Page 103 of All Too Well
Lachlan has walls so high that I couldn’t climb them if I tried.The loss of his mother and the other women in his life have taught him to reinforce them and scale them higher.
I pull myself tighter, burying my face in the crook of his neck.
His hand moves to my back. “Hey, are you that cold?”
Yes, the cold, that’s what it is. “No, I’m fine.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say into his neck.
If I don’t look at him, I can just pretend.
“Ainsley, I know you better than that. We agreed to be honest.”
I really hate that stupid agreement. I won’t lie, but I’m not going to tell him that I’m in love with him and wish this could be my life.
That will put an end to this real quick.
I lift my head and force a smile. “I’m just thinking about the past.”
He pushes my wet hair back. “What about it?”
How do I even explain this? I’m not sure I can, but I exhale and do my best to tell him the truth, but not send him running back to his house to pack my shit.
“When I was younger, I used to dream about this moment.”
“Naked and floating in the sacred waterfalls?”
“Of course.”
He chuckles. “Now I know you’re lying.”
“I mean you, you big asshole.”
Even in the darkness his smile lightens the space. “Again I’m hoping these dreams turn dirty.”
“Not these,” I confess.
“Too bad.”
He’s such a pain in the ass. I don’t know why my nickname is Painsley when he’s the one who embodies it.
I huff. “Do you want to know the story, or would you rather I regale you with the tales of my dirty dreams?”
“Is that really a choice? If so, I choose option B.”
I walked into that one.
“I take it back. There is no option other than what I want tosay.” He’s the one who wanted to know what my thoughts were. Well, I’m ready to spill.
“Typical,” Lachlan jokes.
“Anyway,” I say dramatically. “As I was saying, I daydreamed about moments like this. That you’d kiss me, we’d have sex, and then you’d hold me in some way after. I didn’t exactly envision us floating in the magical water, but you get my drift.”
Lachlan’s quiet, and I wonder if I did exactly what I was trying to avoid and scared him away. Especially because he moves his arms to pull my embrace off his neck, which forces me to try to stand. However, he just adjusts me so that I’m not cradled against his chest.
Slowly his lips touch mine, and I take his face in my hands, kissing him slowly.
