Page 59 of The Spark Between Us

Chapter Twenty-One

Sarah

Weeks turned into months,and after a while, I didn’t even think about riding my bike home. I knew that unless Braden was working a twenty-four-hour shift, he’d be waiting outside the lab each day to pick me up.

He always stood there in his aviators, leaning against his truck. And I always loved seeing him there. We loaded my bike into the back, and he shut the hatch on the back.

“Do you have anything going on this weekend?” Braden asked, opening the passenger door and taking my bag off my shoulder. He dropped it behind the seat and waited for my answer before he closed the door.

Casting a glance at the lab where my team was still working, I felt a little bit guilty about leaving so early, but we’d all made it clear at the outset that we knew our objectives, and everyone worked at their own pace. “I should probably come in at least one day to record some of our data.”

“Could that day be Sunday?” He didn’t wait for my answer before closing the door and going to his side.

He hopped in and looked over at me. I shrugged. “Sure. Sunday’s fine. Why? Do you have a house project for us to do this weekend? Are we building the fire pit?”

“Not this weekend, no.” He started the engine and pulled onto the road. “I had something I thought you might like to see, but it’s kind of an overnight thing, so you’d need to be free tomorrow.” He looked almost embarrassed when he said it, as though it was a big ask.

I put my hand on his leg and turned to face him, overly serious. “Braden. Are you asking me for a sleepover?”

His lips crooked up. “You already have sleepovers every night. This one is just in a different location.”

“I’m not going to say no to a sleepover. I’ll even bring my good pajamas.”

He drove us down a road we didn’t usually take, but I could still tell we were headed back to his house. “Define ‘good pajamas.’ I’ve seen your pajamas. Are they the ones with bears or the other ones?”

“Well, fireman, I just may have a pair you haven’t seen.” I quirked an eyebrow. When I’d packed one set of pink lace lingerie, I didn’t expect to need it, but it’s always a good idea to be prepared. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going? Road trip?”

He shook his head. “Nope. But I will tell you this—it’s less about the journey and all about the destination.”

“Sure you don’t have your Zen backwards? Life’s supposed to be all about the journey, not the destination.”

“Not in this case. The journey happens once we get there.”

“Interesting.” So far, he hadn’t steered me wrong, so I decided to go with whatever guiding principle he felt like using.

We pulled into the driveway of Braden’s house, and he walked to the front door with me, but once he opened it, he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me tight against him, folding me into the hard, sexy ridges of his chest and crushing my lips with his. “Mmmm...Been waiting to do that all day.”

“Well, we could always forget about the road trip and just stay here for more of that.” I leaned my head against his chest and sank into the feeling of total contentment. “I’m not picky.”

He kissed me again, slower this time, with deep, slow strokes of his tongue as his hand caressed the side of my face and ran through my hair.

Every damn kiss was like that, giving me everything I wanted to feel in my heart and soul. Then I’d get some bonus feels I never imagined possible that blossomed with heat over every inch of my skin.

I melted into him as his teeth grazed my bottom lip and his lips roamed down my cheek to where he nipped at my jaw. Lazily, my hands roamed over his chest and encircled his neck. Then I moaned at the absence of him as he pulled away.

“I know.” He kissed my lips once more. And again. “It’s hard to stop. But we have to.”

“Do we?” It seemed like a random parameter he’d pulled off a dusty shelf when he could go with the flow, and we could happily spend the rest of the weekend in his bed.

He looked at the time on his phone. “I’m afraid so. We’re on a schedule. Go upstairs and pack a bag and meet me down here when you’re ready, k?”

Giving him a salute, I headed into the house, but not before he smacked my ass and looked at me like he’d like to take a bite out of it. That idea tempted me. So did going off for the weekend without knowing the plan.

It felt freeing to give up the tight control I normally sought in order to avoid uncomfortable surprises. I trusted Braden enough not to need a plan.

My heart raced with a tiny bit of panic at that realization. Our temporary just-for-fun arrangement wasn’t supposed to engender things like trust and actual feelings.

And yet … there they were.

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