Page 39 of True North

I tangled my fingers in the hem of his shirt, lifting it just enough that I was able that I was able to touch the warm, soft skin of his abdomen. It wasn’t enough, not after what we’d just done, but it would have to do for now. It wasn’t like I could strip the man completely naked when there were so many people around. The last thing he needed was to be arrested at his own campaign rally for indecent exposure.

“Absolutely not,” I assured him. “That was…” I heaved out the last word on a sigh. “Perfect.”

His smile returned, and I knew right then in the moment that I would never, ever get tired of that smile. I would do everything in my power to earn it again and again.

I reached for the erection that was pushing against his fly in a way that had to be uncomfortable, but before I could touch him, he banded my wrists with his fingers. “What about you?” I asked.

“That was for me,” he insisted. “That was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to feel you and taste you and watch your beautiful face as you came, honey. I’m all good now.”

He might have been, but I wasn’t sure I was. All I knew for certain was that I wanted more. Unfortunately, that would have to wait.

“Come home with me,” he said between kisses.

I wanted to. Goddess, I wanted to so badly. “I can’t.” At the disappointment on his face, I rushed to explain. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I do, believe me. But…I can’t leave my mom right now.” I worried my bottom lip between my teeth again as I watched my fingers dance along that small sliver of skin between the hem of his shirt and the waistband of his pants. “It’s been hard for me since that night, and I’m not comfortable⁠—”

“Hey,” he whispered, using his thumb to tip my head back so I could meet his gaze. “You don’t have to explain, little flower. I totally understand.”

My shoulders sagged with relief. “Rain check?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

He leaned in for another kiss that was cut off by a throat clearing.

My cheeks burned a furious shade of red as I turned to see who had joined us. Thank goodness we weren’t in the middle of…well, know you. I wouldn’t have survived that humiliation.

“There you are, man. Been looking for you.”

I didn’t recognize the man talking to North, he wasn’t from Ashland, but there was a camaraderie between the two of them that was obvious.

At the new guy’s sudden appearance, North pulled me into his side and wrapped an arm around me, holding me tight. The move equal parts possessive and protective, and 100% hawt.

“Iris, this is my oldest friend, Archer. Ash, this is Iris.”

I smiled widely. “Hi, Archer. It’s really nice to meet you.” I tried taking a step forward to shake his hand, but before either of us could make contact, North yanked me back into him. I looked up in confusion and had to curl my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing at the petulant, pouty look on his face as he glared at his friend.

Archer seemed to take his attitude with a grain of salt, offering me a kind (and I couldn’t lie, extremely attractive) smile. “Nice to meet you too, Iris.”

I looked between the two men. “Um, well…” Now that the heat of the moment had worn off, the nerves were back with a vengeance. “I’ll let you two catch up. I should probably go check on my mom anyway.”

“Might not be a bad idea,” Archer said, a gleam I wouldn’t understand until he spoke next twinkling in his eye. “Last I saw her, she was saying something about hash brownies.”

I was going to kill her. “Shit,” I muttered, my feet moving fast to take me around the side of the building. “I have to go.” I swore, cancer had turned her into the biggest stoner I’d ever met.

North

“Damn it, Mom!” she shouted as she raced away from me, her sandals slapping against the hard ground as she sped to a jog. “Don’t even think about it!”

I couldn’t move or wipe the smile off my face until she disappeared. Then I made quick work of snatching the swatch of pink lace off the ground and stuffing it into my pocket.

“What did you just put in your pocket?” Archer asked, knowing damn well what it was.

“None of your fucking business,” I grunted as I shouldered past him, feeling ten feet tall now that I’d gotten a fix of Iris. Although, I knew it wouldn’t be enough. It was only a matter of time before the craving returned.

“I could have sworn that looked like a pair of panties. They couldn’t have been yours, could they?”

“I’ll suffocate you in your sleep.”

“No,” he continued, too damn happy with himself in the moment to heed my warning. “They looked way too small for you. That means they must have been⁠—”