Page 71 of Somewhere You Belong

“And I’m sorry.” He blows out a breath before reaching for a piece of the sandwich as well. “You make me a little irrational, but I meant what I said in the park. I’m trying to get you to see that I’m more than just the asshole who wants your house.”

I finish chewing and then reach for a bottle of water, twisting off the top as the storm picks up outside, rattling the walls. “My life would be so much simpler if I didn’t inherit this house, Dallas,believeme. If I hadn’t…”

“Then you wouldn’t be here,” he finishes for me, causing me to freeze and slowly gaze up at him again. “You would have never come to Carrington Cove, Willow. We wouldn’t be at each other’s throats, or in this closet together right now. And yeah, if you weren’t here, it would be easier to get what I want, but it seems that has changed.”

“What’s changed?”

“What I want,” he answers resolutely.

He takes my sandwich and his, places them back in the box, and pushes it out of the way before sliding closer to me, making my pulse pick up speed as I wonder what he’s going to do next.

“This is a bad idea,” I mutter, my skin practically vibrating from his proximity.

“How so?” He trails one finger up my forearm, making my breath hitch. A smatter of goosebumps breaks out all over my skin, but my eyes are firmly locked on his, waiting to see what happens next.

“I just…it’s complicated, Dallas…this thing between us.” I pull my arm away from his touch and wave my hand back and forth in the miniscule space between our bodies.

I swear I see his eyes darken. “It doesn’t have to be. Why don’t we just go by what we want and how we feel and forget all the rest for now?”

His solution sounds so simple, and yet it’s almost as if I can see the future—the feelings that will undoubtedly develop and the torment they’ll cause when he finds out the truth.

Feelings are messy, pesky little bastards.

It’s why I avoid mine.

Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that, Willow.

But then his fingertips brush the hair from my face, his thumb pulls down my bottom lip and glides down the column of my throat, and as his hand drifts over my collarbone and down my arm to grip my waist, I feel my entire body surrender to him, and my mind is too slow to protest.

I want him.

I shouldn’t.

But I do.

And I’m so verytired of fighting it.

“Fuck it.” Before my mind can catch up and talk me out of it, I grip the back of his head and pull him toward me, smashing our lips together, the growl that travels up his throat spurring me on.

It feels as if this kiss erases everything—the bickering, the arguments, the jokes and low blows, and even the eminent truth hovering over us like the storm.

But its promise is also raging like the storm outside—wild passion, intense pressure, and rapid release of the torment we’ve both been under since I got here.

Dallas wastes no time taking control of the kiss, stroking his tongue against mine, burying his hands in my hair, crushing me to his chest and refusing to let me go. It’s like he’s claiming me with this one kiss, and I want him to own every part of me until there’s nothing left.

I surrender willingly, practically climbing up his body, wrapping my arms around his neck, meeting his lips and tongue for every stroke, feeling like I can’t taste enough of him.

Dallas groans as I straddle his lap and rub my pussy along his crotch, run my fingers through his damp tresses, and claw at his shoulders.

We continue to maul each other for who knows how long before he finally releases my lips and stares into my eyes, each of us fighting for air.

“Willow…” Thunder cracks again and a loud crash echoes outside, making me jump in his lap. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He wraps his arms around me, holding me to his bare chest as I rest my forehead on his shoulder and catch my breath, both from the kiss and the scare.

“I’m glad you’re here. I’m sorry I was stubborn about letting you in, but now I’mreallyglad that you’re here, Dallas,” I mumble against his shoulder.

I feel his lips hit my temple. “Me too, Goose.”

I outwardly smile at the nickname for the first time. “So, what happens now?” I lift my head to find him staring at me, his stormy eyes from before warmer now somehow, brighter and almost ethereal.

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