I felt the same way about the girl who tasted like honey and moved just as thickly and slowly through my blood.

Everything I did with Poppy was slow and careful. It was thoughtful steps moving toward each other until we met somewhere in the middle. There was no rush. Everything was deliberate and done in a way that meant we could get it exactly right.

I never considered how much of a turn-on it could be to kiss someone while not laying a single finger on them. It had been shy. It had been hesitant. It had been tentative … and then it changed. It got demanding. It got needy. It became desperate and frantic in the best way. Without the use of my hands I had to lure her closer with nothing more than my mouth. I couldn’t feel her, so I had to taste every single bit of her I could. I couldn’t hold her, so I had to keep her in place with passion and the allure of what else was waiting.

I almost lost it when she wrapped her arm around the back of my neck. Everything inside of me was screaming that I should pin her to the counter, that I should put my hands on her pretty honey-colored skin, that I should grind the throbbing flesh behind my zipper into the sweet apex of her thighs, but I didn’t. I kept my hands to myself and gave her the kiss she asked for, the one that I hoped let her know that I was dead serious about being ready for whatever was waiting for us. She was the only thing I really felt like I had a handle on anymore … and I’d barely touched her.

I texted Poppy to let her know both the puppy and I escaped the night unscathed and asked if she wanted me to drop him off at her place or her work. Happy was still too little to come to the garage during the day. I didn’t want to kennel him in the office and I couldn’t have him running around the shop because of all the chemicals he would be able to get into. Poppy agreed that he needed to be a little bit older and definitely better trained before he could spend his days wandering around the garage and the fenced-in lot around the warehouse. She replied that she was home, so I stopped and grabbed some doughnuts on the way over.

She looked as tired as I felt when she opened the door. Some of the sleepiness faded as she took Happy from me, cooing at the puppy while simultaneously looking at the brightly colored box in my hand. I hefted it up. “I brought you breakfast.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her. “Tomato-free.”

A tiny grin tugged at her mouth and I felt like I was seeing the sunshine for the first time. It was beautiful and that itty-bitty hint of happiness from her, that sliver of light that glowed from inside of her, reinforced the fact that she was worth every effort caring for her was going to take.

“I think you’re trying to fatten me up. You’re always telling me to eat and bringing me food.”

I wasn’t trying to fatten her up. I was trying to get her to take care of herself. I had no clue what she looked like before Rowdy and her sister brought her back to Denver to heal, but I doubted she was built like a strong wind could blow her over. The smaller she was, the easier it was for her to disappear, and I didn’t want that for her. I wanted her healthy and strong enough to withstand whatever life was going to throw at her. I wanted her to fight, not fade away.

She put Happy down and took the box as I held it out to her. She looked at it, then up at me. She nibbled nervously on the inside of her lip before asking softly, “Do you want to come in and share these before you have to go to work?”

Hell yes I did. I wanted that more than anything because she was inviting me in without question or hesitation, but I couldn’t. I had an appointment with a buyer for one of my higher-end builds and I couldn’t afford to blow him off or keep him waiting. He was a repeat customer, one that liked to spend money on the especially hard-to-find classics.

“Can’t. Gotta see a man about a car. I’ll give you a call after work, and if you’re up to it I’ll swing by and we can work on getting Happy some much-needed manners.” I chuckled. “He snores and takes up more of the bed than something that small should be able to.”

Again, that barely-there smile danced around her mouth. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you later.”

I was going to be dead on my feet, a walking zombie, but I would play through the pain if it meant I got to spend time with her. I tilted my chin down at her and turned to go but stopped short when her fingers wrapped around my elbow. She was reaching out to touch me more and more. I wondered if she even realized that she no longer hesitated to lay her fingers lightly on me when she wanted my attention. I felt that gentle touch all the way through my body. My dick took instant notice and I bit back a groan as her eyes heated and got soft and warm. She balanced the box in one hand and reached in and pulled out a decadent-looking chocolate doughnut with the other. I brought her a full dozen because I had no clue what kind she preferred, so I covered all the bases.

“Take one with you. You can’t go to work without some kind of boost since you were up all night.” I took the sugary confection from her hand and my gaze landed on her fingers, where some of the chocolate frosting still clung.

The simple gesture of offering me something because she wanted to take care of me in return meant more to me than Poppy would ever know.

Keeping my eyes on hers, I took a step closer to her, and slowly, so slowly, so that she would have plenty of time to move her hand away, I lowered my head to where it was still hanging in the air in front of mine. I heard her suck in a breath, watched the way it made her breasts rise and fall under the too-big thermal she was wearing, but she didn’t tell me to stop and she didn’t pull away as I carefully and deliberately slicked my tongue over and around her finger. The frosting was a burst of sweetness in my mouth, but her creamy, velvety skin was even sweeter. She exhaled slowly as I ran the tip of my tongue across her knuckle and down into the sensitive vee between her fingers. I flicked it back and forth and gave the innocent space a very dirty kind of kiss. The frosting was long gone but I wanted the image of what I could do to her, do for her when she was ready for it, to linger in her mind for the rest of the day. If I could make her pant and sway on her feet by simply playing her fingers, she had to know that kind of pleasure I could bring her when I got my fingers on the good stuff would be well worth the risk she was going to have to take by letting me in.

When I was done, I brushed a kiss across the back of her hand like some kind of cheeseball. It might have been ridiculous and antiquated but the gesture made her sigh and had her looking at me like she might drop the bakery box and pull me inside the apartment so she could have her way with me.