“I hate surprises.” She pursed her lips, a frown puckering her brow.
“Everybody says that, but nobody ever really means it. Will you go?”
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down, searching his eyes. “All right.”
“Good.” He gave her a soft smile, pleased beyond measure she hadn’t turned him down. They’d taken a step in the right direction.
* * *
“Why is it I have to wear this again?” Emma reached up to touch the makeshift blindfold Dillon tied to the back of her head.
“Because it won’t be a surprise if you see where we’re going.”
She pursed her lips. “I hate surprises, Dillon.”
He chuckled, the warm, rich sound teasing her senses. “No, you hate not knowing.”
Actually, she found the feel of him behind her the most unnerving. Everything had changed between them. This morning he looked at her differently. His deep, dark eyes held an unmistakable longing, a shared sense of intimacy when their gazes collided, and it made her weak in the knees.
It was a sense of mutual connection and it called to her, beckoning like a piece of candy, sinful and delicious and oh so tempting. She refused to overthink her actions, to regret what happened between them. If she did, the guilt would eat her alive. For the time being, she held on to it. It was something completely and totally selfish. Her boyfriend in high school was wrong. It didn’t make her a slut just because she got caught up in passion. For the first time in her life, she wanted to let herself get lost in an emotion. To hell with what anybody said about it.
Did she want it to move further? She didn’t know. The thought scared her to death. Casual or serious, she’d never taken this big of a step in any of her romantic relationships before.
Dillon shifted from behind her. “You ready?”
She reached up to touch the blindfold again. “I can’t see anything. Why not wait ’til I’m in the car to put this on?”
He slipped his hand into hers, threading their fingers. His warm breath feathered along her cheek. “Because I can.”
She didn’t need to see his face to know a self-pleased grin was spread across it. The arrogant, amused tone of his voice said it all and she couldn’t help smiling in response. She was putty in his hands with this blindfold on and not only did he know it, but he obviously liked it that way. God help her, his arrogance was sexy right then.
“Actually, the answer is two-fold. It’s supposed to be a tease. I wanted to make this fun for you.” His voice lowered to an intimate murmur. “I happen to like teasing you, because I love watching you smile. You’re incredibly beautiful when you smile. You don’t do it enough.”
A heated shiver ran the length of her spine. She didn’t know what to say to that. Or even if she ought to say anything. Lucky for her, Dillon continued before she could think of a proper response.
“Right now, not only are you smiling, but your entire demeanor has changed. You’ve relaxed. Which brings me to my second reason.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s also an act of faith. I screwed up yesterday, and now there’s tension between us. I don’t like it when you look at me like you aren’t sure if you can trust me, and I don’t like knowing you aren’t comfortable with me. I’m not anywhere near perfect, but I’m not that guy who hurt you and I’m not the guy you think I am. Like this, with the blindfold on, you have to put yourself in my hands, trust me to take care of you, to not let anything happen to you.” He shifted from behind her, and took her hands in his, stroking his thumbs over her knuckles. “I’m asking you to trust me, Em.”
The simple feel of his hand in hers, warm skin against warm skin, electrified her nerve endings. His words floored her. That had to be the sweetest thing any man had ever said to her. He was right. Things were awkward between them this morning. Did she trust him?
She nodded. “I trust you. Do you have Annie?”
“Of course.”
With a gentle tug on her hand, he guided her forward. The front door creaked open, and a gust of icy winter air rushed in around her.
“Step,” he said quietly.
She did. They moved down the front walk, the snow crunching beneath their feet. Ten paces later, he stopped and released her hand.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“Where would I go?” She shrugged, feeling more than a little helpless. Her heart pounded in giddy anticipation. The whole idea of a surprise made her nervous and excited at the same time.
The car door opened with a soft pop and the click of Annie’s car seat settling into the base that was strapped into the backseat filled the silence. Dillon’s feet crunched in the snow again, and then his hand slipped into hers, warm, soft, and soothing. A gentle tug on her arm led her forward again. Then another door opened.