Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,63

long time since I’ve had to duck into the closet for anyone, and I don’t blame Ev for the yucky feeling it left me with, but I need a second to get myself back together.

I take a deep breath, reminding myself as we walk in silence that he deserves as much time as he needs to come out and that my momentary discomfort is a very small price to pay.

“I’m so fucking sorry,” he says again once we’re in the car. He sounds utterly devastated, and this time I do reach over and take his hand, threading our fingers together and giving his hand a squeeze.

“That sucked,” I agree. I’m not about to sugar coat it. “But I get it. I like you, Ev, I really do. And if being with you right now means that we have to keep things quiet, I can live with that.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” he argues, and I smile a little, leaning over and kissing his shoulder to let him know I appreciate his worry for me. “I’m not going to make you hide forever. I’m not going to hide forever,” he says resolutely.

My heart flutters, and my chest grows even heavier at the unspoken implication that anything about this is forever. That thought threatens to ruin my mood faster than the run-in with Val.

“Come on, let’s go back to my place,” I say, putting a suggestive purr behind my words.

“You still want to?” he asks skeptically.

“I really want to,” I assure him.

Chapter 18

Everett

I can’t believe two dates in a row have been crashed by Val. Not that it’s her fault, but it’s starting to feel like the universe is screwing with me.

I glance over at Watson to make sure he doesn’t seem upset by the whole ordeal, and he grins back at me, shooting me a wink. My skin heats and tingles. Maybe missing the movie isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened.

Val aside, I can’t imagine a better date than the one we’ve had tonight so far. From the heated kiss when he answered the door to the banter and conversation over dinner. People always talk about how difficult dating is, but it feels so easy with Watson. It feels too easy if I’m being honest. Am I doing all of this right? Are we moving too fast? Or not fast enough? Are all of these intense feelings because he’s the first man I’ve dated or are they because he’s Wats?

These questions are still swimming in my mind when we reach his apartment building.

“Uh-oh, you changed your mind about coming in, haven’t you?” he asks.

“What? Are you kidding?” I park and unbuckle my seatbelt, twisting in my seat to face him.

“You got all serious and quiet. I thought maybe you started re-thinking things.”

“I was thinking about a lot of stuff, but something tells me you might have just the cure for that.” I waggle my eyebrows suggestively, and he snorts a laugh.

“Do I ever,” he agrees. “Come on.” He unbuckles, the click of the seatbelt echoing in the car, and gets out.

Nerves and excitement fill my stomach, making my hands shake as I reach for the door handle to get out and follow him inside. Actually, it’s not just my hands. My whole body is shaking, my heart pounding so hard I can hardly hear anything else over the thundering sound in my ears. And I’m not sure my knees will hold up long enough to get me up the flight of stairs to his apartment.

I can’t tear my eyes off the sway of Watson’s ass as we make our way up the stairs, my cock getting harder with every step, every flex of his ass right in front of my face. I want to sink my teeth into it. I want to leave love bites and whisker burn all over his body; I want to touch every inch of him, memorize every freckle and line on his entire body.

We pause in front of his door so he can unlock it, and I notice his hands are shaking too.

“Are you nervous?” I ask, stepping close, pressing my front to his back so the curve of his ass is snug against my steel erection.

“It’s your first time. It’s a lot of pressure.”

I make a huffing noise of amusement as I nuzzle against his ear. “At this point, you could stand naked and let me stare at you while I jerk myself off, and it would still be the best sex of my life.”

“Mmm,