I willed away my nerves and lifted my chin high. "Not much to tell."

Moving in closer, he pressed his fingertips against my cheek as he whispered, "Everyone's got a story, and yours is already written on your face. Just wanna see it on your lips and hear it with my ears this time." His head tipped to the side, and it took all of me not to lean into his touch. Besides Kenna, nobody ever cared enough to ask me about my personal life.

I shrugged. "Not sure where to start."

"How 'bout a game then?"

I bit my lip to hold back a smile. "You and your games." He laughed, and so did I. "Just as long as you play fair this time."

He pressed a hand against his chest and mock-gasped. "You're killing me here."

"And you, sir, are the most dramatic man I know."

Pieces of his dark hair curled out over his ears and forehead as he pulled off his baseball hat and stuck it in the back pocket of his jeans. "Then it's obvious you don't know Max all too well."

True. "Fine. You ask, I'll tell."

His eyebrows arched. "That's dangerous."

"Don't care." With Collin, the idea of playing it safe wasn't an option anymore.

"Fine. Tell me what you were like as a kid."

"I was quiet. Loved to read."

He pulled me even closer, wrapping his arm around my waist. "So, not real different than you are now, huh?"

"Nope." I popped the p, regretting how uninteresting I really was. "Bet you were a tree climber. Girl kisser and"-I tapped my finger against my lip-"a troublemaker. Am I right?"

"Close." He winked. "I was also an athlete. Loved playing football, baseball...wrestled too."

"So you were one of those tight-singlet-wearing boys?"

He lowered his lips to my ear, bringing his body flush against mine. His denim jeans brushed against my sensitized thighs, and I gritted my teeth, praying I didn't moan at the contact. "Wore the thing better than any other guy on the team. And that was with my underwear on."

I laughed. Hard. Only Collin could make me hot and bothered one second, then make me laugh out loud the next. "And I bet you had a lot of fans of the cheerleading variety."

He pulled back, only to bring his fingers to the ends of my hair. Like it was made of the most delicate silk, he rubbed the strands between his thumb and forefinger. "Didn't have time for girls. Too busy with sports and the like."

Dedicated and delicious. Two perfect d-words when it came to a man.

"How about you? Did you play any sports?" He didn't move back. Instead, he kept playing with my hair, looking down into my eyes, and occasionally letting his gaze linger lower.

"I played golf."

"Golf." He frowned. Not necessarily an annoyed frown, more a curious one.

I held back my grimace and looked the other way. It was a sport I loved once upon a time. "Kind of had to. It was ingrained in my head since I was first able to wrap my chubby baby fingers around a club. It's also the only thing my dad and I had in common."

"You still play?"

I stared out at the pond. "Not anymore."

"Wanna tell me why you stopped?"

"My dad and I don't speak anymore and he was the only reason I played."

"Why don't you talk now?"

I bumped his hip with mine, trying to smile. "And this is the part of the conversation where I plead the fifth."

A heavy sigh filled the air, but I didn't turn to face him. If I did, then I'd have to talk about things I didn't want to talk about yet. No need to bring the newness of our friendship-or whatever this was-into a slump.

After a while, the warmth of his arm around me wasn't enough, and the cold wind proved to be too much for even Collin's massive body. My teeth chattered, but I didn't want to suggest going back to the house. For one, there were too many people there. And another? I liked being with Collin like this, regardless of the sudden conversation lag.

"Cold?" His voice cracked.

I nodded down at my heels.

"Let's get you back to the fire. Warm ya up."

Disappointment washed over me, even though I knew we couldn't be out here all night. But then we began to move, and as we walked, his fingers found mine again, connecting with them in a way that gave my goose bumps purpose.

"Where'd my sister find this getup you got on?"

"She didn't really find it." Other than the fact that she'd mentioned my boobs would look better in it than hers. "Guess it was too big or something on her and she decided I'd look better in it."

"Yeah?" He stared ahead. But the lines by his eyes had me questioning his sister's once-logical answer. "My sister is conniving." He looked down on me, his eyes alight with humor. "Don't get me wrong. She usually means well."

"You think she dressed me like this on purpose?"

His lips twitched as we approached the fire. "Not going to put it past her."

Lia was also going to be seeing the bottom of my shoe. Still, a small thrill managed to course through me every time Collin took the time to appreciate my...assets.

"Sit right here." He plopped down in one of those extended lawn chairs, patting the space in between his thighs.

"Please does exist in your vocabulary, correct?"

He frowned. "Sorry. Please sit right here."

I grinned at my small success and did as he asked, never once regretting it. A blanket was tucked over the back of the chair, and he reached for it, settling it over the top of my legs once I lowered myself against his chest. The fire crackled before us, illuminating the quiet area around us. There weren't many people hanging around outside anymore, my guess was from the sprinkles of rain steadily falling now, so the privacy was near perfect.

"Whose house is this anyway?"

He encircled his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. "Club's owner."

"And who is the club owner?"

"Jonathon St. Marks is his name. He's close to forty. Has a couple of kids and a wife. Needs the club to make him feel young again."

I settled my ear against his chest, taking in the thump of his heart. "Probably a way to blow off steam too."

He lowered a kiss to my forehead. "Yeah, kind of why Gav, Max, and I all play."

At the mention of his friends, a thought plagued me. One I'd wanted to ask for a while now, but didn't feel like it was my place...until that moment.

"Why come back to Carinthia and not move to where Gavin or Max are from?"

