I pulled to a stop in front of her house, turned and looked at Maddie, and could see how nervous she was. Good. Her being on edge turned me the fuck on. Her clothes were soaked clean through, her hair matted to her head and face. I wanted to reach out with my calloused, dirty hands and push the strands away.

I wanted to grab a chunk of the locks and yank her head back, exposing her throat, then lean forward and lick and suck at her pale flesh. I lowered my gaze, taking in the fact her shirt molded to her breasts, the mounds large, well more than a handful. Her nipples were hard, the twin protrusions making my cock harden. I could see her bra through the white material, the lacy blue undergarment needing to be torn away so I could get a nice long look at her tits.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said and reached for the handle.

I was a second away from keeping her in this car, pulling her on top of me, and sucking on her breasts, making her nipples harder through her top. I didn’t even know this girl, but I would soon enough.

She glanced over her shoulder at me, her pupils dilated, her mouth parted. I affected her, maybe not in a way she was comfortable with, but in a way nonetheless.

I nodded, because saying anything would have come out in a desperate groan. And then I watched her leave the car, walk up to the front door, and disappear behind it.

I’d claim her soon enough, and once I did, I wasn’t letting go. Because once I saw something I wanted…it was mine.

* * *

It had only been a few days since Deacon had driven me home, the weekend making it so I didn’t have a legitimate reason to walk by his shop on my way to classes. It might have only been a short time since I’d been close enough to him that I’d felt how virile he was, how potent and masculine he was, but it felt like a lifetime.

“You okay?” my roommate, Robin, asked, her mouth full of cereal, her gaze locked on me.

I nodded, transfixed at the milk that dripped off her spoon and back into the bowl.

“Really? Because you seem out of it.” She took another bite of cereal, her brows knitted.

I was a shit liar, and I sure as hell didn’t know how to talk to her about this. It wasn’t like we were best friends. We roomed together, split the bills, and did our own thing.

“I’m fine,” I lied. “I have school shit I’m dealing with.” As if that answered everything, she looked back at her phone, her concern for me gone. I stared down at my cup of tea, the liquid having long since gone cold. I wanted to talk to Deacon, to see him again, but I also didn’t want to come across as being one of those people who thought something could be there when it wasn’t.

The buzzer on the door went off, and Robin got up to answer it. My thoughts were consuming me as I sat there, trying to think what in the hell I was going to do about my Deacon situation. When I felt someone watching me, I lifted my head to see Robin standing there with this strange look on her face.

“What?” I asked, feeling my brows pull down as confusion filled me. She didn’t answer right away, but I saw the way her throat worked as she swallowed, her nervousness tangible. “What is it?”

“Someone’s here for you.”

Okay. I didn’t see why she was acting so weird about it. I had study groups here, was even expecting a couple of people, albeit not until later. I got up and walked over to her. I knew my confusion was clear on my face—hell, I felt it all the way into my bones. I rounded the corner and saw who stood in the foyer by the front door.

Deacon.

He looked so big, his body almost blocking out the front door, his strength and masculinity filling the small space.

“Hi,” I managed to say, proud of myself for actually being able to form a coherent word. I moved closer to him, feeling his body heat instantly, smelling the cologne he wore, or maybe that was just his natural scent. Either way it was so damn attractive. When I was right in front of him, I craned my neck to look into his face. “What are you doing here?” My palms were sweaty, my heart raced, and the expression on his face had weird emotions filling me. Standing next to him made me feel like I was on this tightrope, the abyss beneath me, and the very real threat of falling hanging over me.

“I wanted to see you,” he said so matter-of-factly that I knew this man didn’t use any filters when he spoke. He said what he meant, holding nothing back, and giving no fucks about what others thought.

“You wanted to see me?” I repeated, my entire body buzzing with his close proximity. I suppose that could have meant anything, but I knew what I’d like it to mean.

He took a step toward me, and I found myself moving one back. I glanced over my shoulder at Robin and saw she was watching us. She ducked back into the kitchen before I could say anything to her. When I was staring at Deacon again, I felt sweat start to bloom between my breasts. God, he was so close.

“I wanted to see you,” he stated again, not showing any emotion.

“Why?” I could have slapped my hand over my mouth for saying that. He smirked, though, the corner of his mouth rising, this flash of amusement covering his face for just a second.

“Because I want to take you out. I want to spend time with you.”

Oh good God.

Was this really happening? I felt like maybe I was dreaming, or maybe I’d fallen into some alternate dimension where fantasies come to life. I opened my mouth, not sure what to say, or if I could say anything at all. It was like my body knew the power this man had over me, making me feel unstable, like a bowl filled with warm pudding.

Still he moved closer. I found the wall stopping my retreat, not that I wanted to escape, but my body sensing this man was…everything. It was clear he didn’t care that Robin was just in the other room.

He placed his hands beside my head and leaned in. He smelled good, like clean man, but one who’d been working all day. It was this contradictory aroma that made me feel tingly in all the right places.

“You’ve watched me, the same as I’ve watched you,” he said in a low, husky voice. “But I’m done waiting to see what you’ll do, to see if you’ll come to me.”

My heart was thundering so loud and hard I wondered if he could hear it. “This is kind of…intense, right?” I didn’t know if I was asking him, myself, or hadn’t meant to say this out loud at all. The glint in his eyes told me he either expected this reaction or was pleased by it.

“It is. I am,” was all he said, and I knew that the things I’d thought about Deacon, about his virility, his masculinity, the fact that he was a real man in every sense, had in no way prepared me for the reality of it all. He bordered on caveman. I could see it, feel it in the way he looked at me, spoke to me.

And God, I wanted more of it.

Before I could say anything, though, Deacon moved back, only putting a foot or two between us. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something, and I wished I could, but right now I was speechless. I looked at his hands, which were so strong, so powerful. They were stained from the work he did, but I found that even more attractive.

“I want to pick you up tonight for dinner.”

I found myself swallowing, wanting to agree, to accept, of course. Instead I just nodded. This man was more experienced than me, clearly, in all things. I felt like a schoolgirl compared to him, this innocent little virgin that had never been kissed. Although I was a virgin, I wasn’t a prude. But standing beside Deacon told me that being with him would have me comparing every other man in my future to him.

“Okay,” I finally managed to muster, and the pleasure I saw in his face could have made me a puddled mess.

And then he turned and left me standing there, my body on fire, my hands shaking, and my mind a whirl of confusion and anticipation.

“What in the hell just happened?” Robin asked, and I forced myself to turn around and stare at her. She looked just as dumbfounded as I felt. “Was that Deacon from the blacksmith shop?” She’d been living here longer than me, grew up in town even. Of course she knew about him.

I nodded.

“And he just asked—no, told you he was taking you out?”

I nodded again.

Her eyes were wide. “Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” Her voice held this wonder.

I turned and stared at the now closed front door. “No, not at all.” But I’m sure as hell looking forward to it.