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Twenty-Six
The tripback to Emilia’s house consisted of little conversation, right up until they pulled into her driveway with the red Pinto parked ahead. She’d overwhelmed Blaine, that much was obvious. Despite the silence, she didn’t feel judged or less for having revealed the truth, only that she’d given him a lot to think about.
She opened the truck’s door and took the long slide down to the ground, the vehicle designed for someone much taller than her. Blaine trailed not far behind, and she headed for her front porch, a low-level tension drawing at her tummy and suddenly stopping her in her tracks.
She spun around to him, and his brows pressed low under the force of a frown, a frown that questioned her abrupt pause. Only for him to speak first.
“I don’t want the night to end like this.” He spoke the thoughts already running through her mind.
She wanted to say she didn’t like the silence, that she appreciated the effort he’d put into the date, and maybe they could try again sometime soon. “Neither do I, Blaine, I—”
He shook his head, gaze dipping, before rejoining hers once again. “I mean, I don’t think this night should end at all.”
For a second there, her world stilled, and she figured she’d heard wrong. Maybe he implied far less than where her mind went. But then she closed her mouth and reconsidered her next words. She didn’t much mind what he meant either way.
She stepped toward him, the hard lump in her belly turning into a tickling flutter of butterflies. “No, tonight shouldn’t end here.”
She reached for him, burying her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. He met her in the middle and pulled her closer, his lips snaring hers.
Maybe he’d meant that he’d merely wanted to join her inside to talk a while longer, but the firm heat of him felt just right. It melted weeks of uncertainty. He was her blissful distraction. Her choice. Her moment of control when for so long she’d had none.
She broke the kiss and slid her hands down his arms, interlacing her fingers with his and pulling him along. Soon, she had her front door open, and he paused in her hallway, his earlier dark frown returning. “There’s something I need to clear with you first. Something you said that’s been playing on my mind.”
The butterflies in her tummy disintegrated into dry ash, and her shoulders fell slack right along with them. Still, she nodded, allowing him to speak.
“I have emotions, Emilia. Sometimes they’re going to come out.” His pale green stare held hers, stirring the earlier memory of her snapping and calling him her equal when it came to being “hysterical” and “messy.”
Well, she didn’t exactly deny or regret that. She’d long ago learned that men could be just as wild and irrational, perhaps sometimes more so. Maybe it was the societal pressure to express little more than anger and happiness. An absurd pressure that made emotions harder to control when they eventually did break loose. Either way, she’d attributed negativity to his expression, and for that, she did have regrets.
“I’m sorry.” She stepped back, making it clear he was still welcome in her home, despite the heavy topic. “I want you to feel whatever you feel, believe me, I do. But when you yell, I just can’t take it.”
His eyes narrowed, his unspoken way of asking her to explain.
“Anthony… he…” She slammed her eyes shut, refusing to bring her soon-to-be ex-husband into this moment. “Just don’t yell at me, okay? It scares me. Can we just agree to be a whole lot gentler with each other from now on?”
Blaine drew closer and cupped his hands to her face. “You’re right. I’m so sorry.” His voice dropped to an intimate whisper, one that held a wounded huskiness. “I won’t raise my voice like that again. I promise. Okay?”
She gave a shaky nod, wanting to move on, to chase away the darkness, at least for a short while. The night sounds of cicadas pulled her back to the moment, those sounds full of mystery and promise. They caused the corners of her lips to ascend into a genuine smile. “Good, now close the door. Before a wild coyote or bandicoot, or whatever other wild creature is out there, barges in.”
His gaze didn’t leave hers, though his weight shifted as he extended a leg to the side and kicked the door shut. The loud slam sent a crack of laughter rippling through her, and he followed suit, his hands still caressing her cheeks.
And even though her bedroom stood just to her right, she spun away and lead him to the left—to her living room and the couch—where she wouldn’t have to deal with her negative associations with beds and bedrooms.
She would create new memories tonight. The kind of memories she should have had from the very beginning. Memories with Blaine. Of Blaine.
With any other man she wouldn’t be so sure, but she knew this one. He’d never once tried to control her. To cause her pain. He’d only ever offered protection and the truth, even when it wasn’t easy. She’d be safe with him. She trusted him.
She stood him before the couch and allowed him to kiss her, her tummy butterflies taking flight again and igniting a deep-set tingle throughout her body. Her skin felt alive, and it begged for his touch.
His hands pressed either side of her face, directing the kiss; her hands wandered lower, to his tummy, pulling at his sweater, only for his firmly tucked shirt to thwart her attempt to undress him.
New laughter took over, and she folded forward a little, the kiss breaking while she wrestled to free the material from beneath the waist of his pants. Blaine took a second to help, chuckling as he did so, soon throwing the shirt to the couch as if its minor protest offended him.
The muscles over her face sank, and all she could see was the stunning man before her. His beauty. The physical expression of what he meant to her. Raw, wild, and powerful. Yet somehow vulnerable and tame.
She’d seen him shirtless before—that morning she’d booted him from her house—but having him this close and knowing without a doubt where this would go…His semi-nakedness was familiar, yes, but so different from the young man she’d been with years ago. He was safe and known, and someone new, all in one, and the crush of how much she wanted him stole her breath.
“Wow.” The expression fell from her with what felt like the last sound she would ever muster.
