Page 67 of Building What's Meant to Be

We chat for a few agonizing moments where I anticipate she’s going to blurt that Bess informed on us, that we were holding hands, or that she saw it with her own eyes.

Instead, preoccupied, Mae mumbles about being tired but not being able to sleep then gets in the truck and is promptly snoring while Taylor loads Svetllama in the trailer.

“With the belly, lately, she sleeps better sitting up,” Taylor whispers. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave her in here overnight.” With a chuckle, they drive off.

Tinsley and I return to Toby. Not exactly wanting tonight to end, but being tired myself, I walk her to the door as anticipation builds inside of me.

“Could it have been the llama out here last night?” she asks.

“Probably not. Archie, the love of her life, is in the other direction. His pen is on Cassian and Bess’s property.”

Tinsley’s lips twist with a secret smile. “I bet you were the kind of guy who’d sneak out to meet up with girls.”

I nod as memories sneak back. “Yes, very much so. I imagine you broke rules like that too.”

Tinsley’s nod and expression match mine. “All the time. I’d force my parents to make rules just so I could break them.”

“So you were a troublemaker?”

“In a sweet, subtle way.”

“I bet you were a handful.” I wrap my hands around her waist.

“I liked getting what I wanted.”

“Me too,” I agree.

“Oh yeah? And what do you want, Aiden Fuller?”

My gaze floats to hers then bobs to her lips. “I want you, Tinsley.”

She shimmies her shoulders and then laces her hands around my neck. “Funny, I want you.”

“Then will we both get what we want?”

“I think so,” she answers, voice husky.

My lips quirk as the space between us diminishes.

If there were a red button that I wasn’t supposed to push. Too late. Finger locked and loaded.Beep, beep, beep.My internal alarm sounds with a warning. Explosion commencing in three, two, one.

It’s time to give in to temptation.

Chapter Fifteen

TINSLEY

How much do I love Aiden’s lips on me? From my knuckles to my wrist, to the smoosh on my lips, he’s made my belly swoop in the best way. It’s wonderful, delightful, all the -fuls. Aiden Fuller makes me feel full of something I’ve never before experienced from something so simple as a kiss.

Actually, there is nothing simple about his lips on mine right now. This goes beyond a peck or a smoosh. This is a full kiss. A proper one. The kind I wouldn’t describe to family or friends.

My stomach dips ever so briefly when I realize that I don’t have either of those. Not anymore. Not really.

But a little sound from Aiden’s throat draws my attention back. I do have this and him, for now. The tickle of his scruff forces me to focus. The way his hands tangle in my hair keeps me rooted to this moment.

I forget about the placement of my palms on the broad swath of his muscular back. I lose track of the gallop of my pulse against my ribs. The way my breath is shallow.

At this moment, all I can think about is him. This moment demands I focus onusand not me, me, me.

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