Page 42 of Keeping Penny

“I love seeing you too,” she said quietly. Her cheeks had pinkened, and she bit her lip the same way Bowie did, when she was unsure or nervous.

They’d arrived at the lobby doors of the apartment complex, and as much as Pyro wanted to walk her up, he was running late and needed to get to the base. Casper and the team would be waiting on him to start sharing intel.

Throwing caution to the wind, he lightly touched her upper arm, waiting for Penny to look at him. “I’d like to kiss you,” he said bluntly.

In response, Penny licked her lips in what Pyro hoped was anticipation…then nodded.

He leaned down slowly, savoring the moment. This was their first kiss, but hopefully not the last. He brushed his lips against hers gently, feeling an immediate spark shoot straight to his cock.

When she sighed against his lips, and he felt her hand on his chest, he increased the pressure.

Her lips parted, and he licked her bottom lip before slowly easing his tongue inside. She opened further and tilted her head—and suddenly the light and easy kiss he’d planned shot out of control.

His hand slid to the back of her neck to hold her steady as he took their kiss to another level. And Penny gave as well as she got, her tongue caressing his, pushing into his mouth to explore, then giving way as he did the same.

Knowing he needed to pull back before doing something he’d regret—like touching her inappropriately on the sidewalk in front of the complex’s lobby doors—Pyro lifted his head.

He couldn’t help but lick his lips, trying to get every taste of this woman into his body that he could. She stared up at him with a glazed look in her eyes, before she slowly focused.

Then, to his relief, she smiled.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“Yeah…wow,” he echoed, running the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “If you think about it, shoot me a text and let me know how things went today for Bowie. I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate this afternoon if I don’t know if she was okay or not.”

“I will.”

“Is six o’clock okay for me to come over? I get off at five but need to go home and shower, then call in the order, pick it up, and drive over here.”

“That’s perfect. I’ll give Bowie a snack to tide her over until dinner.”

Pyro was reluctant to move. He liked being in Penny’s personal space. Liked the feel of her hair on the back of his hand. Liked seeing the obvious evidence of how much she’d enjoyed their kiss.

“For the record…I want to date you, Penny Burns. I want to take you and Bowie out. Dinners, movies, maybe bowling—though I warn you, I’m horrible at it. I know you and your daughter are a package deal, and I’m more than all right with that.”

“I…I’d like that.”

Pleasure bloomed within Pyro. “Awesome.”

“Yeah.”

Sighing, he forced his hand to slide out from under her hair. Then he took a step backward. “Text or call if you need anything. I can stop at the store on my way over.”

“We’re good. Thank you.”

“All right. But if anything happens…if anyone you don’t know tries to contact you, please let me know immediately so I can pass the info on to Tex.”

“Of course. But I’m thinking we’re okay. We haven’t heard anything since we’ve been here. I don’t even know how Colvin would learn where we are.”

“Don’t underestimate the man, Penny,” he warned. “He’s got money. Lots of it. And money can open a lot of doors and allow him to get a lot of intel. Stay vigilant.”

“I will.”

The truth was, Pyro didn’t know how much of a threat Colvin Jackson really was. Until he surfaced again, he and Penny, and Tex, were in the dark. But the second he learned she or Bowie were in danger, Pyro would be glued to their sides. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened to them and he could’ve done something to prevent it.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah.”