Leave a Trail (Signal Bend #7)(26)

“Badge, wait.” He stopped at her call, just at the corner, but he didn’t turn around.

So she went to him, walking around to face him. “I’m so glad you’re better. I missed you.”

He lifted his hand and brushed his fingers over her bottom lip. Just a trace of the split was left. “I can’t believe I hurt you.”

The feel of his hand on her face, his fingers on her mouth, made her body tense and shiver. The pads of his fingers were rough and hard, but his touch was gentle. She pursed her lips and kissed them.

His eyes, even more luminous surrounded by the dark skin of his bruises, seemed to spark when she kissed his fingertips. He took another step, and his hand slid from her mouth around to grip her neck—but gently, without any intent to hurt or force her. She felt his fingers threading into her hair.

“Adrienne.”

Not knowing what to say, she nodded. And he bent down and kissed her.

She loved the feeling of his beard on her face. Since she’d known Badger, she’d dated another guy with a beard—they’d dated for a while, in fact—but Patrick’s was coarse and sparse, with not much hair under his bottom lip. Nothing like Badger’s, which was full and surprisingly soft.

At first, he just moved his lips lightly over hers, but she wanted more than that. She wanted something to happen between them; she’d wanted that for years. She could feel him wanting her, even though he was barely touching her.

Deciding to rectify that situation, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. Now they were touching at nearly all points, from their legs to their mouths, and she knew for an empirical fact that he wanted her. He grunted at the contact and opened his mouth. Adrienne opened hers, too, and when their tongues touched, she heard herself moan. She liked the sound, and she did it again—and felt him pressing even harder against her stomach.

He groaned into her mouth, and his other arm, the one not attached to the hand clutching her hair, went around her waist and held her tight.

And then he broke away from her, gasping heavily, letting her go as he stepped back.

She could have stomped her foot like a four-year-old. She was gasping, too, and she didn’t think she’d ever been as turned on as she was right then. But here he was, backing off. As usual. She thought about calling him on his crap, but she was too hurt and frustrated.

“Okay. Sorry. I’ll see you around.” She turned, but he grabbed her hand.

“No, wait…I don’t…want you to go.” He took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to stop. I just couldn’t breathe. My nose.” His hand came up and waved at his broken face.

“You didn’t want to stop?”

“No. I’m tired of stopping. If you don’t want to stop, I mean.”

Talking in circles was not what she wanted to be doing. “What are you saying, Badger?”

“I’m saying…I’m saying I don’t want to be friends. Just friends, I mean. I want more.”

That made her smile. But: “Show doesn’t want us even to be friends.”

“I know. But I didn’t promise him anything.”

“Neither did I. But he’ll be pissed. His pissed is scary.”

“Yeah. But it’s not his business. And it can be just between us, for now. If you want that.”

“Sneaking?”

“Private. But Adrienne—I’m… I’m just different from what I was. Not all of it was the Oxy. I’m not like I was before. I don’t think I can be.”

In his eyes, she saw the Badger she knew. They were different, she saw that, but they were also the same. And she didn’t care if he was different, as long as he wasn’t mean. She was different, too; she could almost feel herself becoming somebody else, like pieces shifting in her mind. Maybe they wouldn’t mesh, when all was said and done. But she’d wanted to ‘not stop’ with him for years. He was the only person she’d ever really wanted to ‘not stop’ with.

“You’re Badger. That’s enough for me.” One day, maybe he’d tell her what had happened that had hurt him so much.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. This time, when he needed a breath, he didn’t let go— he just took it and came back in. But they couldn’t make out against the back of the barn forever, the goats milling about behind them and Weasel sitting at their feet. So, after several minutes, she pushed him back.

“Hey. I’m moving out of Show and Shannon’s house and taking a room here for a while.”

He grinned. “So you’re staying? How long?”

Right at this moment, she was thinking she might make a permanent move. But outwardly, she shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I need to work some things out. But I need to get out of their house so they can start getting ready for the littlest Ryan. I’m gonna go get my stuff. Maybe you could come up tonight, and we could watch scary movies? I could get a pizza from Tuck’s.”

He pulled her close again. “That sounds like a pretty good date.”

“If that’s a date, then we’ve been dating for years.”

By way of response, he kissed her nose.



CHAPTER SIX



For the rest of the day, Badger felt Adrienne’s mouth on his lips. He thought he could still taste her. It was the first day that the need wasn’t on him so hard he’d almost been ready to give his kutte up to sate it.