Dare To Run (The Sons of Steel Row #1)(35)

She pressed her lips together. “You’re not looking at the sunset or waxing poetic about how pretty my eyes are in the waning light.”

Cocking a brow, I drawled, “Actually . . .”

“You’re thinking about what I said back there. About me being alone on the streets.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it—about why it happened or how. I shouldn’t have even told you.”

“All right.” I rested my left ankle on the opposite knee. “Funny, though. I don’t remember asking a question about it.”

“You didn’t need to. It’s written all over your face.”

I had to be more careful, then. I didn’t make it a habit to let people see my thoughts, and she shouldn’t be an exception. Even if it felt like she was. “Sorry, darlin’. I hate to disappoint you, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about that little moan you made when I kissed you in the alley, and the way you clung to my biceps as I tasted you. And how much I wanted to taste you again.”

If possible, her cheeks went even redder than I’d see them go before. “Is that so?”

“That’s definitely f*cking so,” I said, grinning.

She settled back into her seat. Cheering broke out in earnest, and people stood. The game was over. “Well then, sorry for misreading you.”

“Maybe you did.” I tugged on a piece of her hair. “Maybe you didn’t.”

Heidi stiffened again. “Which is it?”

“I’ll leave you to figure that out on your own.” When she started to stand, I placed a hand on her thigh and pressed down. “Sit tight, darlin’. Let the masses clear out first.”

She stared down at my hand, her thigh hard underneath my fingers. “Okay.”

“How old are you?” I asked. It hadn’t occurred to me before, but I didn’t even know. I could guess, but that wasn’t the same.

“Twenty-four.” She side-eyed me. “You?”

“Twenty-seven.”

She nodded. “I’d guessed around there.”

People pushed out of the stadium, talking loudly and bumping into one another. I didn’t like that many men at my back, where I couldn’t see them. I’d rather wait. I didn’t take my hand off her, even when the first raindrop hit my skin. “Tell me the truth. Have you ever been to a baseball game before, in all your twenty-four years?”

She sipped her beer, watching the emptying field. The crowds. The sky. Anything but me. “It’s raining.”

“Then we’ll get wet,” I said dismissively. “I’ve never run from a little bit of rain on a cool spring day, and I’m not about to start now. Answer the question.”

“Lucas—”

“Heidi,” I said right the f*ck back at her.

She blew out an exasperated breath. “Fine. Whatever. I’ve only caught bits and pieces on the TV behind the bar. I didn’t care for it.”

I caught her chin and turned her beautiful face toward mine. I’d never get sick of seeing her small, pert nose, or the gentle curve of her cheekbones. A raindrop landed on one of those cheekbones, and I swept it away with my thumb. “And now?”

“And now.” Her tongue darted out to lick a drop off her red lips. It made my cock harden, but even more important, it made something else inside of me grow warm. Something I didn’t want to recognize. “I still won’t like it at the bar, but it was fun tonight. Here. With you.”

That funny warmth she always brought out in my veins spread over my body again. I leaned in, so close I could smell her soft peach scent, and she held her breath. “I liked tonight, too. With you.”

Her lids drifted shut.

I didn’t need more of an invitation than that.

Closing the distance between us, I pressed my mouth to hers, savoring the moment. She leaned in to me, all softness and sweetness, and I took what she offered.

And for once, I didn’t take more.

I traced my tongue over the seam of her lips, gently, and she parted them on a sigh. Permission granted, I slid my tongue in the warm sweetness of her mouth. She melted into me even more, one hand holding on to her beer, the other latched onto my leather jacket. Everything about this moment, this woman, screamed something unique.

Something new.

Something terrifyingly real.

Pulling back, I swallowed hard and stared down at her. Her eyes were still shut, and her rosy cheeks were charmingly innocent. Something neither of us was.

Her lashes drifted up, and when she caught me staring, she bit down on her lower lip. “What are you thinking right now?”

That she was utterly, breathtakingly beautiful. “I—shit.”

The skies chose that moment to open up, pouring buckets of water on us instantly. I cursed under my breath and ripped my jacket off, tossing it over her head like an umbrella. She laughed and set her beer down on the ground, holding my jacket in place. The rain drenched through my shirt in seconds. “I thought you didn’t mind a little bit of rain.”

I stood and held my hands out to my sides, laughter escaping me because, f*ck, it was pouring. “Does this look like a ‘little bit of a spring rain’ to you?”

Still laughing, she stood, too, wobbling on her feet a little. “Sure does.”