Page 48 of Second Chance with Seth

“I’m not having this conversation in front of half the town,” he growls. “Especially when we both know the other half will get to hear about it before we’ve finished drinking our coffee.” I’m still trying to catch my breath, and I stare up at him, unable to speak. “You keep telling me what I can’t do,” he says. “You’ve been doing it since I got back here on Saturday. I can’t say this. I can’t ask that. So, tell me, Everly… what can I do?”

Chapter Ten

Seth

She stares up at me, blinks twice, bites on her bottom lip and then says, “Kiss me?”

That’s the most unexpected answer I’ve ever heard, and although there’s a slight hint of a question in her tone, I’m not about to turn her down.

I grab her, one hand behind her head, the other on her cheek, and I do exactly as she asked.

I kiss her.

I half expect her to feel stiff, to push me away, or break free of me, even though she asked for this… but she melts into me. A heartfelt moan greets my flickering tongue, and she lets me delve… lets me trace a path of re-discovery, as her arms come up around my neck, her body melding to mine.

Instinctively, I step closer, my feet either side of hers, and I flex my hips, letting her feel my arousal, as she sighs, and then sinks downward, like her legs won’t support her.

I remember she used to do this sometimes, when we were kissing. Her legs would give way, and depending on where we were, I’d either go with her, sliding to the floor, or I’d hold her up. Out here, I have no option, and I move my hand from the back of her head, placing my arm around her waist, while I deepen the kiss.

She sinks again, but I’m holding her now. She’s safe, her breasts heaving in to my chest as she struggles for breath, pulling back to draw air into her lungs.

“That changes nothing,” she murmurs.

“Yes, it does,” I say, pinning her to the wall with my body. “It changes everything.”

I dip my head and kiss her again, even harder. I don’t flex my hips… I grind into her, repeatedly, over and over, feeling her weight on my arm as she sighs against me, clinging to my shoulders, and I let my hand drop from her cheek to her throat, holding it there, caressing her skin with my fingers and feeling her pulse quicken.

“See?” I say, pulling back.

“I can’t…” she whispers.

“You can’t what? Breathe?”

She shakes her head. “I can’t do this again.”

“Stop saying things like that,” I say, moving my hand back up to cup her cheek, her eyes locking with mine. “It won’t be like it was before.”

She sucks in a breath. “Prove it.”

“How? What do you need me to do?”

She lowers her hands slightly, letting them rest on my biceps, focusing on them for a second before she raises her eyes to mine once more. “Like you said, Seth, you’ve got responsibilities. We both have. We can co-parent River, and I promise I’ll never stop you from seeing her, if that’s what you want.”

“You know it isn’t.”

“In that case, if you want us to have a relationship again, I need to know you mean it this time. I need to know I can trust you, and that you’re not gonna run away when the going gets tough… because it will.”

I raise my hand slightly, caressing her hair, my thumb brushing over her the side of her cheek. “Is that what you’re scared of?”

“Yes. More than anything. I’m scared we’ll get close again, and you’ll walk away…”

“It won’t happen,” I say, interrupting her. “I’m not going anywhere, babe, I promise. And I’ll prove it to you.”

“Okay, but first I need you to tell me why you left.”

There’s a defiance in her voice I’ve never heard before… a determination to know the truth, although I don’t understand her question. I thought I’d made it obvious at the time.

“Why do you think I left?” I ask, feeling intrigued by her interpretation of what happened and how it might differ from mine. There must be some difference, or she wouldn’t be asking.

---