Landon

I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning. Actually, this day was going to be better than Christmas. First off, she was finally coming around to my affections. Second, I was about to spend the entire day with her. Third, during that time, she’d be wearing a bikini.

At ten on the nose I pulled up to her house. She opened the door with a smile. “Right on time.”

“Hi, beautiful.” My eyes focused on the black bikini strap that poked out from beneath the fabric of her white tank top. At the sound of my voice, Spike trotted to the door and squeezed his way past Zara’s legs. “Hey, dude,” I said, picking him up, laughing through my typical greeting.

“Okay, in you go.” She pulled him from my arms and placed him inside the house. “Be good, Marshmallow.”

The sound of his whimpering even through the wood door made it obvious he was not happy.

“Too bad he can’t come.”

“No way. I’d be chasing him in and out of the soff all day.”

“Soff,” I repeated with a grin.

“You’re making fun of me again.” Zara locked the door and walked down the steps toward the garage. I followed her in through a side door, and once we were out of view of any nosy neighbors, I pulled her into my arms.

“I am not making fun of you.” Looking down into her eyes without a trace of humor, I kissed her softly. “Do you understand every damn word out of your mouth is a complete and utter turn-on for me?” I skimmed my lips against hers. “It doesn’t matter what you say, every word affects me.”

The moment I stopped speaking, she pushed her lips against mine, initiating another kiss. The second one wasn’t soft or sweet or even slow. It was an explosion of fervor born between our lips that traveled through our veins. How could I possibly have known she was feeling the same molten heat? The way she gripped my neck, pushed her breasts against my chest, and aligned her pussy with my hardening cock was all the proof I needed.

I also knew it was getting harder and harder to not want to take it to the next step. Whether that was stripping her naked and laying her down to slowly devour her from head to toe, or pushing her up against a wall and burying my cock into her as quickly as possible…stopping at a kiss was the worst form of torture.

Our tongues tangled, and I pushed my hips against her until her moan forced me to step away. It was either that, or take her right then and there.

“Christ, Zara. You’re driving me insane.”

“I’m sorry,” she responded breathlessly. She took a small step backward, her cheeks tinged in a rosy hue that could have been from embarrassment or our kiss. “This is not who I am, Lance. Please don’t think I just throw myself at anyone who shows me affection.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t think that at all. It’s just that my willpower is literally hanging by a thread, and I don’t want to chance losing control with you inside a musty garage. When I finally give in to my urges—not if but when—I want it to be somewhere I can spend hours enjoying every piece of you.” Stepping closer again, because I was most definitely a glutton for punishment, I brought her back into my arms.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me.” She looked away, embarrassed.

“I do.” I waited for her to turn her face. “I think you fought your attraction toward me for so long, and now you no longer can. I think you want me badly, but you’re still confused because I’m only here temporarily.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, staring into her luminous eyes. “And I think you know what’s going to happen between us is inevitable in spite of that.”

Her eyes widened at my words before an adorable pucker formed between her eyebrows. “You forgot one thing.”

Unable to resist, I smoothed the line with the pad of my thumb. “What’s that?”

“I’m also terrified.”

“Of?”

“Falling for you.”

It took Herculean strength to not strip her naked before making her mine. And to be honest, I really should’ve stepped away so she couldn’t feel the way my heart pounded or my cock swelled even harder from her admission. All I could do was stand staring at her in complete awe.

I wanted so badly to tell her the truth. The words sat on the tip of my tongue, yet I couldn’t say them. I had to tell her, I needed to, but I wasn’t ready to lose her. The very strong probability that I would was what stopped me.

She misread my silence and shrugged. “It’s nothing. Don’t go freaking out on me.”

“I’m not freaking out, Zara.” I decided to deflect back to her. “Why would that terrify you?”

A small puff of air preceded her words. “Come on, Lance. You’re leaving. In just a few weeks you’ll be back in California forgetting about me, resuming the life you had before stumbling into Lanai City, before stumbling onto me. And I’ll be left here, trying to get over you.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

“Really? What part did I get wrong?”

“The part where I’d be back in California forgetting about you.” I reached, pulling her farther into my arms to hold her tightly. I no longer could deny that I was also falling for her…because I most definitely was.