"Nothing. Just finding other things to enjoy besides the movie."

She rolled her eyes, but snuggled in closer. Her ear against my chest, her hand on my stomach, under my shirt. She traced lines along my abs, and I feared my cock against her hip would scare her away. But she didn't move. And neither did I-no way did I wanna do anything she didn't.

But that didn't stop me from thinking about touching her the way I'd done on Saturday night. And in my bathroom. And against my door...

Which brought me to the second thing wrong: I wanted to strip her, fuck her, and then do it all over again. And again after. Right here. Right now.

"Collin?"

I ran my nose over her hair, inhaling. "Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

Took her a minute to answer, almost as if she couldn't remember the reason. "For being patient with me. I know I wasn't the kindest of people when we met, taking off on you that night at the bar like I did."

I frowned. "You've got nothing to be sorry for. Told you, I was a dick and you were nothing short of incredible." I rubbed my nose against hers when she angled her body to face me. "You've never backed down from me, no matter what kind of shit I gave you. Not a lot of people do that."

She scoffed. "Incredible is not the word I'd used to describe me. More impatient and-"

Not wanting to hear her excuses any longer, I pressed my mouth to hers, holding it there until she relaxed against me. When she wrapped her arms around my neck, I grinned against her lips, loving how she was putty in my hands, knowing and okay with the fact that I was putty in hers too.

"No more apologies. You got me?" I leaned back and tugged down on the base of her pink knit hat, loving it even more up close.

She leaned forward again, pressing her forehead to my shoulder. "No more apologies."

"Good." I stroked my fingers up and down her spine. Igniting shivers in her body was like winning a hard-fought battle. My reward? A beautiful girl who had me wrapped so tightly around her finger that I couldn't stop to catch my breath half the time.

After a while, my grin faded and my heart took over instead, beating like a bass drum in my chest. As she squirmed against me, her curvy hips rubbed against my cock. I gritted my teeth.

Damn, I was trying to be good-for her. A noble guy who only wanted her to be happy. But it was like she knew how to make things hard on me-how to turn me on, how to push my limits, my needs, my want for her.

Soon her lips were on my neck, wet, warm...exactly what I craved. I growled, the sound low in my chest, almost burning, my hands quick as they came to rest along her waist. Wasn't enough though; I needed more. So with the patience of a saint, I lifted my hands and grazed them across the sides of her breasts outside her sweater. The blanket covering us had slipped to our feet, leaving us exposed to the cold night air. Didn't matter. I'd always keep her warm.

Losing my patience, I rolled her over, pressing her head flat against the pillow we'd been using to prop ourselves up with.

"You keep squirming on me, and you're gonna be sorry."

She giggled as I lowered my mouth to her neck and trailed kisses over her throat.

Those giggles fast turned into moans.

She arched her back, pushing me past the hard limit I'd tried to set. "Wanna touch you so bad, sweetheart. Wanna put my lips on that pretty pussy and hear you scream my name again."

Dark, hooded eyes met mine. She looked seductive, almost drugged. Was that a dare in her eyes too? Because I would do exactly what I said, right here, right now-proud to be the man causing her screams.

"Collin..."

Panting, I lowered my forehead to hers. "Fuck, do I love the sound of my name comin' out of your mouth."

I lowered myself down over her stomach and lifted her sweater so I could kiss her warm belly. Her hands were in my hair, pushing and pulling like she was fighting with something-an angel and a devil on her shoulders: one telling her what she wanted, the other one telling her what she needed.

My job should've been to do what's right-heed the desire and side with the angel.

Then again, I never claimed to be a good man.

I'd let her decide, let her use me like a puppet and pull those strings however she wanted.

With a gasp, she pushed me up and off her. But before I could let disappointment take over, she had me on my back, rough and frantic as she reached for my zipper. Fire lit her dark eyes in the night, and her lips parted. One move is all it took her to get my buckle off and my pants undone.

"Jesus Christ," I whispered and threw my head back when my cock sprung free from my boxers. Didn't even care that it was cold.

Frozen in place, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth while she stared at my dick.

I sat up on my elbows, alarms going off in my mind. "You don't have to do this."

She met my gaze, eyes dark and serious. "I want to."

"Have you ever sucked a man off before, Addie?"

She shoved my shoulder, laughing once. "I'm not a nun."

But I wanted her to be one. Twenty-six years old or not, I wanted to be the only guy she'd ever been with.

Her shoulders relaxed, and with both hands on my thighs, she moved closer. "Besides, blow jobs are like riding a bike."

