Page 124 of Unexpected

I’d stayed with her every night and would continue until the threat no longer existed. I’d keep her safe no matter what it took because I was falling for her. Well, I had fallen for her already;fallingmade it seem like it was happening, but I’d already smacked into the fucking ground. I was done falling and thinking of Valerie getting anywhere near Hazel was the worst-case scenario.

We had found a rhythm just in the few days we’d partially lived together and moved around each other seamlessly. We ate dinner together; I annoyed the shit out of her when she tried to write, and she was never excited to tell me goodbye when I left in the morning. It was just that it wasn’t my home she was in, and every day I felt more of a pull to make her even more mine.

But Hazel had been hesitant from the start and understandably so. So, I decided to keep my feelings to myself for a while longer and let things naturally develop, although my heart was more than ready to speed it all up. It wasn’t about me—that’s what I needed to remember.

I was silently telling myself that when I knocked on Hazel’s apartment door and she swung it open with her sunshine smile pasted to her face. My eyes didn’t linger on her face for long, though. Her eye makeup was slightly darker than usual, and she was wearing a kissable pink lipstick that wouldn’t be as stark of a difference around my cock as the red.

But quickly, my eyes shifted down the rest of her body, and my jaw dropped open. It took everything in me not to fist-pump the air and push her back into the apartment. Fuck the dinner, I wanted her right then and there.

Her curves were wrapped in a crushed red velvet dress with a deep neckline and a short hem that only met her midthigh. The fabric covered her arms and shimmered in the fluorescent hallway lights and my fingers twitched to touch her everywhere and feel the material for myself.

I swiped a hand over my mouth, stunned silent by the magnificent woman in front of me. Along with the dress, she had thrown her hair back into a messy updo and paired it with tall black heels.

Was I drooling?

“You have a key, or did you forget it?” When I didn’t respond for several seconds, my eyes still taking in her entire ensemble, she laughed a bright, cheerful laugh and shook her head. “Put your eyes back in your head and come inside, I need to grab my coat.”

My feet moved of their own accord, but I made it inside.

“I wanted to knock and pick you up like you’re supposed to for a first date,” I croaked out as I watched her ass sway. She disappeared into her closet and said something I couldn’t make out.

“What?” I asked, still standing in the doorway and trying to resituate the situation in my slacks so it wasn’t pressing against the zipper and threatening to split my pants in two.

“Aren’t you supposed to bring flowers, too?” she asked with a playful smile as she threw her jacket over her shoulders.

I sighed. “I did buy flowers, but one of the dogs at work ripped them apart. It was a mess, and it was either pick up more flowers or be late. So, I thought you’d forgive me for the lack of flowers as long as I was on time.”

She quirked a brow and grabbed her bag from the kitchen counter. She flipped off the light and walked to me with a mischievous glint in her eye. Her playful mood wasn’t helping my erection, but I didn’t give a shit.

With one final step, she stopped only an inch from me and, through dark lashes, peered up. In heels, she was to my chin, so she didn’t have to look up as much as normal, but it had the same effect.

“You clean up nice, too,” she said in a low voice. I didn’t have many suits because they were mostly unnecessary as a veterinarian, but I did have a few. The one I chose for our date was black, and I paired it with a crisp white shirt. Classic.

“You look absolutely incredible. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” I slid a hand out of my pocket and trailed it down the center of her body, starting at her throat and trailing down to her ample cleavage, over her taut stomach and finally brushing the hem of her dress and over the smooth skin of her thigh. She gasped at my touch and my own body thrummed in excitement at her responsiveness. “How am I supposed to get through an entire dinner with you sitting across from me looking like that?”

Her eyes had drifted closed as I appreciated her and the soft, luxurious fabric. When she slowly lifted her eyes open once more, I saw my own need mirrored there. Her normal hazel eyes were almost the color of whiskey and did I ever want to drown in the amber liquid.

“Same way I have to sit across from you and not think about the large erection I know you’ll be sporting all night.” As she spoke, she gripped my cock through my slacks and squeezed. She was playing dirty, and I was all about it.

“Don’t start something you don’t plan to finish, Angel.”

Her face lit up at the pet name, and it was difficult not to smile when she did. But I kept my expression serious like my comment had been.

“I’ll finish it, and that’s a promise. But I won’t easily forget the lack of flowers.” She stepped around me and grabbed her keys from the table near the door. She opened it and didn’t even flinch when the cold wind whipped around her, pulling a few strands of her hair loose. Her eyes found mine again as she said, “But I think you should make up for it in orgasms.”

A low rumble of pleasure started in my chest as we hurried out the door. I used my key to lock it behind us as she hugged her coat around her tighter against the wind.

I slung my arm around her and pressed her into my side as we headed down the steps and to the truck. “Do you want one for every flower I was going to bring you? I think twelve would more than make up for it, but we could push it to thirteen just to be safe.” I whispered into her ear, and a shiver—one I didn’t think was due to the cold—whipped through her.

She didn’t have a sassy comeback for that, and I smiled smugly to myself as I opened her door and walked around to my side.

When I turned on the truck, I made sure both of our seat warmers were on and backed out of the spot. Like it was second nature, my palm found the warm, exposed skin of her thigh just next to the hem of the dress. With tentative fingers, I slowly inched them higher. Her breath caught in her throat as she allowed me further access.

I was almost to the apex and the very place I needed to feel more than anything when her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, stopping my exploration. It had only been a few minutes since we’d left her apartment, but we’d driven those few minutes in almost complete silence except for the classic rock station and her hurried breaths that served as background music.

“This is so unsafe,” she said. I could multitask no problem, but she set my hand back on the gearshift and tapped it once, which sparked an idea.

“I need to know how wet you are.”

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