Page 38 of Asking For It

“Oh?”

“My plan was that we’d eat in the back of the SUV, but we still have to get back there.”

“I don’t mind getting a little wet.” Why didn’t I realize how that soundedbeforeI said it?

“So I’ve seen.”

I shook my head, but couldn’t hide my amusement. “Wet in the rain. See?” I opened the door and stepped out.

The rain was coming down a lot harder than I expected, and my shriek ended in a giggle when I was soaked within seconds.

“You’re right, wet is good.” Kingston was by my side.

From his gravely tone, I expected to find him staring at my chest, but his gaze was fixed on my face. Raindrops pelted me. My hair clung to my cheeks. None of it mattered, because I couldn’t turn away from the way he watched me.

No one had ever looked at me like that before. Like I was the only person he could see. Like I was his sole focus.

Kingston brushed his hair off my face, and his mouth over mine. His kiss seared my soul. I almost expected to see the rain evaporate before it hit us. It was just a kiss, but it tingled through all of me.

I whimpered when he broke the sweet, intense kiss. He pressed his forehead to mine. “Dinner?”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing out here?” My half-joke came out breathless.

“You’re more like dessert, but we can have that first, if you want to be stripped down—”

“No.” My response came down more forcefully than I intended, propelled by the chill that raced down my spine. Hello, unwelcome and traumatic memory. “That is... Not out here.”

He tangled his fingers with mine. “Okay. Dinner.”

I was grateful he didn’t askwhy? I couldn’t relive that moment enough to talk about it. It already haunted my dreams too often.

Chapter Fourteen

Kingston raised therear door as a temporary shelter from the rain. There was already a blanket unfurled in the back of the SUV.

“We’ll get your blanket all wet,” I said.

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