I heard Kevin and his girlfriend leave the house, and I felt this weight lift off my shoulders. Jakob was supposed to pick me up in about twenty minutes, and although Kevin seemed fine with me going out with him, I really didn't need the big brother act that Kevin would surely put on display.

I walked over to the mirror in the foyer and stared at myself. I didn't know what we were doing tonight, so I’d opted to put my hair in a messy but slightly classy-looking bun. I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and I felt like my heart would burst right through my chest for how nervous I was.

My cheeks were pink, the blush stealing over me from the anticipation and excitement of actually seeing Jakob. He’d called me about an hour after I got home from picking up Kevin to make plans for tonight, and just knowing that we were spending time together made me feel all kinds of good.

I didn't even care if we just sat in his car and talked. In fact, I almost wanted that so I could get to know him. Although honestly, I felt like I knew a lot about him already.

His parents were on the other side of town, and Jakob lived alone. He was known back in the day as getting into harmless trouble, but that would have been when he and my brother were both in high school. Hell, all the guys in town had pretty much been like that.

But now he worked hard and kept his head down, and I never heard of him sleeping around…never heard of him in any relationships at all. But even though I thought I knew him, I realized he kept to himself, and that was a quality that I really liked.

This was a small town, and he'd been living here just as long as I had, had even gone to school with Kevin. But our paths never crossed. I was so much younger than him, and I hadn't really realized how strong my emotions were until I felt them consume me.

I don't know how long I'd been standing there, my thoughts taking control, but I heard three hard raps on the front door. I turned and faced it, my heart stalling for just a second before beating fast and furiously. I walked over and opened it, then stood there and stared at the man I wanted for more than just a fling. Truth was, I had some deep emotions for Jakob, feelings I'd never felt before.

I was glad he wore a T-shirt and jeans as well. I was openly gawking at his appearance, at the way his body filled out the denim and cotton. He was a big man, well over six feet, with bulging muscles that came from working in the mines all day, every day.

“God, Poppy.” He cleared his throat after he said those two words, his voice thick, his gaze heavy-lidded.

He was looking me up and down, making me feel exposed, bared in the best of ways. I was wearing casual attire, but the way he looked at me made me feel like I wore the most expensive, sexiest lingerie imaginable.

“You look really damn gorgeous.”

I felt my face heat, knew my blush spread across my cheeks and down my neck. I looked away, never before feeling so vulnerable. I'd never felt this way after hearing someone compliment me before. Of course, high school guys had told me I was pretty, but when Jakob said these things to me, it made me feel something deeper, made me feel like he really meant them.

“Thank you,” I said but didn't look at him. I couldn't. And then I felt him lift my head up with a finger under my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

“Hey, you don't have to be shy or nervous around me.” He watched me so intently.

I felt him move his thumb along my jawline, which had chills racing along my spine. My nipples were hard, and I knew they were visible underneath my shirt, pressing against the material. I clenched my thighs together, my arousal so intense in this moment that I was half determined to just say forget about dinner and invite him inside and into my bed.

He removed his hand from my face, but he let his fingers skim along my flesh. I took a deep breath, my chest rising and falling as I tried to calm myself.

“I was thinking dinner and maybe afterward we can go somewhere and just talk, get to know each other?”

I smiled, thankful that this would be a relatively low-key night. Honestly I could've skipped dinner. I wanted to see if he felt the same intensity for me that I did for him.

“Yeah, that sounds really nice.”

He stepped aside. I shut the door behind me and followed him to his truck. I didn't know how things would go, but I knew by the end of the night I probably wouldn't want it to end.

I knew I'd never get enough of Jakob.

* * *

I pulled my truck into the empty parking lot that overlooked the lake in town. We'd just left the restaurant, and after I asked Poppy what she wanted to do, I was pleasantly surprised she'd suggested the lake.

I killed the engine, and for long moments we just sat there in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, though, not when I felt her body heat, or when the very scent of her made me feel drunk. I shifted in my seat and faced her, her body so much smaller than mine, so feminine. I could see she was twisting her fingers together in her lap, and knew she was nervous. I didn't like that, didn't want her to be anxious with me.

“Your brother had a heart-to-heart with me concerning you.” I figured I might as well tell her now, although I had a feeling she already knew. She looked at me, a small smile on her face.

“I figured, when he wouldn't come to the car when we were speaking.” She glanced away for a second and shook her head, but the smile stayed in place. “I'm sorry about that, by the way. I'm an adult, but he still thinks he has to look out for me.”

“He does still have to look out for you. He needs to protect you at all times.” She looked at me, a flash of surprise on her face. “If I had a sister, it wouldn't matter how old we were. She'd always be my first priority, and I'd always make sure she was safe and looked after.” I saw the way her cheeks turned pink. I curled my hand into a fist, wanting to touch her, wanting to kiss her. Hell, I wanted to do a lot more than that, but I was also not a dirty bastard.

She shifted on the seat now, her body twisted so she was looking at me fully. It took all my willpower, all my self-control not to take in the way her shirt formed to her chest. It wasn't that I was an asshole and just wanted her for her body. It wasn't like that at all. I could've waited forever if that's what it took to be with her.

She was gorgeous, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I'd wanted her for a long time now, and having her so close, knowing that she wanted me too, had everything in me tightening.

“Tell me something about you that nobody else knows.” I wanted to know everything that made up Poppy. I wanted to know what her favorite food was, what her favorite color was. Hell, I wanted to know what time she woke up and what time she went to bed. There was nothing that she could tell me that wouldn't interest me.

“Honestly?” She smiled again. “I'm very boring. There's nothing special about me at all.”

I did reach out then, pushing away a piece a hair that brushed against her cheek. “That's where you're wrong, Poppy. You're all kinds of special and more.” She blushed for me again, and I loved the fact that I affected her so much.

“I bite my nails.” She glanced at me and smiled. “It’s my dirty, nervous habit, and I’ve just admitted it to you.” She laughed softly.

I grinned. I liked knowing that she bit her nails, liked knowing anything and everything. We stayed silent for long seconds, but I absorbed her presence into me like this soothing balm.

What I really wanted to do was grab her around the waist, haul her across the seat, and place her right on my lap. I wanted to hold her, wanted to press my mouth against hers, slip my tongue between her lips. I wanted to do a lot more than that, but I wanted to go slow, make it good for her.

We stared at each other for long seconds, the heat inside the truck rising, the electricity moving between us intensifying. I knew if I didn't put some space between us, I might move too fast for her, might cross a line that she wasn't ready to experience. I didn't want to push her away.

I wanted her to be mine. Always.

I cleared my throat and ran my hand through my hair. I tried to think of what to do, how to strike up a conversation that was neutral ground. Maybe just being out in the open would help us clear the air, so to speak. I opened the truck door and inhaled deeply, the fresh air hitting me like a punch to the face. I glanced over at her. “You want to go by the lake?”

She didn't answer me for long seconds. I could still see she was affected physically. Her pupils were dilated, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. I did look down at her breasts then, the large mounds pressed against the material, her nipples hard as rock. My cock jerked behind my zipper, lengthening, thickening. God, all I could think about was parting her thighs, pulling aside her panties, and feasting on her pussy, which was probably pink and wet.

“Can I be honest with you, Jakob?” Her voice was soft, almost hesitant.

I found my throat tightening, my mouth becoming dry. I had one hand still on the steering wheel, and I curled my fingers around the leather even tighter, the sound of creaking filling the interior of the vehicle.

“You can always be honest with me.” I cleared my throat, my voice gruff, strained. “That's all I ever want.”