I frowned, annoyed with her analogy. "Like you suck one dick, you suck them... Holy shit." Her mouth went down, her tongue caressing the head. With a skill I'd never seen or felt in my life, she sucked on the base from the bottom to the top.

This girl was a magician, and she'd yet to even wrap her lips around me fully.

Noises were coming out of my mouth. Low, desperate, so fucking eager that I nearly lost my mind. Didn't care who heard me though. This, right here, was the hottest fucking moment in my life, and there wasn't a thing that could ruin it.

Slowly, she dragged her lips up over the head and, with a soft sigh, lowered her pretty mouth back down. "Christ, Addie."

My words encouraged her, and she dropped her mouth even more, taking me in deeper-to the point I could feel the back of her throat. The urge to push up was so damn strong that I wanted to scream.

Sweat gathered along my neck and my temples, but I couldn't stop watching long enough to wipe it away. Instead I reached down, bit my tongue, and stroked the hair away from her forehead. She jumped, her dark eyes meeting mine. In turn she went faster, deeper, tighter.

My stomach clenched, and like she knew just what I needed, Addie brought a free hand up and trailed it around my belly button, down the trail of hair, and back up to start her luscious torture all over again.

Definitely the devil-wasn't a damn bit of angel in this sexy woman. Addie made me wild, made me growl, made me so hard I was gonna explo- "Excuse me."

"Gah!" Addie flew backward at the noise, ramming her ass against the tire rack.

"This is a family drive-in, so I'm going to have to ask you two to leave."

A flashlight shone in my eyes as I scrambled to cover my exploding dick with the blanket.

"What the hell are you doing, man?" I slammed my head back against the pillow, groaning.

"Sorry, but we've had some complaints about..."

I glared at him, warning him with my eyes not to say anything else. He pressed his lips together, while Addie, on the other hand, hid her face in her knees, shoulders shaking, crying. Stupid, pimple-faced, little prickhead.

"We're leaving. Suggest you do the same," I growled, fisting the blanket so I didn't stand up and swing at the kid.

Instead of ducking and running, he just looked from me to Addie, then back to me-a dumbass grin on his face the entire time.

"You want a show, asshole? 'Cause I'll give you one with my knuckles if you don't move."

Fear flashed in his eyes, and he took a step away from the truck. "Uh...no, sir. No. I'll, uh..." He pointed his flashlight toward the screen, then ran away, his tiny-ass tail tucked between his thighs.

"Addison, hey..." I moved closer to her, tucking my half-deflated cock back into my pants along the way. "Don't cry. He was just some dumb kid." I wrapped my arm around her back, pulling her against my side. But when I pulled her hands down, I didn't see tears on her face. I saw a huge-ass smile on her lips instead.

"That was..." She belly laughed. "The funniest thing"-she snorted-"I've ever"-she pressed her hand to her stomach and fell over onto my thighs-"been through." She sighed, but then she giggled some more, the sound so contagious that I laughed right along with her.

Chapter 27.

Addison Before my mother decided her mah-jongg friends and the need for every plastic surgery imaginable mattered more than her daughter, she was actually pretty amazing.

She did my hair and nails, and took me for massages at the age of twelve because she thought it would make my scoliosis straighten out. She used to believe in holistic medicine and shots, and natural ingredients in her food. Used to make all dinners from scratch and demanded we have dinner together as a family every night at six sharp, no matter what was happening.

Having grown up in the Philippines with a super-religious family, Mom wasn't one who necessarily lived by the rules as she got older. And I liked that about her. She was a free spirit, natural, and, even though it was in her own way, loving.

But it was amazing how time, and one man, could change a person.

Mom wasn't the hugging type, of course. More the pat-on-the-back, nod-your-head type when I did something good in life. But the one thing I remember the most about the woman-prior to my falling-out with my parents-was when the two of us had the chat. Not necessarily just the sex and condoms, but the chat about boys who would grow to be men, and boys who would never grow to be anything but the immature scuzzbuckets they were.

As I sat curled into Collin's side on Thanksgiving night at his dining room table-Chloe on the other side of him, devouring a small piece of pumpkin pie, while Lia, Gavin, and Max sat across from us drinking beer and arguing about who would win that night's football game-I couldn't help but wonder what category my mother would put him in.

In my mind, he was perfectly flawed-perfect for me. And even though I wanted to push the thoughts of my mother's opinion out of my head, I just couldn't for some reason. Which sucked because I was so happy-happier than I'd been in a very long time. "So, I'm having a craving." I grinned up at him, trying not to ruin the night with my thoughts. I blamed it on the holiday and the fact that my parents didn't even bother to call and wish me a happy Thanksgiving. There again, I didn't bother to call them either.

