it couldn’t, but I still felt… gutted. The yearning to lean over and kiss him itched my mouth, making my hand rub my lips. What was wrong with me? Not even four days ago I would have thought I’d ever have been feeling or thinking this way. Though I think it had been there from the moment he walked up to me in the garage. Tonight all the facades dropped. I didn’t simply like Smith, I craved him.
No different from all the girls I used to make fun of.
“Your sister has been texting me.”
My gaze shot to his.
“She seems… eager for a reunion.”
“She thinks you’re the one.”
“What?” He coughed out a laugh.
“The one who got away.”
He twisted onto his side, propping his head on his hand, staring down at me, his voice trailing over my skin like gravel. “I can’t be the one who got away… I was never caught by her.”
I sucked in, his eyes stripping me of any barrier I tried to put up.
“Don’t underestimate Kasey. When she’s set on something, she always gets what she wants. Always.”
“Not always.” His gaze didn’t relent, making my body swirl with heat. “What about you, Kinsley? What happens when you set your sights on something you want?”
The liquor still dominated my blood, and I propped on my elbow, mirroring him. “I don’t know.”
“Why?” he asked. “You are just as smart, stubborn, and determined as your sister… and unbelievably beautiful. Do you even notice the guys who trip over themselves to be near you?”
My heart pummeled against my ribs. “No.”
“Your sister would. She loved the attention… but that’s what makes you even more stunning… you don’t.” He inched closer to me. “So, tell me… what makes you stand in your siblings’ shadows?”
I felt raw. Bare. Exposed. Licking my lips, I inhaled, my attention intently on him. “I guess I never wanted something bad enough.”
“Do you now?”
“Yes.”
Smith’s nose flared. “This is stupid.”
“What?”
“This whole thing. I shouldn’t be here with you. In this bed or on this trip. The moment you walked into the shop, I should have walked the other away.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He stared at me, staying silent.
“Can I ask why didn’t you just fly? Why was it me or you weren’t coming at all?”
He rubbed at his head, not looking at me. He didn’t say a word, but somehow, I realized the answer.
“You’re afraid.”
His head jolted at the last word, his lids narrowing.
“You don’t like to fly.”
“It’s more than that,” he muttered. “It’s confined spaces. Being stuck in a place I can’t escape.” His chest moved up and down. “Why I don’t mind sleeping under the stars, or in here, as long as I feel fresh air.”
“You’re claustrophobic.”
“Not exactly.”
I waited for him to go on, but he didn’t.
“You could have rented a car.”
“Honestly, it was Kyle who kept pushing. Going back there is the last thing I want to do. I left, promising myself I’d never return. But Kyle made it sound like you were already heading to get me. It was all set.”
“Told you.” A smile tipped my mouth. “There is nothing either of them can’t get when they want something. Always been this way.” My focus again going to Smith’s chest. Damn, he was attractive. Rugged. Rough. Bruised and broken in his beauty.
He was a man… needing a woman. I felt like a gangly kid with no clue what I was doing.
“Kasey will not give up. And honestly, why wouldn’t you want her again?” Insecurity washing over me. “She’s even more beautiful, smart, has her shit together. She’s perfect.”
A growl echoed off the walls, his body twisting to me, his eyes blazing. “I don’t want perfect. I want real. Fierce. Genuine.”
He moved to me like an attacker, pushing me into the bed, his hands gripping my face, sliding into my hair roughly, his fingers knotting into my scalp, igniting fire down my vertebra. He didn’t kiss me, but his mouth grazed mine, breathing me in. His weight moved between my legs, his thin boxer-briefs doing little to contain his size. His erection rubbed against me as he rolled into me. My back curved, a moan puffing from my mouth, desire bursting from me like a pinata.
“Don’t you fucking get it? Perfect destroys, kills what is wild, raw, and beautiful,” he rumbled, pushing himself harder into me, the fabric of our clothes creating friction shooting sparks over my vision. I went to kiss him, but he twisted his head, his mouth scraping up my neck, biting the tender part behind me