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As we layed there in the backseat, spent from the incredible sex we had just had, he was watching my face as my eyes gazed up at the roof of the car.
“What’s going through your mind right now, Alyssia?”
I jumped, caught off guard by my confused daydream.
“Are you ok, baby?”
“Yeah...sorry...I just...uhm...”
I looked down.
“I was just thinking about how amazing this was...”
He took his finger to my chin and forced eye contact with me.
“No you weren’t. That was a look of deep thought. I want to know what’s bothering you.”
“Nothing, Daxton.”
I looked away again.
“Nothing is bothering me, I’m just tired.”
He was getting frustrated. He sighed.
“Stop overthinking, Alyssia and just feel. Tell me how you feel.”
I frowned.
“I feel...I don’t know, Daxton, I don’t know how I feel.”
He sat up.
“Yeah, that answer is the answer that comes from what you feel, passes through your logic brain, then goes through your baggage filter and comes out as that.”
“...Well what do you expect?”
He leaned into me.
“The truth, Alyssia. I expect the truth.”
I started sniffling.
“You can’t handle the truth.”
“Really, Alyssia...really, a movie line?”
“I’m serious.”
“I can handle it if it’s the truth.”
“Well I can’t!,” I blurted out and then covered my lips with both hands in horror. He smiled at me.
“There you go, Alyssia...that’s it.”
“No!”
I started to gather my clothes and put them on.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“Baby-”
“Don’t you dare!”
I continued to put my clothes on and he grabbed me to pull me to him. I struggled out of his grip but he wasn’t having it. I started to cry. I saw him nod and pull me into him again. I didn’t resist this time. I started to cry on his shoulder.
“Crap, Daxton, why can’t I let you go?”
He caressed my arm.
“It’s ok, Alyssia.”
“But I’m a hot mess.”
“Hot, yes, mess, no. I was expecting this at some point.”
“Yes, because all women sob in your arms.”
He smirked.
“Nooo...because opening a wounded heart is not easy...and it usually doesn’t go smoothly.”
“But, Daxton...you don’t understand.”
“Exactly. Tell me what I don’t understand.”
“I gave him everything. I was going to marry him and then-”
“What happened? Tell me.”
“...he cheated on me...”
“Ah.”
“...with a man.”
“...Woah.”
“...Yeah.”
“Baby...”
He lifted my face to his.
“You think you turned him?”
“I clearly don’t have a clue, I know.”
He laughed.
“No...no, Alyssia, you just made a mistake.”
“A BIG ASS MISTAKE I WILL NEVER REPEAT DAXTON!”
He hushed me with his finger on my lips.
“You have to. You owe it to yourself. You deserve everything you wanted...and more.”
“I’m fine with the way things are.”
“Really?! Are you?”
“I get what I need and then I move on.”
“Your body tells me something entirely different. Every time I’ve expressed my feelings for you, I can see a light go on in your eyes. It’s very subtle, but it’s there.”
“So you’re an expert at reading body language?”
“I have been for a long time. It’s a great way to get the truth. You realize that I’m as capable of getting hurt as you are. Women have secrets. They lie...but their body doesn’t. Their body tells me the truth.”
I swallowed.
“And your body tells me you like me. A lot. I’m pretty sure, you’re falling, Alyssia...and I want you to know...that I’m here to catch you.”
I was silent for a minute.
“I can’t read your mind, though. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking I need a drink.”
He sighed.
“You’re not ready. I know. I’m going to be patient and wait until you are.”
“You only have two more dates, Daxton. Not going to happen.”
He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“You have no idea what the last two dates are.”
“Oh shit, Daxton, now I’m worried.”
“Don’t be. We’re just going to have a lot of time to sort you out.”
“How so?”
“Because...we are spending two whole days together in a private cabin.”
“WHAT?! That’s not a date.”
“Hey...I never said the three dates were all going to be traditional, one night dates...did I?”
He gave me a sexy smile. I sighed. He got me.
“No...you didn’t.”
“So pack your bags, baby.”
“You don’t play around, do you?”
“No, Alyssia...not when there’s so much at stake.”
Our eyes locked in a moment as he looked into mine with eyes of love. I knew then that I was so screwed. I had no idea how I was going to get over this hurdle, but I was starting to trust Daxton. This was going to be one hell of a weekend.
Chapter 4
We were back at Daxton’s place to eat dinner after our night at the club.
“So why did you invite me to dinner at your house when you knew I wanted to go home?”
He looked over at me as he sipped his drink.
“There’s no way I was going to let you just go home after what you shared with me.”
“What did I share with you again?”
He sighed.
“That the ex-fiance that you were in love with turned out to be gay.”
I groaned and looked down at the table.
“OK, Alyssia.”
He took a sip of his drink and then put it down on the table.
“Time for a heart to heart.”
“No thanks.”
“Uh, uh. This is need-to-know information.”
“Why?”
