Page 59 of The Sandbar saga

"Don't what? Go out?"

She closed her eyes again and reached out, laying her hand on his thigh. He looked down, hyperaware of her touch.

Trying to figure out where she was going with the conversation, the touch, he wasn't prepared for when she sat up and put her feet down on the ground in front of him.

She leaned forward and rubbed both hands on his thighs. "Do you ever think about me?"

"You live here. I've been taking care of you for a long time." His chest wouldn't allow him to take a deep breath as he struggled to stay one step ahead of her and ward off her sudden urge to breach the distance between them.

She moved closer, arching her neck. Her face within inches of his, he stilled.

"When you go out with those other women, do you think about me?" she whispered, catching her lower lip between her teeth.

"Katie." His heart hammered inside of him. "You don't know what you're doing."

Her hands, making slow sweeps of his thighs, told him she knew exactly how she aroused him. Even with that knowledge, he was powerless to stop her.

"I don't like it when you go out with those women." She pursed her lips. "They don't know you. You can't trust women."

"Trust?"

She moistened her lips and tilted her head without moving away from him. If she weren't still touching him and close enough to kiss, he would've stopped the conversation then, and tried when she was more in control of her emotions. He wanted to know why her opinion of her mother had spread to all women. It was a new development in her ongoing progress.

Her gaze dropped to his lap, and her mouth curved. He couldn't hide his erection from her.

"Trust should be mutual." He inhaled a ragged breath, all the blood leaving his head the longer she studied him. "You must trust your boy...friends for how much you hang out with them lately."

She looked him in the eyes. "Oh, men only want one thing."

"Not all." He swallowed hard. If she knew what he was thinking and wanting to do with her, she wouldn't, shouldn't trust him.

"It doesn't matter. Go out with women." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I trust you. That's enough for me."

She removed her hands from his body, stood, grabbed the towel off the chair, and headed toward the house. "It's too hot to lay out in the sun."

"Katie?" He stood and waited for her to turn around. "If you're having sex with those boys, you should trust them first."

She frowned. "Who says I'm having sex?"

"I...just assumed."

She smiled softly. "I'm waiting."

He told himself not to ask. He told himself to let the subject go. He told himself it wasn't any of his business.

"What are you waiting for?" He couldn't even swallow as he held on for her answer.

She looked away from him, and when he thought she wouldn't answer; she met his gaze. "You."

Katie walked into the house, leaving him vibrating with the desire to follow her and make sure he heard her right.

She went out at least three times a week with several boys—men. He'd witnessed the affection she showered on all of them, sometimes on the same night.

Yet, she was waiting to lose her virginity with him?

The sun beat down on him. Sweat broke out on his forehead. What kind of hell was she planning on putting him through?