Page 53 of Slash & Burn

Grady laughed, his eyes sparkling when he caught mine for a long second. “It was her idea. I told Cory about us last night, and she suggested we meet up.”

In all the times I’d let my mind wander to what it would be like to actually be with Grady—to touch him the way I wanted, to let him have his way with me—I’d put almost no thought into our interactions beyond that. Apparently, my mind had existed entirely in the gutter, because going out to dinner, or on a real date with him had never crossed my dirty, dirty mind.

“We can just get a drink with them and then do our own thing, if you want? Give you plenty of time to hit that rave on your Harley.”

When I rolled my eyes, he reached for my hand and pulled it into his lap. I appreciated how hard he was working to help me feel comfortable. All this was so new to me, but seemed like second nature to him. Normally that would have made me want to pull back, to make him meet me where I was. But instead my inclination was to do the opposite.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

He whipped my way, an eager shock on his face. “Really?”

“Just as long as you don’t spend the whole night hashing about motocross and hockey. I don’t want to be the only one at the table with no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No sports talk. I promise,” he said, kissing the back of my hand and giving me a wink. “This is going to be fun.”

It had to be the Grady Holloway effect in action, because somehow I found myself believing him.

CHAPTER 22

GRADY

“What is this?” Jill asked from her porch, her tone suspicious as she scanned my dad’s pickup that I’d pulled out of the garage.

“It’s called a truck,” I said, coming around the front. She’d changed and done her hair in the two hours since we’d gotten back. The short sundress she’d put on gave my mind entirely too much leg to work with, visions of what the view would be like kneeling in front of her, pushing that flimsy lavender fabric out of my way as I finally got a chance to taste her.

“Should I be reconsidering this?” she asked, her expression growing more apprehensive. “I thought we were doing dinner? Since when does that require a utility vehicle?”

I stepped up on the bottom stair, putting us at eye level. “We’re going to eat,” I said, failing to cover the smirk brought on by my earlier imagery. “But if we want, I have some other ideas too.”

Her mouth tilted, like she was trying to smile but was still fighting her nerves. “Do I get to know what these ideas are?”

Even if it made me something of a caveman, I could admit that getting to be the first guy to do some of these things with Jill pleased the basest part of me. It was bullshit she’d never been treated right before, but I was prepared to right as many wrongs as I could this summer where she was concerned. By the time I left she’d know how it felt to be with a man who actually cared about her.

“You will.” I nodded, kissing her cheek. “And if you hate them, we pass. No pressure.”

That seemed to settle it for her and she let me take her hand. She laughed at me when I opened the truck door for her and helped her up. A woman of her height hardly needed the assistance, but it gave me another excuse to touch her. She’d pulled her hair half up, and some wispy tendrils had fallen loose landing on her cheeks. I coaxed one behind her ear, the softness of her skin ricocheting up my arm. It was going to be a long night with her looking this good.

“So, where are we headed?”

Now it was my turn to be nervous. I’d shoved my anxiety aside when Cory had texted the details, because asking him to switch spots—again—would have drawn way too much attention. Swallowing, I kept my eyes on the road as I said, “The Docks.”

Jill didn’t look at me, but I felt her shift in her seat. “Who picked that place?”

I scoffed, my irritation at myself getting the better of me. “Not me.”

When Jill’s hand slid across my thigh, I closed my eyes, for just a second, and let myself savor the comfort in her touch. I wished she was ignorant to what was going on with me, but with one touch I didn’t have to say a thing.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You will be,” she said softly, offering a sweet kind of encouragement. “You’ve been doing great.”

It was too easy for me to think back to the nightmares and puking of the week before to really believe her. But I nodded, giving her a reassuring glance. Her hand was still on my leg and I laid mine on top of it.

“You talk to your brother?” I asked, eager to change the subject.

Jill eyed me for a second before pulling her hand away to fix the strap of her dress that had fallen down. “No. He keeps calling but not leaving messages. I’m heading over to help LeAnn with a project tomorrow, so I’m sure I’ll get an earful if he’s around.” She squinted out the windshield, as if she was already geared up for the fight. “But considering the way he went after you, he better be the one treading lightly.”

It hurt to laugh, but I did it anyway. Other than Lexi, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a woman get this upset in my defense. That I’d earned some shit from Joey clearly didn’t matter to Jill.

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