“Because that must have done some serious damage. I need to know what you think you learned about yourself from that experience.”
“Daxton, you’re not my therapist.”
“No, but there’s a barrier between us and I’m going to knock it down.”
“You’re wasting your time.”
He sighed and then looked into my eyes.
“OK, let’s try an experiment here.”
I raised my eyebrow.
“OK, what kind of experiment?”
“I call it baby steps. So, baby step number one. Answer this question. Do you like me?”
I smiled.
“...Yes.”
He grinned.
“Congratulations.”
I giggled. He leaned in a little closer to my face.
“Baby step number two. Do you like how you feel when you’re around me?”
I lost my smile.
“Come on, Alyssia. You can do it.”
“...Yes.”
“Fantastic, baby, you’re doing so well. Now...”
He leaned in close to my face so that our lips almost touched.
“Baby step number three...shut off your brain for just one minute.”
I sucked in a breath.
“What does your heart say everytime I kiss you?”
I swallowed.
“Tell me, Alyssia. Please...”
I couldn’t. I just stared into his eyes, speechless. A minute passed. He wasn’t breaking his gaze.
“Just feel, Alyssia. Close your eyes and tell me what you feel.”
I closed my eyes. I felt his hand slowly touch my arm from my shoulder all the way down to my wrist. He was trying to turn off my brain. It was working.
“I feel...”
I still couldn’t do it. His mouth gently kissed my wrist, then my chin.
“I feel...like I might be falling in love...with you.”
I opened my eyes slightly, squinting. His smile was so big, he was practically radiating joy. He gave me a fiercely passionate kiss. After a solid minute, he stopped to look at me again, catching his breath.
“Does this mean I’m off the hook for the next two dates?”
He looked surprised.
“You mean to tell me you’re falling in love with me, I’m falling head over heels in love with you, and you still don’t want to spend a weekend with me?”
I sighed.
“No, I just mean...I don’t know what to do...about how I feel.”
“You have to ask?”
“Daxton, I swore I would never do this again. What makes you think how I feel changes that? I just need a few drinks and I’m getting back to the usual.”
I reached for my drink.
“Alyssia...”
He pulled the drink out of my hands, put it down on the table and cupped my face in his hands.
“Baby...don’t do this to yourself.”
A tear fell down my face.
“It’s the only way I know how, Daxton. I don’t know if I can do this again.”
“I know you can, Alyssia. Tell me...what did you learn about yourself from your ex-fiance?”
The tears started rolling down my face.
“...That I’m not worthy of someone...like you.”
“Oh, baby...”
His thumb stroked my cheek.
“I learned that when I finally decided that I was going to spend the rest of my life with someone, he falls in love with one of his best guy friends, who has secretly been in love with him for a long time, and that’s when I realized how crappy I must be at wife material to have my fiance find out he’s gay.”
I started to sob again. He was shaking his head slowly. He put his arm around me and held me close as I cried on his shoulder. He talked softly in my ear.
“It’s not your fault, Alyssia. You picked someone you thought loved you, and he probably did, just not in the way you thought, but it doesn’t mean you’re not wife material. It means you live and learn...and then when you meet someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to be with you...you try again.”
I looked up at him.
“I’m afraid.”
“I know. I am too. But I know that what we have is special...and I can promise you...I know who I am...and I know what I want. There’s no chance of repeating history here.”
“I’m too jaded to love again.”
“Which is why we’re spending that weekend together in a private cabin. We’re going to relax, do some fun things together, get to know each other even better, and I hope...I hope to God I get to fuck your brains out and show you how madly in love with you I really am.”
I giggled.
“Really? Fuck my brains out?”
“Mmm, baby...I want to get know you better in more ways than one. I want to get to know every...inch of you.”
He caressed my lip and then gave me a soft kiss.
“OK, Daxton. I guess it’s to the cabin we go.”
“I mention fucking and now you’re on board?”
“You know just what to say, Daxton.”
“Mmm, that’s my Alyssia.”
Ready for More?
Read Book 3 of the Three Dates Series
Daxton takes Alyssia to a private cabin, which is good for Daxton...but not so good for Alyssia.
“What are you really planning on?”
He put his hand on my cheek. My eyes widened. He leaned in close to my face.
“...My real goal is to show you how to feel again...to show you that you’re safe with me.”
“Then I have every reason to be freaked out.”
Daxton was going to prove to her that he was worth trusting. What he didn’t know was how hard that task was going to be.
“There is nothing...nothing that will keep me from wanting you...from loving you...but I can’t do that the way I want to unless you let yourself feel, baby.”
My face cringed as a tear fell down my face.
Daxton knew what it was going to take to break down the walls between them. The question was, would she be willing to do it...for him...for them?
“I just want you to see what it feels like to love me. Because you haven’t allowed yourself to experience that. It’s why you won’t connect with me the way I need you to. You don’t have to commit to it. I just want you to feel...with no strings attached.”
Heat Level: Hot!
