He thought about it, and slowly the glare turned into a smile so big she nearly blushed. “You can’t ask for details,” she said, already anticipating his next question.

In the next instant, she was laughing again as he poked her several times in her now-sensitive ribs. “Oh, can’t I?”

“No fair!” she said, rolling off his lap onto the plush carpet.

She tried rolling away and making a run for it, but he came after her and pinned her down, placing his hands over hers against the carpet. He stared at her for a moment as her laughing calmed without saying anything. She stopped laughing completely and just stared at him silently before he said the very thing she was thinking of him. “God, you’re beautiful.”

They stared at each other for a few more silent moments until he brought his body down over hers and kissed her. The kiss was so tender and gentle it made her sigh. It wasn’t at all like the feverish kisses they’d shared just earlier, but it held an intensity she’d only felt from him a few times. Extending the gentle kisses down her chin and onto her neck, he stopped at her ear. “I can hardly believe you’re all mine,” he whispered. She smiled, knowing her inner feminist was probably crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground. But Charlee couldn’t help it. She loved the idea of being his.

Feeling how hard he was again or maybe still, she moved against it, wanting him to rub against her. She was so hot again she could hardly stand it. Obviously picking up on what she wanted, he began to sway his hips slowly, and if he didn’t still have her hands pinned, she actually would have felt brave enough and the absolute need to touch him there.

Without warning, he stopped, and she could feel his pounding heart against her. “But you’re a virgin, and . . .”

He didn’t finish and she froze. Hearing the icy chill of the subtle yet shattering rejection brought back all the insecurities she’d managed to do away with and keep at bay in the past twenty-four hours. Now she was the one wondering what the hell he meant? The new girl she’d been in the last days being around him, the girl who’d actually begun to feel worthy of the affection Hector had given her, was suddenly gone. That girl might’ve had the guts to ask. Instead, she reverted to the old her and cowardly closed her eyes. Bracing herself, she waited silently for him to continue.

Chapter 26

Deliberating on how to explain this exactly, Hector struggled to come up with something that didn’t sound ridiculous. Abel’s words continued to rattle him. Are you sure you’re ready to handle being so hung up on a girl? At the time, he had been. Hell, just a few minutes earlier he had been. He’d been fairly certain just from what little he knew about Charlee that he was dealing with a virgin. It hadn’t felt so alarming until now.

Hector was sure he was ready to be with Charlee and only Charlee. But he’d had his share of experimenting with plenty of girls. Testing the waters—lots of waters. Charlee was only eighteen. Aside from that idiot she’d told him about, this was her first real experience. And this was literally happening overnight. How could she be sure he was the one this quickly? Because if this happened, he wanted to be damn sure he’d be the only one for her after tonight.

Abel was right. There’d be no way he could handle anything otherwise, and, suddenly, that scared the life out of him. Did people really fall in love, break up, and move on? His eyes slowly opened wider with the realization of where his mind had just gone. Love? No way.

Charlee pushed him off her suddenly, derailing his train of thought. He’d been so lost in thought she managed to push him aside and squirm out from under him.

“In what world is a virgin not good enough?” She asked as she stood up, crossing her arms in front of her. “Are you looking for someone more experienced? Less priggish?”

“Priggish?” he asked, getting up on his own feet quickly and noticed the hurt in her eyes now. “No! Whatever that means.”

He had no idea what priggish meant, but whatever it did, he didn’t like that it had those beautiful blue eyes looking so sad. Taking a step forward, she took a step back. “So then finish what you started saying,” she said, lifting a very pretty but stubborn little chin. “Remember you’re the one who said no guessing games.”

Taking another step toward her, he stopped when she moved away from him again. “Okay, let’s not do this,” he said, pointing at the recliner. “Can we just sit and talk?”

“No!” She walked around the sofa and stood behind it, making it a barrier between them. “I will not sit on your lap again to talk about this. Just explain yourself,”

She looked so damn cute when she was angry he had to smile. “All right, you don’t have to sit on my lap. Just sit, please.” He motioned at the sofa in front of her.

Considering it for a moment, she glanced down at the sofa, chewing the corner of her lip, then walked around and sat down cautiously. Hector took a few slow steps to the sofa, afraid that she might jump up and bolt. But she didn’t, so he sat down.

He stared at her for a moment again, debating on how best to say this. “I don’t know if I can handle this.”

Her startled eyes stared at him. “You changed your mind?” Gulping hard, he reached for her hand, but she jerked it away, standing up. “Then go!”

The tears in her eyes had him on his feet instantly. “Charlee, it’s not that I changed my mind. I swear it’s just that . . .”