The kiss got a little deeper, a little harder, and Daisy discovered that his hair was just long enough to grab. From his heavy breathing, she was pretty sure he didn't mind the light tugs on his scalp. It had been a long time since she'd been kissed, since the fumbling experiments in high school, but she didn't worry about her technique. Her brain was completely occupied with feeling, so there was no room to think.

When he nipped on her bottom lip, she sucked in a quick breath. Chris took advantage of her parted lips, invading her mouth with his tongue, and she groaned. As if that sound was a trigger, he went wild. Rolling them so they were on their sides, he freed his hands to roam-and roam they did. Despite being distracted by his lips and teeth making their way down the side of her throat, Daisy was intensely aware of the placement of those hands.

With her head tilted back to give his mouth access to her neck, she moaned as both of his palms slid under the hem of her tank top. That motion gave her hands the green light to explore, and she slid them over the back of his head and down his neck. His bare back was hot beneath her touch. She was fascinated by the shifting of his muscles under his skin.

She stroked his shoulder blades, making him shiver as he nipped right above her collarbone. Jerking in his hold, she unintentionally dug her short nails into his back, and he made a hungry noise in response. Surprised by his reaction, she curled her fingers again, and he made the same sound. Daisy smiled, liking that she could drive him just as crazy as he'd been making her for years.

His head rose, and her happy expression changed to a frown. "Why are you stopping?" She cringed at the slight whine in her voice, but it couldn't be over so soon. She'd waited such a long time for Chris to make a move, and they'd barely started kissing. Daisy wanted more time-much more. Even if her issues meant they would never have a future together, she at least wanted the present.

"You okay?" His voice was hoa.r.s.e and breathless, his pupils dilated more than the dim room required.

"Not if we're stopping," she said.

He laughed, just a short huff. "You're sure you want this?"

"Yes. Now quit trying to talk it to death and get back down here." Both of her hands returned to his head so she could pull his mouth down to hers. His chuckle was cut off abruptly, but she still felt it against her lips. Then the intensity returned, and neither of them were laughing.

He pulled back, attempting to peel her tank top over her head. Once she figured out what he was trying to do, she quit chasing his lips and pushed up to a sitting position. His expression turned wary, as if he thought she might be pulling away, but he relaxed when she grabbed her bottom hem and yanked it up and off.

Chris made another one of his wordless sounds. "You're beautiful."

The cool air hitting her skin made her realize how exposed she was, sitting in just her panties, but the feeling was short-lived. Chris grabbed her, pulling her over him as he turned onto his back so their bare chests were pressed together. It felt like an electric shock when their skin connected, only without the pain.

Daisy sucked in a breath, her eyes closing as she absorbed the unfamiliar sensation.

"Okay?" Chris asked, and she nodded, her eyes still shut.

"Mm."

"Is that a good 'mm' or a bad 'mm'?" Although he still sounded breathless, there was a thread of humor running through his words.

Opening her eyes, she lifted off him enough to glare. "Well, it was a good 'mm' until you got the giggles."

"I don't giggle." He sounded quite offended, which, contrarily enough, made Daisy want to laugh. She kept her expression serious with an effort.

"Or whimper."

"Exactly." His eyes narrowed in a way that made her shiver. "Were you planning on talking some more, or can I kiss you again?"

She made the motion of zipping her lips. With a growl, he lunged up to meet her mouth, pulling her head down at the same time. Flipping her onto her back, he straddled her with his knees on either side of her hips. His hands stroked over her shoulders and cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The heat that ran through her almost brought her off the mattress.

His mouth followed his hands, and that was even better. As he kissed and nipped over the sensitive skin of her belly, his fingers hooked into the sides of her panties. He skimmed them down her legs and off, and Daisy tensed when she realized she was completely naked.

"Wait..." she started, but then his fingers and his mouth landed between her legs. "Oh! I changed my mind. Don't wait! Please, don't wait."

The vibration of his chuckles against her made her squirm and clutch handfuls of his hair again. As the tension built, she tugged harder. A tiny part of her worried that she was hurting him, but she was too caught up in the new and crazily intense pleasure to let go.

"Am I-oh!" She jolted at an especially electric touch of his tongue.

He lifted his head just enough to ask, "Are you...what?"

As his breath blew against her most sensitive spot, she forgot for a moment what she was about to say. "Am I pulling too-mm, that's nice-hard?"

The feel of his husky laughter almost made her levitate. "No." His teeth lightly scored her inner thigh, and she sucked in an audible breath. "It's making me hot."

She liked that, liked that she was doing something to turn him on. It was wonderful being on the receiving end of his ministrations, but she wanted to give, too. Knowing that he was just as excited added to her pleasure, and soon she was lost again to sensation.

