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He shakes his head. “Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out how to crack you.”

“You can’t crack me because I don’t want to be cracked. There are so many girls out there. I’m sure there’s at least one that’s willing to be real with you.”

He laughs and leans in again, bringing with him that warm scent of cinnamon and pine. “I don’t want another girl. I knewthat the second I laid eyes on you. And if it takes the rest of my life, I’m going to figure you out, sweetheart… and you’re gonna let me.”

I bite back a grin. “Is that right? And what makes you think I’m gonna go and do something like that?”

He inches closer and closer, my heart hammering against my chest until all at once his lips are on mine.

Why does it feel so good? So warm? So perfect? Why am I allowing it to happen? Why aren’t I screaming and running away? Man, I really suck at protecting myself.

I should resist, but every neuron in my body relaxes into the shelter of his arms, and soon, I’m lost, hoping I’m never found again.

Chapter Four

Buck

The second I met Opal, I knew we had a connection. It wasn’t anything we had in common, the way she looks, or the way she unapologetically speaks. It clearly wasn’t our generational similarities, or the youthful glow about her.

It was something more than all of that. Something I’ve written dozens of songs about. It was a feeling, a connection, an invisible bond, an unintentional attachment neither of us was expecting. When I saw her, I knew. When she spoke, it was clear. And when we spent time together, there was no doubt in my mind that we’d known each other in lifetimes before this.

I wrap my arms around her, pulling her tight against my chest as she moans into my mouth.

Fuck… I’ve waited so damn long for this. Night after night, dreaming about her lips, wondering what they’d taste like, what she’d sound like, what her tiny, curved frame would feel like against me.

The scene of snow-capped mountains and the babbling stream disappear as I kiss her soft lips, and my mind goes blank. On the one hand, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. On the other, I’m terrified that I don’t have the strength to stop myself from taking her. She’s too close. The lavender on her skin is too sweet. The warmth of her breath is too perfect.

I kiss her harder, pushing my fingertips through her hair as she moans low in my mouth. Jesus, that moan. That sweet, soft, breathy moan. I’m not gonna make it.

My heart hammers against my chest and I growl, pulling her in tighter as my hand wanders down her frame, across the curve of her ass, and onto her thigh. I’ve thought about these thighs far too much over the year. What they’d taste like, what they’d feel like, what they’d smell like when she’s excited.

For a second, I wonder if I should be honest about how often I’ve jerked off to the thought of us together. Would that turn her on or have her running for the hills? She’s so young. It would probably disgust her. Hell, I’m disgusting myself a little. What the hell am I thinking? She’s so perfect. Her skin is so soft. She should be with a man her age. A man who isn’t exhausted by ten p.m.

“You feel so good,” she pants, leaning her neck back to make room for my teeth on her throat.

My cock pulses against my leg as I tighten my grip on her thigh. “Fuck, sweetheart. You have no clue how bad I need you.”

She sighs and grinds her hips up against my swollen cock that’s still tucked away in my jeans. “I need you too.” Her voice is frantic, almost as though she’s as desperate as me.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Rubbing my thumb across her pretty pink lips, I slide my opposite hand under her dress, squeezing her thighs with a growl before sliding up against her cotton panties.Clearly, I’m doing a great job at controlling myself.

“I’ve never needed to come more,” she pants, dragging my thumb into her mouth. “I need to taste you, Buck.” I massage the outer lips of her pussy through her soaking panties. She’s so fucking wet.

“Sweetheart, I’m gonna lose it. We should get outta here before I take this too far, too soon.” It’s the last warning I have.The final bit of strength left before I crash into her and take what I want… what I’vebeenwanting.

She grinds her hips up against my hand and moans. “Okay, we can go back to my place. I just… touch me right there… just for a second.”

“Right there?” I press harder, sneaking behind the fabric, touching her soft crease for the very first time. She’s soft and warm, like crushed velvet, and I think I might explode. Fuck, she feels good.

Her small hand rubs over my hard cock and I slide inside of her, slipping through her soaking entrance and into a wonderland of perfection.

“Oh God,” she moans. “Yes… right there.”

I know I should pull out. I know I should pick her up and leave, that we should finish this behind closed doors, but I can’t stop touching her. I can’t pull away.

“Your cock is huge,” she moans, holding me tight against her frame as she strokes me through my jeans.

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