Page 84 of Everlasting Promises

I shrug as she takes it from the tips of my fingers with a gentle brush. “If I’m honest, this is more for me than for you.”

She chuckles and looks inside the bag at the army-green cable-knit socks. Her eyes narrow in question, and her gaze lifts to mine in question. “I’m not sure how these are more for you than for me, but I love them. Thank you.” She passes the flowers back to me so she can dip her hand inside to pull them out. She rubs them against her cheek with a sigh. “They’re so soft. They’ll be my coziest pair yet.” She pushes up onto her toes and presses a soft kiss to my bristly cheek. “Thanks, Ben. You’ve spoiled me. Be careful, or I’ll expect it all the time.” She giggles. I’ll buy her gifts every day, if it makes her happy.

I twist the watch on my wrist, so I don’t pull her into me. I’m determined not to maul her before our date. All bets are off after, but taking her out and showing her a fun time is my priority tonight. “I thought the green would match Wyatt’s sweatshirt.” It’s my way of letting her know I’m okay with her holding onto him.

Her eyes snap up to mine, and her questions bombard me without her opening her mouth. “Ben?” My name is barely a breath on her trembling lips. She wraps her arms around me and lays her cheek against my chest and I return her embrace.

“I want you to know you don’t have to let him go, Hope,” I whisper against the top of her soft hair. She squeezes me tighter, burying her face against me, melding her body to mine, and I have to remind myself that I want to take her out—that I want her to let go and have some fun. Shuffling my feet, I settle in and return her hug, doing my utmost to keep it innocent.

We arriveat the archery center, and Hope’s head snaps toward me when she realizes where we are. “What’s this?”

I release my seatbelt and hers and raise an eyebrow. “Archery. I thought it might be fun.”

She swivels in her seat and narrows her eyes. “You didn’t pick up on my total lack of coordination when we played mini golf?” She waves her arm out toward the building. “I’m likely to kill someone in there.”

I chuckle and take her hand, kissing the center of her palm. Her shoulders drop, and she seems to relax at my touch. “I won’t let you. I promise it’s completely safe, and it’ll be fun.” I open my door and climb out. “Wait there, I’ll come around.”

I grasp her hand in mine, and we walk inside to check in. We each sign a waiver, then we’re given our equipment. Hope studies our bows. “How come yours is so much bigger than mine?” she asks, looking truly offended.

“The size of the bow depends on the size of the archer,” the attendant explains.

Hope’s mouth forms an O in understanding, but because my mind is permanently in the gutter when I’m around this woman, I instantly imagine pushing my dick into her mouth and watching her eyes water as she swallows me down.

Damn.

I adjust my position and drop my gaze from hers, fearing she’ll be able to read my thoughts. It’s like the second her lips met mine the first time—my mind goes straight to filthy thoughts whenever I’m with her.

I help her strap the leather arm-guard onto her slender arm, and place the quiver around her slim waist and thigh, subtly breathing in the sweet fragrance that always surrounds her.

The attendant leads us over to an area and demonstrates how to aim and shoot the arrow, ensuring he hits the golden bullseye every single time.

I manage to hit the red and blue circles, but I wouldn’t say I was consistent with my technique. Two of Hope’s arrows miss the target entirely, landing in the net behind. She looks at me with raised brows and wide eyes over her shoulder as if to say,I told you so.

We finish our lesson and the attendant leaves us alone to work our way through the archery range on our own. “Do you really think this is a good idea?” Hope waves her arm back toward the net, where we just had our lesson. “I can’t be trusted to hit the target.”

Wrapping my arm around her shoulders with a chuckle, I pull her in tight. “I have faith in you.” I kiss her temple, then let her go. “You wanna go first?”

She shrugs. “Sure.”

She steps up to the line and raises the bow, then pulls back on the string, but her stance is all wrong. “Hold on.” Moving in behind her, I place my hands on her hips and twist them slightly, wishing I could keep touching her indefinitely. “Remember, theside of your body should face the boss and your toes need to be in line with the target.” I nudge her feet. “These need to be shoulder-width apart.”

She adjusts the position of her feet and looks up at me over her shoulder. “Like this?”

My eyes drop to her mouth, the temptation to lean down and kiss her almost too overwhelming for me to control.

When her body connects with my groin, I step back like I’m on fire; there’s no need for her to feel what she does to me. Not here, not now. Maybe later.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. That should do it.” I push my lips up into a reassuring smile, hoping like hell I can maintain my equilibrium throughout our date.

With her long fingers wrapped around the string, she pulls it back until it’s in line with her cheek. I move back in and reposition her fingers, so there is one above and two below the shaft of the arrow.

“Thanks, Ben.”

I step back, and she focuses on the target, then releases the arrow. It flies, landing wide and hitting the net strung up behind the stand.

“Damn it!” The arch of her eyebrows dips, and she mumbles something under her breath, before drawing another arrow from her quiver and nocking it to the string.

I watch her shoulders rise as she draws in a breath, and then she drops them into a relaxed position.

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