Virtuous(42)

“I, um…” Flynn runs his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry if I got carried away.”

“Don’t be sorry. I loved it.”

He groans as he stands, and that’s when I notice he’s hard. The prominent outline of his erection inside well-worn denim rivets me.

“Natalie…”

I force my gaze up to meet his. “Don’t look at me that way and then tell me I can’t have you.” He softens his words with a small smile and extends a hand to me.

I take it and let him pull me up and into his embrace.

“Text me the second you know if you can get the time off.”

“I will.” All I can feel is his heated length against my belly. I want to press against him, but somewhere I find a measure of self-control.

“I’ll be holding my breath until I hear from you.”

“Don’t do that. You’ll pass out.”

“Then put me out of my misery as soon as you can.”

“Thank you again for today, for what you did for Aileen and her children.”

“It was my pleasure. Anything to make you smile.”

Fluff is at our feet, growling and snapping. Honestly, she’s lost her mind since we met Flynn.

He puts on his coat. “Does she need to go out again?”

“Just for a quick one.”

“Want me to take her before I go?”

“That’s very nice of you, but I won’t subject you to her.”

“I’m not afraid of her, and she needs to get used to me.” He grabs the leash, and when he bends to snap it on her, Fluff launches herself at him, latching on to the same arm she bit the other day.

“Oh my God! Fluff! Stop!” I manage to pull her off Flynn. Thank goodness he’s wearing a coat, so no damage is done. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.” I venture a glance at him and discover that he’s laughing—hard.

“I know what’s wrong with her.”

“Care to share?”

“She’s jealous. She can tell I like you and you like me, and she’s put out by it.”

Fluff growls and snaps, which makes me laugh even as I hold her back from attacking him again.

“It’s like you’ve never had a boyfriend before.”

Fearful of giving too much away, I roll my bottom lip between my teeth and drop my gaze to focus on Fluff rather than him.

“Natalie?”

I look up to find him watching me closely. “Yes?”

“You’ve had a boyfriend before, haven’t you?”

I’m immediately frozen with indecision. Do I tell him the truth, or do I go with the version of the truth I’ve created to match my new life? My moment of hesitation is apparently all he needs to draw his own conclusions.

“Never?”

“It’s complicated.” That’s the truth.

“How complicated?”

“It’s a story for another day.”

He leans in so he’s nose to nose with Fluff. “Get used to me. I’m not going away.”

She replies by showing the ten teeth she has left and growling again.

All I can think about is Fluff taking a piece out of that picture-perfect face of his, so I tighten my hold on her.

Flynn leans around the snarling dog to kiss me again. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Thankful he’s decided not to immediately pursue the subject of my past dating life—or lack thereof—I close the door behind him and lean my head against it. He’s too perceptive for my own good. If I continue seeing him, I won’t be able to hide the truth from him for much longer.

I like to think I can walk away at any time, but I’m in his thrall, especially after kissing him. I don’t want to walk away. For the first time, I want to push my fears aside and attempt a real relationship with a man. Despite his fame and all that goes with it, I already feel like I can trust him to protect and care for me, especially if my demons try to ruin everything for both of us.

The minute I return from taking Fluff out for a quick trip to her favorite peeing spot, I pull off my coat, scarf and gloves, and rather than heading for bed, I boot up my laptop to log into the automated system at school to request Monday off. Thankfully, I don’t have to go through stone-faced Mrs. Heffernan to get the time off. I make the request for a personal day on Monday and submit it before I can talk myself out of this madness that’s overtaken my life.