Kickstart My Heart (Burgers and Brew Crue #1) - Lacey Black Page 0,58
about this man. He makes my heart skip a beat and my breathing hitch whenever he’s near. He makes me nervous, but not in a bad way. I feel anxious because, for the first time in forever, I feel safe. I can relax.
But then he looks at me with those heavenly blue eyes, and not only can I see the desire—but I can feel it too—as if it were a living, breathing entity. It’s there, very much present whenever he’s near. In the slight ways he touches me, setting my skin on fire. In the way he watches me from across the room, as if he can’t stop his eyes from seeking me out. In the way he held me close all night long on the uncomfortable couch. I think Walker wants me, and the truth is blatantly obvious, something I can no longer ignore.
I want him too.
Chapter Seventeen
Walker
When Lizzie wakes from a thirty-minute power nap, we prepare to head out again. It’s midafternoon, and while the stores will be busy with Sunday shoppers, I’m determined to get the things Mal needs so she can sleep on a comfortable bed tonight.
Just the thought of her tangled up in sheets has me adjusting my crotch, trying to relieve a little discomfort from the erection I’ve been sporting half the day. From the moment I woke with her in my arms to the time I turned around and saw her standing in the doorway between her kitchen and living room, I’ve been fighting getting hard.
I want her.
Bad.
“Why don’t we take your car?” I ask, as we head down the stairs, Lizzie in my arms. “The frame should come in a box, but you have a little more trunk space than I do.”
Mallory stops on the stairs and glances over her shoulder. “Is that a butt joke?” she asks, her pale face turning beet red the moment the words leave her lips.
I can’t help it. My eyes drop down to take in the luscious view of her ass in a pair of denim shorts. “I have absolutely no complaints about your trunk space, Mal. In fact, you have the perfect amount of trunk.”
When I meet her eyes again, I’m sure she can feel the fire burning in mine. It’s been there since the first time I saw her, smoldering and breathing, waiting on that one little spark to ignite the blaze. The more I’m around her, the harder it is to contain.
She giggles before continuing down the stairs. We move Lizzie’s car seat from my Jeep back to the Escape. “You know, it would be easier if we grabbed another car seat. This way, we don’t have to keep moving it back and forth all the time,” I say in observation, as she secures the seat in her vehicle.
When she stands up, her eyes are wide, as if she’s shocked by my statement.
“What?” I ask, setting Lizzie down in the seat and watching as she buckles herself into the harness. “You think you’re getting rid of me that easily?”
The moment the girl is secured, I pull back and shut the door. Mallory is close but doesn’t back away to add space. I take that as a sign she’s okay with me touching her. My hand reaches up and threads into her blonde hair, while my other grabs her hip. I feel her hands grip the back of my T-shirt as she gazes up at me with those incredible green eyes. Eyes I realize I’d do just about anything for. For a man who has kept women at arm’s length for most of his adult life, this is still a startling revelation, but one I’m not afraid of.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper, bending down and kissing her on the forehead.
Again.
Fuck, do I want to kiss her lips. I want to kiss her everywhere. I’m hard as steel at the thought.
I drag myself away from her and reach for the keys. She doesn’t even bat an eye, just hands them over and makes her way to the passenger seat. I adjust my crotch before slipping into the seat, nailing my knee on the steering wheel.
“Sorry, the lever is under the seat,” she instructs, closing her door and fastening her belt.
Once the seat is moved all the way back and I can comfortably drive, I start the small SUV, adjust the rearview mirror since it’s pointed down, and pull out of the lot. The entire ride, Lizzie talks, about what, I’m not even sure. That