Chapter 9

“I can’t date you. I have Hank, and he’s my focus. Plus, the thing with your brother. That would be weird later.” Not to mention disastrous. “But I’m so attracted to you that I can feel it all the way down to my toes.”

Quirking an eyebrow, he absently rubbed his hand over his flat stomach. “So?”

“So, if…if you were interested in one night, tonight, then that would be okay.” I would spend a lot of time later thinking about my morals, but I felt like a guitar string pulled too tight. Something was going to snap. Being around a man I found devastatingly good-looking for the first time in so long and hearing him tell me he found me attractive, it was like setting off a bomb in my brain. A one-night stand, something I’d sworn off, felt like the answer.

“Spell it out for me, Mallory.”

I shivered at the gruff tone his voice had taken on. “Sex. Do you want to have sex with me tonight?”

He grabbed my hips and pulled me into his body, letting me feel the stirring that was happening south of his belt. “Yes. But I don’t think I like your terms.”

I couldn’t think with his hard body pressing against mine. I let my arms dangle loosely at my sides, unsure if I should touch him. “No?”

“What if I’m greedy? What if I want more than one night?” He leaned into me and brushed his nose along my neck. “What then?”

I tipped my head to the side to expose more of my neck to him. He was so hot against my body, and his breath on my sensitive skin was giving me chills of pleasure. “Only tonight.”

“Tonight, and then you reevaluate your plans.”

I smiled and finally lifted my hands to rest them on his shoulders. “Are you negotiating?”

“To get more of you, yes.”

“You don’t even know if you’re going to like this. I could be terrible at sex. I could have a hairy nipple hiding under my dress that gives you nightmares for years.”

“Reevaluate your plans after.” He stroked his hand up my rib cage and his thumbs teased the skin just under my breasts. “Please.”

I nodded, already too far gone. “Fine. After.”

With that, he pulled away and grabbed another potato. “Will you grab that onion over there?”

I stumbled. “What?”

“I promised you dinner. I’m going to cook for you still.”

I stupidly stood frozen, watching as he carried on like we hadn’t just made plans to have sex. “But…”

With a grin at me over his shoulder, Isaac amped up my desire even higher. “If I only get one chance to convince you to see me again, I’m going to make it count. Now, can I have that onion?”

*******************

Wesatonthe porch while Isaac grilled the burgers. I was pretty sure he was trying to seduce me with the swing, and I wasn’t sure he wasn’t onto something. We watched the sun dip below the mountains as the burgers cooked and then we sat in the darkness, gently rocking back and forth in silence for a bit. It was peaceful, and it was lulling me into a sense of safety.

“The city was never like this. It was never quiet.”

“It wasn’t what you wanted?”

“I think it used to be. After I had Hank, though, nothing felt safe there. I was alone, and I had to rely on people I didn’t know well enough to watch Hank for me. I spent so much time worrying about where he was while I worked that I barely got anything done. I loved the city when I was younger. I moved there as soon as I turned twenty and never thought I’d leave.”

“Things change, though.” He stretched his arm out behind me, and I felt him playing with my hair. “There was a time when I didn’t want this place or anything of the work that came with it.”

“What changed for you?”

He went still for a beat and then sighed so silently that I might’ve missed it if I wasn’t leaning closer to him. “Family. I realized that I don’t want to let it slip away.”

“Are you close with your family?”

“Some of us are closer than others. Every family has a history, and ours isn’t all good. Some of us can’t let go and move on.” He stood and walked over to the grill. “Looks like these are done. You ready to eat?”

I watched his back as he worked the grill and fought the urge to wrap my arms around him. He had layers, and damn him, he was drawing me in. I sighed to myself and stood up. “Yeah. Food sounds good.”

We ate at the counter and talked between bites, but as the food went away, so did our conversation. I couldn’t stop thinking about what was coming, and the anticipation had me wiggling around in my seat. Every stolen glance had weight and heat to it; each clumsy bump of our knees felt like an electric shock.

With still half of my dinner left on my plate, I pushed it away and turned to Isaac. “This is killing me.”

He paused with a fry halfway to his mouth and dropped it, turning to me completely. His eyes roamed my face, and then he brazenly looked over my body. His slow perusal just amplified my arousal. I wanted him to do something. The waiting was torture.

“Isaac…”

He licked his lips and then stood up and held his hand out to me. “Come on.”

I wasn’t sure where we were going, but I was pretty sure I would’ve walked off a cliff if he told me we’d have sex at the bottom. Out of the kitchen and down a hallway, he led me into a bedroom with a massive bed in the middle of it. The bed was made, more books stacked on each side of it, and the dark blue bedding looked soft. I wanted to know what it felt like under my naked back.

Isaac led me to the side of the bed and sat down in front of me. He pulled me between his legs and wrapped an arm around me. I braced my hands on his shoulders and bit my lip at the feeling of his muscles flexing under me. He was finally eye to eye with me and my breath caught at being so close to him.

He ran his hand up my arm and cupped my neck, his eyes falling to my mouth. Gently pulling me into him, he pressed his lips to mine, and the sound of pleasure he made vibrated from his chest and weakened my knees.

I leaned into him and felt my stomach tighten as his lips moved over mine. He kissed me gently, patiently, until I dug my fingers into his shoulders and made a pathetic whimper of need. I felt like I was coming unwound, almost two years of tension threatening to blow if he didn’t kiss me harder and touch me everywhere.

Sensing what I needed, he stroked his tongue into my mouth and kissed me passionately. He held me tighter and caught the ends of my hair in his fist. His body consumed mine, his strength evident as he easily lifted my body onto his lap and held me there, even as he kissed me deeper. Draped over his thighs, my dress stretched and left my white panties exposed. I felt the cool air of the room brush over the damp spot that had formed in them, and then Isaac’s erection pressed directly into me as he shifted me closer.