Page 81 of Love for a Lifetime

Dawson brushed the tip of his nose along the side of hers, and all of the air around them rushed into her lungs. Tilting her chin up, she waited for him to make the first move. Had she been imagining the special treatment he gave her? Was she reading too much into his flirting?

She needed him to show her. He wouldn’t risk their friendship if he wasn’t serious. They were already playing with fire, and there was no going back.

He shifted his hold on her, bringing them closer together. His fingertips trailed from her temple to her jaw before framing her face. “Did you do all this so you could get me alone?”

A laugh burst from her chest, and it was pure freedom. Freedom to be herself. Freedom to play Dawson’s game that drew the fear from her bones. “Did I?” she asked.

His breath was warm against her cheek as his mouth hovered a mere inch from her skin. “If you wanted to kiss me, you should have just asked.”

Oh, now her skin was burning–tingling as if fire danced over it. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Brushing his thumb over her lower lip, he whispered, “May I have this kiss, my queen?”

“Uh-huh.” It was the most ungraceful response, but it was all her mind could conjure at the moment. She was wrapped up in Dawson’s affections–too lost in the fog to find her way out.

His mouth captured hers, stampeding all of her senses. She breathed him in as his lips brushed over hers. Softly, then harder. Trying and failing to contain the years of longing pouring out of them.

He dropped the flashlight and tightened his hold around her waist, dragging her to him as if he could meld them together into one being.

Her hands trailed down his face, over the scruff on his jaw, memorizing the features she’d known for thousands of days. The fear seeped out of her as his lips danced over hers.

This was her Dawson. He always had been.

A knowing settled in her middle as she matched his kiss. This was right, Dawson was different, and everything was about to change. Her world went from black and white to screaming color, and the shadows turned to highlights.

His heavy breaths mingled with the night air as he broke the kiss, only to pepper her with smaller ones–punctuating every one with a silent promise.

He chuckled, and the sound vibrated against her chest. “I thought we were supposed to talk first,” he whispered.

“I don’t know that we’re doing a lot of thinking,” she whispered back.

His thumb brushed over her brow, smoothing the frown lines he couldn’t see in the dark but knew would be there. “Don’t overthink it before you give me a chance, Liv.”

“No, I’m not doing that. It’s just… we do have a lot to talk about.”

He let out a deep exhale and scanned the forest behind her. “Okay, but not here. We need to get to the truck and get back.” Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, he leveled her with a shadowed stare.

Olivia blinked out of her daze and looked around–her eyes adjusting to the dark, jagged lines of the forest. “Yeah, it’s getting a little creepy out here.”

“Let me take you back,” Dawson said, clasping her hand in his.

“No, I’m not chickening out. Just realizing we should have been keeping our eyes peeled for critters out here.”

Dawson lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. The gentleness of his kiss mixed with the strength of his big hand in hers, creating a perfect storm. “You’re the boss.”

Good grief. If she was the boss, they were in trouble. She’d done nothing but make emotionally driven decisions since lunch, and she was walking a metaphorical tightrope.

Dawson picked up the flashlight and kept Olivia close to his side as they walked to the truck. The path was easy enough to follow despite the dark, but nothing was about to tear her away from Dawson’s side. The wilderness was spooky. Wilderness at night was going to leave her paranoid.

They reached the truck and Olivia went to the passenger’s side while Dawson went to the other.

“Which side is it on?” Dawson asked.

“I don’t remember.” She opened the back door, but the cab light didn’t come on. “Shine the light over here.”

Dawson pushed through a few things on the other side of the truck and shone the light on the small space. “Is it in the front?”

“Must be.” She reached for the door and started to close it, but Dawson grabbed for her other hand.

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