If it were any other guy sitting in the driver’s seat, I’d have scooted closer and made a suggestive, flirty remark. Maybe even tugged my shirt down to show just the right amount of cleavage to tease with what was beneath the cotton. If it were any other guy, I would’ve had him eating out of my hand, or other more fun parts of my anatomy, in a matter of seconds. But this was Hud, and, as much as I liked to pretend that I had the upper hand, I didn’t. Not when it came to him. And definitely not after that amazing kiss we’d shared—the one that I was equally terrified of not happening and happening again.
Anxiety swept over me thinking of both outcomes. What if he never kissed me again? What if that was the only time I’d feel the hard planes of his body pressed against mine? He’d brought me closer to an orgasm, fully-clothed, than the last three men I’d had sex with.
A small voice in the back of my head reminded me that my eighteen-month self-imposed dry spell might have something to do with that, but I knew better. My lack of sexy-time had nothing to do with how my body had responded this morning.
I could handle attraction. Want. Desire. Physical need so intense it felt like I was going to die…easy-peasy-fresh-n-squeezy.
The problem was, with Hud, I felt that…and more. The more was scarier than me being the meat in a Leatherface and Mike Meyers sandwich. The crush that I’d been nursing since…forever…was one thing. But this was more. More was something totally out of my comfort zone, and I had no idea how to handle it.
Romeo must’ve sensed the change in my emotions. He crawled onto my lap and turned once, then twice before awkwardly laying down. It cracked me up that he really did think he was a lapdog. I rubbed him behind his ear and told him what a good boy he was. He may not fit on my lap, but I was damn sure glad to have him there.
“Oh shit!” I yelled and grabbed Hud’s forearm.
“What’s wrong?”
His eyes darted to mine and I felt his muscles tense beneath my touch.
“I haven’t fed Romeo. I told Coop to take him to the park and play with him or take him home with him, but I forgot—”
The corded strain under my fingertips relaxed as Hud exhaled. “I fed him. And walked him. And we spent a couple of hours at the park.”
“You did? Really?”
“I did.” He nodded. “I took him to the park across the street and let him play for a little bit. And when we got back I got him some water and a bowl of chicken and rice from the cafeteria. I talked to your mom and she said you were going to be awhile, so we went back to the park. He was only in the truck for about an hour total.”
“Really?” I repeated as tears threatened my eyes. A lump formed in my throat and I began rubbing Romeo behind his ears trying to distract myself. “Thank you so much.”
He really was a superhero. An errant drop of liquid emotion fell down my cheek and I took in a shaky breath as I wiped it, hoping to erase all evidence that I was as affected by his actions as I was.
I sniffed, hoping to hold the floodgate at bay. “Why didn’t Coop—”
“Your brother asked for the keys so he could take him out. I told him I took care of it.”
Oh, Lord. I took care of it. How could five words sound so damn sexy? Inhaling a shaky breath, I wished I had a fan because the air had grown hot. Hot and heavy.
When we pulled up in front of my house moments later, I was both relieved and disappointed. Things with Hud had not been going how I’d envisioned, not that they ever did, and I was feeling very out of my depth. This was Thursday, which meant that I wouldn’t be seeing him again until Monday. That seemed like an eternity.
My hand had just brushed the doorknob when I noticed my car sitting in the driveway. I’d been planning on having one of my brothers give me a ride to get it tomorrow.
Spinning my head so fast I was lucky I didn’t get whiplash, my eyes widened as I stated the obvious. “My car’s here.”
“I took care of that, too,” his raspy voice reverberated from my head to my toes.
“Thanks.” I swallowed over the large lump in my throat. “Thanks for everything. The car. For giving me a ride to the hospital and waiting for me. Taking care of this guy.” I rubbed Romeo’s head and looked down, not able to take the depth and heat in Hud’s stare.
Even without making direct eye contact, it still felt like flames were burning every place he looked on my body. Fire was a funny thing. It drew you, moth to a flame and all that, but then if you got too close you got burned.
Hoping to lighten the hot and heavy mood that had settled in the cab of the truck, I tried to inject some sarcasm to leave on a lighter note. “Guess it’s a good thing that my only baby is Romeo, since I’m having a hard time even taking care of him.”
His naturally deep timbre held an extra layer of rumble that caused goosebumps to spread over my arms as he said, “You’d be an amazing mom. Seeing you with Delilah was…”
Was…? For some reason hearing what it was suddenly became as important as breathing to me. I needed to know what he saw. What that look on his face had been.
Holding my niece in my arms had felt like the most natural thing in the world to me. The second I saw her, I was in love, completely and unconditionally. I knew there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for that girl. She could murder someone and I’d hide the body. I knew that, but I wondered what he saw.
“And Romeo’s lucky to have you. You’re doing a great job.”
My heart sank a little that he’d brushed past whatever he was going to say.