Scorched

But she really had no memory of kissing me last night. Man, that was a kick to the nuts. I had to laugh. Good thing I had an ego on me the size of a mountain.

Maybe three minutes, if that, had passed by the time I walked back into the living room, but when I looked at the couch I didn’t see her. Frowning, I came up behind it and my brows flew up.

She was curled on her side, her legs dangling over the couch and arms tucked under her chest. The frown slipped off my face as I leaned over the back of the couch. “Andrea?”

Nothing.

I started to grin. “Hey, Andy?” I raised my voice. “Babe?”

Her lips moved, murmuring something unintelligible. The girl was out cold. Shaking my head, I pushed off the couch and looked around, spying the bedroom door ajar. I could leave her on the couch, but that seemed fucking wrong. My momma didn’t put a whole shit-ton of effort into raising me, but she’d drilled in the whole “gentleman” routine.

Spi

I didn’t look around her bedroom. I don’t even know why. Too fucking intimate after last night. She was still out cold when I returned, and when I knelt down beside her, she stirred a bit as I got my arms under her.

“This is becoming a habit,” I said out loud.

“What…what are you doing?” she mumbled.

“Taking you to bed.” I lifted her up, and as I cradled her close, her head lolled against my chest, and red curls spilled across my arm.

“Not…not in your lifetime, bud,” she replied.

I had to laugh again, shaking my head. Even half-asleep, she was a firecracker. I carried her back to her bedroom and placed her in the bed. Since she wasn’t passed out, she sort of helped me this time as I wrangled her legs under the comforter.

Although, she’d taken a sleeping pill, so I wasn’t sure this was even the real Andrea. Hell, who knew the real girl? I knew I’d barely scraped the surface with her, even after two years. I hadn’t even known she had problems sleeping. Never once had I heard her mention it, and Syd or Kyler had never said a thing to me about it.

It took everything in me to step back and to walk out of the damn bedroom, but there was no hiding the smile on my face or denying the swell of anticipation for this upcoming week.

Things…things were going to change between us.

Chapter 4

Andrea

Well, this trip was starting off super-awkward.

Sitting in Kyler’s Durango, I was seated right next to Ta

An hour and a half into the drive, Syd’s nose was deep in her eReader, Kyler’s thumbs were thrumming along the steering wheel as he hummed to whatever song was playing, and I was doing my best not to think about the fact I’d drunkenly kissed Ta

Blue eyes fixed on mine.

Oh crap, he wasn’t asleep anymore. I quickly focused on the window and stared at…rolling green hills everywhere.

Another thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was his visit last night—the way he had looked at me when I’d opened the door, like he’d really liked what he’d seen. And what he’d said to me before he’d gone into the bathroom, and I’d embarrassingly fallen asleep in that short burst of time. He’d carried me to my bed—carried me. Good lord, I was not a small girl. So that was impressive…and hot.

Watching a Mack truck loaded up with logs zoom past our SUV, I tried not to think about one of those Final Destination movies. But that would probably be better than what was consuming my thoughts. I was u

Not that he seemed to remember any of that, or that I’d really given him a chance back then. Wasn’t like I’d talked to him or expressed any inclination that I wanted to practice making babies with him, so…

Ta

Lifting his hand, he curled a long finger. “Come here.”

My stomach dropped at the sound of his low, husky voice. Having no idea what he was up to, I leaned across the space between us, turning my head to the side.

“I haven’t been sleeping for a while,” he said, his breath dancing along my cheek, sending shivers down my spine. “So…”

“So what?” I had no idea why he felt the need to share that with me.

“You’ve been staring at me,” he whispered, and I started to draw back, denials forming on my tongue, but his arm suddenly moved. His hand curled around the back of my neck, holding me in place. “I don’t mind it.”

My heart stuttered and then skipped a beat. What the…? I swallowed hard, my normal, what-I-liked-to-consider witty rapport was nowhere to be found. The only thing that came out of my mouth was a whispered, “You don’t?”

“Yeah.” His fingers tangled in my hair, tugging the curls in a delicious way that sent fiery awareness across my skin. “I just decided that I don’t.”

“Right now?” I breathed.

Ta

A soft, surprised laugh came out of me. “Really. Two whole minutes ago.”

“Maybe five,” he teased, and my stomach twisted pleasantly. “Ten minutes might be pushing it, though.”

I almost laughed again, but his mouth was so close to mine that if I shifted a fraction of an inch, our lips would meet, and I really wanted to remember my drunken kiss. His fingers found their way through the tangle of curls. I had no idea what was happening. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t speak.

“No sex in the backseat,” Kyler a

Snapping out of our own little world, I jerked free, wincing when my hair caught in his hand. Cheeks burning, I glanced forward as he eased his fingers out of my curls.

In the rearview mirror, Kyler gri

I flipped him off.

Heart thumping unsteadily, I glanced at Ta

Syd had twisted around, peering into the back seat. Her gaze flitted from me to Ta

I had absolutely nothing to say as she flipped back around, tapping the screen on her eReader. Nope. I wasn’t even thinking anything. I stared at the back of Kyler’s head, totally bewildered by—by everything. As my heart started to pound even harder, I did know one thing. This week was going to be really interesting.

After what felt like forever, the Durango’s tires crunched over gravel and as soon as it rolled to a stop, I all but threw open the door and hopped out. Okay. All ignorant jokes about West Virginia aside, this little piece of the world was stu

Tall pine and elm scented the air, and although the August sun was oppressively strong, the trees blocked the harsh rays, providing much welcome shade. Above the leafy branches and green needles, I could see a giant sandstone structure bursting into the blue, cloudless sky. The mountain glimmered faintly, and each jagged point reminded me of a massive hand trying to grasp at the clouds.