“Mmmm, you taste incredible,” he says. “I’ve been waiting for you all week.”

“Same here.” I knit my fingers in his hair. He reminds me of the beach in the middle of the summer, the way is hair is streaked with gold. Bright blue eyes catch mine and he flashes me a sexy grin.

“How much luggage do you have?”

“Just one bag is all and some hanging stuff.”

“I’ll carry you and the bag and you get the hanging stuff.”

“Deal,” I say.

He opens the back door and leans in to grab the hanging clothes. Then he hands them to me as he walks to the trunk. I pop the lid and he reaches for the bag back there.

“What’cha got in here? It weighs a ton!”

I laugh. “Everything but the kitchen sink. But my backpack with my books and computer is in there.”

“Damn. I was wondering.” He kicks his cracked door wide open and we enter his apartment. It’s nice and tidy, and decorated in manly brown tones. We walk straight to his bedroom, where he deposits my bag on the bed and hangs my clothes in his closet. Then he carries me back to the kitchen and asks if I’d like a glass of wine. “I thought we’d eat here tonight, if that’s okay.”

“That’s perfect. Are you going to cook?”

“Me?” His face is a mixture of mock horror and distaste. I can’t help but laugh. He sets me on the counter, spreads my legs, and wedges his large body in between them.

“Who else is in this room?” I look around, messing with him. “Do you have a secret chef hidden in one of your cabinets?”

“No, but I do have a secret chef. He works at the local pizza parlor.” His tongue pokes the inside of his cheek as he tries not to laugh.

“Hmmm. Pizza. I see you’re trying really hard to impress me. It is one of my favorites.”

He drops his head so his mouth is right next to my ear. Warm air blows across my neck, causing me to break out in goosebumps. “Huh uh. Not quite yet. That trying really hard is going to come after we eat.”

My mouth forms a perfect O as heat rises from my chest to the top of my head. I’m sure my face is as red as the apple I spy on his counter.

His lips barely touch me, but they feel like they burn right through me. Following a path around to the hollow at the base of my throat, he dusts me with kisses until he arrives at my bra. I’m wearing a V-neck sweater. With his head down, he lifts his eyes, asking permission. With one nod from me, he continues as he slips one finger between the fabric of my bra and my breast. My nipple reacts like it’s never been touched before. It springs to life, hardening into a spiky peak. I want his mouth there, sucking me. Should I tell him? I don’t want to sound like some shameless slut. But maybe he wants me to sound like that.

“Drew?”

“Yeah.”

“Would it sound terrible if I told you I wanted your mouth on me instead of your hand?”

Blue irises lock with mine. His pupils dilate telling me I’ve hit a mark. He wants me as much as I want him.

“No. It wouldn’t. Cate, I want to undress you and put my mouth on you everywhere. But maybe we should eat first. If we don’t, we probably won’t eat at all. You are all I’ve thought about all week.”

“O-okay.” He’s right. “Pizza then?”

“Actually, I was kidding about that. I’m going to cook for you.” He gives me a kiss before releasing me. Then he walks over to the refrigerator and starts pulling things out. Chicken, a variety of vegetables, some sauces in bottles. He glances at me. “Can you guess?”

“Stir fry?”

“Nice!”

In no time, the meal is ready.

“Cate, there’s a bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge. Will you grab it along with two wine glasses out of the cabinet next to the sink?”

I find said glasses and the bottle of wine and carry them to the table. Drew plates up the food and we sit down to eat. He watches me take my first bite.

“This is delicious.”

“You like it?”

“Yes, it’s really good.” Surprisingly so. I expected it to be average, but this is extremely tasty. And I tell him so. “You’re really good in the kitchen.”

“Wait until you see me in the bedroom.”

I nearly spit out the bite of food I just took. He slaps his knee because he thinks he’s hilarious.

I raise my brows. “I had this impression that you were above the twelve year old mentality, unlike most men.”

“Oh, Cate. How could you have been so wrong about me?” And he gets this puppy dog look on his face and I immediately die laughing.

“So then, a man of many talents.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to find out for yourself.” Now he’s not kidding. His tone has deepened, become almost hoarse. He leans in and says, “I have thought of almost nothing else other than being with you. In every sense of the word. But say one word, Cate. One word, and we don’t have to do anything, but sit and talk. This is entirely your call.”

I set my knife and fork down and look at him. His eyes are as clear as the sky on a spring day. They bear no humor; only honesty and caring, truth and sincerity. Reaching for his hand, I take it in mine and look at it for a long moment. Long, perfectly formed fingers attach to a strong, firm hand. Not calloused, yet not soft either. I bring it to my lips, pressing a kiss on his knuckles.

“I know you would never do anything to me I didn’t want. But I’d be fooling myself, and you, if I told you I had no interest in being with you. I’ve pretty much thought of nothing else all week, too. It made studying for my exam and quizzes damned hard. And I almost wanted to write erotic journalistic articles because of you. You have occupied my waking and sleeping thoughts for a week now, so I can’t wait to be with you, too, Drew. In every way.”

He turns his hand around to hold mine. “Well, then, are you finished eating? Because after that, I’m finding all I want to do is to see you naked.”

I push back my chair and stand. He does, too. He tries to stop me from picking up my plate. “Leave it.”

“No. This will be gross if we do.”

We hurry and clean up. While we do, he touches me, my arm, my cheek, nothing overtly sexual, but it’s all so completely intimate that when we’re done, he turns to me and our mouths collide in a crushing kiss. It’s a combination of sweet and hot at the same time. Then I’m moving backward as he walks us to the bedroom.

My bag still sits on his bed and he asks me if I need to use the bathroom. I would love to brush my teeth so I say yes. I root around in my bag to find what I need, but when I get behind the closed door, my nerves barge in. My hands shake as I load my toothbrush with toothpaste. What if he doesn’t like me? What if I’m not up to his standards? What if I’m so inexperienced I’m a gigantic disappointment? Oh, god, where is Jenna when I need her? I need a serious pep talk right now.

“Cate, is everything okay?”

Shit! “Yeah. Be out in a second.” My plans for the sexy nightie are trashed. I can’t delay this any longer, so I open the door. There he stands, the corners of his eyes drooping with concern.

When I was a kid, I used to love it in the summers in Charleston after a huge rainstorm. When the tide is unusually high, there is shallow coastal flooding and when storms dumped a couple of inches rain, small swimming pools would be everywhere. I feel like my bones have melted into one of those pools.

“Cate.” He calls out again. My name rolls off his tongue and sounds husky. “Are you sure?”

I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans. “About us? This? Yes. I’ve never been more sure of anything. I’m just a little nervous, if you want the truth. And it’s me I’m unsure of, not being with you.”

He reaches out, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t be. I fall asleep thinking of you and wake up doing the same. You have nothing to fear, I promise.”

Glancing down at the floor, I stare at his bare feet. He must’ve taken his shoes off while I was in the bathroom. I shake my hands because for whatever reason, they tingle. “Drew, don’t say that. Remember dickwad?” I cross, uncross, then cross my arms again.