Page 74 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“I want this to feel good for you.” I ran my knuckles over her cheek. “Don’t feel pressured to say yes, but I got tested a couple of weeks ago. I’m clean. And I’ve never not used a condom. So if you’re okay with it, then I don’t want anything between us.”

She nodded fast. “I’m on the pill.”

“I know.” I grinned. “I kind of snooped in your bathroom one night.”

I’d known this would eventually happen and I hadn’t wanted to put her at any risk. So I’d driven up to Kalispell and gotten myself tested right after our first date. I’d also picked up my own box of condoms in case she wasn’t willing to take that chance.

“This is your decision. If you want the added protection, I’m fine with that.”

She dropped her eyes, taking a moment to think it over, then she shook her head and looked back up. “No, I trust you.”

I wasn’t sure why.

I’d messed up for years, not giving her the attention she deserved. Then I’d blown her first kiss. She had to know that before this was over, I’d fuck up at least a dozen more times. But still, she trusted me and it meant the world.

I trusted her too. I’d never gone without a condom, no matter how many times women had begged me to go bare. I’d provided the protection. Always.

Except for now.

Willa was special. She was the exception to all my rules, because with her, there was no need to guard myself against manipulation or deception.

She was the type of woman who did things the right way. In the right order. Date. Engagement. Fancy wedding. Her dad would walk her down the aisle and her mom would cry as they shared their father-daughter dance. After she was married, her husband would buy her a puppy. Then they’d have kids.

Since that guy—whoever he was—would be getting those moments, I was taking this one.

“Jackson?” Willa’s sweet voice snapped me out of my head. “Are you okay?”

I smiled, shaking off the uneasy feeling in my gut. “Never better.”

Dipping low, I gave her a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth, trailing my lips along her cheek to her ear. Her entire body trembled whenever I kissed her ear, so I captured an earlobe between my teeth, tugging at it before letting it go to drag my tongue up the curved shell.

“Gosh,” she breathed.

My arms banded around her back, pulling her flush against my body as I returned to her mouth. I went at her with full force, using every trick I had to leave her breathless.

Our chests were heaving against one another’s when I finally unglued myself from her mouth. When had simple kissing gotten so damn good? Her tongue twisting with mine was enough to get me so worked up I could blow at any second. “God, Willa.”

“Don’t change your mind,” she pleaded, assuming I’d stopped for a different reason.

I grinned. “I won’t.”

Loosening my arms, I slid my hands down her sides and picked her up, laying her down on the bed. Then I swatted the box of condoms away.

She sat up and gripped the hem of her hoodie, but I stopped her. “Let me. Just close your eyes.”

“Okay.” Her hands shook as she dropped her shirt and lay back on the bed.

“It’s all right to be nervous,” I told her as I slid off her flip-flops.

“I’m not.” She lifted her head, locking her gaze with mine. “I’m not nervous. Not with you.”

She had so much faith in me—more than I deserved.

Do not fuck this up.

“Close your eyes.”

She nodded, lying back down on the white quilt with her blond hair spread out to the sides. When her eyes drifted closed, I ran my hands slowly up her legs. The tremors in her body increased as I skated up her thighs toward the waistband of her jeans.