Come To Me (Dare With Me #3) - J.H. Croix Page 0,36

prude. Yet, it was a crushing letdown whenever I followed things through to the conclusion.

Now, with my piercingly clear recollection of my encounter with Diego on the kitchen counter, I thought perhaps I might finally see through to the other side of all of those letdowns.

Learning Diego had his own cynicism about relationships was actually a blessing for me. Because I wasn’t ready to try to deal with tangled emotions. If this could just be pleasure and nothing more, without worrying about all the rest, that might be a heaven I hadn’t imagined before.

The door clicked shut behind Diego at my house, and he stood there with one hand hooked in his pocket and the other pressed flat against the door behind him. He’d followed me home in his truck. He wore the same black leather jacket he’d worn when I saw him on his motorcycle. Apparently, I had a thing for leather jackets.

All I was doing was standing there, and I could feel a prickle chasing over my skin, the sensation of individual goosebumps ticklish all over. The air felt heavy, laden with an electric charge. We stared at each other, and it almost felt as if we were connected by an invisible wire, one that vibrated to the frequency of the heartbeat of desire between us.

The silence was broken by the distant sound of a horse neighing. Diego’s brows hitched up. “Do they always greet you?”

I smiled. “Usually. I need to give them their evening hay.”

“I’ll help,” he replied, pushing away from the door and opening it again.

I dropped my purse on the table in the entryway and walked past him as he held the door open for me. I felt his presence beside me every step of the way. Our footsteps crunched in the gravel. I was wearing a skirt with a blouse and cowboy boots. Normally, I would change before dealing with the horses, but it was late.

We stepped through the barn entrance, and all four horses poked their heads over the stall doors, looking in our direction. Charlie nickered softly as we passed him by. Diego greeted each of the horses with a murmured hello and a quick stroke, which only served to deepen my desire with the tiny wrinkle that my heart flipped over at his easy kindness to the horses.

He helped me toss the hay in their stalls. Afterward, I returned to the storage room to make sure the grain bins were completely closed. One morning recently, I came in to a mess left behind by a pair of squirrels. After a quick check, I discovered I’d left the lid on one of the grain bins loose.

Turning back, I looked over to Diego where he waited by the door. He had one arm above his head, his hand curled in a relaxed grip on the door frame. The position lifted his T-shirt slightly, and my eyes snagged on the strip of bronze skin between his shirt hem and his jeans. My mouth actually watered. Because I wanted to drag my tongue over that skin and taste him.

Although it was early summer, it was evening, and the nights were cool here in Alaska. The air felt suddenly warm as heat chased over my skin.

Speaking of air, I couldn’t get much in my lungs when I tried to take a breath. So much for all those yoga classes. Maybe two feet separated us, and I didn’t know how to close the distance even though I desperately wanted to be closer to him.

Because Diego seemed particularly suited to knowing exactly what I needed and when I needed it, his hand dropped from the door frame and tagged mine. He reeled me close in a smooth motion. In a blinding fast second, he spun us around. My shoulder blades bumped against the wall, and his mouth was inches from mine.

I could feel every thundering beat of my heart. As every cell in my body vibrated with the frequency of my need and the molten hot look in his eyes. I gulped in air with a rapid, shallow breath.

“Tell me, sugar, should I wait to kiss you?”

I shook my head immediately. Because I could not wait another second.

Diego made a low sound in his throat right before his lips dusted across mine. It was a glancing touch, a tease, and maybe a test. A little whimper escaped. His lips brushed across mine again, and electricity sizzled like fiery filaments through my body. Impatient, I arched into him, sliding