Chris seemed to know exactly what to do, where and how to touch her in the best way. Pressure built inside her as her blood rushed faster and her skin heated. She couldn't keep still, but twisted and writhed underneath him, tugging at his hair. Her body bowed upward as she came, pleasure surging through her until it was her entire world. Eventually, she collapsed back onto the bed in a boneless heap.

Her fingers ached as she released his hair, petting the strands in remorse. "Sorry I pulled your hair so hard." Even to her own ears, she sounded a little drunk.

He crawled to lie next to her, propping himself up on an elbow. To her relief, he was smiling. "I told you it didn't hurt." Leaning down, he kissed the corner of her mouth. "I liked it."

"You're weird." She smiled back. As her body recovered, she expected Chris to start kissing and touching her again, but he just played with a strand of her hair and occasionally kissed odd places, like the bridge of her nose or her chin. When she shivered, he went hunting for the covers that had gotten tossed aside in the excitement and pulled them over both of them.

Turning onto her side, Daisy looked at him, a little confused. "Um...is that it?"

His grin was devilish. "What's wrong? Did I leave you unsatisfied?" The last word was almost a purr, and it made her clench her thighs together.

"No. I'm very satisfied." Her glance darted to approximately midway down his covered body. "But you weren't."

That time, his kiss glanced off her ear. "I'm fine. Next time, I'll come prepared."

"Prepared?" It took her a few seconds before she figured it out, which made her feel a little slow. "Oh! Right. Sorry. I'm not prepared either."

He grinned. "Yeah, I didn't expect you'd be."

For some reason, his a.s.sumption annoyed her a little. "Don't worry about it, though. I'll add it to the grocery list I send to Tyler."

It was gratifying how wide Chris's eyes went. "What? No, don't do that. I'll just bring them next time."

"That's okay." She bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. "It'll be good to have a supply around. I mean, what if I do have an at-home date with Fireman Steve? He sounds like a nice guy. It's probably good to have a stash, just in ca-"

His mouth came down roughly, cutting off the rest of her words. Daisy didn't mind being interrupted.

"Just to be clear," he said when he finally lifted his head, his voice an odd mix of hoa.r.s.e and stern, "we're dating. As in, exclusively dating. So, no Fireman Steve."

She smiled, cupping his face with one hand, just because she could, because they were dating. Finally. "No Fireman Steve."

"Good." He settled onto his back next to her.

After a few minutes of silence, she asked, "Why now?"

"Why now what?"

"You've had eight years to make your move." She stared up at the ceiling. "Why didn't you do anything before this? I mean, you didn't even want me to touch you up until a few weeks ago."

Rustling noises told her he was shifting, but her focus stayed on the ceiling until his face blocked her view, forcing her to meet his gaze. "First of all, if I'd made any kind of move during those first two years, it would've been creepy. And illegal. You were sixteen. The next three or four years after that, it would've still felt wrong. The last few years, I couldn't stop thinking about it. That's why I didn't want you hugging me. I was so wound up that any contact would've destroyed my willpower. It was pretty shaky as it was."

"So? Why not act on those thoughts once I was old enough?"

With a groan, he rolled over to his back again. "I figured you wouldn't be interested."

"Not interested?" She turned onto her side so she could see his face. "Are you kidding? I was practically screaming my interest. I tried to kiss you."

The vein in his temple started throbbing. "I figured you were just lonely, and I was handy. I mean..." His jaw flexed, making his next words come out tightly. "Why would you be interested in the guy who got your mom killed?"

All of Daisy's breath left her in a whoosh, leaving her unable to speak for a full minute. She finally managed to force out the words. "What? I never blamed you."

"Yeah." He glanced at her quickly and then returned his gaze to the ceiling. "When we talked about it that night, I finally got that. After all these years, it was just hard to change my thinking, you know?"

"I know." Tucking her body close to his side, she laid her cheek on his shoulder and stretched her arm across his chest. It felt strange to be lying there like that with Chris, but it also felt right. Even though she didn't expect it to last-how could it when she couldn't leave her house?-she was going to enjoy every second of this closeness with Chris. "Just so we're clear, my mom's death wasn't your fault."

He burrowed his arm underneath her so he could wrap it around her. "I shouldn't have hesitated."

"Not your fault."

The silence continued for so long that Daisy began to doze.

"Okay, Dais," he said quietly, the air from his words warm against her head. "Okay."

A sleepy smile touched her face as she closed her eyes again. He'd sounded as if he was starting to believe it.

"Sorry I texted my list to you so late," Daisy said, opening the interior door to let Tyler inside. Each time she got a glimpse of the outside, it got easier. Her next plan was to have someone hold the door open while she took a step toward it, but that would wait. She wanted to savor the day, to enjoy the knowledge that she and Chris were actually dating, without dealing with a potential anxiety attack.

