“Oh, Dove, nothing could keep me away from you now that I’ve had a taste.”
I can’t stop grinning. I’ve got Honor’s slim, small hand in mine as I lead her down the hallway. Thirty minutes ago, I was kissing this beautiful woman—my woman, if I have anything to say about it. I surprised myself when I shared what I was feeling, but it felt right. At the time, I was scared she’d run, being so skittish. Instead, she leaned in and kissed me again…harder. I know she’s worried about what’s burning between us, but I don’t know why. All I care about is that she’s giving me a shot. Giving this amazing thing between us a real go.
When we exit Lotus House, I let go of her hand and walk over to my Chevy, and she heads toward a flashy-as-hell black Mercedes coupe.
She stops when I don’t follow her and then turns on her heels. “Oh, did you want to drive me?”
I grin and walk over to her. “Yeah, Dove. That’s kind of what happens on a date. The man drives the woman. Or at least, I drive my woman.”
Her eyes widen at my rather blatant statement, but the sooner she gets used to my possessive ways, the better, because I will make her mine. That kiss sealed it for me. There’s no going back after that. I will do whatever it takes, work my ass off if I have to, in order to make her see she’s for me and I’m for her. Period.
“Um, okay. Will you bring me back to my car?”
I grin, looping my arms around her waist. “Tonight or tomorrow morning?” The sexual innuendo rolls off my tongue so fast, I grit my teeth, wishing with my whole heart I could take it back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
She frowns. “You don’t want to be with me…um tonight?” Honor bites her lip, swallows, and then glances to the side.
Damn it, I’m screwing this up. I cup her face with both hands and brush my thumbs along her cheeks. They’re warm, and I can sense the pulse underneath her skin, pounding out a nervous rhythm. “I do. More than anything. But you’re worth more than one night’s roll in the hay.”
She blinks sweetly before lifting her gaze to mine. “I am?”
“Yeah, babe. You are, and I’m going to make you see that. Now, come on. Ride with me so we can talk. I’ll bring you back to your car later.”
“Okay,” she says as I loop my fingers with hers.
I get her settled into my Camaro and run around the front before getting into the driver’s side.
“This is a very cool car. Like in those fast car movies.” She runs a pale hand along the dash stitching.
I chuckle. “The Fast and the Furious? I don’t know about that. Though your car… How does a girl just out of college afford something like that?” I glance to the side and catch her frown in the passing streetlights. “Not that it’s any of my business,” I add rather lamely, already having overstepped my boundaries.
She’s quiet for several minutes before she looks out the window. “That inheritance I told you about… It’s um, rather large. The uh, well, the Carmichaels own…”
She’s about to lay it all out, and it dawns on me that it’s really making her uncomfortable, so I shut it down. “Honor. It’s cool. But instead of buying a flashy car—” I waggle my eyebrows to get her laughing again. It works; she loses the tension in her face and turns toward me. “You should consider your options. Maybe invest in something that’s going to secure your future. Cars come and go. When I had a good-sized chunk of change…well, I told you what I did with it.”
“You bought a business,” she reiterates directly, showing she’s been paying attention.
“Yeah. I set myself up with my dream job, babe. I love to box, work out, coach others. I’ll never be a millionaire doing what I do, but I’m happy. And as it grows and I make it bigger, it will provide for me and my future family.”
“Is that what you want?” Her voice is timid and unsure.
“Is what what I want?”
“A family,” she asks in a tone I can’t define.
“Yeah, someday in the not-too-distant future. I’m going to be thirty in a month. One of my sisters is married with a baby on the way, another about to get engaged, and heck, all of my friends are settling down. Just seems like it’s nearing the time to go that route. How about you?”
Honor shrugs noncommittally. “I don’t know what I want.”
“What did you want to do with your degree?”
Another shrug.
I’m beginning to loathe the shrug. It prevents her from speaking to me, and I prefer her talking. “Words, Dove.”
Honor lifts her arm and places an elbow on the side of the door, her fingers resting against her scalp. “Honestly, I didn’t have a plan. My father chose it because that’s what his degree is in, my brother’s, and all the rest of the Carmichaels before him.”
The dry, almost sad tone with which she responds has me scratching my head. “Did you like your coursework?”
“Not particularly.”
Alarm bells start clanging in my head. Why would she spend six years going to school to obtain a degree she didn’t want? “And now that you have this degree, you don’t know what to do with it?”
“You could say that.”
“I did say that. I’m just wondering, babe, what your plan is?” I grab for her hand, lift it, and kiss the back, letting her know I’m here for her and interested.
She sighs so heavily, I can sense the weight of it like a physical anchor landing in my own lap. “I’m working on that now, Nick.”
Her words are soft and laced with a brokenness I can’t quite understand, but I plan to get to the bottom of it very soon. Every question I ask her seems to bring
