Page 22 of All That Lies Between Us

The fucking irony.

“So, you don’t enjoy one-night stands?” I ask, my eyebrows curved in curiosity.

“I’ve never had a one-night stand.”

“Well, me neither. I’ll pop your cherry if you pop mine.”

The smile he aims at me is so adorable that I almost melt right here on the porch. “Are you always this ridiculous?”

“Hey, don’t change the subject,” I chastise. “I’ll be here for the rest of the week, so we don’t technically have to settle for just one night together. We’ve already had our first date. By the end of the week, we’ll have had a relationship longer than some marriages. We can even fit in an unfortunate breakup if that will help you feel any better.”

“What kind of breakup are we talking about here? Like, a ‘better off as friends’ kind of breakup or a ‘you cheated on me with my sister and now she’s carrying your baby’ kind of breakup?”

I pull back at his words, both shocked and amused at the same time. “Someone’s been watching too much trashy daytime television. I was thinking more along the lines of two consenting adults agreeing to a mutually satisfying relationship and then parting ways amicably.”

He laughs, pulling me closer. “I’ll clear my schedule,” he says quietly as he kisses the top of my head. I relax in his arms, resting my head on his hard shoulder and allowing myself to be enveloped in his warmth.

After a few moments, I ask, “So, are we official? Are you my vacation boyfriend?”

“Addison—”

I turn my face up to his, placing my finger on his lips and enjoying the feel of their softness beneath it. “Stop overthinking it,” I whisper.

He nods, reaching up and taking my hand in his own. In the sweetest and sexiest torture, he kisses the fingertip I placed against his lips, then takes his time kissing each fingertip after.

“I think I’m ready to be exclusive,” he says, finishing with a kiss on my wrist. My pulse jumps erratically beneath his lips. “Let’s get you inside.”

I allow him to pull me up to my feet, and when we reach the door, he punches in the code on the keypad. I cock my head in question.

“Owner, remember?”

“Still... If I wasn’t inviting you inside, it would be kind of creepy.”

“If I wanted to ravish you, I could have done so thirty minutes ago. I wouldn’t need to sneak inside my own cabin in the middle of the night.” He opens the door for me and reaches in to flip on the light switch in the living room before stepping aside and allowing me to enter first.

“Too soon, dude. The rejection is still fresh.”

After shutting the door quietly, he hangs up his keys on the antler key holder by the front door. His hands shimmy into the front pockets of his jeans as he pins me in place with his stare.

“And yet, I’m still ending the night in your bed,” he says gruffly.

My insides are already molten lava from his caresses on the porch, and now his heated gaze isn’t helping matters either. I match his look, a dare in my eyes. Slowly and deliberately, I strip off his hoodie and toss it on the recliner beside me.

“So. No promises, huh?” He raises his eyebrows at me. I don’t bother to reply, unable to even breathe for fear that he’ll walk right out of here at any moment.

“If I had met you five years ago, and we didn’t live half a country apart, I wouldn’t hesitate to make you mine.” He leans his butt against the front door, reaching down to untie one big motorcycle boot, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I’d take you out to a nice dinner, just like you deserve. I’d wine and dine you, then give you nothing more than a kiss on the cheek at the end of the night.” He moves on to the next boot. “By date three, I’m sure we’d both know if we saw a future together.”

“And if we did? What would happen then?” I unzip my boots, pulling them off as sexily as I can manage but feeling more like a walrus balancing on a tiny pedestal instead.

“And if we did see a future together, maybe I’d finally get that kiss I know I would have been waiting so patiently for. Maybe even a nice long make-out session on the couch.”

“With dry humping?” I grin.

“Like teenagers.” In one swift movement, he lifts his arms behind his head and pulls his shirt off. It hits the floor just as my jaw practically unhinges in awe.

I’m starting to feel a bit intimidated. My newfound freedom—and many shots of tequila—gave me confidence earlier in the night, but now I wonder what I got myself into.

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