She doesn’t pull away. In fact, her hands fist in my shirt, and I’m pretty sure she pulls me closer. Her mouth opens, and my tongue invades, sliding along hers, touching, tasting.
Our kiss grows faster, and she exhales a sigh. Her body presses closer, and she feels so good in my arms.
This is what I want. This is what I’ve been craving for so long, her taste, her scent, her touch. It’s been four years, since our first kiss, when she pushed me away and said No.
Now she’s soft and willing. She smells like salty caramel and sweet magnolia blossoms. Moving my lips to her jaw, sliding my tongue along her neck, she tastes like the ocean…
Her breasts are pressed against my chest, and I can feel her tight nipples through the thin fabric of our shirts. I want to devour her. My dick is so hard.
Lifting my head, I meet her eyes, and hers are stormy, hungry. She’s breathing fast, but so am I.
“Yes?” I have to know she’s with me.
Her forehead crinkles, and her eyes wince. In that moment of hesitation, looking into her deep brown eyes, a flash of something crosses my brain, a different path.
I see us standing under an arch in this very pose. I see us walking down the aisle, waving to my brother across a crowd of people we’ve known all our lives.
I see the two of us living in this house, opening my eyes in the morning as the sun shines golden through the windows. Going to bed at night, with the moonlight and stars, with her in my arms. A baby. A lifetime of rituals and family…
Shit.
Denying the boner in my pants, I step back. “We should stop.”
“Oh, my God.” Her fists relax on my shirt, and she tries to smooth the wrinkles.
A knot is in my throat, and I feel like I need to find a bucket of ice water to dump over my head. It’s the most excruciating kind of frustration, but holy hell. I saw my whole future in a flash just now.
With her.
I’ve got to get out of here.
“I’m sorry…” she starts.
“Don’t apologize.”
“Still…” Her voice is pained, almost like she’s feeling the same physical frustration as me. Do girls get blue balls?
Her hands go to her cheeks and she shakes her head, blonde curls bouncing around her ears. “You’re right. It would be a terrible idea… for both of us.”
My forehead is tense, and I scrub it hard. “If you’re all set here, I’m taking off.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. Please don’t be mad.”
“Not mad.” Holding up a hand, I can’t look at her pretty face.
If I see her lips swollen and pink from my kisses, her messy hair, her small breasts rising and falling under that thin, white tee… I’ll never get this fucking boner to go away.
“I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“You will? Why?”
I don’t stop to answer that. I don’t even know the answer. Instead, I take off down the stairs and out the back door.
Gran’s house is only a few blocks away. This morning, I got up from the breakfast table and walked over to Daisy’s place. This evening, I’m running. I run past Gran’s house, all the way out to the bridge leading to Oceanside Village, the sleepy little town just before you get out to the more touristy part. I don’t stop until I reach the tiny stretch of private beach across the road.
It’s undeveloped and hidden in the trees. It’s just what I need. I need to get my head clear. I’ve got to focus on my goals and think about the future. I’m going to Hollywood to pursue the dream, long shot that it is.
Daisy wants to leave here as well, it’s all she ever talks about—traveling, buying antiques, or whatever.
I don’t know what happened back there when she kissed me. I’ve never had that experience in my life. My stomach is churning, and tightness is in my chest. I take several deep breaths and put it all into perspective. Daisy is a cute girl, she’s easy to talk to, and she’s got a very encouraging, bright personality.
We’ve known each other a long time… granted it was always as friends, but still. It’s easy to explain whatever happened back there away. We got a little ahead of ourselves—probably because we’re both healthy, active people in our twenties. Hormones happen.
I’ve made a plan, and I’m sticking with it. No reason to do otherwise.
Five
Daisy
I want to die.
Lying on my bed, I stare at the ceiling and replay what just happened in my head. I kissed his cheek, then it was like everything went off the rails. His mouth covered mine, and I tried to climb him like a tree.
“Oh, God!” I cover my flaming face with my hands.
My hands were fisted in his shirt—in his shirt! And I was pulling… I was literally trying to rip his clothes off. And ohhh, that kiss.
I can still feel it hot and hungry and possessive, his tongue curling with mine, invading my senses like a hurricane.
He erased my mind. All logic, reason… Gone.
I wanted to lick him all over from top to bottom. I wanted to bite him. I wanted to kiss his sexy stomach, lower… I wanted to kiss his sexy cock. Heat flares in my core as I think about it. I was on the verge of going total wanton sex goddess on him.
And he stopped it.
At the start, it seemed like he was right there with me. Hell, I could feel his dick hard and ready on my stomach, but just as fast, he looked into my eyes. I looked into his, and it was like instant regret.
He realized what he was about to do, and he practically ran away.
“Oh, God!” I roll onto my side, moaning louder.
Shame flashes so hard in my chest, my knees rise. I curl into a ball, wrapping my arms around them and pulling them tight to me.
Anybody will tell you I’m nowhere near his league. What in the world took over me? I was a fool letting myself fantasize about him. Of course, he stopped it. He’s going to Hollywood, for God’s sake.
My lips tighten, and my nose gets hot. I squeeze my eyes shut. No! I will not cry. Crying over Scout Dunne is the worst thing I could do.
It’s pointless.
He is every woman’s wet dream, probably even some men’s, and I’m not going to cry because he kept us from doing something majorly stupid. I’m going to be a realist and remember that I have my own dreams and plans.
I’m going to get back to reality and stop being distracted.
Banging from downstairs pulls me out of a fitful sleep. Sitting up groggily, I look down to see I’m still wearing what I had on yesterday. I didn’t even take a shower. I didn’t have dinner. My stomach growls, and I realize I’m starving.
Clinking noises greet my ears, and I wonder what the hell is going on down there.
Dull thumping on the stairs precedes the sound of my cousin’s voice. “Daisy! Are you planning to sleep all day?”
“Sly?” I throw back the covers and jump out of bed, running down the stairs.
“Hey, Daisy Kate!”
“Sly!” My voice goes high, and we throw our arms around each other, jumping up and down as we hug and laugh.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just stopping by before I head to Mom’s. She said you were fixing this place up, but damn girl!” Her arm is around my shoulder as she looks around the kitchen. “This is amazing! Are you expecting Harry and Meghan? It’s like a royal country house.”