Chapter Fourteen
Rome
Josie stayed tucked against my back the whole ride home with her arms wrapped around my waist and her helmet resting against my shoulder.
Every now and then I felt her shift, getting more comfortable, and every damn time I caught myself smiling. I never smiled this much. I blamed her.
The roads were empty this late. Main Street had long since gone dark, and the neighborhoods we passed were quiet except for the occasional porch light left on for someone coming home late.
I took the long way again but I wasn’t ready for the night to end.
That realization sat heavy in my chest.
Because usually I liked endings. Liked going home alone and liked my quiet house and my own company.
Tonight... Tonight I wanted another hour.
Maybe two.
Hell, maybe forever.
I shut that thought down immediately.
Forever was a big word, and I didn’t do big words.
I parked in Josie’s driveway and killed the engine.
For a second neither of us moved, then Josie groaned. “My butt is asleep.”
I barked out a laugh. “That’s the first thing you say?”
“It’s important information.”
I shook my head and climbed off the bike.
The porch light illuminated the driveway, casting soft yellow light across the front yard.
I held out my hand, and Josie took it. She swung her leg over the bike and immediately wobbled.
I caught her around the waist.
“Told you my butt was asleep.”
“That’s not a sentence I expected to hear tonight.”
She laughed, and I kept my arm around her as we walked toward the house.
It was after two in the morning, and her eyes were a little sleepy. Her makeup had faded, and a few strands of hair had escaped her ponytail. She leaned into my side without even thinking about it.
And Christ, that did something to me.
Something warm. Dangerous.
I tightened my arm around her shoulders.
Josie sighed. “That was fun.”
“Yeah?”
“The most fun.”
I glanced down at her. “Only the most?”
She laughed softly. “Top notch.”
“High praise.”
“It is.”
We made it to the porch steps, and Josie climbed them slowly.
“That was only my second first date,” she confessed.
I blinked. “What?”
“My second first date.”
I stared at her. “How the hell have you only been on two first dates?”
She unlocked the front gate leading to the porch. “My first first date ended with me marrying him.”
I winced.
“You didn’t really look around, did you?”
“Right?” she laughed. “My standards were in the dirt back then.”
“And now me?”
She looked up at me with a sleepy smile on her face. “And now you.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe you married the first guy you dated.”
Josie shrugged. “A girl like me doesn’t get a lot of choices.”
I stopped walking. “What the fuck does that mean?”
She turned toward me and motioned vaguely at herself. “A girl like me.” She smiled like it was obvious.
And suddenly I was pissed at every asshole who’d ever made her think she was anything less than gorgeous.
I stepped closer. “Says who?”
She laughed. “The mirror. You’d have to be blind to not see what I am, Rome.”
I stared at her. Really stared.
Red shirt hugging her curves. Jeans molded to her hips. Bright eyes. Soft cheeks.
The woman was sexy as hell.
“Sexy as hell?” I offered.
She burst out laughing. “You might want to check into getting glasses, handsome.”
I shook my head. “I see just fine.”
“You absolutely do not.”
I stepped closer again. Close enough that she tipped her head back to look at me. “I don’t know your ex.”
Her smile faded.
“But I know he fumbled you big time.”
Josie rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure my ex would tell you he upgraded a ton.”
The words hit me like a punch. Not because I believed them, but because she did. I hated that some idiot cheated on her and left behind enough damage that she still thought another woman was somehow better.
Nope, not having it.
Josie turned toward the front door, pulled out her keys, and unlocked it. She looked back at me. “Thanks for tonight.” Like she was about to walk away. Like she was going to say something like see you tomorrow and head inside carrying all that bullshit she’d just said with her.
Absolutely not.
I grabbed her arm gently, my fingers wrapping around the soft fabric of her sleeve, and turned her toward me. Her eyes went wide, darkening in the dim light, and I didn’t give her a chance to hesitate. I pulled her against me, her body fitting flush against mine like she was made to be there.
Then I kissed her. I felt the moment she decided not to push me away, the tension draining from her shoulders as she leaned in instead of pulling back.
I slowed, tasting her, learning the shape of her mouth against mine. She was warm and sweet and tentative at first, then eager, then desperate.
Josie gasped, the sound vibrating against my lips, and I swallowed it whole. Then she melted.
Every damn time. It didn’t matter how many times I kissed her; she always went pliant in my arms, always surrendered to it like this was the first time, and she was still shocked by how good it felt.
I framed her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing along her jaw, feeling her pulse hammering beneath my palms. Her skin was fever-hot, and her breath came in shallow bursts that I chased with my mouth.
I kissed her until she stopped thinking. I felt it happen, the moment her mind went quiet, and she was only sensation, only need, only the slide of my tongue against hers and the pressure of my body holding her up.
Until I stopped thinking, too, and there was only small desperate sounds she made when I angled her head and went deeper.
All that existed was her mouth against mine and the soft, broken sound she made when I pulled her closer,
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing harder, our foreheads touching, her lips swollen and slick and impossibly tempting. I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to never stop.
Josie’s eyes were wide.
I rested my forehead against hers. “You don’t get to walk away from me after saying some bullshit like that.”
Her brows lifted. “I don’t even remember what I said.”
“That upgraded crap.”
She looked away.
I tipped her chin back. “Look at me.” I waited until she looked at me. “I’m gonna make you see what I see.”
Her expression softened. “Doubt it.”
I almost argued and told her exactly what I saw.
Beautiful. Funny. Strong. Kind. The kind of woman who built an entire life out of heartbreak and still smiled at strangers. The kind of woman who made me want things I’d spent years avoiding.
But, I stopped because I didn’t think words would convince her.
Consistency would.
Showing up would.
Time would.
So instead, I kissed the tip of her nose, which made her laugh. “I’ll prove it.”
“Sure,” she drawled.
I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t believe me, but you will.”
She thinned her lips. “Try your best, handsome. We’ll see.”
I stepped back and tipped my head to the door. “Lock the door.”
Josie blinked. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “Fine. Goodnight, Rome.”
Christ. The way she said my name like it belonged to her already.
I shoved my hands into my pockets before I did something stupid. “Night, Josie.”
She stepped inside, closed the door, and I waited.
A second later the lock clicked into place.
Only then did I turn around.
I headed back toward my bike, and all I could think about was Josie standing on her porch believing she was somebody’s second choice.
Not a fucking chance.
I swung my leg over the bike and looked back at the house one last time. The porch light was still on and a shadow moved behind the curtains.
Josie.
I smiled because I already knew something she didn’t.
I was going to do everything in my power to make sure Josie Jensen knew exactly how special she was. And I wasn’t giving up until she believed it.