers on my leg, a light touch that had achy pressure blooming between my thighs.
I pressed them together, trying to soothe the swollen ache, and his gaze dipped to my lap.
His throat bobbed with a hard swallow before his eyes met mine, his pupils wide and dark with sudden arousal.
My mouth dried, the music and chatter dying away in my awareness.
He cleared his throat, rubbing his thumb in a circle on my thigh. “So about me staying the night . . .”
His low murmur slid over me, and I tucked my hair behind my ear, gaze glued to his. I covered his hand with mine.
“I think that’s a great idea,” I whispered and watched that slow, wonderful grin crease his cheeks again.
“Can’t wait to get out of here,” he muttered, leaning back as the server arrived with our entrees and set his steak before him.
A light laugh bubbled up in my throat, a surge of happiness unlike anything I’d experienced with anyone before.
I’d had plenty of boyfriends, men I’d liked and respected, who’d liked and respected me.
But no one who looked at me the way he did, like I was the whole universe wrapped up in one shining package. Sometimes I didn’t know what to do with that, although I loved it.
I felt valued. When I got around to finally finding the guy I would marry, I wanted to feel like this.
Despite his voiced impatience, we lingered over dinner, chatting and enjoying our food.
Despite the shop talk at the beginning of the evening, law enforcement topics remained mostly off the table as we touched on hobbies, movies, music, and even favorite travel destinations.
Occasionally, a certain shrill giggle wafted over us, but I ignored it and the sound never registered with Dan at all.
After dinner, Dan kept me close with a hand at my hip as we said goodbye to the others and walked to his truck.
He opened my door, then leaned in to brush his mouth over mine, lingering a moment so I tasted a hint of coffee and vanilla from his dessert.
My belly fluttered at the slow, easy kiss, the warm spice of his aftershave in my nostrils, the hard arm across my thighs.
I touched his jaw, light stubble brushing my fingertips. “Take me home.”
One corner of his mouth quirked up. “Yes, ma’am.”
At home, I dropped my bag on the small bench in my foyer while he locked the door behind us. Stepping out of my heels, I wiggled my toes against the cool hardwood. Dan’s gaze dropped to the motion, and he scuffed a hand over his nape, muscles flexing in his forearm.
He cleared his throat. “Thank you for letting me stay.”
I melted. No other word existed for the way every muscle in my body unwound like warm, stretched taffy. “I’m glad you’re here.”
His gaze darted to mine. “Yeah?”
I smiled so wide, my cheeks hurt. “Yeah.”
He rubbed his neck again. “I’m glad.”
Planting my palms on the table behind me, I rested on my arms. “So what are we going to do?”
Shoulders taut, he froze, blue eyes wide. “I . . . so, I’ve been reading.”
My belly clenched, low, excitement kicking off within me. I touched the tip of my tongue to the back of my upper teeth. “Really.”
His serious gaze bored into mine. “I want to get it right.”
This time, my heart clenched, a fierce wave of affection for him.
Physical intimacy had come late in our relationship, weeks after it had with other men I’d been with.
I hadn’t questioned his hesitancy and had enjoyed the way the attraction unfolded between us, smoldering and snapping under our interactions for weeks.
Finally, one night after a particularly hot kiss in the cab of his truck, I’d asked when we were going to give in. He’d flushed a fiery red in the muted flow from my porch light and scuffed at his neck.
“Dan?” I reached over and ran a hand over his shoulder.
“I haven’t . . .” He puffed out a breath, then sat up straighter behind the wheel. “I’m a virgin.”
I blinked, surprise shivering through me. “Oh.”
A visible cringe worked over him, and he stared straight ahead, now gripping the steering wheel with both hands. “I get it if it’s a dealbreaker.”
Affection surged through me, and I squeezed his shoulder. “Definitely not a dealbreaker.”
Unexpected maybe, but not a dealbreaker. I eyed his sharp jawline, intrigued that no woman had really had him . . . and he was choosing me.
He darted a glance at me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I shifted to kneel on the seat and leaned toward him, turning his face to mine so I could brush a kiss over his mouth. “Let’s go inside.”
What followed in my bed had been intense, a little awkward, a lot sweet.
Very much like Dan himself.
So the fact he’d been reading and wanted to get it right with me? That didn’t surprise me at all.
My lips parted, my gaze clinging to his. “Show me.”
The tension in his stance deflated into boyish eagerness. “Yeah?”