"That so?" He turned toward me, nuzzling his nose against my cheek. I shivered in response like always, almost forgetting what I said, where we were, and who surrounded us.

Giggling, I managed to push him back and turned, knees intertwining with his. "Not that kind of craving."

He leaned forward, pressing a hand to my face. "Are we talking ice cream or strawberries and chocolate? What are the things women crave nowadays?"

Muscles, dimples-preferably two-full lips, and gorgeous, dark-blue eyes. Those were the things I was suddenly craving, especially when Collin looked at me as though I were on the dessert menu, not the pumpkin pie sitting in front of us on the table.

"Addie."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Cravings?" His eyes narrowed, but his lips twitched too.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I want this dessert thing, actually. It's called bibingka. It's made with rice, coconut, and duck eggs, all wrapped in banana leaves... I had it every Thanksgiving. My mom always made it." Collin screwed up his nose, but a hint of a smile still covered his mouth as he continued to listen. "You can't find duck eggs in any of the Carinthia grocery stores. But I know a place that sells them in Matoona."

"Uh, okay." Collin scratched at his scruffy chin, the sound all sorts of sexy. I settled my arms along his knee, needing to be closer. "Doubt there's anything open right now though."

"This store is open twenty-four seven." I shrugged, my face heating at how eager I sounded. Regret hit me the moment I stared across the table, finding all three sets of eyes on us. Lia smiled knowingly, Gavin's eyes were narrowed, and Max was... Well, Max was Max, making weird faces at giggling Chloe.

My shoulders fell and I sighed, already hating that I'd even made the suggestion. This was Thanksgiving, Collin's first one back with his friends and his daughter. The last thing he needed was an impromptu meet and greet with my parents. Parents who undoubtedly wanted nothing to do with me anymore.

I lowered my chin to my chest. "Forget I said anything. It was stupid."

He leaned forward, lifting my chin with one finger before pressing his lips to mine in a soft kiss. "For you, Addie, I'd travel to the ends of the earth just to find you duck eggs." I smiled. "Just let me clean Chloe up and put her to bed. Then we can go."

Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes when I looked away. If a man offered to drive to the ends of the earth to buy you duck eggs for some random dessert on Thanksgiving night, you knew he was a keeper.

"Come on, y'all. Let's do this thing. I got twenty on the Bears." Max winked at me as he stood, then grabbed Lia around the waist before tugging her to the couch.

Gavin groaned but stood too, his chair grating across the floor. He followed the pair and said, "You two know nothing. The Packers are in it to win it this year."

"Bullshit." Lia snorted, sipping her beer. "The Super Bowl will be dominated by the Mets. And I will laugh in the faces of you all when-"

"Lee-Lee"-Max tugged her onto his lap, arm wrapped around her back-"you do know the Mets are a baseball team, right?"

Even I knew that one.

"Well, I..." Lia's cheeks uncharacteristically turned red as Max held her face between his hands.

"And this is why you are gonna be the death of me." He kissed her on the forehead, like Collin kissed me. It seemed to mean nothing to Max as he leaned back in the seat, but Lia sat there stone-still on his lap, eyes wide as she stared at the floor.

I narrowed my eyes, catching her gaze as she stood to head to the bathroom a minute or so later. Her gaze said, Don't ask, but the questions in my mind were scrambling like mad.

A half hour later, Chloe was tucked into her crib, asleep, and Collin and I were on the road.

Collin tapped his thumbs against the wheel to the beat of the music on the radio, Christmas music already jingling away. A light dusting of snow fell from the sky, hitting the window like tiny crystals.

As much as I appreciated the fact that he'd agreed to this farce of a trip, I couldn't help but wonder if it was a mistake. It was seven thirty on Thanksgiving night, so the chances of either of my parents being there were slim to none. Likely it would be one of the people they'd hired since I left, or possibly my dad's cousin, who occasionally filled in when need be. Still, just going into their territory felt like I was stepping onto a battlefield.

Is this what Collin felt like when he was still enlisted? Or stuck in the bunkers of Iraq, waiting for the next IED to explode?

"Your hands are shaking."

I gave my head a fast jerk and beamed over at him, the fakeness of the smile hurting my cheeks. "Thinking maybe I had too much caffeine today or something."

"You sure?" He arched a brow. The fact he could already read me so well should've been scary. But it wasn't. Instead, it was comforting to have someone in my life like this.