Southern Attraction (Southern Heart 3)

“I’m surprised you caught that much,” she laughs.

“What?” I play dumb. I know exactly what she’s talking about. As soon as I saw her and realized she was actually here, I had to have her.

“You know what.” She playfully pats my chest.

“I’m sorry.” I shouldn’t have attacked her. I should’ve made sure she wanted this as much as I did.

“For what? Giving me the best orgasm of my life? I don’t want apologies, I want promises.”

I’m about to promise her the world, anything to stay like this with her forever, when she continues.

“I need you to promise that there’s more where that came from. Please don’t tell me that things go downhill from there.”

Gently I smack her on the ass. “I’ve got you covered, beautiful. Now tell me what’s going on.”

So she does. I keep running my hands through her silky strands of hair while she tells me her news.

“So wait. You’re here until the wedding?” I ask her.

“Yeah, I mean, I think so. I need to check with Whit to make sure she’s okay with it.”

“Why?”

“I kind of need a place to stay.”

I hold her a little tighter. “You’re where you belong,” I say, kissing the top of her head.

Her big green eyes look up at me. “You’re okay with that? With me staying here until then?”

“Jamie, I already told you I wanted you here next week.”

“I know that, but this is a change in plans. I didn’t want to assume.”

“Darlin,’ when it comes to me and you, assume all you want. Know this: I always want you as close to me as possible. Hell yes, I want you here. You can stay as long as you want—forever if I had my way.”

“Forever is a long-ass time, Michael.”

“Not long enough.” I kiss her again.

“Shit!” She jumps out of bed. “I need to call my parents before they send out a search party. You”—she points at me as she fumbles with my shirt I discarded earlier—“are a distraction.”

I watch her as she runs out of the room, her hair a mess from the fact that I can’t seem to keep my hands out of it. My shirt hangs off her and she’s never looked sexier to me.

A few minutes later, she’s walking back into the room. “Hold up,” I say as she starts to climb back into bed.

“What?” she asks. I can see the confusion in her eyes.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.”

She gives me a blinding smile and rolls those pretty green eyes before stripping off my shirt and climbing back into bed.

“Much better. Now, you and me, two weeks… or longer. Are you in?”

“Yeah,” she says softly. “I’m in, country.”

I capture her lips with mine and give her a repeat performance. I did promise her, after all.

As I lie in his arms, I stare at the ceiling. The sun is just now starting to rise and yet I’m wide awake. Yesterday comes rushing back to me. All I wanted to do was see Mike. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me and tell me everything was going to be okay. Sure, I knew my job was coming to an end, but it’s still a chapter of my life that’s changing. I’ve never been much on change, happy with where life was taking me. I didn’t expect the welcoming I got, though honestly I don’t know what I expected. I was sure he wouldn’t push me away, but the relief, the need, that was unexpected.