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“Can we just talk face to face? I want so badly to talk to you about this, to give you the reassurance you need, but I don’t particularly love the idea of your neighbors listening in.”
I hear her scrambling from her position on the other side of the door. It swings open before I have a chance to stand up, causing me to fall backward into her apartment. My head smacks against the hard floor of her entryway. I hardly register the pain, I'm just so damn grateful she opened the door.
“Oh no, Wyatt!” She’s kneeling in front of me, her delicate hands cupping my face, worry etched all over her beautiful features. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry!”
I just grin at her and pull her down for a kiss. I make it short and sweet, considering everything we just did and how poorly it all ended. I just can’t seem to help myself.
“I’m fine, angel,” I tell her as I start to stand up. “Are you okay?”
She nods but looks away from me. I cup her face and turn her back towards me. “What did I say about hiding from me, beautiful?”
Her brilliant green eyes flicker up towards me and I’m momentarily lost in them. Ember bites her juicy bottom lip. I pinch her chin gently between my thumb and forefinger to remove it from the grasp of her teeth. My hand slides to the back of her neck, tilting her head up so I can rest my forehead on hers.
“Thank you for talking to me, for letting me in. I promise we’ll go at your pace. I never want you to regret anything we do together.”
She nods against my forehead and then takes me by surprise and hugs me. It’s such a sweet and innocent gesture, which I suppose fits her perfectly. Not missing a beat, I wrap her up in my arms and just hold her.
After a few moments, she pulls away from me. I haven’t hugged anyone in years, never even had the urge to before today. But now that Ember isn’t in my arms anymore, I find I want to hold her always.
“So…what now?” She asks tentatively.
God, I want to do so much with her. To her. For her. But now is not the time. I reach out for Ember’s hips and rest my hands lightly there, keeping her close to me but not suffocating her.
“Now, my beautiful angel, you let me prove how much I want you. All of you. For keeps.”
Her eyes go wide at my words. I see shock and a bit of doubt, but underneath it all, I see overwhelming hope. She wants to believe in me. In us. But she's not quite sure she can trust me. Challenge accepted.
I press a sweet kiss to her forehead and breathe in her peaches and honey scent. She sighs and relaxes at my touch, which pleases me immensely. I give her one last quick kiss on the lips before heading out the door, a plan to woo her already forming in my mind.
CHAPTERFIVE
EMBER
Ididn’t sleep much last night thinking about everything that happened with Wyatt. Part of me still felt guilty and ashamed of the way I acted like a sex-crazed, wanton woman after our date, and then again for the way I treated Wyatt after. It’s not his fault I have a huge chip on my shoulder. The bigger part of me, however, really,reallywants to believe that he’s as wonderful as he seems.
There’s no doubt that he would be incredible in bed. I mean, that orgasm? Oh. My.God. I had no idea anything could feel that good. It was so intense, all-consuming, and incredible. I don’t regret the intimacy we shared; it’s mostly just that I lost myself completely to lust and became totally unaware of my surroundings. Those defenses I’ve built to protect my heart came crumbling down and I felt incredibly vulnerable.
I was sure I ruined any potential relationship, but he said he was going to prove that he wanted me. I’m not quite sure what that entails since he left without asking me on another date or making any plans whatsoever to see me again.
“Hey, Ember, you got a delivery at the front desk,” Susan, one of my co-workers informs me. Her declaration pulls me out of my thoughts as I rise to my feet and go to the front desk.
Sure enough, there’s a small box with the logo of a fancy bakery on the side and an envelope on top. Curious, I take the package to my desk so I can open it in private.
I can’t help but open the box first. It’s a mini pear tart that looks as scrumptious as it smells. There’s even a set of plastic silverware inside so I can eat it right out of the box, which I take full advantage of.
Chewing on my first bite of the delightful and unexpected treat, I reach for the note and carefully open it up.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a partridge in a pear tree.
I couldn’t find a partridge on such short notice, and a tree seemed a bit excessive, but I hope this pear tart will suffice.
Have a good day, angel
- Wyatt
A huge smile threatens to break my face in two. He’s cute, clever, and ridiculously charming. Why am I holding myself back? Oh yeah, because I could so easily fall for the guy. And that gives him the power to break my heart.
Or maybe he just might heal me once and for all.
