I moved quickly, and within seconds AJ was pinned beneath me, her arms held securely above her head. She was thrashing around, trying to fight me, but I saw the humor in her eyes. “We’re adults, not kids. She’s not gonna hate you. I can guarantee that, because she already knows how I feel about you.”
“Oh yeah?” Her body wiggled against mine, only she was getting nowhere. “How would she know that?”
I let her continue to try and fight my hold, waiting for her to calm. I moved her left hand closer to her right and used just one of mine to hold hers together. Taking my now free hand, I glided it along her arm, over her shoulder, and along her side, feeling her body shiver from my touch.
When her eyes locked with mine, I moved in closer and kissed her gently. “She knows because I told her. I got nothing to hide.”
“You’re dangerous, Rhett Jackson,” she whispered breathlessly as her eyes remained linked on mine.
“And how exactly would that be, sweet girl?”
She relaxed beneath me, her eyes lingering on mine. A shimmering look filled them that made my chest ache and my stomach clench. “Because you could so easily break my heart, but there’s nothing I can do to stop it. It’s already too late.”
Releasing the hold I had on her hands, I lowered mine to cup her cheek, and her eyes closed as she leaned into my touch. “I promise you, I won’t break your heart, AJ. I’ll take care of it the best way I know how, and that’s to cherish it.”
A tear rolled over her cheek and gathered where my hand still held her face. Fuck, just the sight of it made me feel so raw.
What she didn’t seem to understand was that it was far too late for me too. She’d managed to weasel her way into my heart more and more every day.
Chapter Nine
AJ
I lifted my hand to scratch away the itch from my nose, then relaxed once again, getting back to my dream. Rhett and I were down by the lake, lying on a blanket much like we were weeks ago in the barn. His body hovered above mine as he looked down at me with those intense eyes of his. Dark piercing eyes that never, not even once, neglected to make my heart race.
I could get so lost in his eyes; they held so many promises.
His lips brushed over mine, and I felt that place hidden deep and low inside me tense. “Are you sure?” he asked, and I nodded, unable to form the words.
I was getting to the good part once again when my nose began to tickle, pulling me again from my dream. This time when I lifted my hand to scratch it, I came into contact with something or someone. My body jerked in surprise as my eyes opened and I saw April, my best friend, sitting on the edge of my bed with a big smile on her face.
“You better be glad it was me waking you up and not your sister.” Her eyes widened just a bit. “Or your dad. That could have been bad.”
“Why?”
“Rhett, yes,” she said in a breathy voice, “right there, don’t stop.” She fanned her face. “Even I was starting to get a little hot and bothered by your thrashing around and those soft pleas for more.”
I rolled away from her humored stare and climbed out of bed on the opposite side. I could almost feel her eyes boring into my back.
“So that’s all I get?” Again, I ignored her as I reached for my shorts. “Not even a small little snippet of Rhett Jackson and his abilities to soothe?”
I snickered at her choice of wording.
“Seriously, with the sounds that were spilling from you, I’d guess the guy has got himself some magical powers.”
“You’re insane.” I shook my head as I slipped one foot followed by the other into the shorts I pulled from atop my dresser. “It’s not like that,” I assured her.
“Not like what?”
I finally turned around to face her and she continued to smile wide. “It was just a dream.”
“Triggered by some really great memories.”
“Or fantasies,” I added before I could stop myself. April wrinkled her brows up, and I knew at that moment I had only given her ammo to interrogate me for more information.
“Are you trying to tell me that you and Rhett have been dating for over a month now and you haven’t…” She let the question die as she widened her eyes in curiosity. I shook my head to answer her silent question. “Seriously?”
I shook my head.
“Wow.”
Wow was right, but it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. There had been plenty of those. I was ready, or at least my body was. It was my heart that kept getting cold feet. I knew it would change everything, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that to happen yet.
I moved toward the bed and sat next to April as she watched me closely. “Do you think he’s still holding out hope that she’ll come back?” It didn’t take a genius to figure out who I was talking about; everyone in Brooklet knew Rhett and Harley were a big thing at one time. I could almost guarantee that everyone thought the two of them would grow up and get married someday. They were inseparable, or so I’d been told more times than I cared to hear. Until she left, I don’t think the two of them spent more than a day apart since they’d met.
“Is that what you think?” April leaned in so she could get a better look at me, and our eyes locked on one another’s.
“He says he’s not, that her time in his life
