"You're not too bad yourself, mister." I smiled and let my eyes move down to take in how good his jeans fit him. The nice-sized bulge at the front of them had my stomach tightening. If the night allowed for it, I was done playing hard to get. I wanted to feel his skin against mine before I lost the chance. Something told me that he wasn't playing for keeps anymore. Something had changed – shifted. I wasn't sure what, but it was major.
I got into the truck and buckled up as he stood there, watching me like he had that first day in the library.
"What?" I reached down and touched the side of his face. "Why do I feel like this is our last date?"
"No clue." He took my hand and kissed my palm several times before touching the side of my neck and pulling me into a long, hot kiss. I started to get out of the truck, but he pulled back and laughed. "You're a bad girl all of a sudden?"
"If it means you not letting me go before we ever get this thing started, then yes."
Sadness brushed across his features, but he forced a smile and closed my door. I waited until he got into the truck to unbuckle and move to the center seat.
"You want to grab some hot dogs from the grocery store?" He glanced over at me.
"Yeah. Anything you want." I slid my hand down his thigh as his breath caught in his chest.
"Val." He took my hand and clasped it in his. "Not while I'm driving."
"Really? You seem like the kind of guy who would be more than happy to have me touch you while you drive." I pressed my lips to his shoulder, expecting a sexy comeback.
"Why is that? Because I'm a whore? Because us poor folk have no respect for ourselves?" His tone was less than pleasant, and the sound of him verbally biting at me was a little more than I could take.
Tears filled my eyes, and I moved back as if scalded.
"No, because...never mind." I moved to the other side of the truck and buckled up again.
"I'm sorry. I've been through some crazy shit today, and-"
"And instead of including me in it, you're shutting me out. I get it." I shrugged and wiped at my eyes. "I'm not feeling this anymore. I'm sorry to be a pain in the ass, but can you just drop me off at the next gas station and I'll catch a ride home."
He jerked the truck over to the side of the road and unbuckled. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the last thing I was going to do was offend him again by flinching or appearing scared of him. Though I maybe should have been, I wasn't.
"Fuck this." He moved toward me and pulled my seatbelt off before pulling me into his lap. He forced me to straddle him as he lifted his hips a little and worked to consume my mouth.
I wanted to fight against him, to slap him instead of give in to him, but I couldn't force myself to do anything but cling to him and
give every ounce of passion that I had to give.
"I want you so goddamn bad," he grumbled against my lips as his hands moved up my waist and cupped my breasts.
I moaned and pressed into his hold as I rocked my hips forward to get the full effect of his erection against my center.
"Me, too," I whimpered softly as I tugged at his shirt.
"Not here, baby. Not now. Tonight." He ran his fingers through my hair as he pulled me down for another long hot kiss.
I melted against him and sucked on his tongue as we breathed each other in and fogged up the windows of the old truck. I was no longer sure what I was mad about by the time he pulled me back.
"You're getting on my damn nerves with your bipolar shit today." I poked him in the chest. "Hurt me again and I'm outta here. I have enough people standing in line to slap me down. I don't need it from you, too."
"Never." He moved to put me back in the seat and pressed himself against me in what should have been an awkward position, but it wasn't. He pressed himself between my legs and rubbed the thickness of his body against mine as he licked and nipped at my mouth.
"Fuck," I groaned and arched my back, needing more of me pressed to him.
"God, Val. You're everything I want. I need you beneath me tonight." His tongue ran up the side of my neck, and I cried out again.
Every wet dream I'd ever had could possibly come true with the man above me, and yet I was scared for both of us. We had yet to define our relationship, and yet could easily find ourselves set on a path that could end in forever being spent together. I could see it in my mind's eye. It was the first time I could ever imagine being with anyone for any length of time.
He kissed my lips once more before crawling back into his seat. After dropping his head back, he let out a long sigh only to take another shaky breath and do it again.