She blushed. “That I was sleeping with a married man? Not really.” Eryne furrowed her brows together. “You don’t really seem like the type.”
“I’m not. And I’ve never done that before.” All of my previous relationships, we’d gone on multiple dates before we’d ever taken the next step. Call me old-fashioned, but I liked to woo agirl first. Eryne deserved the wooing, even if I wanted nothing more than to curl my naked body around hers like this every night.
“Sex?” She blinked. “I don’t believe that.”
I laughed. “No. I wasn’t a virgin. I don’t normally make a habit out of begging a woman to have sex with me on the first date though, either.” I took her hand in mine. “But when I’m all in with someone, I’m all in. And believe me when I say, I’m all in, Eryne.”
She gave me a soft smile, leaning forward to press her lips against mine. “Good. Because I kinda like you a lot, Barrett Lockwood.”
The words were music to my ears. “I like you too, Eryne Fowler.”
Eryne smiled, curling against my chest.
“Now, I want to know more aboutyou,”I said, running my fingers down her bare back.
Her teeth raked over her lower lip. “Well, I’m an only child. I spent most of my childhood trying to blend in versus standing out. Not an easy feat with bright ginger hair.”
I tugged on a lock. “I think it’s beautiful.”
She blushed. “Thank you.” She pushed a few strands of hair off my forehead. “Yours is too.”
“We match.”
I grinned, once again thinking about those two redheaded toddlers running around one day. “Yeah. We do.”
“What else?” She hummed. “I got Nutmeg—my hedgehog—when I was little. My parents thought I was crazy, picking her as my familiar, but we just clicked. But I was always taking care of injured animals. That was how I found out about my healing affinity.” Eryne looked down at her palms. I thought about how she’d healed me, taking care of me. The warmth that had flooded my system from her touch, her magic mingling withmine, helping my own rapid-healing abilities come back online. “My parents joked about me becoming a vet or a nurse, actually, but I never saw myself doing it for a job. I guess I just wanted something that felt like it was for me. I thought about going to college in the human world, but I hated the idea of having to hide who I was for four years to blend in. So… I stayed.”
We’d talked about that before—when I’d asked her if she’d ever left.
“And that’s how you ended up working at the coffee shop?”
She paused for a moment. “It sort of landed in my lap when I was in between things. Willow posted a position for a barista, and I wanted to move out of my parents’ house, and one thing led to another… I guess you could say it was a little bit of kismet.” She gave me a warm smile. “Just like finding and saving you was.”
“Thank the moon that you did.” Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I cupped her cheek with my palm. “You’rebeautiful, Eryne. Inside and out.”
“Stop,” she said, though it was a weak protest. She looked away, a bashful smile on her face.
Dropping my lips to hers, I ran my tongue over her lips until she opened for me, and held her like that as we lost ourselves in each other’s mouths, lips moving softly as our tongues explored, like a dance with no choreography.
My cock, already hard again, pressed against her hip, and I groaned as she ran her hand down my shaft, caressing my knot.
I pressed the tip of my finger in her entrance, feeling her tight, wet heat sucking me in. Eryne let out a breath, turning her head to look back at me.
“You’re so responsive,” I murmured, tightening the arm I had draped across her stomach as I slid another finger inside her. “It drives me fucking crazy.” If I wasn’t so afraid of takingher again, I’d slide home right here and knot her. But I was trying to hold back.
“Then why didn’t you… touch me for the last few days?” she whispered, fiddling with her hair in front of her face.
“Fuck,” I cursed, sitting up and pulling her into my lap. “Eryne.” I brushed her bangs back, running my fingers through her soft waves. “It wasn’t like that.” I wanted her. Ialwayswanted her. Didn’t she know that?
“I don’t know why I’m upset. I know this is just… casual.” She shrugged her shoulders, looking away.
“Is it?” I asked, dragging my thumb under her chin to bring her face back to mine and looking her straight in the eye. “Because this doesn’t feel casual to me, Eryne.” And I didn’t just mean the sex.
“I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she admitted. “But we haven’t talked about it.”
“No, we haven’t,” I agreed, rubbing my thumb across her jaw. “And that’s my fault for not clarifying.”
She let out a soft breath, eyes fluttering shut.
