I looked away and took a sip of beer.

“Millie,” he called.

I kept my gaze to the yard and replied with a, “Hmm?”

“Safe with me.”

My attention cut back to him.

“Never won’t be, babe,” he went on softly. “Not ever. Yeah?”

Again, it was like he read my thoughts.

And he knew. He knew he was exactly what he was: that guy parents would freak if their daughter ever said yes to a date with him.

But I knew something else, looking at him.

My parents were wrong.

“Yeah?” he pushed when I just stared at him, not feeling tingly.

Feeling warm.

“Yeah,” I answered.

He pressed his knee into mine again and looked to the yard.

“So, you wanna go to Paris,” he noted. “What else you wanna do?”

I looked to the yard too and told him.

We stayed out there, sitting on the steps of the deck, our knees brushing, for what felt like minutes and yet at the same time seemed like hours, talking about nothing that felt like everything. The guy he came to the party with stuck his head out the back door and called, “Low, ridin’ out.”

To that, he told me he had to go and we both got up.

He didn’t kiss me.

He walked me into the house straight through to the front door.

There, he ordered somewhat severely, “Your girl is totally shitfaced, so you go nowhere with her and you let her go nowhere. Hear?”

I nodded. “Staying here, Logan,” I reminded him.

He nodded.

Then he lifted a finger as his eyes dipped to my mouth and he touched my mole.

More thigh tingles.

He looked back at me. “Tomorrow, babe. Call you.”

“Okay, Logan.”

He grinned and walked away.

I watched him, feeling a crazy-giddy that had nothing to do with beer, strangely not disappointed he didn’t kiss me.

He’d touched me in a way that felt way sweeter than a kiss.

And the next day, he called me.

Also by Kristen Ashley

The Chaos Series

Own the Wind

Fire Inside

The Colorado Mountain Series

The Gamble

Sweet Dreams

Lady Luck

Breathe

Jagged

Kaleidoscope

The Dream Man Series

Mystery Man

Wild Man

Law Man

Motorcycle Man

Acclaim for Kristen Ashley and Her Novels

“A unique, not-to-be-missed voice in romance. Kristen Ashley is a star in the making!”

—Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author

“I adore Kristen Ashley’s books. She writes engaging, romantic stories with intriguing, colorful, and larger-than-life characters. Her stories grab you by the throat from page one and don’t let go until well after the last page. They continue to dwell in your mind days after you finish the story and you’ll find yourself anxiously awaiting the next. Ashley is an addicting read no matter which of her stories you find yourself picking up.”

—Maya Banks, New York Times bestselling author

“There is something about [Ashley’s books] that I find crackalicious.”