Page 23 of Anyone And You

She was too fucking cute like that. “Maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll include you a few meals in my prep tomorrow.”

The smile slipped from her face. “Fuck off. You’re a meal prepper?”

“Only when I have to travel for the week.”

“I didn’t realize you traveled.”

“Construction work. Travel to where the jobs are,” I said with a shrug. I brushed my hands off and presented the tray of food to her. She hopped up on the counter and crossed her legs, and I sat on one of her barstools.

“I don’t think anyone has ever cooked for me before,” she said as she grabbed a cut of the quesadilla and dipped it in sour cream and salsa. “Boyfriend-wise, I mean.”

“Boys being the correct term,” I mumbled, shaking my head at how these idiots had treated her.

She smiled as she chewed. “So then, what about you? Your exes,” she asked me. “Were they as terrible as mine?”

My chewing slowed, and I took a sip of the beer I’d brought over. “We don’t have to talk about them,” I said. “We can just be us.”

“That bad?”

I thought about the last woman I’d fallen in love with and how it had ended—how I’dbeenafter it ended.

And how much I wanted to talk to Des about it.

“I moved across the country after her,” I admitted.

Des slowly put down her cup of water. “That’s why you came here?”

“I came here to start new,” I said, staring down at my drink. “I thought if I got away from everything that reminded me of her, I’d be able to breathe again.”

“Did it work?”

“Not at first. After a while, though… I never thought I would find anyone else that made me feel like that again.”

“Like what?”

“Like life actually meant something,” I said. “Like waking up was a good thing and not just a mechanical response of being alive. After we broke up, I couldn’t function. The only thing that got me out of bed was my work. So, I sold my company and moved here.” I took another swig of my drink and finally met her eyes. “And then I met you.”

She swallowed at the statement, her head tilting. I shook my head and held up a finger before she could ask anything.

“I stayed away from you because I felt so drawn to you,” I told her. “Because you were able to get under my skin so easily, and it scared me how much I wanted to let you in.”

“Just me?” she asked.

“Just you.”

“You’ve been a crab to me and the entire world because you were scared to talk to me?” she asked, and I could hear the amusement in her tone.

“The rest of the world can kiss my ass,” I grunted. “They deserve it. You don’t.”

Des took a long drink of water, considering me, and she hopped off the counter. She sank straddle over my lap. I sat my beer down before running my hands over the soft silk covering her ass, grabbing the fabric in my hands as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

“I think I like having you smiling all to myself,” she said, her finger running over my beard. “And as far as your ex goes… she’s an idiot for letting get away. But I’m glad she did. Because now—” her hips rocked into my lap, and I squeezed her “—now, you’re mine.”

I held her tighter as my heart began to thud in my ears, and then her lips landed on mine.

Soft and healing all at once. The way her tongue slid against mine, how her nails scratched my neck, and she moved against my lap...

This was the kiss I would say to hell with the world for.

---