Sawyer (Alluring Indulgence #7)(48)
Author: Nicole Edwards

“Unless, of course, you want me to,” Sawyer tacked on.

Kennedy frowned. “Fine.” Although she heard the word, knew it came out of her mouth, she still couldn’t believe it.

“You want me to jump you?” Sawyer questioned, his eyebrows lifting flirtatiously.

“No!” she exclaimed. “I meant fine, I’ll go to the resort with you.” And again, she couldn’t believe she’d agreed.

Apparently neither could Sawyer, because he simply stared at her. Right before that stupid sexy grin formed on his lips and her insides turned to mush.

chapter TWELVE

Sawyer wasn’t quite sure just what he’d done to warrant Kennedy taking him up on his dare, but he wasn’t going to argue. Maybe he’d been good in a former life or something, because he knew he sure hadn’t been good in this one.

Well, at least not all the time.

For the most part, Sawyer tried to walk the straight and narrow, but sometimes he tended to deviate from the path. Hence, his reputation for standing on the street, bare-chested, holding a sign. In his defense, the town had grown accustomed to him doing that. Most of the time, he did it just to see if he could get a rise out of someone. The fact that the ladies pulled over to chat him up was just a bonus.

Not that he had any intention of standing on the side of the road today or any day in the near future. No, his focus was solely on what the hell was going to happen tonight.

He still couldn’t believe Kennedy had agreed to go to AI with him. She was giving him a second chance. And that in itself was hard for him to comprehend. He didn’t believe in second chances.

Well, technically he did. But only because of recent events. For instance, the fact that Travis and Kylie managed to reconcile after a decade of being apart. And then there was Ethan, who’d been through hell but still managed to open himself up enough to love someone again, and let them love him.

So, maybe he did believe. Just a little.

Then again, she could very well stand him up.

He’d find out whether that was the case in about two minutes when he made it to her front door. He had just pulled into her driveway, right behind the practical little black Camry she drove, and was trying to get up the nerve to get out of his car.

Truth was, it had been a long damn time since he’d been on an official date. A long damn time. Generally, his late-night rendezvous were merely hookups, most of them occurring when he would go to the club. He would meet some chick, sometimes with Greyson along, sometimes without, but never did he go out with the intention of not getting laid. However, those interactions had ceased long ago as well.

Tonight was different.

As much as he wished he could take Kennedy to bed, he wasn’t banking on that happening.

As much as he’d like to consider tonight a date, he wasn’t sure Kennedy and he were on the same page. Nor did he think her definition of a date was the same as his. Meaning he didn’t think sex factored into the evening when Kennedy thought about what their nightly activities might entail.

Kennedy wasn’t that kind of girl.

Or at least she didn’t want to be. He got the sense that beneath that cool, professional exterior was a wildcat just waiting to be let loose. As long as he was the only one she was letting loose with, he was more than willing to help her lose some of those inhibitions that kept her so uptight.

He looked forward to it actually.

Rapping his knuckles on the door and then poking the doorbell with his finger, Sawyer wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. Boy, his brothers would have a field day if they knew he was sweating because of a girl.

The door opened after a long minute and there before him stood the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. He had to smile when he took in her outfit. She was wearing skinny jeans tucked into black suede boots and an oversized white sweater that accented her rich red hair and made her look good enough to eat.

Yeah, it was safe to say she probably wasn’t planning to get naked tonight.

He liked the outfit anyway.

“You look nice,” he told her.

Kennedy flashed him a grin before glancing down at herself. “Thanks.”

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she replied, looking behind her then stepping out onto the porch and closing the door before locking it.

Sawyer didn’t take her hand, but he stayed beside her as they walked to his car. He opened the passenger door, took a step back, and waited for her to get in. Once inside, he shut it and then circled behind the car to the driver’s side, once again wiping his palms on his jeans.

Holy fuck. What was he? Fifteen?

Climbing into the car, Sawyer didn’t waste time before he started the engine, listened to it purr. The smell of Kennedy’s sweet perfume drifted toward him and he inhaled deeper, hoping like hell she didn’t noticed. He liked the sweet, subtle scent. It didn’t overpower him or smack him upside the head as though to say, “I’m here. Smell me.”