Chapter 145

Dave ran along the shoreline, oblivious to the protestation of overused muscles. He was determined to beat this obsession with kissing Lea. He was the one who had made the rules—why was he finding it so damn hard to stick to them? Her mouth was a drug he had suddenly developed a hunger for, and it was taking every bit of willpower he possessed to resist. What was it about her that made him so tempted to step over every boundary he had laid down?

But then a thought strayed into his mind: maybe he shouldn’t resist. Maybe he could tweak the rules and see what happened. The thought sat down like an uninvited guest, put its feet up, and got comfortable, but Dave frogmarched it out of his head. He knew what would happen, and he had to avoid it at all costs. He increased his pace along the sand, ignoring the burning sensations in his legs. Ignoring the heaving of his chest as he dragged in each gulping breath.

He hadn’t forgiven himself for his last relationship disaster.

He couldn’t—wouldn’