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“Because I wanted to see if I could do it. Because since I met you and Noah, it got me thinking that maybe I’ve been missing something. But honestly, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this . . . I don’t know if I can be what you need.”
Despite every reservation, every warning bell going off in her head to cut him loose, she closed the distance between them and brushed his mouth softly with hers.
“You said you wanted to take things slow . . . Let’s do slow.”
TYLER COULDN’T BELIEVE he’d poured his heart out like a pussy, and she’d kissed him for it. He’d told her he wasn’t sure he could be a part of their lives, and instead of slamming out of the car, she’d done what he’d been dying to do all night.
Cupping the back of her head as she started to pull away, he kissed her back, sliding his tongue between her lips to deepen it. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as their mouths danced, teasing and tasting each other. Tyler’s hand trailed down over her round bare shoulder to her waist and stilled, itching to move around and cup her ass, but no.
Ending the kiss, he chuckled roughly when she tried to follow him. “Hang on, baby, I can tell you right now that if we keep kissing like that, there will be nothing slow about what happens next.”
In the dim glow from the porch light, he could see the flash of red across her cheeks right before she released his shoulders.
“Do you want to come in for some coffee or something?”
Tyler didn’t trust himself alone in the car with Dani; forget about her empty townhouse.
“I better not. I’ve got to be up early.” Reaching out for her hand, he asked, “Have you ever been geocaching?”
“No, what’s that?”
“It’s fun. Me and a few of the trainers from Alpha Dog are going to go tomorrow”—he glanced at the clock on his car—“well, okay, today. Do you want to go?”
“I have no idea what it even is, but I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“If you were intruding, I wouldn’t have invited you. It’s mostly hiking and exploring while searching for containers filled with knickknacks. Like a scavenger hunt.”
“What’s the point?” she asked.
“Like I said, it’s fun. Plus, I’ll be less likely to try for more than just kissing in a group. What do you say?”
She hesitated briefly, then nodded. “I’d love to.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up at eight.”
“Eight?” He climbed out of the car at her little squeak and went around to let her out. “You know that is barely seven hours from now.”
“Then I’d better make sure you get inside and go right up to bed.” He stopped at the bottom of the steps while she climbed to the top.
“Seriously, eight?” She stood on the porch above him, unlocking her door. When she turned back around, her mouth open, he’d stepped up so he was standing right behind her and cut off whatever other protest she had with a hard, hot kiss.
When he pulled back, his voice was so low and gravely, he hardly recognized it. “I promise to make it worth your while.”
Chapter Thirteen
DANI HAD GOOGLED geocaching that morning and couldn’t believe that this was what Tyler and his friends liked to do in their spare time. Treasure hunting? Seriously? It was so childish and nerdy.
Her doorbell rang just after eight in the morning, and blearily, she answered it. Tyler stood on the front porch, grinning like an idiot with a Starbucks cup in his hands.
“If that’s for me, I take back all the mean things I’ve been thinking about you this morning.”
“About me?” He handed off her coffee and bestowed a long, lingering kiss on her mouth that left her swaying. “Don’t hate. You’re going to have fun.”
“So you say, but I haven’t been hiking since I was nine.”
“It’s like riding a bike. Do you want to bring the dogs?” he asked.
After a moment of consideration, she shook her head. “They have a doggie door to go out back, and besides, Bella gets tired after a while, and I don’t feel up to carrying around a thirty-pound pug.”
