“I want you,” I said. “I wanted you the second you walked in that door. Why the fuck would I think badly of you when I’m in the same boat? No judgment necessary, okay? I believe you.”
She studied my face like she wasn’t sure if I was blowing smoke up her ass, and I truly wasn’t. Double standards were alive and well, but my perspective was a little different on the matter, given my father’s behavior.
“Okay,” she said with a nod.
“Now, what do you need to know about me?”
She stayed quiet.
“Ask away. Whatever you need.”
“You’re not a serial killer, are you?” Her brow furrowed, and I had a feeling her question was completely serious.
“No.” I shook my head as my laugh echoed in the cabin of the truck.
“Because if you are, I promise I’ll come back and haunt you for the rest of your life if you kill me. I might be little, but I’ll be full of rage.”
“I believe you,” I told her, the first smile in days tugging at the corners of my mouth. “I promise I’m not a serial killer. Shot a few deer in my day, and that’s it. You’ve got no reason to believe me, but you’re safe. Nothing is happening tonight that you don’t want or ask for.”
Her hesitation told me more than her words ever could. This was out of character for her. She didn’t go home with random guys from the bar. I was guessing, if she hadn’t broken up with her boyfriend, she probably wouldn’t have been at the bar.
“Good. I’ve been the queen of bad decisions in my life, and I don’t want this to be one of them.”
“You’re good. I give you my word as a—” I almost saidRiscoff, but I stopped short.
Her brows went up. “Your word as what?”
“A man who would’ve been beaten for disrespecting a woman.”
It was the first thing that came to mind, and it was absolutely true. Commodore would kill me, and then my mother would bury me in the garden. That was one thing they both agreed on.
She looked out the windshield at the cabin, lit up by the brights of the truck. “This your place?”
I nodded and killed the engine. In the interest of keeping my identity out of the conversation, I didn’t tell her that it was a hunting cabin that had been in the family for decades. It was normal, not too over-the-top, and I’d always been more comfortable here than at the estate.
I didn’t sense hesitation in her tone, but I still wanted to be sure she was on board as I pulled the keys out of the ignition. “You want to change your mind?”
She shook her head with a smile, and my body buzzed like I’d taken a hit of something strong.
Thank God.But I didn’t say that.
Instead, I said, “You’re something else, Blue.” I didn’t know why I gave her a nickname, but it rolled off my tongue so easily.
“I’m nobody,” she said as she looked away. “But tonight, I want to forget that.”
I reached out and stroked her cheek with my thumb. “You’re not nobody. I don’t need to know your name to know that. But tonight, I’ll make you forget everything that sent you into that bar, if you want.”
Her gaze lifted to mine. “That’s exactly what I want. Starting right now.” She turned toward me and threw a leg over, her skirt rolling up her thighs as she straddled my lap again. Her body practically vibrated with need.
Never in my life had a woman wanted me this badly without knowing who I was.
Panties usually flew when they find out my last name, but this girl lit up forme.Just me. That knowledge was more potent than an entire bottle of tequila.
Our lips collided, and her kiss was filled with hunger and desperation. I gave it right back to her. Whatever she was feeling, I was feeding off it, and it amplified everything.
I finally tore my mouth away. “We gotta get inside. I’m not fucking you for the first time in this truck. Not happening.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but my hand was already on the handle. I maneuvered us out of the cab and lifted her so I could carry her inside.