14

Stefan

Veronica looked so completely confused sitting there, it was charming. Almost endearing, even.

"Up. I'm taking you to bed." I hauled her to her feet. It was the first time I'd really held her, and she felt smaller, lighter than I expected. More fragile.

"That's what you'd like, isn't it?"

She tried to stand on her own and stumbled, her little hand shooting out to grab hold of me to steady herself. The moment we made contact, we both stopped. I looked down at her hand, pale and delicate against my chest. I'd been working outside since late spring, so my skin had been tanned a rich golden brown, making her soft white a beautiful contrast.

I thought she'd pull away, and maybe if she hadn't drunk that whiskey, she would have. Hell, she'd be smart to. I'd been messing with her up until now, but something about her innocent, maybe naive directness, intrigued me. And when she let her hand move over my chest, softly feeling the touch of my skin, sliding it over to my shoulder, then bic