Page 49 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

A rush of excitement stirred and I unstuck my feet and led us around the corner. As we passed the first house, I realized how great this felt, not just touching Willa, but simply being with her. I was proud to be holding her hand. I wished it wasn’t dark so her neighbors could see us together.

The smile on my face stretched wider as she relaxed her hand, flattening her palm into mine. She pressed into me like she wanted to memorize our touch.

We reached her parents’ house much too soon. I wanted to loop around the block a few times, but Willa had a busy day ahead.

“I can make it from here.” She slipped her hand from mine as we stood at the end of the driveway. “Thanks for walking me home.”

“You’re welcome, but you’re not home yet.” I grabbed her hand again, grinning as I tugged her behind me.

“You really think the boogeyman is going to snatch me from my own yard?”

I chuckled. “Better safe than sorry.”

She laughed as we crept past her parents’ dark house. “I guess it’s probably faster for you to get home by cutting through the playground anyway than circling the whole block.”

Normally a woman admitting she knew where I lived would freak me the hell out. But like everything else about Willa, she was the exception. “Since you know where I live, maybe one of these days you’ll leave me a note.”

“Maybe.”

I grinned. “Maybe you can tell me why you had a crush on me at one point but don’t anymore.”

“Oh, um . . . it’s not like that. I mean, it is. Kind of.” She was getting flustered. “I did like you.”

“And now you don’t?” I asked her as we stopped by the base of her stairs.

“No.”

I flinched. Hard. I hadn’t expected that answer. I thought we were making progress, but she just laid it out there, clear as day.

She used to like me.

Now she didn’t.

My hands fisted by my sides and I silently cursed the dream I’d been having for weeks. That fucking dream had twisted shit up in my head. It had made me believe there was more with Willa than there really was.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” I made a move to leave, but her hands shot out and grabbed my wrist.

“No, wait! That’s not what I meant.” Her voice echoed off the garage. She sighed, then lowered her voice. “No, I do. I do still like you.”

I about fell over. The relief that ran from my head to my boots told me exactly how much trouble I was in with this woman.

In a flash, I st

epped right into her space, erasing the inches between us. I broke free of the grasp she had on my wrist and cupped her face, holding it still as I crushed my mouth to hers.

I swallowed her gasp, keeping my eyes open. Hers stared right back, wide and bright and so blue.

I slowly molded my lips to hers, pressing in even deeper, until her eyes finally drifted shut. Then I let mine do the same to concentrate on kissing this amazing woman breathless.

My hands drifted off her cheeks and into her hair. Silk. My tongue traced the seam between her lips, persuading them apart for a taste. Peppermint.

Just like I’d expected.

As my tongue dove deeper, Willa tensed for a split second. It was enough to make me pause and realize that I’d stolen this kiss. So I backed off a bit, letting my tongue retreat. She shocked me by following my tongue with her own, out of her mouth and into mine.

Her hands, which had been hanging loose at her sides, came to my waist. They traveled up slowly and her fingertips dug into my T-shirt as they crawled all the way to my shoulders. Then she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself up so that her breasts were flush with my chest.

I groaned into her mouth, loving the feel of her against me and wishing we weren’t separated by these damn clothes.