“And these pretty little gals are bold and captivating.” He touched one of the blue and purple orchids. “They say, ‘Don’t fuck with me. I might be poisonous, but I’m too tempting to resist.’”
He paused long enough for her to forget how to breathe.
“Like you. Crystal.”
She pressed her lips together to keep her emotions from spilling out, but when he guided her face toward his with a gentle press of his finger beneath her chin, his serious gaze held her captive, and her eyes teared up.
“They say orchids are symbols of love and affection,” he said softly. “And the harder they are to find, the more love and affection they hold. When you put all these magnificent beauties together, you get the most unique flower on earth.”
He was looking at her as if he could see her innermost thoughts, and everything around them faded away. He was all she could see, smell, hear. When he took her hand in his, a familiar current traveled up her arm. Could it be possible to just live in this moment forever?
“Some people might see those bold colors and think they’re too much,” he said, bringing her back to earth. “They might see the dainty pink and white as too soft, or the others and think they’re too rough. But when I see them. When I see you. I see the woman who stopped me cold the first time I saw her. And when you opened that incredibly sexy, snarky, and often too-adorable-for-words mouth of yours, I knew I was in big trouble.”
For a long moment she didn’t move, didn’t breathe, didn’t think, just sat beside him, numb from the honesty written all over his face. She didn’t know how to handle this, and she turned away, overwhelmed and embarrassed by the feelings stacking up inside her. “I think I’m allergic to those saccharine lines.”
He drew her face toward his again. “Don’t do that.”
“Move?” She hated herself for being snarky. She hadn’t planned on reinventing herself ever again, but there was no denying the changes taking place inside her. She’d been hiding from herself, from the truth, from being judged, for so long, that the warmth and love he gave her made her feel vulnerable, and she didn’t know how to handle it.
“Don’t deflect.” His tone was pure control, telling her what to do, not suggesting.
Pure instinct made her scoff, and just as quickly, she regretted it. This wasn’t a reinvention born of fear or necessity. She wasn’t in survival mode. She wasn’t in any mode at all, and that was the most incredible feeling in the world. But it was also frightening, because she wasn’t sure who she was anymore. But when she looked at Bear, she wanted to find out. Desperately.
“I’m sorry. It’s—”
“Habit?” He lifted Harley from her lap and took her hand in his. “I get that. But if we’re going to be together—and we are, so don’t even pretend anything else is an option—I’m going to say what I feel. If I have to hold back my physical display of affection, my emotions have to come out in some way.”
“So, that scorching-hot kiss was holding back? Holy shit, Bear. Now I’m building you up in my mind to epic proportions you can never live up to.”
His eyes smoldered. “Wanna bet?”
She didn’t want to bet; she wanted to find out. “Is this a ploy? I have to endure these types of embarrassing, in-my-face compliments or sleep with you? And when we sleep together, what then? The sweet stuff stops? Like a catch twenty-two?”
He laughed. “What goes on in that beautiful mind of yours?”
“You don’t want to know. Trusting is a little hard, even when I don’t want it to be.” She pushed to her feet, her heart beating a mile a minute. “I’m going to put these in water.”
He followed her into the kitchen. “You’re wrong, Crystal. I want to know what you’re thinking about and what you feel. I want to know everything about you.”
He stood behind her as she filled a vase with water, and his arms snaked around her belly. He was gentle and comforting, wiping away the fear of the unknown.
But as he lowered his mouth beside her ear and whispered, “Talk to me, baby,” the desire climbing up her limbs created anxiety all its own.
She set the vase on the counter and leaned her head back against his chest.
“I’m not used to hearing those things, and I don’t know how to trust them. But I trust you. And the hardest part of all of this is that I’m not a weak person, and not knowing how to handle this makes me feel like I am. And that’s frustrating, because what I really want to do is kiss you. I want to turn around and have you lift me up onto this counter and kiss me until I can’t see straight like they do in movies. I want to wrap my legs around your waist without having to worry about if you’re worried about me, or if I’m worried about me.”
She turned around, her pulse racing, and said, “I just want to go with what I feel and stop thinking, and maybe that will help me accept the rest.”
In the next second she was sitting on the counter, Bear’s wide hips between her legs, his mouth swooping down over hers. The first touch of their lips was like jumping off a waterfall, and then she was soaring through the air. Her arms and legs circled him, embracing her freedom, her passion, her affection for the incredible man who was possessing more of her by the second. His hands moved like wind over her back, into her hair, down her arms, coming to rest on her hips. She felt his resistance, and she fell harder for him for holding back.
She grabbed his ass, letting him know she wasn’t afraid, and thank God, he slid his hands to her butt and did the same, bringing their bodies together. She was barely breathing into their kisses, lost in the pleasure of allowing herself to feel their heat—and enjoy it. Damn, did she enjoy it. I’m not broken. A rush of titillating energy whooshed through her, like nothing she’d ever experienced. Not even in their kisses. She was breaking free. Really, truly allowing herself to leave the past behind. The realization slammed into her, and she drew back from the kiss, panting and smiling and laughing like a crazy person.
She was crazy. Crazy for Bear Whiskey.
“I want to kiss you forever” rushed from her lungs.
She grabbed his head, plastering her mouth to his again, and felt him smiling into their kiss. He lifted her off the counter, never breaking their connection as he took a few steps, slowing to deepen the kiss. Her back met the wall with a thunk, and lust spiked up her spine. Her eyes flew open, and he drew back so fast it filled her up with him even more.
“I liked it,” she assured him, feeling as shocked as he looked. “That was intense and freaking hot. Like a shot of…Whiskey. I want more Whiskey, please.”