“You’re right about that,” she replied, referring more to the cloud of sadness she’d been living under. “Pale blue. Like the sky after rain. You?”
Will popped another Hershey’s Kiss in her mouth. She’d never think of them the same way.
“Green.”
It suited him. “What do you look for in a woman?”
Looking down at her, he smiled. “Seems smart to answer with something like, the one I’m currently holding in my arms.”
Lexi laughed as she sat up, moving away to grab the basket again. Rooting through it, she was acutely aware of the weight of the gorgeousring on her finger. Real or not, she was attached. She’d spend some time later thinking about how it felt to have this particular man give her something that symbolized something so special. For now, though, she wanted to do what she hadn’t been able to years ago: Push reality aside. Forget it existed. This gorgeous, funny, sweet man wanted to date her. The engagement thing was a hiccup that didn’t truly matter. The ring was just a ring. Will made her feel real. Made her feel happy.
“Don’t be a chicken. Be honest. You’ve been around. You have a past. What do you like?” She went up on her knees, turned her body to face him, choosing a Kiss like he had.
Grabbing a purple sucker from the basket between them, he unwrapped it as he answered. “I think I’ve learned a lot about what I don’t like from my past. I’ve had girlfriends. I thought I was in love with one of them, but it turned out she and her family loved my family’s money more than me.”
How could someone spend time with this man and think about anything other than how fucking awesome he was?
She reached out, kissed him. “She was an idiot.”
His smile was soft. Sweet. Like something he shared only with her. He offered her his sucker, desire burning in his gaze when she took one quick taste. He pulled it back, tasted it himself before continuing.
“So I guess what I’m learning is that I like a woman who is independent but not so much so that she won’t let me be a part of a solution if she’s stuck. One who is kind. Funny. Honest. Someone who couldn’t care less about my last name and has no connection to my mother. Someone who thinks meeting up with me for drinks after she worked all day and hanging out with a couple old enough to be our grandparents is fun. Someone who takes care of her mother without regard for her own dreams and goals. Someone who would lie on my bed and eat enough candy to make us both sick and consider it a date.”
He looked at her with just a touch of vulnerability and Lexi’s heart muscles spasmed. They were playing a dangerous game.
“This is the best date I’ve ever had.”
Will’s hand froze before the round lollipop hit his lips. “You’re incredibly easy to please, Alexandria Danby.”
Nerves pushed through her bloodstream. “You’re incredible, period.”
Will picked up the discarded wrapper, set his sucker on it on the bedside table, then moved the basket there as well. Lexi’s heart rate sped up as if she’d run the hundred-meter dash without stretching. After years of not practicing.
“Come here, Lexi,” he said softly, sitting up against the pillows he’d arranged against the headboard.
Lexi moved on her knees, their gazes fastened on each other like magnets powerless against the pull. He reached out a hand, settling it on her hip as she moved so one knee was on either side of his thighs. He put his other hand on her waist, lowered his gaze to his hands, then stroked them up, all the way, over her sides, brushing against her breasts before traveling up to her neck, her cheeks, and finally tunneling into her hair. They moved in tandem, her leaning down as he leaned up, their mouths meeting in the middle, her hands going to his broad, strong shoulders. She sighed into the kiss, happy to give up control of her emotions in favor of living in this moment. In this second.
Will crushed her against his chest and Lexi loved the closeness, the teetering-on-the-edge burst of need that emanated off both of them as he switched the angle of the kiss, as her hands went to his hair, his back, his arms, anywhere she could touch. She fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, eager to feel his skin against her own, against her lips. When she’d unfastened a few, she pressed her mouth to his neck, his collarbone, and let her hands spread the shirt, widening the opening so she could run her fingers over his muscles, the slight dusting of chest hair. When she began trailing her fingers down, his abs bunched and he grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands away from his body.
Will shifted, moved them so she was lying underneath him. “Let’s slow down.”
“No thank you,” she said, yanking him back down for another kiss. He laughed against her mouth but her humor fled as he trailed his lips along her jaw, her collarbone, his hand sliding under her shirt, fingertips dancing over her heated skin.
The duality of what she felt overwhelmed her: passion and humor, happiness and an intense ache. Desire and tenderness. Protected and vulnerable. Both of their shirts were discarded and Lexi lost her ability to process. She knew reality would come crashing back in like a monster intent on destruction but right now, it was only them.
Sighs and kisses, smiles and touches that fired her up and soothed her all at once. Only them. Only this. They took their time, learning and lingering. Lexi wondered if she’d ever felt so appreciated or adored. The few instances she’d been with a man, there’d been one sole purpose, but with Will, everything had layers. Definitely an end goal but one that he was in no rush to reach. It was like he couldn’t get enough of her and Lexi felt the same. She wanted everything and even if he gave it, she wondered if it would ever be enough.
Lexi had never wondered what it would be like to fall in love. For most of her teen years, she’d been too focused on track. In college, she’d worked hard, run hard, and only wanted fun on the side. Plus, she’d always had her parents as a compass for what love looked like. It was all-consuming, no room for anything else other than basic needs like working to put food on the table. Lexi had never wanted that kind of fixation on another person, that feeling of being so wrapped up in them you weren’t sure of who you were without them.
But now, with little slivers of moonlight sneaking through his blinds, Will’s hands cherishing her as he whispered her name with a reverent sigh, she could understand that kind of falling. She knew,after tonight, she’d have to do a better job securing her heart and protecting herself. Lexi had always considered herself immune to this sort of feeling, the sensation of getting lost in someone. But Will made it very real and that worried her. The engagement was a lie but the feelings weren’t and if she wasn’t careful, they’d multiply to a point she wouldn’t be able to pull back. She wouldn’t be able to save herself.
Twenty-four
Will had never bathed with a woman. Showered, sure. But he hadn’t even had a bath by himself since he was a boy. There was definitely something to be said for sharing the tub with a gorgeous woman. Especially when that woman was Lexi. He might not know where she was at emotionally but he now knew exactly where he stood. The fall had happened. He’d landed. Now it was about managing the ground beneath his feet, hoping she’d catch up one day.
Will ran his finger along the nape of her neck. She’d tied her hair up on top of her head, much like the first day he’d met her just a couple of weeks ago. Only now, the steam from the water was making the little pieces sticking out curl. She shivered when his finger continued to glide up and down.
“I could live in this tub,” she said, a contentment in her voice he wanted to take credit for.
