Page 21 of The Fear
There was a look in his eyes she didn’t understand. An almost sadness? What was going on in that complicated Hiller-man brain of his?
“Shouldn’t I get to decide that?” She didn’twantto go kiss Luis Sandoval, nice man or not. Hala thought she’d rather just kiss the man in front of her.
Kiss the man who had just cuddled a sweet little baby in his arms. Who had just kissed an old pony right between her clouded eyes and told her he loved her forever, and she was the best pony in the entire world.
She wanted to kiss Gradyagain.Grady, the man she had thought sheknew,but now realized she’d never known at all.
Hala wanted to figure this out.
She’d felt both excited and safe when he’d kissed her. A crazy mix of insanity, no doubt. But it was true. She’d feltexcitedwhen she kissed him. Like she hadn’t with a man in a long, long time.
And she…feltsaferwith Grady than she had with any other man on the planet.
No matter what happened between them, how angry she made him, he would never do anything to hurt her. Ever. She knew that to the bottom of her soul.
She was safe with this man.
“Maybe, I don’twantto kiss Luis, Grady? Did you ever consider that?”
Hala took a step forward, and did the boldest thing she had ever done in her life. Right there in the middle of the Hillers’ horse barn. She just did it.
She put her hands on those broad shoulders, went up on her toes, and did it.
Right there in the middle of his precious horses.
Shekissed Grady Treyton Hiller.
And changed everything forever.
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He wantedto kiss her again. Grady had thought about nothing else but her since he’d kissed her that morning. He still didn’t know what he wanted to do or say to her now. He had never imagined feeling this way about her.
But he did. He was turned on by Greer’s little monster best friend. Hotter than he had been by a woman in a long, long time.
Hell, he wanted to just scoop her up and carry her off. Keep her all to himself for as long as she’d let him. And once he had her, he didn’t think he could ever let her go.
He could keep her forever.
He just kissed her right back. Probably for far longer than he ever should have.
He finally pulled back, even though every instinct he had said to just devour the woman right where she stood. That she was his. “What exactly are you doing?”
Uncertainty crossed her beautiful face. She was a little…shywith him? He thought that was beyond cute. “I think it would be rather obvious. This is calledkissing,Grady. Do you need an instruction manual?”
There was the typical Hala snark. Sassy. She’d always been so sassy.
“I thought I was the last Hiller on earth you’d want?” Maybe those words had stung a bit more than he’d originally thought that night.
She tried to pull away.
No. Grady wasn’t going to let her. He was just a man, after all, and the woman he wanted more than he’d wanted any other in a long, long time was right there in his arms. Hell, she’d kissed him first. He wasn’t about to let her go now. “Oh, no, you don’t. I am not nearly a good enough man for a woman like you, Hala Hanan, and I’ve known that for fifteen years, but I’ll be damned if I want to let you go just yet.”
“Why would you say that? There is nothing wrong with you, Grady. Why would you even think there was? Except, you are just a little too grumpy sometimes. Just a wee bit.” Her arms snaked around his neck. Hala arched against him, pressing that little purple t-shirt she wore and everything sweet and perfect beneath it against him. “But that’s about it.”
She should always wear purple. Always. It would probably turn him on instantly. For the rest of his life. He’d remember this moment right here.
Grady sank his fingers into the cute little ponytail. “I’m not nearly the man my brothers are. No getting around that. Not good enough for a woman like you, but damn, I want to put my hands on you.”
