Page 73 of Cautious Love

I smile and he chuckles pecking my mouth. We’re both out of breath but I don’t care if I suffocate in him.

I almost beg him to take me to bed but the man seems to read my mind as he picks me up again pressing kisses over my chest and walking us into his room. He stops right over the threshold and stares at me.

“What?” I ask him, breathless.

He gently puts me on my feet but keeps his grip steady on my hips.

“You have no idea how much I’d like to strip you naked and admire every inch of you, but …”

“If you say it’s because I’m a criminal and you’re the Sheriff, or this marriage is just an agreement, I will drop to my knees right now and make you regret those words pouring from your mouth.”

He grins and kisses me.

“That would be great, and part of me wants to say it so I can see that picture. But I want to take you out, Shy. I want to treat you the way you deserve to be treated and buy you dinner,talkto you for more than twenty minutes so I can actually learn more about you and not the people you’ve been around. We have time,” he says.

I sigh leaning my head against his shoulder. “Do we?”

“Look at me,” he says.

I do as he says and tip my head back.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, this can’t last, can it? We have an expiration date. I’m not a fool, but we can get it out of our systems in the time we do have and enjoy it,” I whisper the last words.

He frowns, eyes searching mine as if he doesn’t understand what I said.

“For the first time, I haven’t thought that far. I don’t know what the future looks like or if this is more than need, but I want to give it the chance to find out,” he says.

I jerk back surprised. “You do?”

He huffs. “I wouldn’t have kissed you again if I didn’t intend to.”

“Oh,” I mumble.

Ledger chuckles and draws a hand over my messy hair, pulling me into him. “I like you, Shy, and I hope that’s enough right now,” he says.

I nod in his hold. “It’s more than I expected.”

“Good,” he mumbles.

I tilt my chin, asking for his mouth, and he obliges, skimming his lips over mine before plundering my heart. My breasts rub against his chest, and he sighs, slipping his hand over my backside and squeezing the muscle.

“Are you sure you don’t want to right now?” I ask him.

He nods. “As much as I want to say yes, I want to do this right.”

“But right is what works for us, and I’m already a sure thing, we’re married for Pete’s sake,” I whine.

Ledger grins against my lips. “Look at it this way, we’ve waited this long, what’s one more day? And sometimes the waiting, makes everything better,” he rasps.

I pull back and the look in his eye makes the decision easy. Whatever he’s thinking is worth the wait. I have a feeling it will pay out in spades.

“So does this mean you’re asking me out on a date, Ledger Hayes?”

His hand slides up and down my spine. “Yes I am, Mrs. Hayes.”

“When? I work tomorrow,” I mutter, but if tomorrow was his only day off, I’d call in right now.