Page 65 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

Her words died between them, but it was obvious she didn’t want her parents to meet him. A sense of déjà vu swept through him as he shifted away.

“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” she muttered, toying with the hem of her cardigan.

“Sounds like you’re ashamed of what we have, of me.” Braxton closed his eyes and forced himself to fight the hurt threatening to consume him. “After last night I thought we’d grown closer.”

“We have,” she insisted, glancing toward him. “My parents are complicated people and I just don’t want them here. You have to trust me. I have my reasons.”

He didn’t want to compare Cora to Anna, but the similarities were too blatant. The red flags were waving in his face and he shoved them aside. He didn’t want to see them, he didn’t want to believe that she was embarrassed of him, of what they shared.

“I know that all of this with us is new, but I need to know where we stand. Was last night just a one-time thing? Because that’s not how I went into this.”

Cora worried her bottom lip with her teeth and reached her hand out, searching for him. Braxton met her halfway and laced their fingers together.

“It wasn’t just one time,” she told him softly. “This does mean more, but my parents aren’t part of whatever is happening here. Please, understand that I need time to adjust to this new life. I wasn’t expecting to find such a great job, let alone a guy who makes me feel . . .”

Braxton smiled and tugged her against his chest. “Makes you feel what?” he whispered against her lips.

“Achy.”

Sliding his mouth over hers, he trapped her hands between their bodies and set out to prove just how achy he could make her feel. Last night wasn’t a one-and-done thing. When he’d dropped her off at home this morning, he hadn’t wanted to let her go. Waking up with Cora at his side was different and unexpectedly . . . perfect.

But she wasn’t ready to hear that and he wasn’t quite ready to say it out loud.

He nipped at her lips before pulling back. When her tongue slipped out to slide across her bottom lip, it was all Braxton could do to stay focused.

“Let me get something for that burn.” He smoothed her hair away from her face as he came to his feet. “Then I need to load up the equipment and get it back to the resort.”

“I’ll come with you,” she told him.

“You sure?”

Nodding, Cora smiled. “Despite what you think, I like what’s going on with us. Forget my parents, forget all the reasons this is bad timing, and let’s just see where things go. Can we do that?”

Even though Braxton wanted to know more, he wanted her to lay out for him the reasons she was so adamant about keeping her parents at a distance, he also had a need to keep Cora in his life. For now, he’d play things her way, but soon they were going to have to talk, because if he was going to invest his heart again, he wanted the full truth.

* * *

Cora tried to hide the yawn, but when Braxton chuckled, she knew she’d been caught.

“Sorry,” she muttered behind her hand. “It’s been a long day and I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Braxton’s low groan had her realizing what she’d just said. “I didn’t mean—”

His hand covered her thigh. “I know what you meant and I’m not apologizing.”

Cora reached back to grab her seat belt, but instantly Braxton was across her and pulling it into place.

“I can get it.”

“I’m aware of that, but I’m using this as an excuse to cop a feel.” His warm breath tickled her cheek as his hand slowly grazed across her chest. “Unless you’d rather I not touch you.”

Had the temperature gone up? Cora’s entire body heated at those low, seductive words. Her belt clicked into place, the sound cutting through the tension.

“I have a surprise for you.” His lips slid across her jawline.

Cora tipped her head to the side, needing more, silently begging him to continue. “What’s that?” she whispered, hoping it had something to do with less clothes and a bedroom . . . or at least not the passenger seat of his SUV.

“I can’t tell you, but it’s not far.” His hand slid up beneath the hem of her shirt, his thumb stroked over her heated skin. “But this will have to wait until later. I just wanted to touch you in private.”

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