Page 69 of Stay Wild Darlin’

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to run away earlier, I—” He stopped himself, jaw flexing. “Fuck it.”

He brought his lips to mine.

Right there on the porch. No warning or soft lead-up.

It was heat and desperation and a mouth that knew mine before it ever touched it.

God.

I melted. Sank into him like I was made for this moment, this man, this feeling that was better than heaven itself. I gripped his shirt, and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close like he’d been aching to do it for far too long.

Everything slowed.

Everything rushed.

I couldn’t remember what came before this, only that I never wanted it to end.

He pulled away, but didn’t let go. His hand stayed on my lower back.

“I needed to know if it was worth it.”

“W-worth it?”

“Worth you leaving us. Worth risking it all if it meant you couldn’t stay. I needed a taste . . . to know if what I’d risked was worth it.”

My heart thudded against my ribs. “Was it?”

The corner of his mouth curved into a slow, knowing grin. “Every second.”

He leaned in, brushed a kiss to my cheek, then headed toward the front door and walked away, leaving me standing there, stunned, for the second time that night.

My heart thudded in my chest, my skin still buzzing, and I couldn’t move because that kiss had changed everything.

28

Dalton

Cora kicked her feet happily in her high chair, her cheeks full and round as she clutched the new bottle I’d handed her. She was finally old enough to sit up in it without tipping sideways, and the pride on her little face nearly killed me.

She was happy as a clam.

So was I because last night, I kissed her.

It wasn’t just any kiss. I’d never kissed someone like that. Not even Brooke—the woman I thought I was in love with once upon a time. The kiss with Poppy was different. It felt like it nudged some dormant part inside me, and everything finally made sense.

All I could think about was the way she gasped when I pulled her into me, the way her body melted like she’d been waiting for it too. I couldn’t stop replaying it.

Fuck.

I was already counting the minutes until I could try again—if she’d let me.

I was halfway through toasting a bagel, trying to keep my hands busy, when I heard footsteps.

She stepped in from the hallway, hair a little messy, eyes still soft with sleep, and cleared her throat. She didn’t even look at me. Just went straight to Cora, kissed her cheek, and made her laugh.

Her jeans flared at the bottom, and her socks didn’t match because one had little stripes and the other had tiny pink flamingos. Her tank top hung loose around her frame, thin and soft-looking, slipping off one shoulder, making it impossible not to stare.

She walked behind me.