“I wanted to stay there with you,” he admits.
“Why didn’t you?”
He sighs with a shrug. “Because it was too domestic after a while, and I thought we needed some space before you found out I was in love with you. So I forced that space and moved out.”
Her expression softens as she fiddles with an empty salt shaker. “We’ve both wasted so much time, haven’t we?”
Wade steps closer to tilt her chin up with a careful finger. “I intend to make up for all the times we wanted to be together and couldn’t.”
She lets out a heavy sigh, wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. “I’m not overwhelming you?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
“I just know that everything is new for you again. I don’t want to move too quickly and…smother you.”
“When I’m not with you, I’m wishing I could be. All the damn time.” He’s suffered through a whole morning of being too damn far away so sweeping her up until she’s flush against him is a welcome feeling, and scooping her onto the counter with two hands under her ass so he can step between her legs and get even closer, is too.
“Been wanting you again since I woke up,” he muffles into her neck.
She ain’t wrong to assume that he’d be coming out of his skin by now with so much contact. It wasn’t that long ago that he was stuffed into a corner to try and get away from her. Things change, though. He feels safer with Kara than apart from her.
“What do you say we find us a nice little spot by that lake, then you can be my butterfly tonight?” he whispers against her mouth before snagging her lower lip in a nipping, teasing kiss.
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
It’s a plan for later, but he’s greedy now, too, and pushes her back against the counter to lick a trail along a cluster of freckles dotted against her collarbone. Shoves her shirt up far enough to suck a rosy pink nipple into his mouth and roll the other between two fingers, feeling her squirm.
He’ll never get tired of how responsive she is. She makes him feel like an artist stroking a beautiful painting to life. He could have her right now in this diner. His willpower is threadbare and his cock already strains against his pants but instead of following through, he pulls back, moving her shirt down and offering his hand to help her off the counter.
“You don’t want to?”
The slight pout on her kiss-swollen lips has him rethinking this idea. “Want to so bad I can’t think straight, but maybe we…you know….force ourselves to wait until tonight.”
Her eyes shimmer with mischief. “Like a game?”
“Well, I dunno about that…”
Kara is nothing if not competitive. She’s backing him up against a worn jukebox before he can blink, snaking her hand skillfully down his pants past the loose belt to grip his rapidly hardening shaft with a firm, long stroke. Once, twice, just enough to have his knees threatening to buckle and his eyes rolling back, before her touch is gone again, leaving him wanting.
He doesn’t know his own name anymore. Couldn’t say what state they’re in. Isn’t sure if he’s awake or if this is some fever dream designed to leave him suffering.
“Okay. You’re on,” she replies, more than a little smug. “We’ve got all afternoon. Let’s see who breaks first.”
“That ain’t what I meant.”
“Worried you won’t have the willpower to wait? You started it.” She grins.
He supposes she has a point there. He did get her worked up and then stop abruptly before she got any satisfaction out of it. Turnabout is fair play.
“It goes both ways, don’t forget,” she continues. “Give me your best. Maybe I break first.”
What has he got himself into? “Alright. Game on.”
He’ll never win, but trying might be fun.
* * *
