Chapter 4
LEAH
Ifeel like there’s a magnet in my heart pulling my chest toward Kai. My entire body, actually…but that’s far too distracting to think about.
Two hours of conversation fly by in a snap. Light and deep, serious and hilarious. He’s so easy to talk to.
After we split a chocolate brownie covered in raspberries, Kai smiles as he reaches for my hand again. "Normally I would offer to drive you home, but since you live on the other side of the back wall, that seems a bit ridiculous."
We laugh together, and I notice yet another group of people coming in the front door and staring at us strangely. Kai mentioned that he's lived in this small town his whole life. Have they never seen him on a date?
Maybe you’re not the kind of girl they imagine him with, a nasty little voice inside me whispers. Not only am I a total stranger, I'm…well, the term curvy would be the politest. I detest plump. Or plus-sized. Maybe I'll go with just a little round here and there.
As we leave, Kai is staring at me with more hunger in his eyes than when the pizza arrived. I kind of want to invite him back into my RV. But would that be too forward? I do want us to have some private time alone to see where this heat takes us.
"Feel like shaking down dinner by going for a little walk around town?" he asks.
"Sure."
We stroll around the downtown area. Kai points out the library, City Hall, the police station, and a small medic's office run by his cousin Josh. There's also Corina's Coffee, and a quaint department store from another era called Tidy’s.
It's getting a little dark, but I don't think these streets would be dangerous even if I was alone. Everyone we pass nods and greets Kai. I notice that he holds my hand, making it obvious that we’re kind of together.
"Do you know every single person in town?" I ask suddenly.
"Now that I know you, yes."
My goodness. His smile is completely disarming.
Kai turns to me just as we’re stopped in front of City Hall.
"Now that a bunch of people have seen us together, they'll know you're with me.
So they'll be looking out for you." He winks.
"To be fair, everyone looks out for everyone around here anyway.
It's survival as well as being friendly.
But people will look out for you even more now. "
"Because your family has been here forever?"
"Uh… Something like that, yeah."
He slips his arm around me and snuggles me against his broad chest. "Leah," he murmurs against my ear, "we've been chatting for hours, but did I ever tell you how stunningly beautiful you are?"
How the heck is a girl supposed to answer a question like that? I simply shrug, lost in his faint forest scent.
The wind picks up and he holds me closer, stroking first my back, then my hip. There's a slight rasp in his voice as his fingers spread, gripping my hip and trailing the tips of his fingers almost along my ass.
"So sexy,” he breathes, his lips skimming across the crown of my head in a faint kiss. "Beautiful and sexy and smart and sweet. The complete package."
"Are you saying I'm the combo meal of women?"
I didn't mean to blurt it out quite so bluntly, but Kai laughs, squeezing me even tighter. "I forgot to mention funny." His fingers stroke up my side, then move across my back again, giving me shivers. "And also probably getting chilly. Let's get you home."
"Sure."
As we pass the patio of Jim's Pizza, it feels like dozens of pairs of eyes are boring into the side of my head. Kai's arm is around me, and although it’s to keep me warm, he's obviously cuddling me close, too.
"Everyone is staring," I whisper.
“Good." Kai looks down with a glow in his eyes that sends a flood of warmth straight through my chest. "Am I a terrible man for wanting the world to think you're mine already?"
The air sticks in my windpipe for a moment. What kind of person just comes out and says that? Someone who's incredibly confident about what he wants, that’s who. I just can't understand why he would want me.
"Honestly? I don't even know."
We come to a stop in front of his truck, then he reaches into the back to pick up a tool belt. "Is it okay if I fix that shelf in your kitchen?" he asks. "When I borrowed those books for a laptop stand, I noticed it was wobbling."
"Oh! Sure. Thank you."
On the way to my RV, I begin to laugh.
Kai smiles. "What?"
"You have everything in your truck. A suit to change into. Tools. What else?"
"Top-secret stuff, obviously," he shrugs as I unlock the door. "Breath mints. Clean underwear in case I get rained on."
We laugh together as we go into my home on wheels, then I quickly clear the shelf. It takes him a whole three minutes to tighten everything and add two more screws.
"Dammit," he mutters, looking down at his stuff set on the table. "I was supposed to wear that. Women love a man in a tool belt, right?"
I giggle, wondering if he can hear my heart hammering in this cramped room. His warmth and sweetness seem to take up all available space.
Kai straightens up, looming over me. "Are you free to check a splash meter tomorrow afternoon?"
"I don't have a clue what that is, but yes."
"Great. I'll pick you up around one. Will you be done work by then?"
"Sure. I rarely have a tight deadline. My clients always send me stuff in plenty of time, thank goodness."
His strong arms wrap around me again, pulling me close. This time his warmth goes straight down my center and pools between my legs. I can feel his entire hot, hard body against mine, and wonder if he's thinking the same thing I am.
Kai takes a quick step back, then kisses my forehead. "See you tomorrow." He leaves and I lock the door behind him, a little let down that the evening ended so abruptly.
Then my phone beeps.
Kai: I wanted to kiss you good night so badly.
Why didn't you, then?
Kai: I felt like I was crowding you in your space. Also, I'm not sure if it's too soon and I can't risk scaring you away.
You're not scary.
Kai. Good. Open the door?
I fling the door wide and crash directly into his waiting arms. This time he doesn't hesitate, kissing me with a confident power that makes the backs of my knees tingle.
His lips brand mine, then part them, inhaling me as his hands roam all over my body, finding every sensitive spot. The small of my back. The curve where my hip meets my waist. Up my ribs, just below my breasts.
"I can stop if you—"
"Don't stop."
We both inhale sharply as his hand skims up, then slips down the front of my dress, straight into my bra. I didn't realize my nipples were puckered so tightly until his thumb circles one and our kiss deepens. It’s as if a switch has been flipped.
"So sexy." His deep voice has turned darker. Hungrier. "Leah, you don't know what you do to me."
When my weight shifts from foot to foot I gasp, realizing what he's talking about. I can tell exactly what I'm doing to him. There's a firm…ridge…branding my hip through his dress pants. He tries to move away, but I grab his back, clutching him even closer.
"I'm glad to know you want me too," he murmurs thickly, lifting me, then turning me so my back is flat against the wall of the RV.
The full body make-out is revving up my heart rate, and my brain feels like it's short-circuiting.
Kai doesn't hold back, caressing, stroking, teasing, molding our mouths together as if he never wants to leave.
As if he could stay here in the parking lot crushing my body against the side of the vehicle for days.
His fingers spear through the back of my hair, tilting my head slightly as he gives me another kiss, softer this time.
"Leah." Even the breathy way he says my name sends prickles of lust up my inner thighs. I've never been so aware of every inch of my body until this very second.
“Yeah?"
"I don’t want to, but I one hundred per cent need to leave now. I'll see you tomorrow, though." He swallows, taking a step back. "You should know I'll be thinking about you all night, beautiful."
His piercing gaze burns into mine until I'm not sure whether I have the strength to get inside. He waits until the door locks behind me, then I hear him walk away.
How…what…huh?
I was just supposed to be driving through. Cruising around and getting a taste for the scenery up here on a little-known mountain.
I promised myself ages ago that I would never get stuck in a small town. Now I'm trying to imagine staying here for a few weeks.
Long enough, at least, for us to explore this incredible lust that we’re creating in each other.