His face turned frightfully solemn. “You really think that?”
Uh oh. She shrugged. “I’ve wondered.”
“Really.” His fingers bit into her flesh, he held her so tight.
“Maybe?” He had her doubting herself. How did he do that?
Dope. He constantly keeps you on edge.
“Trust me, I always know who I’m with when I’m with you.” He kissed her—the softest, sweetest kiss ever. So soft, so sweet, she immediately wanted to weep when he pulled away to murmur against her lips, “Willow.”
He never called her Willow. Ever.
She melted into him like a lovesick idiot, sliding her hands up his chest so she could grip his shoulders. His hands smoothed around her, settling on her backside, and he drew her against his rigid erection. “I thought maybe you were getting sick of not doing anything but staying here.”
“Nick. Every time we’re together, we do lots of stuff.” She hooked her han
ds around his neck and tugged, wanting his mouth on hers again. “Lots of amazing, fun stuff.”
“I forced you to go on these so-called dates,” he said with a chuckle, though his expression was somber. “Sort of fucked up, don’t you think? I mean, what the hell are we doing? Me blackmailing you, our fighting early on…though we’ve been getting along better lately, don’t you think?”
She couldn’t answer, could only stare at his ruggedly handsome face, those pretty blue eyes watching her just as carefully as she watched him.
“I’m an ass for what I’m doing to you,” he admitted, his voice full of remorse.
“It may have started out with you forcing me to spend time with you.” She weaved her fingers into his hair. “But I feel like I’ve been given a whole lot more,” she whispered just before she stood on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his. She couldn’t believe she said that. How she gave away a piece of herself to him with that one small admission. But he was acting odd tonight. Like he needed reassurance. She wanted to give him some, wanted to make him feel better.
“Same here, Will. Damn, same here.” He kissed her, his tongue doing wondrous things as it plumbed the depths of her mouth. Her head spinning, she clung to him, afraid she might slither to the floor if she let go.
She never wanted to let go.
Somehow they ended up in her bedroom, though she still wasn’t quite sure how they made it. He undressed her, his fingers skimming bare skin, teasing her, making her hot for him.
Oh, who was she kidding? She was always hot for him.
Just as quickly, she stripped him, ridding him of everything except his dark blue boxer briefs. The soft cotton strained against his thick thighs, his bulging erection, and she took a step back, admiring this man who’d so effectively immersed himself into her life she didn’t know what would happen when he left her.
Because he would leave—he had before. What they shared between them was temporary. Nick didn’t do permanent.
Neither did she.
“Like what you see?” he drawled. They’d had this conversation in a variety of ways since the first time she said it to him. His words were teasing, his mouth smiling, but his eyes looked dreadfully serious.
She decided to be honest. Tonight didn’t seem like a time for barbed comments and arguments fueled by mounting sexual tension. She was past it. More than anything, she needed to be honest.
“Definitely.” She shoved at his shoulders so he sat on the edge of the mattress, staring up at her, his hands on her waist. “So much for all you can eat shrimp, hmm?”
He laughed and shook his head. “You always keep me on my toes, you know that, Will?”
She smoothed his hair away from his forehead, reveling in its silky softness. How she enjoyed touching him. Looking at him. Teasing him. She was venturing into dangerous territory so easily and ever since they first started this silly date deal, she hadn’t been trying to stop it. “Someone has to.”
Leaning in, he kissed her stomach, his mouth soft. Damp. “You make me never want to leave this bed. Fuck everything else.”
“What about food?”
“I could feast on you.” He rained tiny kisses all over her stomach.
“What about—what about football?” Her breath hitched when he licked her hipbone.