“I’m sorry. I thought you thought I was—”
“Kind. Generous. Unbelievably amazing.” Rory slid his hands down her back and over her round bottom, pulling her snug against him. He held her there, trapped in his embrace, a soft smile on his lips. “What I was trying to tell you before you went off on that tangent is that I want more of last night and more of you. Not on the couch, but in our bed upstairs. Stay with me tonight. For a few days at least. I don’t want you to be alone at your place, because you miss your father, but also because the police haven’t caught your brother and his friends.”
Disappointment made her heart sink. “So, you want me to stay here because you’re afraid they’ll come back to my house and maybe hurt me?”
“If giving you a reason to stay here makes you want to stay, then yes, stay so I can protect you.”
Despite the hold he had on her, she backed out of his arms, ready to say yes, but wishing for so much more.
Rory reached out and pulled her back before she got more than a step away. His eyes grew dark with worry. “Stay because I want you here with me. Please.” That vulnerable “please” melted her heart. This wasn’t easy for a man like Rory to ask because it meant something deep to him. As much as it did to her. “I don’t want to lose what we shared last night. I don’t want to see it fade when all I want to do is keep that fire burning.”
She wanted the same. But she didn’t want there to be any reason for her to stay except the one that mattered most. She wanted to be here. With Rory.
Fires burned out. You have to feed them, let them live and breathe.
Yes, sometimes they’d fade to glowing embers, but only if the fire was stoked enough to burn hot enough to create those coals. She didn’t want their relationship to be something that flashed and burned out quickly. She wanted it to be a living thing they worked to keep alive. That was fire, life, a relationship, marriage, love.
“I need to go home and take care of a few things.” The disappointment in his eyes warmed her heart and solidified her decision. “I’ll pack up more clothes. Underwear.”
The light in his eyes sparked. “You don’t need those.”
She laughed. “Maybe not, but they do make things more comfortable.”
“Whatever. I’m glad you decided to stay.”
“Yeah, well, at least until those guys are caught, right?”
“We’ll see.”
He may have said the words, but something told her he didn’t mean them. Did he truly want her to move in with him? She didn’t dare ask. It was too soon. Right? And yet she planned to go home, pack a bag, and stay here for some undetermined amount of time. A flutter of anticipation shivered in her belly. Mostly because she thought of where she’d be sleeping tonight. In his bed. In his arms. After thinking her life was over hanging in that tree, her father dying so young, she didn’t want to waste a single day she had left on this earth. She wanted to live and do the things she wanted to do. The things that made her happy. Not for anyone else, but for herself. She wanted to be with Rory, so she would be with Rory. She didn’t care what anyone thought about them getting together so fast. It didn’t seem fast to her. It seemed right. No, it was right.
“What is that face you’re making? Are you angry?”
“No. Determined.”
“Uh, about what?”
“Doing what I want for a change.”
“Okay. What do you want to do?”
“Stop doing what others want me to do or think I should do. I want to be here with you, so I’m not going to worry about what other people think.”
“Who the fuck cares what they think?”
“Exactly. You want me here. I want to be here. So I’m sleeping with you tonight.”
“I’m all for that,” Rory teased.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, I hope you did,” he teased again.
She smacked him on the arm and tried to hold back the laugh she let loose anyway. “Stop. You know what I mean.”
“I know, but I love it when you smile, even more when you laugh.”
“You know what I like about you?”
“What?”
“The way you make me feel when you kiss me.”
“Well, sweetheart, lucky for you, that’s my favorite thing to do.” He drew her close, dipped his head, and kissed her softly, his gaze locked with hers, a light of mischief brightening the hazel depths. He made her smile and forget all her troubles, if only for a little while. When she was with him, she didn’t think about anything. Her worries went away.
She closed her eyes, sank into the kiss he masterfully laid on her, and let everything else go, hoping she could get through the next few days and settle her father’s affairs. Then she could begin the next chapter of her life. Something she now looked forward to because she wouldn’t be alone. No, that new life included being Rory Kendrick’s live-in girlfriend and lover.