Her two insistent hands pressed against the back of his neck like she was forcing him to do this.  It was cute.  Yeah, she was dead wrong.  He’d wanted to kiss her since he’d first seen her, hopping down out of that girly silver Jeep.  But he knew better.  Earning something you wanted took more than a few hours.  And if he’d gathered anything from her hot and cold responses so far, it was that Jaxon’s vague but deliberate warning that he take good care of her hadn’t been just puffed up, ego talk.

     This girl was in trouble.

     He should have stepped away for both their sakes.  He knew he didn’t deserve this kind of kiss, not yet.  But California was glued to him on full speed and didn’t appear to have a pause, let alone a rewind button.  On second thought, he’d let her get this out of her system and then they’d start over.

     Her hand had to be killing her, so he managed to pull it down and keep it tucked at her side.  But the other one was petting those hairs at the back of his neck, leaving him seconds away from coming undone.  If he clenched his jaw any tighter, those painful yet ticklish sensations shooting throughout his upper body would without a doubt get him into trouble down below.  Heck, if he squeezed her in his arms like he wanted to, she’d feel how aroused he’d let himself get.  He worked his jaw to ease away from the pain, wishing he could let go entirely and enjoy her touch. Yep, their fresh start was gonna have to wait until she was done proving her point.  Cute girl though.

* * *

              His lips were soft and salty like he’d worked up a sweat at some point during the day.  Crap, again she cursed his damn tempting bloodline.  This would only complicate their pending trip even more.  So naturally, when he smartly pulled her one hand away, she found a sweet spot of baby hairs with the other and went for more.  Her rules—that was the only way to play with the boys and stay safe.

     Lucky’s hands eventually cupped the sides of her face, which was fine because she had made her point.

     “Are we okay?” he asked.

     Well, hell if she knew.  “Yes,” she said.  They could figure the truth out later.  There would be an endless amount of open road ahead of them come Sunday to think.  Tonight was desperate Friday.  “We’re good.”  But she hesitated because he looked for a moment like he may have regretted things. When he coughed and cleared his throat, she was sure of it.

     “Come on, Miss ‘We’re Good’,” he said, as he urged her the rest of the way to the back door.  “I’d like to keep that promise I made Jaxon.  You could go a little easier on me from here on out.”

     The inside of her mouth remained warm from their kiss as she swallowed a cool breath of air.  The contrasting temperatures left her with a chill and a memory—the taste of the last kiss she’d had.  Cigarettes and beer.  No hand holding.  No talking.  No first, second or third date.  As badly as her sour heart warned her to throw Lucky in with that lot, she just couldn’t do it.  He’d already taken more care of her than any other guy she’d known.

     “You shouldn’t take things so personally.”  At his wince, she splintered and added, “I know you didn’t sign up for this; I’ll try to be…better.”  No promises though.

     “Okay.”  He hesitated, and shifted on the steps.  “Ready to go inside?”

     “No, you should go in though.  I need to be alone.”  A tingle traveled around her wounded hand and she made the mistake of squeezing it into a fist.

     Lucky dipped his head then and ran his hand up along the back of his neck, rubbing it in his obvious confusion.  “Trista. I’m kind of at a loss here.  You’re obviously in pain.  Just come inside and let me help you.”

     She tried to warn him, hoping he’d listen.  “Lucky, you’re a nice guy.  Okay, I get it.  You want to help, but I didn’t ask for that and you have no idea what you’d be signing up for anyway.  Assholes can barely handle my world; a good guy like you doesn’t stand a chance.  Jaxon had no right doing this.”

     “Hmmm.”  He scratched at his sideburn.  “You don’t know what I can and can’t handle.”  He looked down but she had caught his every word.

The ♥Hop Question:

Day 1, 2/10: What does Lucky call Trista as he’s urging her the rest of the way to her back door?

Day 2 & 3, 2/11 & 2/12: What two words does Trista use to describe Lucky’s lips?

Day 4, 2/13: What does Lucky think of Trista’s silver Jeep? It’s manly, pretty, girly or bangin’

Day 5, 2/14: Hey y’all.  Ladies.  So Carlene asked me to come up with today’s question and I knew right away what I was gonna ask.  It’s really nothing for a guy to want to kiss a girl the second he sees her. But I always tried to be better than that for Tris.  So my question for y’all is, how long should it take to earn something you really want?  For me, it’s gotta be more than just a few hours.  Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours.  Take care y’all.

♥To enter my drawing for the $10 Lush gift card and $10 Evernight Publishing gift card, all you have to do is answer The Day’s Hop Question correctly. Leave your answer, your name, and your email in the comment section of this post. On the14th at midnight ET, I will put all the names in a hat and draw one.  Check back then to see if you got Lucky ♥  Don’t forget to “Like” the Evernight Facebook Page…I like it a lot And check out the rest of the fabulous Evernight Authors’ Blogs & their prizes participating in this Hop!

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Good luck to all…Happy Hopping ♥

Always love,

Carlene Love ♥