Page 83 of Your Last First Kiss
“Let’s get everything you need so we don’t have to come back,” he growls. His eyes appear haunted as he looks around the small house.
“We?” Miller teases.
“I’m here, and I’m here for good,” Dillon replies, leaving no room for argument, but his eyes never leave mine until Miller nudges him in the back and hands him a bag.
“Start loading up the truck. We can wash everything at the TAC before taking it to Penny’s place.”
“Dillon, your face. Are you okay?” My voice shakes. The closer I get to him, the easier it is to see the dark, angry bruise on his cheekbone in the dim lighting. His eye is still a little swollen and bloodshot, but his expression is determined when he looks at me like he can read my deepest fantasies and slay the dragons that keep me up at night.
“I won’t pull away if you want to kiss me better.” A slow grin spreads across his face, showing perfectly straight teeth and that damned dimple of his. I’m pretty sure he short-circuits my brain.
It takes a minute for his words to register because I’m so focused on his blindingly white teeth, but his smile ignites sparks in my chest. He leans down into my space, and I gently lift my lips to his battered cheek. The second they touch his skin, rough with days-old scruff, electricity zaps through my body. He’s a live wire lighting up my world.
His exhale whooshes over my face like a weighted blanket that calms my nerves. “We have a lot to talk about, but I’m fine, sweetheart. I want to know how Kai is doing and that you’re okay, but I want to have all of these conversations when we’re not standing in this hellhole. It—” He shudders before he refocuses on me. “It brings back a lot of bad memories. No kid should have to grow up like this, Penny. I know that more than anyone could ever understand.”
“Is it too much for you?” I try so hard to keep my voice from trembling and fail miserably. “This is what my life is like right now, Dillon.” That familiar pang of shame has my stomach churning and sweat beading the ridge of my spine.
“Penny?” I lift my chin, and he captures my lips in a chaste kiss. “You could never be too much because every piece of you I get makes me ravenous for more. I’m here for you, but the last place I want to do anything is in your ex-husband’s filthy home. Can we get out of here?”
“Yeah.” I sigh against his chest, not even realizing my body had melted into his until he runs his hands down my back. “They don’t have as much stuff as I thought.” I step back and look around, but he keeps me close.
Dillon squeezes my waist, and a shimmer of self-doubt creeps into my tired mind. What does he think when he touches me like that? Because he definitely has a handful of me. But when I look up, his expression is only filled with love and concern. It’s enough to make my weary emotions cross signals until I no longer recognize what it is I’m feeling.
“What do they need?” he growls. “Make a list, and I’ll get it to your house as soon as possible.”
He moves, but my feet don’t seem to be working. “This isn’t your responsibility to fix,” I say gently.
“And it’s yours? The boys should go without because your ex-husband can’t handle his shit? They’re little girls, Penny. They can’t need that much. Just make a list and let me do this for you.”
“Take the help, Pen,” Miller yells from the back of the house before walking to the door and heading out into the winter wonderland that refuses to stop dumping its white glitter on us.
When I still don’t move, Dillon leans down, and suddenly I’m airborne with my ass in the air and my forehead flopping against his back.
“Dillon!” I screech. His hand lands hard on my ass, and I’m knocked speechless by the tingling sensation racing through my body that I’ve never, ever felt before. Even Miller’s low chuckle does nothing to help me out of the weird fog settling over my body and brain.
I bring my hands around to massage my ass, but Dillon beats me to it. It’s not meant to be sexual—at least, I don’t think it is—but my mouth is dry, and my panties are damp.
What. The. Hell?
“I’ll lock up,” Miller says from somewhere close by. I’m still upside down and can’t get my bearings.
A hand lands on my lower back, and then Dillon slides me down his body with eyes that sparkle like he knows what I’m thinking. “Oh, my sweet girl. The things I’m going to do to you.”
His voice is dark and smooth. Like expensive chocolate that has me licking my lips for a taste of every last morsel.
“Not now, Romeo. We’ve got to get the kids from Remy. The old geezer is probably ready for a nap,” Miller says before climbing into the cab of his truck.
That’s when I notice Dillon’s got a new SUV. “New wheels?” I ask with a shaky grin. He’s standing in front of a gunmetal gray Suburban that looks to be brand new. “Kai is never going to let you live this down. He knew your other car wouldn’t cut it in this snow.”
Dillon presses a button, and the engine roars to life. “We couldn’t all fit in my Tesla, smarty-pants. And I’m not built for a minivan.”
“You riding with me or Romeo?” Miller shouts from his open window.
“I’ve got her,” Dillon answers for me since my lips are no longer working. “But I’m meeting with Remy in an hour.” He returns his gaze to me. The intensity in his features wraps around me like a hug. The odd sensation that he can sense my darkest fears unnerves me, and I turn my attention to his new truck as he continues his conversation around me. “I have some stuff to talk to you about, too, Miller. Can you be there?”
Miller’s laughter fills my ears, but I’m singularly focused on Dillon’s new vehicle. “You need me to drive you over there on one of the sleds. But yeah, I was supposed to bring his groceries over later anyway. Ten bucks the old man planned that too.”
Then Miller pulls out of the driveway, and I’m left staring at Dillon’s SUV. I don’t notice that he’s closed the distance between us until his warm breath lands on my heated skin.
