Page 27 of A Lonely Road
I angled my mouth against hers, experiencing a ripple of fierce satisfaction when a low hum of pleasure vibrated deep in her throat. This wasn’t how I'd imagined things between us, not by a long shot. How many times had I warned myself I’d have to take it slow, measure every reaction carefully, keep things gentle and unhurried? Instead, she was clinging to me for dear life and clearly succumbing to the same inferno of desire that raged inside me.
The doorbell startled us both into flying apart like teenagers caught necking. Nora slapped a hand over her chest as if to slow the galloping pace of her heart and blinked up at me until I was able to shake myself out of my reverie.
“The pizza,” I croaked finally.
Nora giggled—actually giggled, like I’d heard Sam and her friends do at sleepovers all those years ago—and I found myself laughing along with her until we were both doubled over with tears in our eyes. I hadn’t laughed until I cried in as long as I could remember.
“I paid over the phone,” she gasped, “but you’ll have to go get the door. Oh shit, my mascara is probably everywhere.”
In fact, she looked even more outrageously beautiful than before, dark eyes aglow, face flushed and animated. I put my hands on either side of her body, bracing myself against the countertop she had so admired, and kissed her again. This one was hard and fast, but no less combustible. When I pulled back to go answer the door, her lips were a deep, rosy pink, and she sagged against the counter while she caught her breath.
I returned with the pizza and set it on the countertop beside her. “Now, where were we?” I murmured, but Nora held up a hand.
“Easy, cowboy. I think maybe we should probably eat dinner first, before . . . anything else. I could use some fortification.”
I cocked my head at her, wondering if she’d changed her mind, but that enticing glow of desire hadn’t faded from herfeatures. “You’re saying we need sustenance,” I replied slowly. “Fuel. Energy.”
She snorted, which brought a wide grin to my face. “Yes, to all those things. Eat up while it’s hot.”
My blood simmered at those words. “Oh, I intend to,” I said softly, trailing my thumb across her lower lip. Nora’s breath hitched a little and I felt it sear through me.
As we ate, I found frequent excuses to touch her—a brush of my fingers along the back of her neck, a hand at her knee. Each caress started a tingle that spread along my limbs like wildfire. If the flush under her skin was any indication, it was doing the same for her.
“Does it bother you, the fact that I saw your reaction to me those weeks ago?” I asked when she paused to dab at her lips with a napkin.
“Only because it’s embarrassing.”
I lifted a brow. “A single woman alone in a new town can’t be nervous about it? Makes sense to me you’d need time to settle in.”
“No, I know. I’m normally not quite so jumpy, though.”
“Was that because of me?” I hated that, but she shook her head before I finished the question.
“No. I mean, not directly. Just . . . it was very clear that you saw it, and usually I’m better at hiding those things.”
“You don’t ever have to hide from me. You know that now, right?”
She bit her lip, though it couldn’t quite hide the tiny smile curving at the edges. “I know.”
Slowly, determined not to spook her now that we’d moved past another hurdle, I lifted my hand to cup her jaw and brushed my thumb across that full lower lip. “Good.”
Fuck me, but the look in her eyes at that simple caress had me ready to throw caution to the wind and carry her straight to my bed.
Instead, I summoned every ounce of self-control and we finished dinner. When I rose to clear away our plates, I peeked into the box she’d brought with her and let out a groan, leaning down to draw in a whiff of carrot cake from Carmello’s Bakery.
“Oh, shit,” I murmured. “This is my favorite.”
Nora watched me with amusement. “I know. I asked. There are certain benefits to being everyone’s favorite business owner, apparently. Everyone in town knows everything about you.”
“Not everything,” I said as I closed the box and reached out to pull her to her feet.
I framed her face with my hands and kissed her, soft and sweet, without a trace of our earlier urgency. A breathless laugh slipped from her just before my mouth met hers again, deeper, more insistent this time. Her hands tangled in the front of my shirt as my mouth shifted to trail along her jawline and nuzzle her ear.
Nora clung to me like she would evaporate into mist if I stopped touching her, like the sheer force of our desire was holding her together.
“Promise me something?” I murmured, letting my breath tickle her earlobe.
“Yes?” The word came out on a strangled gasp as she tipped her head back to give me room to explore.
