Page 86 of All In Good Time

Becca held her breath as he opened it and read over the words.

“I still look at this thing every fucking day,” he said, his voice hushed. The moon was bright enough to make her handwriting visible in the dark. “I couldn’t believe that someone was willing to actually do something for me. Some random girl in the shittiest costume I’ve ever seen and suddenly I can’t keep away.”

Heart jumping, Becca went lightheaded watching him closely as his finger slid over her note. She felt like an intruder in the moment—his words held the weight of a private thought that she wasn’t supposed to hear, yet here she was. Watching them leave his mouth in a wisp of breath, then float around her.

“She stayed by me all the time. I was never alone. I thought I didn’t want to be pitied, but it turned that being pitied and cared for was the best feeling in the world.” He laughed, living in the memory. “I wish I could go live that again. Over and over and over again.”

The desire to intrude on the moment became a need, and she spoke out—desperate to know. “What about right now?”

His carefree, intoxicated smile dropped into a frown and his mouth snapped shut.

No. No.

This wasn’t what she wanted. As much as she tried to give in to his wishes, she didn’t want to stop trying. She didn’t want to keep her distance. She wanted it all to be okay. She wanted her Derek back.

Her hands shot out, grabbing his fingers, and his eyes finally met hers for the first time in a very long time. Blue and bright and hurt—he could see her. He could really see her.

“I’m still here. I’ll be right here whether you like it or not. All you need to do is ask, Derek.”

An electricity crackled through the air, sending her hair on a pleasant edge as he stared at her. His gaze flicked between her eyes and then landed on her lips.

Becca froze.

There was no time to register the change in position—one second she held onto him, waiting for a response. Where Becca’s hand held his, his grip tightened and pulled her forward.

The next second she was against his chest—Derek holding her at the nape of her neck and tilting her lips to fit perfectly against his.

Becca gasped into his mouth, eyes wide. A dizziness fogged her head, like the misty effects of alcohol setting in, even though she hadn’t touched a drop, and a burn grew in her chest.

Without realizing it, her free hand rose and connected with his chest, as her eyes slid shut. Shemeltedinto Derek Stokes.

She was malleable in his touch. Moving from her neck to under her chin, he slanted her mouth, as his lips moved against hers in a rhythm she couldn’t deny.

He was desperate—a man searching for water in a desert, and she was an oasis, giving him all he needed—all he wanted.

Never in her life would she have imagined herself in this position, longing and grabbing at him like she couldn’t get enough. She couldn’t pull away.

His insistent mouth parted her lips, and she opened them eagerly as tremors wracked her body—originating at every point Derek’s body touched her. His hand, his chest, his fingers, hislips.

Everything he felt radiated into his kiss—the passion and the anger and the hurt and the desire. She soaked it up through her pores, and gave back twice as much, sighing into his mouth and breathing him in.

She needed Derek Stokes as much as he needed her, and shewantedhim even more.

This moment—she could stay in it forever. Forever clinging to him and kissing him and letting his mouth work on her like it was created to be right there.

But this moment wasn’t real. Her eyes opened.

Derek was drunk. He wasn’t thinking straight. She didn’t want to be an moment of oversight he regretted when he woke in the morning and reality set in.

She let go, falling back against the dead leaves behind her and gasped—the dizziness snapping from her mind and clarity filling her with regret. Not that she kissed Derek, but that it would never happen again.

Derek opened his eyes, and Becca’s mouth dropped in shock when she saw the tears in them. “You broke my heart.” His voice cracked.

“Derek—”

He stood, turning away from her. She jumped to her feet, but still unable to reach him from her spot a foot away. Even if she reached out and touched him, she knew they would be miles away from one another.

“Take me home,” he said, and Becca made a sound somewhere between a cry and an inhale.

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