The moment he pushed my hair behind my ear, I knew I was in trouble.

He was being so thoughtful and kind. For a second, I really thought he was going to lean down and kiss me. I was almost willing him to do it in my mind. How silly was I being? I knew he was only taking care of me because I’m Jefferson’s sister. There was no way a guy like this would ever be interested in me. Jefferson was dead wrong. I was so far out of Gunner’s league it was unreal.

Gunner sat on the other end of the sofa and rested my legs on his lap. Well, not really, because he put a pillow in between him and my legs. I must admit I felt a tad bit disappointed when I saw him do that. Ryan never would have sat on the sofa like this. He said he could not take touching me because it only made him want me more. Maybe he just didn’t want to touch me because I was never desirable to him. To be honest, I would never have been ready to do anything with Ryan. We barely ever kissed and that was all. I guess he felt the same way. He never really wanted me.

You will never be wanted by anyone . . .

“Hey, what are you frowning about over there? Do you want me to change the movie? Cars not doing it for you, sweetheart?” Gunner asked as he started to stroke my legs.

Oh. My. God. He really needed to stop doing that. This boy must have magic in his fingertips . . . holy fuck. There went that pressure in between my legs again!

“No, it’s fine. I was just thinking about the whole thing with Ryan today. I’m sorry,” I said as I tried to relax while he was sending jolts of electricity up and down my legs. Gunner’s face immediately fell and he looked like he wanted to hurt someone. He stopped stroking my legs and pushed both his hands through his messy hair. I immediately missed his touch and regretted bringing up Ryan. As I watched him run his hands through his hair I licked my lips. What I wouldn’t do to straddle him right now and run my fingers through that hair. I wonder if it was as soft as it looked.

Oh, holy shit! I needed to stop this. I tried to clear my head of my thoughts and looked back up at Gunner who was now looking at me. It was starting to get awkward the way we kept staring at each other.

“Hey, um, Gunner, can I ask you something?” I said as I sat up a little to get a better look at him. My God, he really was breathtaking. He smiled at me.

“Always.”

Yep, I would never forget that smile for as long as I lived. The feelings it sent through my body were like nothing I had ever experienced.

“Why do you keep calling me ‘sweetheart’?”

Shit! As soon as I asked him that, his smile faded just a little bit.

“I didn’t realize I was saying it a lot, I’m sorry. If you want me to stop or it bothers you, I’ll try to be more aware of it,” Gunner said as he looked back at the TV.

Oh no! I think I just hurt his feelings. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck a duck!

“No, no, please don’t stop. I mean, I like it. I mean, um, well . . .” Good Lord, what was I trying to say here? “It’s just that you called me that the first time you touched me. I mean, when you pulled me back away from Jefferson and Ryan. I guess I was just surprised to hear anyone other than Jefferson use an endearing name for me. That’s all,” I said as I lay back down on the pillow. Jeez, now I felt like a complete bitch. Here was this god of a guy staying home tonight and waiting on me, and I just insulted him. Shit! I truly sucked at this stuff.

“Ryan never called you ‘sweetheart’ or anything?” Gunner asked, his voice filled with surprise.

“Ha! No . . . about the only thing he ever called me was Ell or Ells. That should have been another sign,” I said, the last sentence practically under my breath.

“Well, I can tell you this, Ellie, if you were my girlfriend, I would let you know every day how much you meant to me, through words . . . and much more,” Gunner said in a sexy-ass voice.

I wanted to say, show me this much more and show me now, please!

Okay, that just woke up my whole body, including my libido. Wow . . . no one had ever said anything like that to me before. Whoever snagged this guy was going to be one hell of a lucky bitch.

“That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you, Gunner, so much. I’m sure you’re going to make some girl a very happy woman someday,” I said with as much of a smile as I could muster.

The thought of another girl in his arms drove me almost mad. What was wrong with me? God help me. I turned my attention back to Cars.

Before I knew it he was stroking my legs again and I fell into a dream. I dreamed I was walking along a riverbank. I was walking, but I was also standing in the background watching it all play out. All I could see was my back walking away from me. Then, to my side, a man came running up and picked me up in his arms and spun me around. He gave me the most loving kiss. He whispered something in my ear, and I threw my head back and laughed. He turned and I could now see the front of his body . . . it was Gunner. He had on white linen pants that were rolled up so the water did not touch them and a gray shirt. He looked like heaven. His smile was that crooked smile that I instantly fell in love with and would do anything to see every day. Just then I turned along with Gunner to start walking back, but something was different about me and I couldn’t see what it was. I barely could see my face or my body. Everything got blurry. Gunner dropped my hand and started to walk away from me. Wait! Where was he going? Why was he leaving? He looked so sad.

I heard someone talking to me. It was my mother: Wake up, Ellie . . . you will never be wanted like this, Ellie, darlin’ . . . he does not want you, Ellie, wake up . . . does not want you . . . No! That was not true. I saw the way Gunner looked at me in my dream . . . he loved me . . . he had to love me.

Ellie, sweetheart, wake up . . .