Page 57 of Broken Dreams
I lean down as she lifts up, and our lips touch, tentatively at first, and then it changes. As though the two of us broke the barrier and now are tumbling forward. My fingers move up her back, molding her to my chest as she parts her lips just enough for me to slip my tongue in.
The taste of her is intoxicating, mint and sweetness mixed together that makes me want more. Her tongue meets mine, no longer being kissed but kissing me as well. Her hands move up to the back of my neck, keeping me where she wants me.
I hold onto her, loving the feel of her and praying that this kiss never fucking ends.
She moans as my hands move down, pulling her hips closer, and I’m sure she can feel how hard I am. It’s been so fucking long since I’ve had this.
I feel just the slightest push against my chest and I pull back, resting my forehead against hers. The two of us work to catch our breaths as we stand here. “Addy,” I say softly.
“That was...” Her voice is low with a slight rasp to it.
I need to see her eyes, to see if she’s angry or upset. I thought she wanted this too, but maybe I misread it. I wait for her to look up. There’s no anger there, a little embarrassment maybe, but mostly desire.
“Fantastic.” I finish the statement.
She smiles. “It was.”
Wanting to do it again, I bring my hands to her face, gently cupping her cheeks. I keep eye contact, so she knows what’s coming. Her eyelids flutter closed, and I kiss her nose first, then one cheek, the other, savoring her slight gasp before bringing my lips back to hers.
This kiss isn’t overly passionate. It’s soft, gentle, and probably what our first should’ve been.
That hazy look in her eyes causes me to smile.
“I didn’t come over with this plan.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Are you okay?” I ask, concerned that I fucked up.
She sighs, placing her hands on my chest. “Yes, I’m okay. I’m glad my first kiss was this way, and with you.”
“You’re my first since Lisa too.”
“Really?”
I chuckle. “You’re surprised?”
“I mean, you’re a guy and ridiculously good looking, so I assumed you’d at least...you know. Get it somewhere.”
Many probably do assume it, but I just never had the time. I was so busy trying to be a good father, pilot, friend, and anything else I could be to keep my mind off of being a widower. It was a word I never wanted to claim, so I did whatever I could to avoid it. Not to mention, any free time I had I was going to Oklahoma.
I brush my thumb against her lips. “For many of the same reasons you haven’t, I haven’t either. Mostly I didn’t because I was so fucking busy I didn’t have the time to find someone else. My focus was on Jett and that didn’t really leave time to get it anywhere.”
“I wasn’t ready for a long time, and like you, I was busy. Being this single mom, moving out here, and then starting Run to Me. Time got away from me, until it felt like it was running and I had to catch it.”
Guilt floods me. “And then I forced you to agree to this.”
She shakes her head. “No, that’s not it. I agreed to date you because it was honestly what I needed. I wanted to bring someone back to Rose Canyon who wasn’t a creep or married or unemployed.” She laughs at that last one. “I needed to bring someone home to them, to at least get them to see that I’m not the fragile widow they all see me as, and you’re the exact man I want to bring. And now that you’ve won over my sister and Blake, I know you’re the right choice.”
Pride swells that she thinks of me that way, but there is that hint of guilt still hanging around because when this is over, Addison will be alone. I’ll get to move on in this town as the guy who broke her heart, which I’ll be forgiven for since I have no damn desire to date, but she’ll have to start over.
“And when we break up, what then?”
She steps out of my grasp, running her hands through her long blond hair. “Then we break up. I go back to dating and you’ll have gotten your investment.”
“And us?”
I don’t know why it’s important, but I want to know what becomes of us.
