Page 14 of Kissing Her Rescuer

“Dang, Eliza, I'm sorry.” He slipped his hands into her hair, so freaking soft and cradled the back of her head. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes squeezed shut, and her hands gripped his shoulders. “It's throbbing.”

His fingers massaged her scalp as he gritted his teeth against the intense urge to kiss her. Would she push away from him if he did? When he’d held her outside Rhonda's, it had ripped his restrained desire wide open. Touching her again so soon took it up another notch. Or his resistance down another level. He cupped her cheeks, his thumb skimming along her temple.

Her eyes fluttered open.

A soul-shaking feeling washed over him. Her hands tightened on his shoulders. She made it damn near impossible to walk away now.

Eliza slid her hands from his shoulders, down his arms. Slowly. She tracked the movement with her eyes, and he lost it.

He pulled her a fraction closer. “Eliza—”

“Whoa!”

Eliza jerked back.

His mom had to pick that moment to walk down the hall. “I came to see the commotion, but I can see you two don't need an audience.”

“Ms. Clara,” Eliza began, looking a little panicked. “Sorry. We ran into each other, and—”

“I can see that, dear. Dewey, put on a shirt before you come back into the living room.” She disappeared at a quick pace.

Eliza cleared her throat. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I'll explain it to your mom.”

“There's no need. I'm sorry you hit your head.” One last time he ran a hand over her head, letting it linger along her neck before it dropped to his side. He picked his T-shirt up from where he’d dropped it. He slipped it on. “Are you sure you're okay?”

“Yes,” she mumbled and brushed past him and into the bathroom, keeping her head down. The door clicked closed.

She'd felt it, too. That intense attraction they both tried to ignore. Did they really need to? They were both adults, capable of having a relationship without it leading anywhere further. Her rejection eight years ago had locked down his heart, but a few dates couldn't hurt. If she'd even agree to that.

When he walked back into the living room, the three women and Nash all stopped talking.

His mom flushed cheeks confirmed she’d already started the gossip train. Ms. Tanya looked very happy. Ms. Peggy eyed him with suspicion.

But Nash looked seriously pissed off. “Can I see you?” Nash walked into the kitchen, not waiting on a response from Dewey. As soon as he stepped inside, Nash whirled around. “What the hell?”

“What?” Dewey held his arms loose, keeping the tension out of his posture.

“You were kissing Eliza?”

“No!” He ran a hand over his head, still a little damp from the shower. “Is that what my mom said?”

“Pretty much. Cameron is going to kill you.”

Dewey straightened with that unexpected statement. “First of all, if I did decide to make a move on Eliza, it's not Cameron or my mom's business. Eliza isn't a little girl anymore.”

“How can you say that? You know how protective Cameron is over her. He has a big brother complex like I've never seen. Getting involved with her is every type of complicated. If not because of Cameron, then because of Hugh Campbell.”

Dewey tossed his hands in the air, happy he had Nash as a verbal punching bag with all the frustration that had built up. “And what do you expect me to say? Eliza's not worth the hassle of her family? Cameron? Hugh? She has a kid, too. Don't forget that big complication.”

“What?” Eliza stood at the door, her pissed off green eyes aimed his way. “Didn't realize there was anything to complicate.”

“Eliza—”

“Shut up, Dewey,” she snapped and disappeared from the doorway.

He took a step, but Nash's hand landed hard on his shoulder. “Do you really want to go hash this out with three of Statem's biggest gossips sitting out there with a front-row seat?”

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