Her eyes met mine and I saw her visibly swallow.

“You do?” she looked up at me through her lashes.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I reached out and linked our fingers together. I wasn’t the hand holding type, but whatever I needed to do to touch her.

I celebrated the fact that she didn’t jerk away from me. I set my beer on the tabletop and held her hand as I walked her out of Finn’s garage and to my car. I nodded to Finn and the guys as I left and I didn’t miss the big goofy smile on her friend Megan’s face. They knew what we were going to do and I didn’t care.

I let go of her hand as I made my way to the driver’s seat. She popped open the passenger-side door and slid in. Once we were in and settled, I cranked up the car and turned to her. She looked so fucking hot, my little timid temptress. She had to know what she was doing. Maybe playing the shy sweetheart was her thing, but something told me she was a freak in bed.

I let my eyes wander up her black soccer socks to the tiny peek of creamy leg between her socks and gym shorts. It was chilly out, so she had on that damn hoodie, but I knew what was under it. I wanted to see her naked. I wanted to see if all of her was a soft as her hands and cheeks.

Once we left Finn’s house, I headed in the direction of hers, but I knew I wasn’t even close to taking her home yet. I looked down at the exposed part of her legs once more and I couldn’t take it anymore. Her skin called to me and I needed to touch her. She was looking out the window at the passing scenery, so she didn’t see me reach across the car, but when I laid my hand on the skin above her knee, she gasped and looked over at me.

There was a brief moment of panic in her eyes before she lowered her lashes and took a shaky breath. I felt the tension leave her leg under my palm so without looking over at her, I molded my hand to her inner thigh and pushed my fingers down to the space between her knees. Her skin was so warm and soft. All I could think about was moving my hand up and reaching inside her panties. I swear if that happened and my fingers met moisture, I’d jerk my car to the side of the road and fuck her right there on my front seat.

I kept my hand still but began moving my fingers softly back and forth inside her knee. I felt goose bumps rise on her leg beneath my palm and heard her breath get deeper. She was affected already and I was just getting started. Her tiny responses fueled my confidence, so I moved my hand up higher on her leg. I thought for sure she’d slam her legs together and move my hand, but she shocked me. Instead, she leaned her head back against the seat and her legs opened an inch more. That little movement was like a big green light for me.

I looked over at her to find her looking back at me. The headlights from approaching cars danced across her face and I realized she was more than just some hot chick. She was beautiful. The wind from her window pushed strands of her hair across her face and she swiped at them. She looked at me with trusting eyes and a nervous smile, and it was like a splash of cold water. She wasn’t like the other girls I’d been screwing around with and I knew that from the start. I was letting my hormones cloud my decisions. Patience was a beautiful girl and I wanted nothing more than to feel her all over me, but she was untainted and I didn’t want to be the one to contaminate her.

I let my hand slip back down to the safe zone and then I softly patted her knee. As hard as it was, I lifted my hand from her skin and wrapped it around the steering wheel. At the next light I came to, I put on my blinker and headed straight for her house. The trip to her house felt like an eternity. I’d never denied myself a woman when I wanted her and being shut up in this cramped car with her was hell. I didn’t think I’d ever get her out of my car.

When I pulled up to the curb around the corner from her house, I put the car in park and turned to her.

“Tonight was fun. It’s been a while since I got to kick some ass at rummy.” I chuckled.

“Um… you’re delusional. I totally won all but three games. Also, you should know, I let you win those three.” She grinned at me.

I laughed out loud at that one. “You let me win, huh?”

Her smile dropped and she looked away. “I let you do a lot of things.”

“You do? Like what?”

She reached her hand across the seat to mine. I let her slip her fingers in between mine and then I tightened my fingers around hers. She held my hand and rubbed circles on my palm with her thumb.

“Like this.” She looked up at me and the side of her mouth tilted up.

“Okay, you let me hold your hand? What’s the big deal with holding hands?” My brows puckered in confusion.