Page 65 of Love Everlasting

“Sam …” She shook her head, a sudden twinge in her chest. “There is no perfect woman,” she whispered, eyes suddenly sober as she pulled away with a melancholy smile.

His chin nudged up as he swept her hair over her shoulders. “Maybe not, but you’re as close as I’ve come, Shan, and I want to get to know you as a woman. Which means …” He melted her resistance with a crooked smile, brown eyes twinkling with tease. “High GPA and med degree notwithstanding, I’m not as smart as I think if it took me this long to figure that out.”

Her smile took a rare slant. “Unfortunately, I figured it out a while back, which hasn’t always made this friendship very easy.”

“Unfortunately?” He cocked a brow. “Hey, I don’t know about you, Teach, but I’m pretty happy about this unexpected turn of events.” A crease appeared at the bridge of his nose. “Aren’t you?”

She paused, her true emotions tangling into a ball of knots, right along with her stomach. Happy that Sam wanted more than friendship? She swallowed the fear that instantly clogged in her throat. Her eyes flickered closed when she realized what that meant. Not only had she fallen in love with another player against her will, but he wanted to return that love, to know her as a woman.

Vulnerable.

Weak.

And fragile enough to break.

Again.

A shiver skated her spine as she took a step back, not sure she wanted to risk it. Yes, Sam was changing, but so far it wasn’t the soul-deep change that she needed. Nor was she sure he could even change enough to commit to a love that would last a lifetime. A love everlasting, like God had given to her. A feat difficult enough for most human beings, much less a player with a propensity for women.

“Shan?”

Her eyes snapped open at the gentle slide of his palms up her arms.

“I won’t hurt you, I give you my word,” he whispered, the affection in his eyes easing her fears for the moment. He ducked to give her a gentle smile. “How about we start out nice and slow, with an official first date on Saturday?”

Hesitating, she peeked up with a chew of her lip, fighting the pull of his charm.

“Come on, Shan, I promise to behave. Scout’s honor.” He snapped to attention, two fingers to his brow in a salute.

Her smile slid sideways. “You weren’t a Boy Scout, Ham.”

“No, but I wanted to be,” he said, the pucker above his nose all for show. “Can I help it if I was a poor abandoned orphan shuffled through foster care and never given the opportunity?”

Shifting her stance, she folded her arms with a slack of her hip. “So you’re playing the orphan card, are you? Low blow, Dr. Love.”

He scooped her close with his wrists locked behind her, and her pulse went haywire at the dangerous proximity of his body against hers. “Whatever it takes to get you to say yes,” he whispered, eyes darkening with the same look she’d seen that first night in her car. “Even this …”

Before she could utter a single syllable, his mouth took hers with a gentle dominance that literally stole her breath away. Firmly cupping the back of her head, he kissed her exquisitely slow and deep and utterly possessive. Never had a man disarmed her so, the taste and touch of him drowning all restraint in a sea of want while heat purled through every inch of her trembling body. Eyes closed, she was still in a stupor when he pulled away, his fingers all but singeing her skin as they softly feathered the curve of her face. “Give me a chance, Shannon,” he said quietly, “please.”

Breathless, she could do nothing but nod, her mind too dazed to say no while her heart screamed yes with every treasonous beat of her pulse.

He leaned in to nestle his mouth close to her ear, his words hot against her cheek. “Saturday, seven o’clock, I’ll pick you up, all right?”

She blinked, still too hazy to form a coherent sentence.

Tucking a finger to her chin, he skimmed her jaw with his thumb while he seared her with that determined glint in his eyes. “If you don’t answer, Teach, I may have to kiss you again …”

“I … need to t-think a-about it, Sam.” Her words rushed out in a hoarse stutter as she jerked away, arms clutched to her waist like a barrier. “Then I’ll let you know, okay?”

“When?” The steeled look on his handsome face told her he wouldn’t give up easily, if at all.

“Soon,” she said with another step back, the blood still pounding in her brain. “After you take me home.” Heaven help her, she needed space if she was going to make a rational decision.

Lots and lots of space.

He huffed out a sigh tinged with frustration. “All right, kiddo.” Hooking her elbow, he practically dragged her down the pier, the clamp of his sculpted jaw telling her he wasn’t happy, but he’d do it her way.

For now.