Clark
I had the distinct impression that I’d just made a huge mistake. One minute I’d been taking a shower so that I could get the scent of her off my skin, and the next she was standing there in the doorway thrusting her wrist toward my face. And then I’d just grabbed her. That was the part where it all went wrong. She’d come to me for answers. Not for me to fuck her.
I’d moved too fast, and now I regretted it.
I didn’t reg
ret the sex. The sex was perfect. But I did regret doing it at the wrong time, mainly because I had a feeling that she wasn’t ready for it. She wasn’t ready for what I wanted.
“My legs are still shaking,” she said quietly. It was a vulnerable thing for her to say, and her confession settled warm and soft inside me. Warm and soft and brutal all at once. I chose to say nothing in response, although my legs still felt like jelly too. I was weak in the knees over a woman. For fuck’s sake.
She jerked a thumb toward the hallway. “I’m going to go and get dressed.”
“Put on something you can run in,” I called out.
She leaned back so I could see her face in the doorway. “Why?”
“I thought maybe we could go to the gym.” I patted my middle. “I’m getting soft.”
Her brow quirked. “Nothing felt soft to me.” Then she grinned and disappeared down the hallway, leaving me a puddle of goo on the floor.
I was gone for her. I’d known it before the sex. I’d known it yesterday when we were playing paintball. She’d gone after me with such enthusiasm, and she had no remorse when she beat me. In fact, she’d gloated, and I’d loved every second of it. I’d loved not letting her win but having her do it anyway. She’d taken premeditated risks, and they’d paid off.
And I was taking a premeditated risk now. And I was certain it would pay off.
She came back around the corner, her hair pulled into a ponytail, and she wore a t-shirt and pair of tight, stretchy pants. I let my gaze drag slowly up and down her body.
She laid a hand on her stomach. “Is this okay?” she asked, glancing down at herself.
“You’re so fucking beautiful that you take my breath away.”
She scoffed. “I’m in workout clothes.”
“Crazy, right?” I replied. She picked up a pair of rolled up socks I’d left on the dresser and threw them at my head. I caught them and sat down to put them on my feet. I was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. “You ready?” I asked. I got to my feet.
But suddenly, she took three steps and stopped in front of me. She inhaled deep and long, and then the words rushed past her lips like she’d never be able stop talking, even if she wanted to.
“I don’t know what this thing is that we’re doing, but I know that I like spending time with you. I had a wonderful time on our date last night. It was everything I’d ever hoped a first date could be. And then the movie last night was even better. And I’m still not sure that I like waking up all sticky and sweaty with somebody pressed against me, but I think I can do it if it’s you. It’s you, Will. You make it seem all right. And I know that telling you all this might make me seem weak, but if I didn’t tell you, I’d be the worst kind of simpering female. I’ve never been that. And I’ll never be that. And that seems to be okay with you, so I want to keep being me, and I want to tell you that I have no idea what’s going on. I do, however, like what’s happening.” She stopped and finally took a breath. “I just wanted to say that.”
She took a step back, but I grabbed her elbows and pulled her against me. She gasped, but she didn’t fight me. Instead, she softened, which felt wonderful. She’d once seemed so hard. But she wasn’t. She was tough. There was a huge difference in the two.
I lifted my finger and ran it around the collar of her shirt. “Where are your pearls?”
She looked down, her face coloring ever so slightly. “I took them off.”
“Why did you take them off?” I felt like I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear her say it.
“I didn’t need them anymore.” She lifted her wrist and ran her thumb beneath the bracelet I’d made for her. “Now I understand why Lynn didn’t want to share her necklace with me. Because if anyone ever tried to take this from me, I’d have to kill him.”
“I’m glad you like it.” I leaned down and kissed her, and she kissed me back. Her lips smelled like cherries, and I lifted my head, rubbed my lips together, and licked them. “I’ve spent hours thinking about how you would taste like cherries. But you don’t.”
She laughed. “What do I taste like?”
I couldn’t describe it if I wanted to. She just tasted like Shelly. “Are you ready to go work out?”
She smacked my ass and then walked out of the room.
I pulled my baseball cap down over my forehead and followed her.