We finished the food right as the movie started, and I put everything in the picnic basket and pulled out a blanket so we could lie down. I was glad it was a little cold, because she needed me for warmth. She scooted over and let me put an arm around her. She snuggled into the crook of my elbow, and it was so familiar and comfortable I had to remind myself this was only the second time we’d been together.
And damn, she smelled good. It was intoxicating. I didn’t even want to watch the movie, I just wanted to put my nose to her neck, and I knew if I did, both of us would end up with hickeys again before we drove out of here.
I tried to behave myself and watch the show, but I got the sense her attention wasn’t faring much better. I made a mental note to take her upstairs before taking her out next time. Neither of us could focus.
Westley was sword fighting Inigo Montoya when I glanced down at Alexis again. But she wasn’t looking at the screen. She was looking at the sky.
She noticed me and turned so her lips were an inch from mine. “I don’t remember the last time I looked at stars,” she said quietly. “Maybe never. It’s so peaceful here.”
“We don’t have the light pollution,” I said. “The stars are always really nice in Wakan.”
I dropped my eyes to her mouth.
She cleared her throat and looked down at the arm I had lying across my stomach. “Tell me about your tattoos.”
I held up my arm to show her. “It’s roses on both sides.”
“Why?”
“These are the flowers from the banister on the stairs. They were one of the first things I remember as a kid. One of my favorite things in the house. And Grandpa always brought Grandma roses.”
She traced a finger over a petal, and I watched her. I felt my heart picking up just from this tiny contact, like even this minor attention from her was enough to put my body on alert. When she got to my wrist, I threaded my fingers in hers. She closed her hand around mine and I smiled.
Maybe women like this did hold hands with men with calluses…
She tipped her head up again to look at me. “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” she asked.
“What?”
“You’re sweet. You’re thoughtful. You’re not hard to look at, and the sex is…why don’t you have one?”
“The sex is what?” I beamed.
She propped herself on her elbow, our hands still clasped between us. “Well?”
I propped myself too. “I was seeing someone up until a few months ago. It wasn’t serious.”
“Why wasn’t it serious?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just couldn’t ever see her past a day I guess.”
“What does that mean?”
“I never envisioned her in the future. I only ever wanted to see her the day I wanted to see her. You know how when you like someone, you want to make plans with them? I never wanted to make plans with her.”
“But you want to make plans with me next weekend, huh?”
I grinned. “Busted.”
She laughed. “I get that whole day thing,” she said. “At the end I couldn’t even see my ex past a minute.”
“Oh yeah? What was he like?”
She gave me a one-shoulder shrug. “Arrogant. A surgeon.”
I felt myself deflate. So I’d been right about the kind of men she liked. Educated. Accomplished.
The opposite of me.
Surgeon. Maybe that’s what she did for a living?
“Are you a surgeon?” I asked.
Her smile fell a little. “That’s four guesses. But no.”
There was something a little tight about the way she said no. I didn’t know how to respond, so I did the only thing I could think of to fill the silence. I leaned forward and kissed her.
Turns out, it was the right move.
I’d had chemistry with other women, but I’d never experienced animal magnetism before. It’s the kind of thing that’s unmistakable when it’s happening—and it happened with her. The same as last time, only stronger. The sexual tension between the two of us was like a sunflower turned to the sky. I’d felt it even when she was gone, I realized. Like my body was looking for her even though I didn’t know where she was. It was a shift in gravity. Two bodies in a hammock, or an old mattress that dips in the middle. I could feel us rolling toward each other.
It’s the kind of pull that’s easier to give in to than it is to get out of.
Chapter 10
Alexis
We’d just gotten home from the drive-in. He’d chased me giggling up the steps, and I had my back pressed against the door of my room.