Page 64 of Hooked on a Witch
He switched places, taking most of the spray to shield her. Its heat barely registered to him. He smiled.
“What?” she asked.
“I wanted to kill every single bastard you dated in high school.”
“I didn’t go on many dates, so your list of potential victims must’ve been short. I didn’t even make out with any of them. Okay, that’s a lie. There was the tennis team captain. I kissed him.”
“I’ll punch him the next time I meet him. He works over at Home Depot in the plumbing department.”
“The guy kissed like a drooly dog. It wasn’t a very good first-kiss experience.” She gazed up and touched his cheek to trace the scars. “My second kiss experience was a lot better.” She touched his lips with her index finger. “I hated every girl who bragged about sleeping with you.”
“I got around back then. Not denying it. You were too young for someone like me. I knew better than to fantasize about you. I knew better than to give in to fantasy and kiss you.” He leaned down, gently kissed her lips, and then moved down to kiss one nipple. “Didn’t stop me from doing either anyway. You used to wear a tight green sweater that showed off your nipples. I dreamed of yanking up the sweater and burying my head between your breasts.” He nuzzled his nose into the space between her breasts.
She giggled.
“You think I was dirty minded?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“You like it.”
“Every girl wants to be the star of a fantasy at least once.”
“You starred in far more than one. But I swore years ago I wouldn’t touch you. I don’t break swears on a whim.”
“Why when you seemed to make it into every other girl’s bed?”
“You’re different, and not just because of what you are.” She crossed her arms.
“Different as in weird? As in not someone you wanted to take to bed?”
He traced the line of her neck to her collarbone. “There’s no girl I wanted naked in bed more than you.”
“Then, why not?”
He uncrossed her arms gently and kissed down her neck. “Your brothers would’ve killed me.”
“So this is about the coast being clear now that they’re not here to defend my honor?”
“They never scared me.”
“You didn’t want me enough to go up against them?”
He crowded her against the wall of the shower so she’d have no doubt how much he wanted her right now. “I always wanted you. Always. In high school the mere thought of you in that green sweater would get me so hard it hurt. I could’ve made a call and had a girl ease it off, but I never did. I’d jack off to the thought of you because all I wanted was Shannon Randolph. I couldn’t make it reality, though. My life had become about being the Enforcer. I didn’t want you exposed to that. I wasn’t what you needed. I still don’t think I am.”
He wasn’t convinced she truly understood that him taking this step with her wasn’t casual for him. “When I ran into you on my side of the creek...What the hell made you cross?”
“Iwantedto run into you. I hadn’t seen you in months.”
“Got a bit more than you bargained for back then, didn’t you?”
Her eyelids dropped to half-mast. “Not nearly enough.”
“You weren’t ready for what I wanted to do to you. Hell, I wasn’t ready for it. But it made me want to try. That was the only time I considered dating.”
“Dad scared you off.”
“It wasn’t him. I let him intimidate me because you scared the hell out of me.”
