“I like yours too.” He grins, leaning in slightly and putting me immediately at ease. I like the way he does that. He has this uncanny ability to sense my discomfort then swoop in to save the day. He’s…special. And I honestly hope that maybe—after that mortifying hour of listening to Pop give him a rundown of my entire life—he really is interested in…maybe…asking me out.A girl can dream.
“I’m told it’s my best feature,” I say flippantly as we arrive next to his car and he turns to face me, leaning against the side with that disarming smile of his glued to his face.
“I think there’s a lot about you that’s special, Emmy. Pops certainly enjoys singing your praises.”
“My praises?” I release an amused scoff. “Like how he told about that time I got suspended for slapping Marion Blake because she called me fat?”
Drake chuckles deeply. “He was proud of you for standing up for yourself.”
“Well, you’re right there. Pop is always very proud of me. Can’t say I understand why.”
“How could he not be? You know, I thought you were pretty specialbeforetonight. But after hearing all those stories, I admire you even more now.”
“I don’t think there’s anything I’ve done so far that’sadmirable.I’ve just been…existing, I guess.”
“And giving up your education to help your grandad when your grandmother died. Taking work wherever you can get it to make sure the bills are paid and Pop gets his meds. That’s a big deal, Emmy. And anadmirablething to do.”
A wave of awareness surges through me as he leans closer, attraction taking over when he lifts his hand and trails a single finger across my jaw. The gesture is so unexpected, so intimate, that I lose all thought.
“Wait. What were we talking about?” I blink, sucking in my breath as he grins and crosses his arms over his chest. Just that simple action distracts me, again.He is too handsome for words.
“I think you were going to remind me why our age gap doesn’t make dating each other prohibitive.” He smirks. “Either that, or you’d compliment me on my hair and good looks again. You choose.”
I roll my eyes at him. “You know, after Pop brought out the baby photos, I would have thought you’d go running for the hills.”
“They were endearing.”
“I wish I was somehow beyond the point where I feel any embarrassment or humiliation over tonight, but if the ground could swallow me now, I’d be OK with that,” I say, loving the way his mouth tilts when he laughs.
“Remind me to send Pop a box of cookies to thank him, will you?” he says, and I glare up at him. “Sugar-free, of course. Those pictures were priceless.”
“They were mortifying, and I’ll thank you to erase them from your memory.”
“But you were such an adorable baby. Especially that picture of you running around with a plastic bucket on your head,” he teases, laughter bouncing his chest. I purse my lips, and he chucks my chin. “Tonight was…”
I sigh. “I know. It was crazy. But in our defense, we hardly have company, and Pop gets a little excited when we do. Although, I’ll never understand why he thought it was a good idea to pull out the photo albums. I feel exposed.” I shake my head, and let out a little groan.
“Maybe he did it to quietly remind me of just how young you are? He was kind of sitting there for that whole age-gap/dating discussion.”
“Oh, if Pop thought you and I shouldn’t date, he wouldn’t have let you in the house. No, what he was doing was treating you like a prospectivehusband, and I really feel like I should apologize for subjecting you to that. It was way over the top. But you’re right, I do really like your hair.” I flash him a grin. I think our age difference is a much bigger thing for Drake than it is for me. When I look at him, I don’t see his age or graying hair, or even the laugh lines around his blue eyes. What I see is a man I connect with. The first man, really, who’s ever made me feel both like myself and special at the same time. And Ireallylove the way he’s so quick to laugh.Andthe way he looks at me.
“There is nothing to apologize for, Emmy. I actually don’t remember the last time I had this much fun,” he says, his voice soft and genuine. “If you think, even for a minute, that I didn’t enjoy every second I spent with you tonight, you’re mad.” He pushes away from his car and closes the distance between us enough so I can feel the heat of his body.I can barely breathe with him this close. What is happening?
My head tilts back as my eyes travel from his chest to his chiseled face. I feel so out of my depth here. There are so many emotions running through my mind that I can hear my heart hammering in my chest. I want this…flirtingto mean something, but at the same time, I can’t forget that he’s still my new boss, and this job is really important to me. “Mr. Grant—”
“Drake,” he growls, his soft expression morphing into a frown and causing me to jump. “I’m not sir, or boss, or Mr. Grant. Not to you.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Without another word, he grabs the front of my jacket and jerks me forward, one hand going around my waist while the other hand slides into my hair before he brings his mouth to mine and kisses me. Perfectly, deeply. He kisses me and I kiss him right back.
A deep, guttural growl tears through him, reverberating through me and setting something deep inside my soul on fire. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I gasp into his mouth, and he uses the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his hand at my waist dropping to cup my ass and drag me closer, crushing me so tightly against him I feel...everything.
The hard length of his arousal presses into my belly, showing me he’s just as turned on by me as I am by him. It makes me nervous, feeling this attracted to a man so soon after meeting him. But it makes me hot and bothered in the best possible way.
“Drake.” I don’t recognize my voice as I whisper his name. It comes out thick and heavy with need as my body hums from wanting him.
“Emmy.” He drops his forehead to rest against mine, and we stand there, breathing hard, both of us still holding each other. His thick length throbs against me, and I feel a surge of satisfaction that I’ve made this beautiful, sexy man hard with need...for me.This feels like a dream.
