Page 18 of Until Easton

"You're crazy."

"Really? Tell me you don't feel what I feel. Tell me you didn't feel it the moment we met. I might sound crazy right now, but you know damn well I'm telling the truth," I growl. I watch as two reactions pass over Becca's face. The first one is want and the second one is fear. Fuck yeah. Becca Connelly wants me just as much as I want her. She's just scared. "Baby," I murmur.

"Excuse me?" Becca pulls away, and I follow as she stomps across the bar and out the door. The air outside is warm and thick with humidity that sticks to the skin.

"I am not your anything, Easton."

"Whether you want to admit it or not, you are." My shoes crunch the gravel beneath my feet as we cross the parking lot. "Tell me you don't feel the same," I say, and Becca stops walking.

"Easton. Listen—" I close in on her. Becca's eyes lock on mine. "We can't," she protests.

"Why?"

"I don't want to get hurt."

I brush the hair from her face. "I won't hurt you."

"Our worlds are too different. It will never work." She shakes her head.

"Give me a chance to prove you wrong." It takes everything not to kiss her when she chews her bottom lip.

"You scare me," she breathes.

"You set me on fire," I confess back, and Becca's eyes blaze.

My heart rate increases with the anticipation hanging between us. "Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"To kiss you," I say, and Becca's eyes drop to my lips.

"Kiss me."

Not wanting to waste another breath without knowing what her lips taste like, I lift Becca into my arms then cover her mouth with mine. She grips the back of my head, and her legs wrap over my hips. I take a few steps forward, pressing her back against the side of a truck nearby. Holy fuck. Kissing Becca is everything I imagined it would be. Her lips quench my thirst like a sugary sweet watermelon on a hot summer day but do nothing to diminish my hunger.

I pull back, drunk off her kiss, feeling breathless and lightheaded. "Want to get out of here?" I ask.

"Yeah," Becca agrees, and I take her by the hand.

"I'll drive." We walk a few yards to my truck, and I open the door, lift her off the ground and sit her on the seat. I reach across her lap, buckling her in, then walk around and climb behind the wheel. "Where to?"

"This is crazy." Becca scrubs her palms down her thighs, then looks at me.

"We don't do anything you're not comfortable doing. As long as I'm with you, nothing else matters."

"I want to show you something. You swim?" Becca asks, and now I'm curious.

"Yeah." I grin, eager to know what she's thinking.

"There's a large pond on the backside of the property. It's one of my favorite places to be."

I put the truck in reverse. "Just point the way."

A short time later, I'm parking near a decent-sized pond. Shade trees with long branches extending over the water line decorate the banks on the right side. The brightness from the full moon reflects off the surface of the water. We're all alone out here. Becca inhales deeply. "It's beautiful." She turns her face to the heavens. "Look at the stars."

I tilt my head back and peer into the vast night. "Did you know stars are hot balls of gas, and the light we see is actually light-years from Earth?"

"My grandma used to say stars are the keepers of secrets. Whether it's spoken out loud or a simple heart's whisper, everyone, at least once in their life, looks up at the stars for guidance and makes a wish or prays."