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“Isn’t it?” Her gaze darted away, and she shrank back to her side of the truck.
“It doesn’t have to be. Tell me about the Heron.”
She looked down at her belt as she fastened it, then at some speck on her pants. Anything but him. “The Heron has meant everything to me for so long. And now you’re going to be there.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“No.” She stared out the window. “It’s terrifying.”
Signs for the highway started to appear. He turned onto a lane that probably led to a house. But instead of continuing along the dirt road, he pulled off under the wide boughs of an oak and shut off the engine. He unclasped his belt and did the same with hers, then made sure they were facing each other. Tipping her chin up, he met her troubled gaze. “Why?”
“It matters too much.”
He mattered too much? His gut tightened, and the air around them charged. So much had happened between them so fast. But maybe this was the way it was supposed to happen. More and more he was convinced that starting over would be good for both of them.
FIFTEEN
Kendall leaned forward,cupping his face. She wanted him to want to be with her so much. And she could see a flicker of hope in his eyes. The embers of gold in the center of his hazel eyes was so beautiful. She’d be happy to see them every morning of her life and let them be the last thing she saw before she went to sleep.
And that was terrifying.
She’d never let herself rely on a man, but she wanted to do that with him. But the niggling fear that he’d leave burned just under her skin. It was a mix of excitement that was never far away when she was with this man and trepidation and she wasn’t sure which part to listen to.
“The Heron is mine.”
His eyebrow lifted, and she smiled as she smoothed her thumbs along the sharp angles of his cheekbones and into the softness of his light beard. “You might own it with me now, but it’s always been mine.”
“And your mother’s.”
She shrugged. “She loves it almost as much as I do, but if she moved away tomorrow, she’d be excited for another adventure.”
“You seem to have a lot of your mom in you. You were certainly gung ho for this adventure.”
Kendall laughed. “I was, wasn’t I?” She pressed a kiss on his lips, sighing as they firmed and he tried to take over the kiss. Shane was the most controlled man she’d ever met, but the moment they got within each other’s airspace, all bets were off. And one of the most addicting things about him was just how much he wanted her.
She was so afraid she’d shrivel up without that fire.
That was one more thing that frightened her. Needing him was almost worse than the thought of losing him. Because neither was in her control. She slid her palm up to the top of his head and held on as the kiss spun out and the world tilted.
He ripped his mouth from hers. “You’re trying to distract me, Sunshine.”
She brought her thumb up to trace his lower lip. So soft where the rest of him was hard. “Sorry.”
He nipped the pad. “No, you’re not.”
She looked up. “Maybe not. I’ve just missed touching you.” She pulled his hand from her waist and slid it up her rib cage to her breast. “Really missed touching you.”
He groaned and squeezed, lifting its weight, his thumb finding the center with a deft swipe. “We’re talking.”
She nodded and fastened her mouth on his. He held on tighter, his fingers twisting in the back of her shirt as he pushed it up. Twilight winked from the horizon, and full dark was just minutes away.
“Fast,” she whispered against his mouth. “Just to take the edge off. Then we can talk all you want.”
He bent her back, his mouth racing down her throat to her breast. He tugged her V-neck shirt aside and flipped the cup of her bra down enough to get his mouth on her nipple. She arched against him, and a storm erupted in the cab of the truck.
A flurry of clothes and zippers were pushed aside. He tore at her shirt until it was up and over her head. She cradled the back of his head as he sucked one nipple, then the other through her bra. Within the space of a shuddering breath, he had the straps down and the clasp undone.
He lifted her and scooted his legs under her. His boots hit her door, and his head bumped his window as she straddled him.
