Page 126 of One Big Little Secret

“The sacrificial lamb. That’s more accurate.” His chuckle fades into the night. There’s just the empty desert ahead and bright pinpricks of starlight beaming down.

Somehow, the silence accented by this landscape doesn’t feel so suffocating now.

“I meant it, you know. What I said about you back there,” he says quietly.

I don’t know what to say.

But I am feeling things.

It meant a lot.

And where would I be without Patton Rory?

God, without the man who gave me my son?

New guilt rushes up like a man-eating wolf and bites me hard.

The night sky swirls with secrets, everything I want to say that’s tearing my heart to pieces.

Without knowing what I’m doing, I lean closer.

First, my arm brushes against his, and his skin feels too warm, too inviting. I can’t help leaning in.

With a surprised look, he tucks me against his side.

We share the blanket with our legs almost touching. And it’s thealmostthat makes me turn my face up, staring with questions mirrored in the starlit night.

Every place we touch burns.

Every place we don’t burns more.

Holy hell, the places I want him…

I swallow hard, praying he doesn’t notice.

I’m not sure where my inhibitions went, but when his lips find mine, they’re totally abandoned.

His kiss comes hot and wild like summer heat stolen from the distant white sands.

In the cool air, his mouth smolders, and he tastes like beer. My fingers tangle in his shirt, pulling him closer.

“Salem,” he growls against my mouth.

I moan back.

His hand brushes my hair away so his hungry eyes can see my face, just waiting to be devoured. He pauses, and I freeze, wondering if he’s going to turn me away after all this in a flash of reason.

But he shakes his head.

“You’re so goddamned beautiful tonight,” he tells me and kisses me again.

I can feel the electric current all the way to my toes.

I’ve never had any man kiss me like Patton.

It’s not a whisper, not a question—it’s a brute demand and God, I want to give in.

I want to give him everything.

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