Page 41 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

I pressed closer where everything seemed to fit.I couldn’t get enough.

Then just as suddenly he tore himself away.

“Shit.”He dragged a hand through his hair, breathing hard.“Didn’t mean to do that.”

The space between us cooled.

I blinked, still caught somewhere between then and now, between what we were and what we just did.I was confused and not nearly ready to regret it.

“You’re right.That was…” I shook my head, sliding sideways out of his space even though my body didn’t want to cooperate.“I should go.I have a shift tomorrow.Eight, I think.”

I was talking too fast.Moving too fast.Grabbing things that didn’t need grabbing.Running.

“Gia.Stop.”

I shook my head harder, like I could fling him out of my bloodstream by force.“You’re absolutely right.Shouldn’t have done that.Very unprofessional.Very just…” I swallowed and looked away.“Shouldn’t have.”

Then he moved.One second there was space between us, and the next his hand closed around my wrist, firm and warm, pulling me back against him with a confidence that stole the air from my lungs.Not rough.But certain.

“Rye—”

He kissed me before I could finish.There was nothing tentative about it now.No careful testing.His mouth claimed mine like he’d spent too long fighting the urge and finally snapped under the strain of it.Heat rolled through me fast.

A soft sound escaped me before I could stop it.My palms landed on his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt, but instead of pushing him away, my fingers curled into the fabric and held on.He made a low sound against my mouth that sent another dangerous pulse through me.

God, this man.

The kiss deepened for one dizzying heartbeat before he broke away to kiss down my throat, tempting me with a taste of the whirlwind he kept at bay beneath the surface.Then, abruptly, he stopped.But he still didn’t let me go.

His forehead rested against my neck, both of us breathing too hard.Then his head tipped, his mouth brushing the curve of my neck one more time as released a shaky breath against my skin.The scrape of his stubble and the heat of his breath made my entire body tighten.

“Give me a second,” he muttered, voice gone rough.He straightened and held me lightly against him.“I need to cool off.”His eyes darted to Sofia and then the mare.

My fingers curled into the back of his shirt before I could stop myself, holding him against me.I couldn’t stand the thought of him stepping away yet—of losing the heat and weight of him, the hard steadiness that made the rest of the world quiet down for a minute.Want pressed hot through me, sharp enough to make my chest ache.I kept my face tucked against him because if I looked up, I wasn’t sure what I’d say.

“Look…” He dragged in a breath before lifting his head.His hands loosened on me, but he didn’t go far.Like he physically couldn’t.“You left when I was in a bad place.”

His eyes locked onto mine, stripped bare in a way that hit harder than the kiss.“I don’t think I ever climbed all the way out of it.”His throat worked.“I needed you.But you left.”

The words hurt.Guilt flared, but something else rose up with it.Something sharper.“I didn’tleaveyou.I was trying not to die.He might’ve…” I swallowed hard and whispered, “Killed me and you if I hadn’t gone.”

“I get that,” he said quickly, dragging a hand through his hair hard enough to leave it standing up.He turned away for a second like he needed the distance to keep himself under control, then looked back at me with something raw and tight in his expression.“It doesn’t change what it felt like.”His laugh came out sharp and humorless.“I put a lot on the line for you, and you crushed me.Then you disappeared without telling me what the hell you were planning.After that you never tried hard to contact me again.”

“I was scared for both of us.Dad was bad that day.Then you blindsided me with a marriage proposal when I already had a plan in place to run.That day and the many after it were the worst of my life.I never wanted to hurt you.I swear.”I breathed out slowly.“Then I was alone in a big city, living in a shelter.I got my GED.I got through school.But I…”

Silence stretched between us, tight and humming.

I worried my lower lip before saying softly, “I worried about you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a plan?”

I cocked my head.“Would you have let me run away by myself?”

“No.I would’ve gone with you.”He stepped back then.Not far, but enough to break the fragile, dangerous line of contact.“If you were still worried about me, you could’ve reached out again.”

“I could’ve.”That was the miserable truth.

“This is complicated now.We can’t just step back into something that we barely started back then.”His gaze dipped to Sofia for a second before moving back to mine.“I’m not sure I can afford whatever this is if I’m the only one in it.”