Page 47 of No One But You

I closed my eyes briefly. I loved the feel of her hand touching me. I opened my eyes, and her face was filled with a beautiful glow. Never had I imagined I could be with someone as wonderful and beautiful as Kora. “Are you real?” I asked.

“What?” Her face became a question. “Of course I’m real.”

“Good. Because a part of me was afraid you were a dream, and if you were, I’d hope I’d never wake up.”

“Kai, why would you say something like that? You’re an amazing, thoughtful man. I’m sure you’ve had better women than me in your life.”

That made me chuckle, and I shook my head. I’d never had anyone like her. “Nope. Sorry to disappoint you, but you are unique. There’s no one like you.” My lips met hers and I kissed her deeply, almost desperately.

My heart beat wildly, and I held her tighter. I was almost scared to let her go, like if she slipped from my grasp, I may never get to hold her again.

It was overwhelming. I needed to understand these feelings which churned in my gut and caused my heart to falter at her touch. I was caught off guard at how quickly they developed. It was so surprising, so unexpected.

Our faces stayed inches from each other when we broke the kiss, but I couldn’t take my eyes off hers. A huge part of me wanted to carry her back into my room and stay with her the rest of the night and into tomorrow. Hide away from the world. Just the two of us.

But I couldn’t. We needed to get going. “Kayaks are waiting. We might need to race back to your place to beat the dark.”

“That wouldn’t be fair. I know the current’s light, but it’s harder than it looks paddling against it.”

The trip up the river was relatively easy. At least Kora didn’t complain any, and I enjoyed paddling behind her, watching her work. Watching her body move with the oar. Pure perfection. Pure beauty. Pure . . .

I pulled my eyes from her quickly and adjusted my hard-on. Don’t think it. Get your thoughts together.

We finally pulled the kayaks onto land and loaded them into the back of Matilda. I climbed behind the wheel and pulled Kora across the seat next to me. She placed her hand on my thigh as I drove back up the grassy gravel path.

“That was a wonderful day, Kai. Thank you so much.”

“Why are you thanking me? You invited me and treated me. Many times, I might add.”

The glow that had been a permanent fixture on Kora’s face turned scarlet.

“God, you’re adorable when you blush.” I kissed her briefly, trying to keep my eyes on the windy path. Between her hand on my leg and the hotness of her blush, blood was gathering again in my shorts. Maybe I could get a tour of her bedroom.

“Shit,” I said under my breath. So much for that tour.

“What’s wrong?” Kora asked as she followed my gaze.

We weren’t alone. As soon as we pulled up and got out, we were greeted by three goats, Tonya, Kaye, and Charles. “I think you have company.”

“I’m sure they’re here to check on me and seeing us together will make their day.” The smile Kora gave me was filled with mischief.

She kissed me and curled her fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck, and that’s all it took. I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “Dammit, woman. I’m not going to be able to get out of the truck any time soon.”

“Really?” Her gaze smoldered into mine, and she rubbed her hand lightly up and down on my crotch. “Mmm. You’re right. Feels like someone’s worked up.” She gave me a slight squeeze.

A grunt escaped from deep within my gut. “So unfair. Now you really need to give me a minute.” I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered under my breath all the grossest things I could think of.

“What are you doing?” Kora asked. She sounded appalled.

“Trying to calm my thoughts and think of the most disgusting things I can. I can’t stay in the truck all night. I need to get out and say hi.”

Kora laughed and climbed out.

My mental disgust game seemed to do the trick. I resituated my junk just in time to meet Kora and go see the guests while everyone was still standing there.

“Well, we heard y’all spent the day together.” Tonya greeted us with a smile.

“How? We intentionally avoided all the book club hangouts today,” Kora answered while squeezing her aunt in a hug.

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