Chasing His Forever: Sweet Somethings Book One

behind me, startling me.
I nearly jump out of my skin and knock the pile of panties I was folding to pack away to the floor. I spin around with a hand to my racing heart. “You scared me!”
“Sorry, sweetheart. I thought you heard me.” Torin reaches up and tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear. I shiver when those warm fingers lightly trail down my neck. His eyes lock on my lips, and I wonder if he’s about to kiss me.
Kiss me. Please, oh please. Kiss me.
He shakes his head then bends down to pick up the clothes he caused me to drop. I cringe when I remember exactly what I was packing when he startled me. He gives me a heated look as he slowly hands me the pile of satin and lace.
“Th-thank you,” I say through my embarrassment.
“Anything for you, beautiful.”
Wait… did he say beautiful? Surely not.
I’m completely distracted and have no idea what I pack from that point on. The only thing I can seem to focus on is how his fingers felt on my skin and the look in his eyes as he zeroed in on my lips.
Torin grabs the two duffels we packed, insisting that I let him help. He’s such a gentleman. I swear he would’ve carried Mr. Grey too if the cat wouldn’t have stuck his paw out of the holes to swat at him. He’s definitely showing one of his many shades right now, and it’s not sweet cuddle bug.
“Do you have someone to stay with?” he asks as he walks me toward the small parking lot to my car. I rarely drive since work is only a few blocks away, and I like walking.
“Oh yeah, I definitely have somewhere to stay.” I feel a little bad for evading the question—just a tiny white lie since I’m not staying with someone… but definitely somewhere.
He tosses my bags into the backseat, and I gently set Mr. Grey’s carrier in the front. “Thanks for everything, Torin.”
Once again, he tucks my hair behind my ear. This time, I know he for sure touches my neck on purpose. If I thought the look on his face was heated before, it’s downright hungry now. He slowly leans closer and closer, giving me a chance to pull away.
As if.
Kissing Torin Henley is on my top five do-it-before-I-die bucket list. Yeah, that might be slightly pathetic, but it’s Torin. I’ve had a crush since he helped clean up my skinned knee after taking a spill on my brand-new pink bike. I was six, and he was ten… my six-year-old heart instantly fell in love with the boy who had just moved in next door. Now my twenty-five-year-old heart is thumping erratically in my chest at the very thought that he’s about to kiss me.
And then it happens, his lips press to mine. My whole body erupts in flames, even more devastating than the ones that could’ve burned down my building. His lips are softer than I thought they would be. I know I should be kissing him back, but I’m too busy standing here in stunned silence that he’s actually kissing me.
Panic rushes through me when he starts to pull away. I realize he probably thinks I didn’t actually want the kiss. If anyone asks me later, I’m going to claim stress-induced insanity because what I do next is completely out of character. Before he can pull away, I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him even closer so I can deepen the kiss.
I have no real idea what I’m doing. All I can hope is that my ineptitude isn’t noticed, and if it is, he will just think it’s due to my excitement, not my inexperience. I’ve kissed exactly zero men in my life. It’s not that I swore off sex or anything like that. I’m not a virgin because I’m saving myself for marriage. It just happens that I haven’t met anyone worth investing in. Prue has tried setting me up dozens of times, but not I never took her up on it because I just wasn’t interested.
Now I realize why none of those guys held any appeal. Torin. It’s always been Torin. No one can measure up to him. I didn’t realize until now that he is my gold standard.
He groans into my mouth as our tongues dance together. The slick slide has my nipples hardening to tight peaks, and my panties are wetter than they’ve ever been. When we break apart, we’re both breathing heavily.
“Wow.”
He gives me a cocky smile, the sweet half-smile nowhere to be seen. I can’t lie; I love this smile too. Especially since I cause it. “Wow, is right.”
My face heats in a blush. I can’t believe I said that out loud. A total face-palm moment if there ever were one.
“Thank you... I mean… not for the kiss. But the kiss was… yeah.” I wave my hands between us.
“Wow?” Torin asks with a chuckle.
“Uhm, yeah, that…”
“You’re adorable when you’re nervous, beautiful.”
There’s that word again: beautiful. He thinks I’m beautiful.
“Thanks, I guess…”
He throws his head back in a throaty laugh. “You’re welcome for all of it. Especially the kiss. Though I think maybe I should be thanking you.”
The very idea that he thinks he should be thanking me for a kiss when I’m so clearly out of my depth and nowhere near his level has me feeling off-kilter. I suddenly feel uncomfortable and awkward. “I should probably go…”
I’m thrown off balance when he puts his hand on my lower back and leads me to the driver’s side door. My body sparks to life at the intimate touch. My heart flutters when he opens said door for me. Total gentleman. He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. Once again, I nearly lose my mind and throw myself at him, but he pulls away too quick. I pout.
“No need to pout. This isn’t our last kiss. If I have it my way, there will be many more