“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.