My heart broke when a sob left her. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt the beautiful girl in front of me. She was the culmination of everything I wanted in a woman and the kind of girl I needed in my life, though I'd never deserve her in a million years.
"He doesn't have that kind of power." She tugged her hands free and wiped at her eyes before wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing her cheek to my chest.
I petted her long, dark hair and pressed my lips to the top of her head. "I didn't know that. Fuck, I still don't know that. It all played out a little too well."
"Then, let me get in my car, and you can be rid of me. Of all of this mess. I told you that I wasn't worth the hassle." She glanced up at me and searched my face.
"No. That's not possible, either, and you know it." I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers tightly as I shifted forward to feel more of her against me. "You're all I've thought about over the last two days. I'm not letting go. I'm just confused."
"Then, we figure it out together." Her fingers brushed by my sides just under my shirt, sending chill bumps down my spine. "You can't keep playing lone wolf and expect anyone to be okay with that."
"What are you saying? You wanna try this dating thing even though we both know for sure that your dad is completely against it?" I ran my hands down her side and wrapped my fingers around her hips as I rocked against her again. All I could think about was getting her naked all of a sudden. She'd look damn fine stretched across the back of her car while I ate her out.
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. My sister’s wedding is coming up soon, and you're going with me or I'm not going. My parents are going to have to realize that I'm not a child anymore. I don't have to jump when they say jump." Her cheeks were growing pink as her eyes narrowed. I wasn't sure if it was the cold getting to her or the fact that she was waking up to who she had become under her mother's thumb.
"Baby, we'll figure this out later. It's freezing out here. Come inside with me and let's watch a movie or something. I'm sorry for pulling back. I'm not used to much more than a quick one-night-stand and then I'm back to being single." I brushed my hand down the side of her face and cupped her neck. "You're the first woman that's left me wanting something more."
"No talking about your past exploits. I'm not interested." She lifted to her toes and kissed me once more before I moved back.
"No? I could tell you some wild-"
"Not at all, in any way, whatsoever interested. Nope. Don't." She took my hand and gave me a warning glare.
I laughed and reached over to close her car door before we walked back to the house together.
"I'm not used to all this dating stuff, so be patient with me." I popped her ass as she walked up the stairs to the house. It wasn't going to be as simple as a quick kiss in the snow, but I would work to make it up to her for the rough start we'd had, no matter how long it took.
"I didn't see a TV in here. Where are we watching movies?" She walked into the house and turned to look over her shoulder at me.
"Mom's got one in her bedroom. I'll get it out of there. Make yourself comfortable on the couch." I ran my hand along the small of her back as my cock stiffened in my jeans. I'd never had a woman over to the house for more than a few minutes. The idea of snuggling up with the beautiful girl who was sure to steal my heart was invigorating.
I knocked on the door to my mother's bedroom and went in as she called out.
"Did Val leave?" She turned from her open closet door and lifted her eyebrow at me.
"No, but I barely caught her." I rubbed my chest and let out a long sigh. "Her father threatened me the other night that he would fuck our lives up good if I kept seeing her."
"Watch your language." She shook her head at me before walking over and touching the side of my face. "You can't believe everything you hear, right?"
"Yeah, but to have him say it and then come home to find you all beat up again and shit. And stuff." I moved away from her and went to work on the TV. "Can we borrow this?"
"Yes, of course." She sat down on her bed while I worked to get the cables undone. "Tate, you know some people are more hot air than anything else. Daniel's brother got him out of jail, not Val's dad. They've put a lockdown on him getting out at all now. It's going to be fine. What else did Mr. Scott threaten you with?"
"It doesn't matter," I mumbled feeling all of twelve. "It's fine. I'll take care of it."
"Damn right you will. Sam's father is a lawyer. Go talk to him. He'd represent you any day in a civil suit against that bastard." My mother's voice rose significantly.
"Mom, it's all good. Don't get worked up, and don't let Val hear you. I just got her to calm down." I picked up the TV and walked to the door. "Don't come into the living room without warning me."
"Oh Lord." She rolled her eyes and opened the door for me. "I swear, I raised a heathen."
"Something like that." I chuckled and walked back down the hall. Valentine was sitting on the couch with an old photo album in her lap and a smile on her face. "You find something of interest?"
She glanced up. "Oh, yeah. You've known Sam for a really long time, haven't you?"
I put the TV down on the empty stand and started to work at getting it hooked up.
"All my life. He used to live down the street when we were in preschool, but the neighborhood was much better back then. After his folks finished up college, they got good jobs and moved to a better part of the city." I shrugged. "We never stopped seeing each other. We used to ride our bikes ten miles in the snow just to hang out."