“Seems pretty obvious you’re not fond of her either. Any particular reason?”
Adele sighed. “She was the,” she finger-quoted the words, “mean girl in high school, and for some reason I was her target of choice.”
“Don’t think that’s too hard to explain.”
“You don’t?” she asked, curious what Porter would think Betsi’s reason for her mistreatment in school would be.
He shook his head. “Nope. You shine the brightest, Addie. To a dull girl determined to be the queen bee, I imagine that was a threat.”
Adele wasn’t sure how to respond—touched beyond words—even if she didn’t necessarily agree. “I was quieter at fifteen, awkward and shy, a little nerdy.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s impossible to hide a light as bright as yours.”
Adele felt her face flush, his compliment warming her right to the core.
Porter ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. “It’s cold as a witch’s tit out here. Let’s go back to my place, strip down to our socks, and drink hot cocoa…in bed,” he added, making it clear he’d really gotten a kick out of her behavior.
She laughed. “Sounds like the perfect afternoon.”
Porter opened the passenger door of his truck for her and then, as was becoming his custom, he fastened the seat belt around her. The second time he’d done it, she had told him she was perfectly capable of buckling herself in. Porter told her he wasn’t doing it because she couldn’t, but because it put him in the perfect position to sneak a kiss.
Which he did just as the buckle snapped together.
Crossing in front of the truck, he climbed behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Gotta say,” he said as they pulled out onto Main Street, “I never thought a woman’s jealousy would turn me on so much.”
She rolled her eyes. “I told you. Not jealous.”
“Mmmhmmm,” he hummed, making it clear he didn’t believe her. “You’re cute when you’re possessive.”
Adele twisted slightly in the seat. “I’m not trying to stake a claim, Porter.” She wondered if she’d gone too far on the street. For a second, she worried if perhaps he was pushing this subject because he wanted her to know she’d overstepped a line.
He glanced her direction, scowling. “Don’t backslide, Addie. You ever see a woman flirting with me like that, it’s your duty as my girlfriend to come over and make it crystal clear I’m all yours. You got it?”
She snorted. “Jesus, Port. It’s only been a few days. Maybe we should let the dust settle before I start making big-ass proclamations like that.”
Porter merely hmphed, though she suspected he wanted to continue the argument. He’d told her he was going to give her the time she needed to see that he was serious about pursuing a relationship with her, and he hadn’t shied away from it since.
He’d closed down the restaurant with her three nights this week, walking her home, and spending the night at her place even though it meant he had to get up at the ass crack of dawn to drive back to the ranch. He now had a toothbrush in her bathroom, her picture as the screensaver on his phone, and he’d bought a wreath for his front door today, simply because she’d insisted he needed to get a little Christmas spirit.
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he and Coop were birds of a feather, but she caught herself just in time. When Hank Cooper decided he was going to ask Macie to dance last spring, he’d point-blank informed her sister of his intentions, claiming marriage and a family were inevitable. That was in April. Now it was December, and not only were Coop and Macie married, they were expecting their first child before the first anniversary of their first dance.
Adele wasn’t sure why she wouldn’t just make the joke. Wasn’t sure if she was still afraid of saying something that would push him away. Or afraid to admit that she wanted what her sister had more than she could say.
Coop had fallen fast and hard for Macie, and he hadn’t let anything stop him from grabbing the woman he loved and making her his.
What would it feel like to be that loved, that desired?
She and Keith had fallen in love slowly, over a longer period of time. It had made their relationship more comfortable than passionate.
Glancing over at Porter, there was no denying she wanted the passion.
Desperately.
Porter caught her staring, his gaze narrowing for a moment. “You keep looking at me like that, darlin’, and I’m going to pull this truck over and take you now.”
“How am I looking at you?” she asked, flirtatiously.
“Like I’m a juicy steak and you’re about to take a big-ass bite.”
She grinned. “Porter?”
“Yeah?”
“Drive faster. I’m starving.”
Chapter Six
Adele had only just opened the passenger door when Porter was there, reaching in to help her out. He kicked the truck door shut with more force than necessary as he wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to his cabin.
“What about our shopping bags?”
“Later,” Porter grunted. “We’ll get them later. Much later.”
She let him lead her up the three steps to his front porch. Given the way Porter just opened the door, it was apparent he didn’t lock his place up. Not that there was much need to. His cabin lay about half a mile beyond the main farmhouse on the ranch, so no one could drive to his place without first passing by Coop and Macie’s home, the barns and outbuildings, and the bunkhouse shared by the dozen or so ranch hands who worked here.
She only managed a quick glance around before Porter pushed her back against the door he’d just shut, his body pressed tightly to hers as he lowered his head to kiss her. Their lips crashed together, Porter’s tongue seeking entrance to her mouth. He tasted like the barbeque and sodas they’d had at lunch.
The man’s kisses were seriously delicious. His hands ventured under her sweater, pulling it over her head in one swift tug. A breathless laugh fell from her lips.
“You’re not wasting any time,” she teased when he reached around her to unfasten her bra.
“Told you. Nothing hotter than a jealous woman.”
She shook her head slightly. “I think a lot of guys would disagree with that statement.”
“You’re right. I stand corrected. Nothing hotter than my jealous woman.”
Adele had never been with a man who could set her body on fire with mere words. Every time he called her his girlfriend or his woman, her pussy clenched.
“How about a tour of your place?”
“You got it.” Porter lifted her up and hoisted her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold.
“What the hell?” she said, laughing.
Porter’s steps were swift and sure as he carried her through his cabin, not stopping once. “This is the living room. That’s the kitchen.” Adele briefly caught sight of the rooms he was pointing out, upside down. “And this,” he said, setting her back on her feet, “is my bedroom.”
Adele started to turn to take a look, but clearly Porter’s tour was over. He gripped her hips, pulling her until his denim-covered erection pressed against her bare stomach.