Page 27 of Sweet Revenge

I shifted my attention so I could look at him. He was close, so close I could feel the heat coming off him and noticed his blue eyes had a little gray in them. “Now talk to me.”

“I don’t think I can do this.” I admitted.

“You can.” he declared adamantly.

“How do you know that?”

His eyes searched mine. “Because I’ve been watching you. You’re smart, you pay attention, you’re strong, and most of all, you’re a survivor.” He reached out and laid his hand along the side of my neck. “There isn’t anything you can’t do.”

Nobody had ever said those things about me. I didn’t feel I was any of those things; how could I after the mess I’d made of my life, after I let someone use me as their punching bag for six years? But if he saw those things in me, then maybe, just maybe I could learn to see them too.

He squeezed my neck gently and leaned in closer. “You with me?”

I stared into his eyes, his faith giving me all the courage I needed. “I’m with you.”

His lips lifted in a small grin. “Then take me for a ride.”

I swallowed hard when my eyes landed on his lips. He looked sexy all the time, but when he grinned, he was distractingly so. I wondered what it would feel like to have all that sexy be mine, to be completely focused on me. A flush worked its way up my neck just thinking about it. Where had that come from? I’d never wanted a man like that. With Snake, it had always been painful and all about him. Most of the time, I wondered why people were so obsessed with sex when, for me, it was just something I had to do to pacify him. I couldn’t help but wonder if it would feel that way with Gunner.

The smile dropped from his lips, and my eyes flicked up to see the intensity in his own. “You’re gonna need to drive, baby, before I do something you’re not ready for.”

I let the weight of his words hit me and jerked back. I’d wanted him to kiss me, he knew that, and it seemed like he wanted that too, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. I turned to face forward again and let my foot slowly off the brake.

It almost felt like I was letting my foot slowly off the brake in my life too.

This time when I pressed on the gas, I actually let the car move forward and turned the wheel when Gunner instructed me to do so. We made a large circle around the mostly empty lot twice and when I turned the car to make a third, I saw Becs standing near the door Gunner and I had come out of a while ago, clapping and shouting. Bear stood beside her, arms crossed over his chest, grinning. At Becs or me, I had no idea, but I found it contagious and couldn’t stop the smile that spread slowly across my own face. I couldn’t hear her words, but I could imagine she was cheering me on by her antics.

“Put down your window.”

I glanced down at the door and saw a few buttons, but I was afraid to look away from the parking lot for too long, so I snapped my attention back up and continued slowly around the bend to head back toward Becs. Gunner leaned over and stretched his arm across my lap, putting his face close to the side of mine. I stiffened when his hand grazed my thigh before hitting the button on the door that put the window down.

“Breathe, baby.”

I let out a long exhale when he moved back into his own seat and heard Becs yelling out.

I giggled when she called me a badass, and I kept driving toward her. Nothing I was doing was badass, but I appreciated her enthusiasm. I even think I needed it.

Gunner pointed at a parking spot near the door. “Pull into the spot and we’ll park it for a minute.”

I nodded and drove slowly into the spot, braking a little too hard and forcing Gunner forward in his seat again. I put the car in park and turned off the engine before I glanced his way, smiling softly when he grinned. “I told you to put on your seat belt.”

His head snapped toward me, and he laughed. “You did.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against the side of my temple. “You did good, Maggie.” He pulled back and gestured toward Becs and Bear. “Let’s take a break. I’ll see what Bear needs.”

We both got out of the car and made our way around to where Becs stood with her brother. She came right to me, threw her arms around me and squeezed gently before pulling back. “You did so good.”

I grinned. “Not really.”

Gunner slid his attention back to me and Becs and lifted his eyebrows, making my heart beat a little faster. “First time behind the wheel, Maggie? You did good.”

Becs grabbed my hand. “What made you decide to learn to drive?”

“Umm…I don’t know,” I admitted. “Gunner offered to teach me, and I said yes.”

“Well, I’m proud of you.” Becs said.

“Thank you.”

She snapped her fingers. “Hey, while they’re talking, I’ll take you to practice more.”

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