Page 14 of Untouchable

But now that he’s here, my body needs him. I’m aching everywhere and I know he’s the cure.

I step out of my car and stand in the rain, staring toward him. Water soaks my hair and the wind bites against my bare shoulders.

What’s happening?

He’s wearing jeans and a black t-shirt that’s been soaked with rain. He steps forward and rubs his palms together. His tone is dark and rough as he says, “I miss you.”

I like the way it sounds, but I play dumb for no better reason than I’m scared to feel things for him.

“We agreed that this was crazy.” I tilt my head to the side and stare at him in the pouring rain. “Siren is my sister. You’re her ex. I can’t complicate her life like that.”

“So, we don’t. We see each other like this. She’s got her own life, little one. We don’t have to—”

“Don’t call me little one.” The words beat and thrum at my clit the second they leave his lips. It’s torture and I can’t take it.

He steps closer, pushing his soaked hair from his vision. “I could meet a thousand women and none of them would be you.”

“You’re full of shit!” I cry. “We spent one night together. You don’t know me.”

“Tell me you don’t feel what I’m feeling, and I’ll walk away.”

I roll my eyes and stare down at the spongy gravel beneath me. My mind is reeling, and my heart is pounding.

I want to leap into his arms and let him carry me away, but deep down, I know what a mess that would create. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He shrugs. “Then tell me you don’t feel it. Say it, and I’ll walk.”

“Stop!” I scream.

He steps closer, thunder rolling in the distance. “Do you think this comes around every day? Be honest with yourself.”

I know this doesn’t come around every day. It hasn’t come once in all my life. Ox is the first guy I’ve met in twenty-four years that I could see living a life with, but it’s selfish of me to feel the way I feel.

I shake my head. “You don’t know me, Ox. You think you do, but you don’t. And really, I don’t know you. You killed a man right next to my house. You’re… you’re not like me.”

“I was looking out for you.” He groans as he says, “I’m not going to apologize for killing a man who murdered a young girl and tried to do the same to you. That man can rot in hell for all I care.”

I don’t disagree with him. In fact, I love that he didn’t question his decision. I love that he did what he had to for that girl, for her family, for me. It was brave. He’s brave.

He leans in and grips my jaw with his hand, redirecting my gaze toward his. “You know I’d never hurt you.”

Tears stream down my face. I’m not sure why they’re falling other than the fact that I’m overwhelmed. “I know that, Ox, but who are you?”

He looks away, wiping the rain off his salty beard. “I’m just a guy standing here in the pouring rain, desperate for a chance with you.”

“Why me?”

“Because you challenge me. Because when you look at me, you see something I can’t see.”

“What?”

“A family, little one. A fucking family. A life. A purpose. I want that with you!” His words come out in a growl of emotion that sweeps over me like a storm.

He’s right. I see a man I wanted babies with. A man I want sitting next to me at church. A man I want to be held by. A man I want to feel safe with.

“And what about Siren? Do I just ignore the fact that she’ll fall apart when she finds out?”

He pulls me against his chest and holds me close. “We can figure that out when the time comes. Until then, we go slow and make this real.”