"That's okay." Holding two grocery bags in each hand, he flicked his head to the side, tossing his bangs out of his eyes. His gaze was focused on her shoulder. "You probably were up pretty late. I heard about the fire."

Daisy reached for the bags, but he turned, holding them out of reach.

"I'm supposed to put everything away," he said, still not meeting her eyes. "It's part of my job."

She studied him for a few seconds. "Okay." Although she really didn't want someone else putting away her groceries, since it was a good way to lose the peanut b.u.t.ter in a cupboard she never opened, Tyler appeared determined. Something was off about him. He seemed unhappy, and she didn't want to make his day worse. Maybe she could turn her search for her missing groceries into a treasure hunt. It could be fun.

Leading Tyler into the kitchen, she asked over her shoulder, "Did you want a coffee?" From the distaste he'd tried to hide the last time he'd had it, she expected him to decline, but he nodded, instead.

As she started his mocha-flavored coffee, he began putting her groceries away in sullen silence.

"You okay?" she asked.

One of his shoulders lifted in a shrug.

"Trouble at school?" She didn't know if she should pry, but the quiet was uncomfortable, especially since he'd been chatty last time. Besides, she felt bad for the kid, apparently friendless and with the sheriff for a father.

"No. It's almost done for the year, anyway." His mournful tone didn't match his words. Weren't kids supposed to be excited about summer?

"Everything okay with your dad?"

"Why?" He almost dropped the milk, barely catching it before the gla.s.s bottle hit the floor.

"Just trying to guess what's wrong." And succeeding, judging by his reaction. "When I was your age and something was bothering me, it was usually something at school, or my parents were driving me crazy." Her smile slipped away. "After my mom...died, it was a different story."

"Your mom died?" He finally met her gaze.

She nodded. "She was shot during a gas station robbery."

"s.h.i.t! How old were you?"

Daisy wondered if she was supposed to reprimand him for swearing, but then she just shrugged it off. "Sixteen."

With his hip propping open the refrigerator door, he focused on the egg carton he was holding. "That sucks."

"Yeah." The understatement almost made her laugh. "It does."

"My mom's crazy." Meeting her eyes briefly, he dropped them to the eggs again. "Full-on wacko. Not, like, a little bit crazy, like you." His head came up, and he stared at her, stricken. "I...I mean..."

Taking pity on his obvious consternation, she smiled. "I know what you mean. Don't worry about it. I'm fully aware I'm not juggling with a full set of b.a.l.l.s." When she heard the words as they left her mouth, she frowned. That seemed like an inappropriate thing to say to a teenager.

Tyler didn't appear to be offended. "She left. My mom, I mean. She used to come back once in a while, but then, one day, she was gone for good."

"I'm sorry." Daisy felt like a self-pitying a.s.s. She'd had a great mom for sixteen years, and now Daisy couldn't leave the house. This poor kid had a messed-up mother who'd left him, and Tyler seemed to function just fine. She even felt a spark of sympathy for the sheriff.

"It was better, actually, when she left." If he squeezed the carton any harder, he was going to crush her eggs. "She could be...mean."

Overwhelmed with pity for the kid, she took a step closer to him. She wasn't sure if she was planning to hug him or what, but he turned around before she could do anything.

"Sorry," he said to the interior of the fridge. "I'll just get your groceries put away."

"Thanks, Tyler." She stared at his back for a moment, wishing she could do something for the poor kid. A knock drew her attention to the door, and she hurried over to push the intercom b.u.t.ton. "h.e.l.lo?"

"It's Bill," the familiar voice of the package delivery service answered. It was strange that Daisy knew his voice so well, but she'd never seen him. Their routine was for her to leave any shipments between the doors, but that was one more thing she'd forgotten during her dis...o...b..bulated morning.

"Hey, Bill. Give me a minute, would you? I need to grab the boxes from the study."

"No problem."

As she moved through the kitchen, she said, "I'm sending out a few packages, Tyler. Help yourself to milk and sugar for your coffee, and I'll be right back."

"Sure." Tyler sounded depressed again. Obviously, she'd done the wrong thing by discussing their dead and insane mothers to try to cheer him. Grimacing, she hurried to the study, trying to think of different conversational directions that might make Tyler feel better, instead of worse.

The grimace turned into a smile as she toted a stack of carefully wrapped packages toward the front door. "Good-bye, demon dolls." They'd both sold for much higher than she'd expected, and now they were leaving the house. It was a good day. "Soon you'll have brand-new families to terrorize-especially you, Fangs."

Shifting the boxes around to free up one hand, she pushed the unlock b.u.t.ton. Bill's eyes went wide when he saw her standing there, holding open the inner door.

"Daisy! Nice to meet you in person, finally." He looked pretty much how she'd pictured him, with a graying goatee and a good-sized belly. His smile was warm and wide.

"You too." She grinned back at him. "Pretty soon, I'll be meeting you at the curb."