Chase is dropping off Emma any time now. She asked if Chase could bring her because he wanted to check out my house. I’m not real comfortable with people being in my space, but knowing how she feels about him, I agreed. Tennyson had a play date, so it will be just the three of us, at least for a while. She’s coming over after her play date to have dinner with us.

Sitting on the front porch, I see the dust in the distance from Chase’s car coming down the driveway. His old, bright orange Camaro comes to a stop right behind the car that August gave me.

“Sam,” he says as he opens the door.

“Hey,” I say, opening the door for Emma. Sunny hops over her lap before she can get up and nearly tackles me on his way out. “Nice car.”

“Thanks, it’s an antique,” he says as he walks around my car, peering in the windows.

“Hey beautiful,” I kiss her cheek and she blushes. She looks amazing in her soft blue, flowing dress.

“Hey yourself.”

“What kind of car is this?” Chase slaps his hand on the roof.

“It’s a self-driving car. A friend of mine designed it.”

“I’ve heard about these, but I’ve never seen one,” he says.

“It’s self-driving, that means I could drive it.” Emma’s face lights up with excitement. I’ve never thought about it, but I guess she’s right.

“How about I show you around first,” I say and take her hand.

I lead her to the front porch steps and then show her the inside. She touches everything. Chase looks at every detail of the house and asks what all I’ve done to it. I show him everything on the inside and then we all go back outside to show him everything else that has been done.

“I’m highly impressed. You did all this work by yourself?”

“I did. I’ve even impressed myself,” I laugh.

“Nice lake you have back there, too,” he adds.

“Yeah, when you bring Tennyson by later, make sure you pack her suit. I promised her I would teach her to swim.”

“I will, man. Thanks for the tour. I’ll be back around 5.”

“Do you want to stay and have dinner with us?” I ask.

“No, I’ve got a hot date with Nana. It’s our bingo night,” he laughs.

I watch him pull out of the drive. “Does he really play bingo?” I ask Emma, laughing.

“Every Sunday night he takes her. He dreaded it at first, but now he looks forward to it.”

“Oh man, he really is a good guy, isn’t he?” I take her hand.

“I want to drive your car.” She’s literally bouncing with excitement.

“Stay here and I’ll grab the remote for it, but let me put Sunny in Sadie’s pen with her so she won’t roam off.”

“It has a remote?”

“Yep, and you can program from it.” Sadie starts prancing happily in circles around Sunny as soon as they are together. I run in and get the remote and then take her to the car. She climbs gracefully into the driver’s seat.

“You know, I haven’t driven a car since I left for college.”

I shut her door and get in the passenger side. She has her hands on everything. “Now what?” she asks.

I place the remote in her hand. “Push this button,” I say, placing her finger over it. She does and the engine purrs to life.

“Oh my God, I started a car.” She is beaming and looks absolutely beautiful.

I take a minute to program the area around the house and start the voice activation. “Tell it where you want to go.”

“Like anywhere?”

“Let’s keep it on the property for now. Push this button and then speak, tell it to drive around the lake.”

She follows my instructions and the car starts to move. She places her hands on the wheel like she is actually driving it. “This is the coolest thing I’ve done in a long time.” If her smile were any bigger, her face would break.

“I wish you could see the lake,” I say.

“I can see it, Sam, just not like you.”

Half way around the lake she asks how to make it stop. “Just push the button and say stop,” I tell her.

She finds the remote and tells it to stop. “I want to try something,” she says before telling the door to open.

I meet her on her side as she is digging something out of her purse. She hands me a scarf. “Put this on,” she says.

It’s a dark, flowered scarf. “I don’t think this is my color,” I laugh.

She takes it back from me and reaches up and ties it around my head, covering my eyes. “I want you to see things from my perspective. Start by listening to the things around you. Tell me what you hear.”

“I hear birds.”

“That’s too easy, tell me what else.”

I try to really listen. “I hear the wind blowing in the trees and the soft rustling of the water. I think I even hear a bee buzzing somewhere.”

“Good, now let’s take a walk.”

“Wait, neither one of us can see where we are going,” I protest.

“Do you trust me?”

That is a loaded question. I haven’t trusted anyone since TR. “I don’t like this idea.” I reach to take my blindfold off, but she stops me.

“Please, for me. Just a few steps. Concentrate on what you hear.”

I calm my racing heart down and take a few steps with her holding my hand. “I hear the grass crunch beneath my boots.”

“What else?”

“I think I just heard a fish jump.”

“You did,” she laughs. She stops me and grabs both of my hands. “See, I see things, just in a different way.” She places her hands on my face. “I want to see you.” Her fingers trace my jawline and then over my forehead, pushing my hair out of her way. She ends with her fingers on my chin. “You are so handsome,” she says softly and leans in to place her lips on mine. My hands go to her hips and pull her toward me. Kissing her without seeing her is a completely different sensation. Every ounce of my body is alive with the taste of her.

