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His rumbling chuckle was raspy and delicious. “I’m not surprised.” He shook his head good-naturedly. “He’s always been a bit of a character. But I appreciate you handling it yourself and not calling 911 to get him out.”
I leaned over, knocking my shoulder into his playfully. “Oh, please. Like you wouldn’t have been more than willing to ride in and be the hero. That’s what you do. It’s why everyone in town loves you. You’re the closest thing Redemption has to a white knight.” I let out a giggle. “You’re the quintessential Good Guy.”
I could have sworn a shadow drifted across his face, darkening his expression, but it was there and gone before I could be certain. “I’m not a hero,” he said quietly as he used his thumbnail to pick at the label on his beer bottle.
I made a face and let out a scoff. “I’m pretty sure everyone in this town would disagree with you on that.”
He looked away, clearing his throat before taking another swallow of his third beer. “So, what brought you to Redemption?” he asked, changing the subject, and I was more than willing to give him that play if it meant prolonging our time together.
I’d switched to water after my second scotch, knowing that if I kept going the inevitable hangover wouldn’t be worth the few hours of numbness. But also, I didn’t want to dull my senses around Holton. I wanted to be present, to remember everything we talked about.
I was nice and relaxed, the warmth from the booze still with me, but just enough to make me feel loose and carefree, something I certainly never expected to feel today of all days. I’d rested my elbow on the bar, my chin tucked into the cradle of my hand while I toyed with the straw in my water with the other, swirling it through the ice and creating random patterns in the clear liquid. “I only stayed in my hometown as long as I did because I couldn’t bring myself to leave Cal. Once he passed, I traveled for a while.”
A small laugh vibrated up my throat, a happy memory tugging my lips into a smile. “When he was fifteen, he’d done a school project where he had to write down all the different places in the country he wanted to visit. I remember him being really into it. He did research and everything, and by the time he was done, the list took up the whole sheet of paper. I spent a few months traveling to all those places for him. Kind of as a way to honor him, I guess. He didn’t get to see them or experience them on his own. I know it probably sounds ridiculous, but I like to imagine that there’s a piece of him still with me that got to experience it through me. Together.”
I moved my focus away from the glass to look at Holton. The inhale I’d just taken lodged in my throat at the intensity darkening his eyes as he looked at me.
His voice was rougher and heated when he spoke next, like honey dripping over gravel. “That doesn’t sound ridiculous at all. In fact, it sounds pretty amazing.”
Another rush of warmth bloomed inside of me, this one having nothing to do with the Lagavulin. Those hypnotizing sea-glass eyes of his felt like a tractor beam, pulling me in. Pressure deep in my core escalated my breathing and made my skin tingle. My breasts suddenly felt heavier, and my nipples ached as they hardened.
“Can I get you another drink?” The syrupy gruffness of his voice drenched my panties. “I came in here in a shitty mood, and you’ve somehow managed to turn it around. I don’t think I’m ready for the night to end. Are you?”
I licked my lips and inhaled deeply, summoning up the courage to do what I’d been wanting to do for months. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t want it to end either.” I leaned in and rested my palm on his thigh, slowly trailing it upward as I offered, “But how about we have our next drink at my place instead?”
ChapterTwo
LYRIC
He wason me the instant my front door closed behind us, another drink the furthest thing from either of our minds.
He gripped me by the elbow and spun me around, pressing my back against the door so I was pinned between the solid wood and his equally solid body. My lungs expanded on a gasp, a rush of arousal surging between my thighs as he tangled his fingers in my hair and yanked my head back so he could slam his lips down on mine.
The sting in my scalp and the blistering heat of the kiss made my insides go up in flames. I pushed up on my toes, arching my back to press my breasts into his rock-hard chest. A whimper trickled up my throat as I wrapped my arms around his neck and lifted myself to get as close as possible. My lips parted and his tongue dove in, tangling with my own.
He groaned, rough and low, deep from within his throat, as his hands slid over my body like he couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch me, so he chose to touch meeverywhere. Finally, he settled on my ass, squeezing and kneading, gripping me hard and rocking my hips against the thick thigh he had cradled between my legs, right against the most sensitive part of me. I moaned, my knees trembling as I pressed down harder, the sensation so wonderful my arms went numb and slid down his rounded pecs and taut stomach.
“Mmm,” he rasped, dragging his mouth along my jawline and down my neck, scraping his teeth against the thin skin there. “You smell fucking amazing.”
My whole body shivered as I let my head fall back against the door with a thud. I fisted my hands in the front of his T-shirt and tilted my hips to increase the friction on my aching, swollen clit.
“Holt,” I breathed, that tight bundle of nerves sending electric pulses through my body with each grind of my pussy against his muscular thigh.
“What do you want, Lyric?”
“I want more.”
His velvety groan rattled in my ear as he lifted a hand and cupped my breast, his fingers plucking at the diamond hard nipple. Even through the layers of clothing, it felt incredible, but it wasn’t enough.
“Not good enough. You need to be specific. Tell me what you want me to do to you.”
My eyes fluttered to half-mast, and my heart raced in my ears at the sight of Holton’s blown pupils. He was looking at me like a man on the brink, and I wanted to push him right over the edge.
“I want you to make me come.”
The gruff noise he made at my admission was almost enough to set me off. “Good girl.” He licked the shell of my ear and nipped the lobe between his teeth. “Now how do you want it? You want to come on my fingers, my tongue, or my cock.”
“Yes.”
