here to get you riled up. I had no intention of letting it go any further.”
She pursed her lips. “Are you saying that because it’s what you think I want to hear?”
I slid my palm, with a delicate stroke against her cheek before I cupped it and captured her eyes, the connection pulling strong.
“I would have done any foolish thing to make you notice me. Still would.”
Based on her pensive expression, she cast doubt on my words.
“What’s so different about me that got your attention?”
I could write her a book on the emotions she had the ability to stir up in me.
“You asked me, why you? There is no easy answer as more reasons are being added every day. With you there was this instant sense that I was doing something right. You ignited my senses, Mecca, all of them. I had never had a woman who could bless me with an instant serge of positive energy and spark such wild passion. Every time I hear your voice, I stop and focus on you, no matter what I’m doing because I believe it’s important to hear what you’re telling me. Your taste bathes my tongue in heaven’s nectar, refreshing, delicious, and addictive.”
The tip of my tongue touched top lip at the thought, and I caught the cheeky grin on her face at my compliments.
“You appeal to my sense of sight in a way that allows me to go deeper than your surface. It’s like watching the many dimensions of a painting and allowing it to grab you versus just glossing over it. You’re hard and firm, soft and cuddly, warm and fluid. You are a delight for my hands, a splendid product of nature that entices every part of me to connect with every part of you. You smell like what happiness feels like, a shot of adrenaline for my lungs. You’re like my very own world wrapped up in one body, and nothing else exists outside of how happy you make me feel.”
My words had her staring with skeptical wide eyes as she fought for a response. I hadn’t intended to go that deep.
“Wow. Arjen.” She choked out before her head fell against the side of mine as she inhaled me. I decided to save her, realizing I had probably said too much.
“Will you tell me why you never take that necklace off? Is it a keepsake?”
Her fingers brushed it as if checking to make sure it was there. She released a deep exhale. “I’m not ready to tell you about this yet. You know how it took me a moment to warm up to you? I need more time with this.”
I nodded my understanding and was willing to give her as much time as she thought she needed, even if it meant my curiosity would keep knocking until I knew her secrets.
Her lips brushed mine, the caress so tender and warm, it made me come alive with that spark that only she lit. I could feel myself falling for her. Hell, I think I already had. The shocking notion froze me, made my mind stumble, and I jerked away from her too abruptly.
“What’s wrong?” she questioned as concern filled her face.
“I’m…I...” I had never lied to her, something I was just realizing at this moment.
“Nothing.” I merged our lips again and settled into the warm softness of her body, moving in sync with mine.
There was no need to question it anymore. I was falling in love with Mecca. She had parked herself in my heart, kicked off her shoes, and made it her home.
Did she feel the same way about me?
23
Mecca
Three days later, and the thoughts Arjen shared had me almost believing that I was his very own personal superwoman. The buzzing of my phone woke me as he was reciting those beautiful words in my dream.
The Black Saints business had kept me so busy that I had hardly seen him since the night he had made me a dinner to remember. The sound of his light snores was a reminder that I had made it home.
Running on auto pilot, my exhausted body had drooped as I dragged myself into the shower last night, washed the essential parts, and crawled into bed. Arjen drew me into him, even in his sleep. It was like his body knew what to do without his conscious mind.
The irritating buzzing that came from my purse yanked me from the comfort of his arms and sleep. I had gotten three hours that had