Page 18 of Time Bomb

“Don’t care. They can have the scraps. If I leave any.” I doubt I will. I didn’t realize how greedy I would be when it came to Ophelia. Turns out, not a fan of sharing.

Ophelia

It’s stupid. I’m being ridiculous. Even with this knowledge, I can’t shut off the nerves. There shouldn’t be any; it’s just another date.

The third date, that stupid inner voice reminds me.

Just like any other date, I argue back.

It’s doing no good. All I’m succeeding at is working myself up.

I got to spend thirty minutes with Torque at his firehouse yesterday afternoon before he reluctantly allowed me to leave. All the men around there made me so nervous because they kept watching us and murmuring to each other. According to Torque, it was due to them never seeing anyone so beautiful. That’s his opinion, one I choose not to think too long about.

Laken shared that it’s because he’s never been serious about a woman before, let alone one as down-to-earth as I am. I’d never thought of myself that way before. I’m still not sure it’s an accurate depiction of me, given these nerves…butterflies…exploding in my stomach as I pack an overnight bag to spend the evening with Torque. I caved when he kissed me breathless and practically begged me to come over tonight.

This man coaxes me to step outside my comfort zone, not just with him, but with relationships, period. I haven’t been in a serious one since high school, and even then, I’m not sure what I was doing.

Ever since taking over The Cup, I haven’t done much dating. There have been a couple people here and there, very sporadic, and never lasting.

With Torque, though, I know we could be together for a lifetime. I don’t understand why I know, I just do. It’s a gut feeling. My fluttering heart, my mind whispering that he’s the real deal. But I’m gun-shy. I can’t help it.

I’ve spent my adult life helping women like Laken when they’ve been sent to me. I hear the stories they tell. The way men can turn on a dime. If I’m completely honest with myself, Hale Decker is the only man I’ve ever trusted. I knew him long before I met Laken, so when he started showing an interest in her, I wasn’t surprised in the least. He’s a protector through and through.

Torque is also quickly falling into that category, but he’s becoming so much more. Sleeping with him at night, even if all we do is cuddle, kiss, and sleep, I trust him in a way I’ve never given to anyone else in my life.

I want this thing with us to last forever. I want us to be what Laken and Hale are. I’m just not sure how to get there. How to get my bruised and battered heart to fight to get there.

“Ophelia?” My heartbeat stammers in my sternum when I hear Torque’s voice.

Rushing out of my room, I find him at the bottom of the stairs as I reach the top. “I thought I was meeting you at your house?” Never mind how he got into mine. “How did you get in?”

“My bad!” Laken’s voice chimes in before the front door closes. I never should have given her that damn key.

“You didn’t answer the door when I knocked or the phone when I called. It was a last resort.” He shrugs, not at all repentant.

“I’ll be down in a second.” I need a moment. All the teeter-totter thoughts in my head vanish upon seeing him and his eagerness to be with me.

“Calm down, Ophelia,” I mutter to myself as I finish tossing my things into the bag on my bed. “He’s not about to jump your bones right here.”

It’s the third date thing. I’ve been watching too much T.V., and those people have me believing sex happens then. I’m not ready for my hang-ups to be laid bare.

Am I?

No. I’m definitely not.

Am I?

Crap.

“You stalling, Philly?” I both hate and love that name. Kids used it to tease me when I was younger, but the way Torque says it, with so much tenderness that my knees grow weak, I love it.

“Coming!” I call, and I swear I hear him mutter not yet, you aren’t, and it makes me pause to take a cleansing inhale.

I feel breathless as I reach the stairs again, biting my lip as I slowly descend. His eyes eat me up before he reaches out for the bag I’m holding against my chest like a shield. Handing it over, he uses it to tug me the rest of the way down and straight into his arms.

“I missed you,” Torque mumbles against my lips as he steals the air from my lungs, the sanity from my thoughts.

With my legs wrapped around his waist, both of his hands are on my ass, holding me tight to him as he devours my mouth. Plundering for a lost treasure that I desperately want him to find. I feel the answering heat pulsing between my legs as he squeezes my ass cheeks, grinding me against his rigid length.