up to me, hips swaying. What I wouldn’t give to crush her body to mine, to cover her lips with mine, to drink her in. Today has been a test in self-control. But it’s one I’m determined to win.
“But, Wes. I already have.”
“Do you know what my gampy used to always tell me about being cocky? Well, technically, arrogant.”
She tilts her head. “What’s that?”
“Arrogance is a trait only losers possess.”
Before she has a chance to answer, I loop my arm around her waist, tugging her flush with me, transferring the paint covering my body onto hers. She fights against me, arms flailing, legs kicking. If I thought this was triggering a painful memory, I’d stop. But as her laughter mixes with mine, I know she’s enjoying this as much as I am.
My hands become too slick to keep her in my grasp, and she manages to escape, but I run after her, dodging flinging paint. I grab a brush, doing the same to her, paint flying and laughter echoing.
As she runs through the room, she slips in a puddle of paint, losing her balance. She reaches for something to prevent her fall. Since I’m the only thing close by, she grabs onto my t-shirt. Unable to stop her forward momentum due to all the paint on the plastic, I slip, as well, falling back onto the floor, Londyn landing on top of me with a grunt.
Pain radiates through my spine, but I don’t move yet, although I should probably help Londyn off me so she doesn’t realize how turned on I am, despite the ache in my body. Even if my erection weren’t straining against my shorts, she could still see the desire flowing through me, my breathing increasing, eyes darkening, heart visibly thundering against my chest.
I remove my hands from her hips, not wanting to do anything to keep her here if she doesn’t want to be. But even when she’s free to get up, she doesn’t, her body remaining on mine, eyes glued to mine. Her chest heaves with her increasingly rapid breathing as she moistens her lips.
“Londyn…,” I begin, a slight waver in my voice.
She brings a hand up to my face, pushing a few tendrils of hair out of my eyes. “Why can’t I get over you?”
I swallow hard, unsure how to answer. How can one question be filled with so much hope, yet also so much despair?
“Do you want to?”
She pauses, contemplating. It’s both the easiest question and the most difficult at the same time.
“I don’t think I do,” she finally answers.
“Then don’t,” I murmur. “I’m by your side. Whatever you need, I’m with you.”
She closes her eyes, basking in my assurance. When she returns her gaze to mine, there’s a heat within. Gone is the despair and anguish from last night. Now I see hope and the promise for a future.
“And I’m with you, Wes.”
As she inches her mouth toward mine, I hold my breath. A part of me wants to stop her before she does something she’s not ready for. But the other part of me is an addict for her kisses, a craving for another taste erasing all sense of reason.
I close my eyes, bracing to satisfy this unrelenting need, when I make out heavy footsteps on the porch, followed by the front door flinging open.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Londyn scrambles to her feet. I jump up behind her as Imogene and Julia enter.
“Hiya, Uncle Wes. Hiya, Miss Londyn,” Imogene says brightly, oblivious to what she interrupted. And to the fact that Londyn being here is a big deal to begin with. “What happened to all the paint?” She frowns, looking around at the paint splattered on the plastic covering the floor, Londyn, me, and pretty much everything.
“Yeah.” Julia levels a stare on me. I can hear the dozens of unspoken questions. Half about how Londyn came to be here. The other half about why we are both covered in paint.
“Miss Londyn and I were just having a bit of fun. You know how when you’re baking a cake with your mama and she sometimes pipes frosting onto your face? This was kind of the same thing.” I glance around at the disaster we made. “Except we may have gotten a little out of control.”
“I’d say,” Julia remarks.
“It looks like fun!” Imogene turns to Julia. “Can we play in the paint, too?”
“I don’t have a change of clothes for you. Plus, we don’t have a lot of time. We have plans