To be honest, nothing she had done had driven him away, even though, under normal circumstances, it would have.
Kissing her now was a totally intoxicating experience.
Damn but she tasted heavenly. Her lips were sweet, like strawberries that had been picked just at the right moment. Not too sweet, not too tart, just incredibly arousing.
Desire shot through Dillon’s veins as he deepened the kiss.
Hailey felt herself getting lost in his kiss.
Lord, but he was making her head spin. This was even better than she could have possibly imagined. Her blood was rushing through her body, making her aware of just the moment, just the man and nothing more.
Ordinarily, Hailey was always aware of her surroundings, always aware of everything and everyone around her, no matter what. But this time, Dillon had no sooner kissed her than everything else around them had just managed to vanish, becoming one with the universe as it slipped away into the mist.
Leaving just the two of them.
All she was aware of was this incredible surge within her, this incredible desire to slip away with him somewhere and explore all these wonderful, delicious feelings that she was experiencing. The feelings that were racing through her body, making her want him. Making her want to be with him.
And then, finally, because he sensed that they had to undoubtedly be attracting attention to themselves, Dillon reluctantly drew back his head.
He smiled into Hailey’s mesmerizing blue eyes. “I take it that’s a yes?” he asked the moment his lips were no longer on hers.
Hailey returned his gaze, feeling a little dazed, unable to form a coherent thought or even follow what he was saying to her.
She blinked, struggling to focus her brain. “A yes?” she repeated uncertainly.
Unable to resist, he ran his fingers through her hair, marveling at how very silky it felt to the touch. “To my kissing you.”
And then her mind caught up to the rest of her. Hailey smiled at him, the smile unfurling like the first flower of spring raising up its petals to the rays of the warm sun.
Captivated by the sight, Dillon found he couldn’t draw his eyes away from her enticingly sexy mouth.
“I wouldn’t have kissed you if I didn’t want to,” Hailey told him.
“Just to be sure you know, you can always say no. That’s your prerogative.”
“Good to know,” Hailey told him. She remained rooted to the spot, hoping for a repeat performance. “Then I choose not to say no.”
He felt heartened, although there were distant alarms going off in his head, warning him not to take this any further even as he heard himself say, “Would you mind if I asked to see you again?”
“You mean other than here right now?” she asked, her smile growing deeper.
“Yes, other than that,” he told her with an amused laugh.
“I’d mind if you didn’t ask,” Hailey told him honestly. “Yes, you can ask to see me again. Just name the time and the place and then we’ll coordinate our very busy schedules,” she teased.
Then, before Dillon could answer, she surprised him by slipping her hand into his and lightly tugging on it, getting him to come along with her. She was back to weaving her way through the various rows of tables displaying merchandise.
“Are we still looking for those frog figurines for you?” he asked. He wanted to be clear what she wanted him to search for.
“We are,” she confirmed. She knew he was thinking about the kiss and how it might very well have been a signal that her days of kissing frogs were over.
Time would only tell if it was. But her days of collecting figurines were still ongoing.
She smiled at him. “I can’t very well put you on my shelf, now can I?”
“Well, for one thing, I don’t think I’d fit,” he deadpanned.
Hailey’s eyes slid over his robust body. She felt herself growing warm. “No, you definitely would not. Besides, you have work to do and so do I. That kind of stationary life is not right for either one of us.” Her smile went all the way up to her eyes as she told him, “I’d like to think that’s something that we have in common.”
When he didn’t say anything in response, Hailey wondered if he had even heard her. From the expression on his face, his attention was apparently focused on something else.
“Dillon?” she said, raising her voice, but to no avail. He still wasn’t looking at her.
Maybe he was having second thoughts about their getting together, she thought. Maybe she had gone too fast, assumed too much.
Maybe—
“There,” Dillon said, pointing to something she couldn’t see because there were a cluster of people in the way, blocking her line of vision. He was tall enough to see over them.
“There?” Hailey repeated, still mystified. She had no idea what Dillon could be referring to. She didn’t see anything around that might be considered out of the ordinary.
Rather than explain what it was that had caught his eye, Dillon suddenly picked her up in his arms and then put her on his shoulders as easily as he would a child.
It was all she could do not to squeal. Hailey struggled to contain her surprise.
“One row over,” he told her, then added more specifically. “Look at the display three tables from the end.”
Still confused, Hailey looked in the direction he had pointed out, vaguely aware that the milling crowds of shoppers and browsers around her appeared to be mildly entertained by their balancing act.
“What am I—?”
No sooner had Hailey started to ask him what exactly she was supposed to be looking for when she saw it. Stunned, she could only marvel at how she might have missed seeing it if it weren’t for Dillon and his high vantage point.
“Oh!” she cried, utterly mesmerized.
“You see it,” Dillon concluded, pleased.
Now that she was looking at it, she couldn’t understand how she could have possibly not seen it. It was a figurine of a