Fingers danced over my arm beneath the blanket, and I snuggled in deeper against his chest. "Because Max was running from his past, and Gavin was trying to find his future."

"And you?" I turned completely on my side, reaching down to wrap his arm tighter around my waist. His fingers caressed my stomach, slipping between the gaps of my buttons. When the tips found my bare skin, I held my breath, consumed by his touch.

"Guess I was just trying to find purpose again."

"You'll always have a purpose in life. You're a father."

A button on my outfit popped open, and then another, until his hand slipped fully inside and flat against my belly. I did nothing to stop him.

"Purpose is a word with many meanings, Addie." His voice crackled. "Just one of those has to do with my daughter."

The tips of his fingers found the top of my panties, and I whimpered as he slipped his fingers just under the edge. Insanity and need had me arching backward, allowing his hand to slide lower. Other than a couple sitting across from us, everyone had filtered inside.

The cold drizzle had increased to a steady rain that coated our faces, but neither of us cared, both panting hard as his hand slipped even lower.

"Christ, you're wet."

Desire surged between my hips, and I rocked against his palm. Yet he held his fingers too high, teasing me-torturing me.

"Don't wanna share you with anyone else. Too many people around."

Needing more, needing to assure him this wasn't sharing, that this was completely him and me, alone in our own world, I tipped my head back and met his stare. "Please..." I pleaded with a whisper and was rewarded with a growl buried low in his throat. Lifting his other hand, he cupped my cheek and kissed me moments before his fingers obliged my begging and dipped even lower.

Against his mouth, I moaned, kissing him harder than I'd ever kissed a man before. Our lips, slick from rain, collided in a battle of give and take, making me forget who I was and where I was, but never who I was with.

Faster and faster, his fingers rubbed over my clit, a skillful move he mastered with little effort. It took little work for him to bring me close to the edge, but whenever I got too close, he'd slow down, kissing me softly once more.

So worked into a frenzy, I barely noticed him lowering his free hand under the blanket, but the second I felt more buttons come apart against my breasts, I came alive, burning for him, for his touch.

"So damn sexy. Can't wait 'til I taste you here." He cupped my breast, rubbing his thumb over my nipple at the same time. The fingers below my panties moving so fast I barely had time to think.

With my head tipped back even more, he nibbled on the base of my throat, not hard, but enough to sting in the most delicious of ways.

"Can't wait to be inside you. Can't wait to have you in my bed, screaming my name as I fuck you slow, hard...whatever you need."

Dear God in heaven, why did I wait so long to make this happen?

My hips moved so fast against his hand that it should've been embarrassing, but the second the throbbing peaked into something sensational, I knew it didn't matter where we were-or even who surrounded us. There's no way I'd ever not let this happen again.

Other than a hiss or a whimper, I couldn't speak, let alone think logically. Holy crap, if foreplay was always this hot with Collin, there's no telling what it'd be like for us when he finally made good on his promise of sex.

"Let it go, Addie. Do it quick..."

Seconds later, his urgent words pushed me over the edge and he caught my loud moan with his mouth. The climb had been fantastic, but the outcome was a dream come true.

Until a voice rang out.

"You two done yet?"

Barely breathing correctly, I shot up, forgetting my shirt was still unbuttoned.

"Lia!"

Collin laughed and followed me upright, making sure to keep my breasts, now hanging out of my bra, covered with the blanket. His ability to stay so composed not only annoyed me, but also made me wonder what it took to make him really lose control.

"Maxwell's gotten himself in real deep this time. Gavin's got him in my car, and we're about ready to take him home."

Collin nodded, water dripping down his nose. "Give us a second."

With a wink, Lia looked at me and laughed, her shirt so wet it was now see-through and plastered against her body like a glove. "Didn't I tell you, honey? Complete and utter spell."

I groaned and lowered my face into my palms.

"Didn't I tell you my sister was conniving?" Collin whispered low in my ear.

He kissed me lightly on the cheek and kept me covered so I could button up. All the while, my grin stayed in place.

Chapter 26.

Collin I hadn't been on a real date in close to five years. Not one where I picked up the girl, took her out, and treated her right. But instead of feeling confident, like I had this in the bag, I was more like a twelve-year-old kid with a raging hard-on and no way to relieve it.

It was two nights before Thanksgiving, and exactly four nights and twenty hours since I'd last had my hands on Addie's body-alone, without anyone around to bother us, that is. I was officially done worrying about what would happen if things didn't work out between us, done worrying about her leaving too. No matter what, I'd make her stay-or I'd die trying. Fuck all my internal debates. It was time to live again.

"Oh my God. I love this part. Haven't you seen this movie before? It's a classic." Addie's eyes lit up as she pointed at the movie screen.

It was a damn cold night for a drive-in; plus it was starting to snow. But having her in my arms, leaned back against my chest between my thighs, was so worth it-though I had no clue what the hell we were watching. Hadn't been able to concentrate on anything but her since we'd arrived. It had to be the way she smelled. So good and sweet, like warm vanilla, caramel on a sundae, fresh cookies right out of the oven. Too hot to touch, too tempting not to eat. And as I held her against me in the bed of my truck, my arm tucked around her waist, popcorn in her lap, I realized that's exactly what I wanted to do. Wanted to devour this woman-take everything I could and leave her limp and sated beneath me.

When I didn't answer, she turned to me, the smile falling off her face as she met my stare. "What's wrong?"

I gulped, naming the things in my head. Number one? She was too gorgeous for words.