“You taste so good,” I whisper when we pull apart. I pull off my blindfold and see her lick her lips. I want to taste her again, so I pull her in for a kiss this time. When we pull apart again we are both breathless.

“I think we should go back to your house,” she says. I let her control the car until we are in front of the house again. I get out and open her car door, taking her hand to lead her back into the house.

“Can I fix you a drink?” I ask.

“Water would be fine.”

“The couch is a few steps to your right.” Her sandals are off and her legs are folded up underneath her when I return with the glasses of water. I place the glass in her hand and she takes a few sips.

“Sam, I want to know what happened between you and August. I told you my story and I want you to trust me with yours.”

There is that five letter word again, trust. “I have a hard time trusting people. I didn’t used to be that way.”

“You trusted me without sight. I think I’ve proven to you that I’m trustworthy,” she says.

I take a long drink of my water and pull off my boots. I want to be as comfortable as she is. “When I was in college, I made a friend with this guy that I trusted completely. So much so, that I brought him into August and Nash’s life. August started a business and put me in charge of the overseas division. I hired on TR, my friend, to work for me. Turns out, TR was actually August’s half-brother and none of us knew it. He wanted revenge for something August didn’t do. He kidnapped Nash and August almost died trying to save her.”

“And you feel responsible?” she says.

“Yes. August had always encouraged me to check out people’s backgrounds. I didn’t, because I thought we were friends. Turns out that it wouldn’t have mattered. He was good at covering his tracks.”

“So, you had no way of knowing who he was or what he was up to.”

“No, not really, but I’m still the one that brought him into their lives.”

“Does August feel the same way?” Her hand finds mine.

“No, and neither does Nash.”

“So, why are you still holding onto this? Sounds like August is your best friend and you walked out on him.”

“I didn’t walk out on him. I walked away so that I could change. August has done almost everything in my life for me. I wanted to see who I could become without him taking care of me.”

“You felt like stepping out of his life completely was the only way you could do that?”

“At the time, yes. I was angry with him. TR died in the end. I didn’t understand why August went to his funeral. I hated the bastard for what he did to them. How could August go mourn him?”

“Maybe he was mourning the loss of a brother he never had. Maybe, it was his way of getting closure.”

I lean in and kiss her. “How did you get so damn smart and how did I get so lucky to find you?”

“I think I’m the lucky one.”

I take her water from her hand and place it on the coffee table. We both stand and I lead her to the bedroom.

I bring her in for a kiss and my hands, which I never knew what to do with, suddenly have a mind of their own. While my lips are against hers, my hands roam her body. They start on the nape of her neck and slide down the front of her chest. My fingertips skim over her breast on their descent and I hear her sudden intake of breath. Her hands are just as greedy, moving from my lower back and around to my stomach, where they slide up the front of my shirt, feeling each of my abs flex under her soft touch.

Her touch does something powerful to me. My nerves are through the roof. I’ve never been this far before, but I want to go so much further. My heart pounds in my chest like I’ve ran a marathon and my breathing is labored.

I want to watch her as she kisses me back, but I let my eyes fall closed so I can experience this from her perspective. I feel her heart pounding the same rhythm as my own. Her breathing is also quick. I can feel each breath as it blows across my cheek, causing goosebumps to break out across my skin.

My hands go to her hips where they make a fist in her dress, pulling it up inch by inch. She lifts her arms in the air, letting me know that it’s okay. With the hem of her dress in my hands, I slowly pull it up, allowing my fingertips to caress her soft skin. She’s beautiful standing there in her light pink bra and panties, more beautiful than I ever imagined. I kiss her shoulder and her hands grasp the tail of my shirt, pulling it over my head.

“I have to tell you something,” she says with a shaky voice. “I’ve never been with a man before.” She bites her bottom lip as her eyes flash downward.

I place my fingers under her chin and tilt her head back up. “It’s okay, this is a first for me, too,” I say.

She takes a step back, out of my reach. Already I’m longing to touch her again. “How is that possible?” she whispers.

“That’s a story for another day.” I step toward her. “Right now, more than anything, I just want to make love to you.” My hands reach out and wrap around to her back, pulling her body flush with mine. My lips find hers again before I continue a path downward with my kisses. My lips brush the bra straps from her shoulders while my fingers get to work on the clasp. When she spills from the cups, I drop to my knees and move my lips to her nipple. She throws her head back and lets out the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard, a sound that cuts right through me and makes my blood boil.

Her hands are resting on my shoulders with her nails digging into my skin, holding on for dear life while I worship her body. While my lips move from one nipple to the other, my fingers slide beneath her panties and begin working them down her long legs.

I lay her down on the bed, completely bare before me. Never once looking away from her beautiful body, I remove my jeans and boxers. Her chest is heaving as I join her on the bed and take my place between her parted legs. I unabashedly take in every glorious inch of her that is sprawled out before me. I trail kisses down her flat stomach, then down each of her legs. My cock is already aching to be inside her. I’ve never been inside a woman before, but I know that is where I want to be.