Mine… Mine… The word echoes in my ears on every heartbeat. What will it take to make her mine?
I’ve held Drew Harris in my arms so many times, and every time it feels right. She pulls my face into a slow, languorous kiss, and I savor what I can’t yet have. What I have yet to earn.
“I can feel your heart beating,” she whispers against my cheek.
It’s trying to break out of my chest.
“I’ve been dreaming of that for months,” I confess.
“And I came in less than sixty seconds.”
“I came in two.” That makes me laugh.
She laughs, and I slip out of her warmth.
“Shit.” Stepping back, I grip the base of the condom, tie it off and toss it before jerking my pants over my hips.
She goes to the bar, opening her purse, and taking out a thin scrap of red lace. “You’ve changed in the last year.”
She quickly pulls a thong over her hips, shaking her head as she straightens her skirt. I really wish we were alone, in a bedroom, naked…
Instead, I catch her around the waist, tracing a curl off her cheek. “How so?”
“You’re a man now. You’re ready to tell my daddy you don’t give a shit what he thinks.” I love it when she’s sassy, but she’s wrong.
“I do give a shit.”
That makes her frown. “Why?”
Dropping onto the stool, I pull her between my knees. “Because your dad is an important part of your life. I don’t want to fight with him. I want him to like me.”
I want her dad to accept me, but I know he needs a reason. I’ll never forget the way he spoke to me, the way he always looked at me like I was scum under his shoes. Do I blame him?
“If you were my daughter, I’d need a reason.”
“You graduated with honors. You’re going to fight for our country.” She starts to pout. “You’re leaving me again.”
I hate it, too. “It’s the deal I made for college.”
“You could’ve just borrowed the money like everybody else does.” She reaches behind me, over my shoulder, and I kiss her neck, inhaling the scent of flowers on her skin.
“I don’t like being in debt.”
She holds a coaster and a pen. “What guarantee do I have you’ll come back?”
“I’ll come back.”
She writes on the thin cardboard, and I lean forward to read it. The words make me grin, and my eyes go from her slim hand to her shoulder, to her high cheekbones, to…
“You do have a new freckle.” I kiss it on the side of her nose, right beside her eye.
“Sign it.” She holds the pen out to me, but I’m distracted by the amber speck on her cute little face.
“Ned.” I tap it lightly with my fingertip. “Ned the nose freckle.”
Blue eyes roll, and she shakes the pen at me. “I’m not a baby anymore.”
“You are definitely not a baby.” My eyes are hungry, inspecting her gorgeous body.