Page 30 of Saving Shepperd

Quickly, she looked up. “No, you haven’t overstepped. I’m just realizing how shortsighted I was coming here tonight. I don’t have any clothes with me, and I’m supposed to work in the morning. What the hell am I going to wear?”

“Ahh, yeah, that’s going to be an issue, isn’t it. Can you go back to your parent’s place early tomorrow morning? Head to work from there? You said their place isn’t too far from here, right? Just leave like fifteen minutes early?”

She thought about the idea for a few minutes. “That’s not a bad idea. If I’m in a hurry, they might be less likely to start in on me again. My dad is a real stickler for being on time, so he wouldn’t get in the way of that.” She rubbed her forehead with the fingertips of one hand. “At least I don’t think he would.”

Her whole body had tensed from the conversation shift, and I felt like an asshole for asking what I thought was an innocent question.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

“For what? It’s not your fault my parents are overprotective and a little crazy.” She forced a smile, and it pierced my heart straight through.

I didn’t like that particular expression on her and was starting to notice a pattern. She put on that fake smile when she was trying to convince someone that everything was fine. But I knew damn well it wasn’t and didn’t want to brush another thing under the rug.

“Darling, don’t do that.”

“Do what?” she snapped, instantly becoming defensive.

“You don’t have to try and sell me a load of crap. I know you’re having a hard time right now with your folks. You don’t have to put on a fake smile like everything is rainbows and unicorns.”

She was quiet for a while. “You’re right. It’s a bad habit that I need to work on.”

Her admission took me by surprise. I was expecting her to get pissed. Maybe even storm off like I’d seen her do a couple of times now.

I rounded the large marble slab in the center of the kitchen and scooped up her hands in mine. “I think you’re pretty damn amazing the way you are. I just want you to know you can completely be yourself around me.”

“You’re so sweet,” she said quietly, gulping roughly as though she was about to say something difficult. “I don’t want to mess this up.” She looked up to meet my gaze. “You know?”

After giving her knuckles a slow kiss, I said, “I do. I feel the same way. So far, I think we’re doing a good job, though, don’t you?”

“I know I’m trying. Probably more than I’ve tried at anything in a long time. You said I have a spell on you.” She smiled shyly before admitting, “I think it’s the other way around, honestly. You make me feel comfortable in my own skin, and I haven’t felt that way in a really long time.”

I glided my palms up her forearms and cupped her elbows in my hands. Her skin was the softest thing I’d ever touched, and I longed to have her laid out on my bed, completely naked and available for me to devour. My cock liked that idea too, and I tried to banish the image before I had a full erection.

“You’re so soft,” I said, my voice sounding rough and needy.

She gave me that shy smile again, and I was hard in an instant. I pulled her to her feet and bent to kiss her. She seemed completely open to it, so I gave it all I had. Sliding my hand behind her head, I kept her in place while I explored her mouth. I trailed kisses along her jaw to beneath her ear and sucked her sweet skin until she moaned.

When I stood to my full height again, she looked up at me with glassy eyes.

“You don’t have to stop.”

“Well, I have to keep checking myself here, or I’m going to break a promise I made, and I don’t want to do that,” I admitted.

Shepperd stood and slid her arms around my waist. “What promise was that?”

“To take things slow. I don’t want to pressure you or risk triggering you. That first night when you left so abruptly…” I shook my head, remembering that night. “That was hard on me. Harder than I expected.”

She just held eye contact without saying anything.

“I was really worried I fucked things up with you and didn’t like it,” I continued. “Can I be honest with you?”

She nodded but stayed silent.

“I really like you. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I mean, Ireallylike you.” I laughed a little hearing my words. “Even saying that”—I gave my head a little shake—“it’s so out of character for me, but you make me feel things, want things. I don’t know. I’m definitely in uncharted waters right now.”

“You said you dated someone for over a year in high school,” she reminded me. “Didn’t you really like her? I mean, thatdefinitelycounts as a girlfriend.”

“No. Not really,” I answered immediately. “To be honest, I’ve never had these kinds of feelings before.”

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