Page 21 of Vaughn

"Are you okay?" He questions, a small smile on his face. "You made a little noise."

"I'm fine, I just wasn't expecting to see you come out with no shirt on."

He hooks his thumb back toward the bathroom. "I can put one on if it would make you more comfortable."

"No!" The word comes across much louder than I expect it to. "Please, don't do that on my account. I'm just not used to being around a man who isn't wearing a shirt. I think I'll get used to it."

He chuckles, his Adam's apple moving up and down. "I'd get used to it if you'd like to not wear your shirt too. Only fair, right?"

My face heats. "You're kidding aren't you?"

"Yes." He scoffs, reaching out to grab my hand. "You only have to do what you're comfortable with, and you're allowed to tell me if you aren't okay with me not wearing a shirt. This is your house. I'm a guest."

That isn't exactly true. "You're staying here because you're worried someone may hurt me. I don't know that you would be here if what happened today hadn't been happening when you showed up."

He walks over with purpose, because of the size of the room, it only takes a few steps. Reaching in, he cups my chin. "No I would've definitely been here, I've been thinking about you all day. Remember this was my plan after getting off of work. Well..." he smirks. "Maybe not this." He looks down at his bare torso. "But I was definitely hoping to spend the rest of the day with you."

"Why?" The word pops out before I can stop it. No one else has ever been interested in me the way he is. Although I wasn't secular by any means, there were men we were promised to, and could get to know. None that were allowed to be interested acted that way, so I've always assumed I'm boring.

"Because you intrigue me, and I like you. I enjoy spending time with you, and I want to get to know you better. There aren't many people who intrigue me, Val. But you? I've wondered about you since the first moment I walked into Get Baked andsaw you standing there, and now that I've tasted you? There's no going back for me."

I don't know what to do with all of these emotions bouncing around in my body. I haven't felt them before, am not sure how other people get the nervousness out of their body before they see the person who makes them feel these sensations. All I know is I want Vaughn's hands on me, I want his mouth on mine, I want to know what else there is to teach me.

"Are you okay?" He raises his eyebrows. "You look like I'm about to gobble you up like the big, bad wolf."

"I don't know what that means."

"It's a nursery rhyme." He swallows roughly, clearing his throat. "It's about a young girl who goes to visit her grandmother, or some shit like that, and sees a wolf on the way. She's attracted to him, or whatever, but she runs, and he gives chase."

I'm not sure I completely believe him. "Are you positive that's what it's about?"

He shrugs. "That's what I remember."

"And you're suggesting that if I run, you're going to follow me?" The tension between us is as heavy as a summer afternoon in the south before a thunderstorm.

A smirk works its way across his face, lifting up the side of his mouth. "Damn right I'm gonna follow you. You're not gonna get away that easy."

Closing my eyes, because I can't stand to look into his as I say these words, I push them out between dry lips. My heart is thundering, chest heaving with the adrenaline flowing between us. "Who's to say I want to? Maybe I want you to chase me."

"Then take off and see what happens, Val. I'll even give you a head start."

My eyes shift over to the stove, where our dinner sits waiting to be cooked, and then back to him. This isn't at all what oldVal would do. She wouldn't run with the express reason for a man to catch her, but this Val, the one who wants Vaughn with everything she has? She gives a squeal and heads for the door.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Vaughn

Icount in my head.

One.

Two.

Three.

Then? I take off like a shot, heading toward the only place she could go, which was out the door. I get to the landing, and stop for a second, listening for her. She's quiet, but I can track the sound right as she goes off the last step. The edge of her hair flowing behind her is all I can see.

Taking the steps two at a time, I head down, and then glance around. I didn't hear the door close, so she's got to be in the alley, or in between the cars. If it were me, I would head in between the cars, so I decide to head to the alley.

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