I threaded my fingers through his hair, delighting in the softness of each strand. No gel today. Maybe because he knew he’d get all yummy, sexy, sweaty this afternoon. I couldn’t get enough of what he gave, needing more and more of the friction until I had to force myself to come up for air.
He had other ideas. Those sinful lips traveled down the column of my neck. He nibbled on my pounding pulse. It made my back arch. Pleasure and pain fused into one smooth sensation. He soothed the place he’d bitten with a small lick then traveled the length of my collarbone to the other side of my neck. I’d lost all coherent thought when he reached the delicate curve of my ear.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” he whispered.
“No.” I tried to twist away to put some space between us, but he grabbed the back of my neck and held me prisoner. He wasn’t done tormenting my ear apparently.
“Come with me tomorrow.”
“Where?” More a gasp than anything else.
“Just say yes.”
With my eyes still closed, I imagined the word YES. A quick nod came out instead.
“Close enough.”
…
I sat alone on the porch, waiting for Dillan to arrive. At breakfast, Grams and Gramps went about their day as if I didn’t wake up shrieking my lungs out again, like the night before the field trip. My throat still hurt from it.
The rumble of the GT’s engine broke through my funk as it drove up the gravel path. I launched off the top step and ran toward the driver’s side even before Dillan could get both legs out of the car. I leapt into his arms and buried my face in the hollow of his neck, breathing him in. I used the contact to keep me in the present, remind me I was still alive.
“Hey, someone seems happy to—” A pause. “Selena? You’re shaking. Fuck. What’s going on?” His hands rubbed up and down my back, pressing me closer to him.
I shook my head.
“Babe, come on,” his voice filled with concern, “you’ve got to talk to me.”
Breathing in and out one more time, I moved back and plastered a smile on my lips. “Don’t call me babe,” I teased even if the endearment was enough to push all my fears away.
He tilted his head to the side. A glimmer of doubt entered those blue eyes. “Get in.”
The sweet scent of leather had a strangely calming effect on me. “So,” I said. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Are you going to tell me why you were scared shitless?”
I flinched. “Bad dream.”
He gripped the steering wheel. “Bullshit.”
“Don’t you have bad dreams?”
“Don’t answer my question with a question.”
My stomach churned. I wanted to take the lie back. The urge to confess, to share, overwhelmed me so much that I had to choke down the truth. My throat ached with every gulp.
As if sensing I had no inclination to elaborate, Dillan exhaled. The tension in his shoulders melted. For the entire drive into town, we didn’t speak. I thought he was mad at me until he reached out and traced a line from my temple to my chin as he pulled on to W. Main Street. I let the touch happen. Something told me he needed the contact more than I did.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
I blinked at him. “Yes…yes, I know.”
“Good.” He nodded once as if that was that. I was glad he didn’t push. “Can you get out of your shift at the bookstore?”
“Where are you taking me?”
He eased the GT into a parking slot in front of Ormand’s and killed the engine. Then he squeezed the back of my neck, pulling me closer. His lips touched mine while he spoke. “Just get out of your shift.”
I zipped out of the car and into the bookstore in five seconds flat. The bell at the door announced my welcome while the rush of cold air hit me like a bulldozer. I almost stumbled out again. Jeez!
Ormand stood behind the counter, bagging a customer’s purchase. “Selena,” he greeted. “You’re early.”
“Not exactly.” I waited with impatient energy as he thanked the customer. I stared at my sneakers. “I was wondering if…”
“Yes?” His smile revealed his crooked teeth.
I fiddled with the edge of my jacket. “Can I take the afternoon off?”
His smile wavered. “Hot date?”
My blush burned to the roots of my hair. “Yes.”
A honk interrupted whatever Ormand was about to say. The goose bump-inducing feeling that came and went when I was in the store washed over me now. I backed away slowly.
“I’ll make it up to you. I promise,” I said when I reached the door.
Dillan kissed my cheek the second I slid into my seat.
“What was that for?” I touched the spot his lips just left, instantly forgetting Ormand and the bookstore.
“I’m a sucker for blushes.” He grinned.
Heart thrumming, I buckled in. “So, spill. Where are we going?”
“My house.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Dillan
Functionally Dysfunctional
Selena talked. And talked. She kept on talking for the whole drive up to the townhouse. Dillan chuckled. If he’d known she’d be this nervous, he’d have told her what to expect. She wouldn’t let him get a word in. So, lips tight, he let her talk and talk. When the townhouse came into view, she described its brick and glass as if this was the first time he was seeing it, too. He nodded dutifully and just listened. It still bothered him to have her in his arms shaking the way she did when he’d picked her up. It made him feel helpless. Maybe the danger of the situation was finally catching up with her. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel as she mentioned the black mailbox and the happy gnome standing at the foot of it. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.
When he pulled into the two-car garage, right beside the scarlet ‘66 Mustang, Selena paused in her monologue. He found her adorable as she stared at his uncle’s car like she was about to say something then sighed instead. He waited, watching her fiddle with a loose thread on her sweater sleeve. He wanted to reach out and tangled his fingers with hers. Touching her had become his newest addiction. The soft skin on her face, her un-callused hands…he could go on and on.
“Mr. Sloan’s here?” she finally asked.
Rolling his eyes, he got out of the car and hurried to her side. “You look disappointed,” he teased, opening her door.
She stepped out. “I just thought…”
“As much as I like that you’re actually disappointed Rainer’s here, I didn’t bring you here to ravish me.”
“Shut it!” She slapped his chest. The shocks didn’t even bother him anymore, and from the calm expression on her face, she hardly felt it either. The need to have her touch him outweighed his want to do the touching.
“Dillan?” Rainer’s voice came from somewhere inside the house.
Ignoring the call, he wrapped his arms around Selena’s waist. He figured they had a couple of minutes before Rainer showed himself. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he eased her closer until they stood hip to hip. It scared him how much he liked having her standing so close to him.
“You’ve got to stop blushing,” he whispered, his lips touching her ear. He delighted in the shiver that ran through her, took pride in being the one to cause it.
She kept her hands on his chest and leaned back. “It’s not like they’re intentional. Stop seducing me and I’ll try not to blush.”
“Like you really want me to stop.”
“Dillan, what’s taking you so long?” Rainer stood by the door that led into the house from the garage.