Page 35 of Love Me Dangerous

“Yeah.” I laugh. The moment could be awkward, but it feels… sweet. Maybe it’s how he’s looking at me right now. Or maybe it’s how fragile my heart feels in my chest.

But is it the good kind of fragile, or is it a warning?

Another low rumble of thunder carries down the mountain, this one louder.

To my surprise, Zach tucks a damp strand of my hair behind my ear. It feels intimate, and I can’t help the shiver that drops down my spine. “It might be time to get out of this creek.”

I’m torn between wanting to kiss him again and worrying about where it could take us. There’s also the storm, but I’m a mountain girl—storms are a way of life.

“You’re right.” I reach for his hand. The instant our palms touch, a wave of intense warmth washes through me.

Together, we swish through the shallows to the bank. As the clouds thicken above us, we slip on our shoes in silence, but my chattering thoughts are loud in my head. Questions I know he won’t answer. Or that I’m too scared to ask.

“You need an escort to your car?”

I smile and shake my head.

He gazes at me with that same intense focus, then nods and turns away. I watch him for another moment, willing him to turn back, but he melts into the hazy afternoon light like a ghost.

Chapter Ten

SOFIE

The storm breaks justas I get to the Wagoneer. I think about Zach getting soaked as I drive down the long gravel access road in the deluge. I never did find out what he was doing today, but I don’t think he planned to tell me.

The rain turns to hard hail that clatters on the roof and piles up on the hood, but by the time I get to the outskirts of Finn River, the sun is breaking through the clouds. The wet pavement is the only evidence that it rained at all.

A little like the buzzing in my chest from Zach’s kiss.

What the hell am I doing?

When I pull up to the house, Jesse is playing fetch with Fergie, her tongue hanging out like they’ve been at this awhile. Neve’s car isn’t here, and neither is Dad’s work truck.

My gaze zeroes in on Jesse again—his sling is gone. So of course the first thing he does is jump back on his dirt bike.

“Where’ve you been?” Jesse asks when I step out of the car. The grass is wet, but the roads weren’t too bad, like our part of town missed the brunt of the storm.

“Volunteering.” He doesn’t need to know about Zach.

“Thought it was canceled.” His tone has an edge to it. Like he’supset I didn’t invite him, but he’s turned down my last two work parties, so why would I bother?

I let myself in through the gate. “I was already packed up, so I went anyway.”

“Let me guess, ol’ Dustin got his dates mixed up again?” He shakes his head for emphasis.

“Don’t be mean.”

Jesse lobs another long toss. Fergie takes off. “I talked to Mom.”

I drop my pack below the stoop and use the walk to the swing to gather my courage. “What’d she want?”

The cuffs of my jeans are still damp from the creek, reminding me of those stolen moments with Zach. I shouldn’t have let him inside my head like that. But he’s proving impossible to resist. I’m never going to forget that kiss.

Jesse’s eyes fill with longing, twisting my heart to shreds. “She said I need to be in L.A. Said she’d fly me out there.”

He likely doesn’t want my criticism. “What do you think?”

Fergie lopes back from the edge of the yard, so focused on the game that she barely gives me a glance on her way.

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