Unbreakable(14)

Not once do I doubt Will’s ability to handle the bike. I feel completely safe with him. Even when he was younger, he always exuded a quiet kind of confidence. He’s sure and steady with everything he does.

After fifteen minutes of tearing around the trails, he pulls the bike back into the yard and kills the engine.

“I’m deaf from all your yelling,” he says, pulling off his helmet. He looks over his shoulder and gives me a playful wink.

Jeezaloo. All he has to do is wink, and I melt into a pile of happy, quivering goo. He looks so freaking sexy when he does it. It’s just… damn.

“Well, I can’t help yelling—you drive really fast.” I unsnap my helmet and yank it off. “God, that was so much fun!”

Will maneuvers to sit next to me on the bike. He glances over at me and smiles.

“My hair is a total mess, I’m sure,” I mutter, embarrassed.

He reaches over and gently tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “No. You just look happy, Sunshine. And it’s so damned good to see.”

His gaze drops to my lips and a spark of heat flares deep within his blue eyes. The desire there is undeniable.

“Are you happy, honey?” he asks softly. My breath hitches as he gently strokes my cheek.

“Y-yes,” I manage. He’s so close now that our lips are only inches apart. I can feel his warm, soft breath against my skin. His fingers trace down my cheek and along my jaw. His touch is light, but it burns me up. I want him to kiss me so much.

I lean closer and close my eyes, waiting for the inevitable touch of his lips against mine.

But that doesn’t happen.

Instead, he jerks away from me and hops off of the bike like it’s on fire.

What. The. Hell.

“You should probably get going, Em. You’re going to be late for the barbecue.”

Other than the slight flush of his cheeks, his expression gives absolutely nothing away about how he’s feeling. It’s like the past minute never happened at all.

I nod slowly. “Um, okay. I thought you were coming with me?”

He looks down at the ground and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I have some stuff I have to take care of here first.”

Okay, then.

I slide off the bike and lay the helmet on the seat. If he wants to pretend this never happened, then fine. That’s what we’ll do.

“Will?”

He shifts his gaze back to me. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for that. I had a blast.”

“Sure,” he says, casually waving his hand. “That ride was long overdue.”

I retie my ponytail and give him a sharp look. “Yes, it was. Maybe a lot of things are long overdue, Mav.”

His jaw flexes as he looks down at me, and I can tell he knows exactly what I mean.

“Text me the address, okay? I’ll meet you over there.” He turns and walks toward the house, and I watch until he disappears from view.

If I were anyone else and not Emmy Sullinger, his best girl friend and Sully’s sister, I’d be in his arms right now, kissing him senseless.

I’m dying to know what those strong arms feel like wrapped around my body. I want to lose myself in his kisses and surrender to all of these new feelings.

But I can’t, and it totally sucks.

I walk down the driveway and turn in the direction of Jackson’s cottage, feeling more confused than ever. This back and forth, push and pull between us is twisting me up inside.

I need to forget all of this and stick with my plan: let loose, have fun, and find a guy who wants to hook up with me.

Obviously, that guy isn’t Will, no matter how much I want it to be.





Chapter Seven





WILL




Pacing around the living room is accomplishing absolutely nothing. I can’t get Emmy’s sweet, begging-to-be-kissed face off of my mind.

We’d had so much damn fun riding around on the quad. It took me right back to being a teenager again—to days that were carefree and easy.

She’d looked so damn cute sitting there on the bike, with her hair a total mess and her cheeks flushed with joy. You couldn’t miss the happiness radiating from her, and that made me happy. Happier than I’d been in a very long time.

But that quick, I nearly f*cked it all up.

Our faces had been so close that I could smell the sweet cherry scent of her lip gloss. It was like she was wearing magnets, and I was pure metal. Resisting that pull was nearly impossible.

When she’d looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes? Fuck, I was a goner. I didn’t want to resist her anymore. I wanted to f*cking claim her. To claim those sweet lips as she melted into me.

When she’d leaned forward and closed her eyes, sweetly begging for that kiss, I’d had to throw myself off of the bike to avoid contact.

You know, because I’m smooth like that.

Fuck.

Her disappointed, slightly embarrassed expression had wrecked me.

I drag my hands through my hair and sigh. After what just happened, I’m not sure if I should follow through with the second half of my surprise for Emmy. It’s only going to set me up for more temptation.

But my need to see her smile wins out over everything else—not that I’m surprised. I trudge out to the backyard and spend half an hour getting everything set up for later.