My Unexpected Forever by Heidi McLaughlin Page A

“No way.”
    “It’s a kid ride with dancing ghosts. The most harmless ride out there.”
    “There’s no one to watch the kids,” I reply, letting go of his hand. I place my hands on my hips for good measure to show him I mean business. This is my mom stance, which makes him laugh. I roll my eyes and throw my hands up in the air.
    “Liam and Josie are right there, plus the bodyguards are here. Let me take you on this ride.” Harrison sticks out his bottom lip and bats his eyes. I thought only women and a set of twins did this. The kids are jumping up and down clapping their hands begging me to go.
    “It’s not scary?”
    “Not at all. Quinn rode it when he was four.”
    “Dad’s right. It’s a dumb ride, to be honest.”
    “Fine.” I relent and follow Harrison in line. Thankfully, it’s short and we don’t have to wait too long. Once we are in the seat and buckled in, I regret it immediately. I hate ghost and horror stories.
    “I can’t do this.” My hands start to push on the bar holding me in.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “This, I can’t ride.” Our car starts to jerk forward, leaving me with no way out. We enter a dark tunnel and something brushes against me. I scream and clutch onto Harrison’s arms, my fingers digging into his flesh. We round a corner and pause to watch ghost perform a dance for us.
    “Want me to distract you?”
    “How on earth are you going to do that?”
    Harrison shrugs and turns his baseball cap around. His lips are on mine before I can take my next breath. As the car moves, jerking us back and forth, his tongue glides against mine in a relaxed state. My hand cups his cheek and my fingers play along his jaw, rubbing the scruff that has grown since his last shave.
    His arm wraps around me, protecting me from whatever lurks in the dark. He pulls away slightly, only to bite my lower lip before going back to my mouth. My lips tingle with desire, yearning for more even though this shouldn’t be happening. My body curves to into his like it’s meant to be there. I should be scared, but I’m lost in the way his mouth moves against mine, bringing out new sensations that I didn’t know existed. My body sighs, urging him on. I shift so I’m closer, leaving no gap between us. People scream around us and that only spurs him deeper into this kiss. It’s not urgent, but soft and tantalizing. I could spend days like this and not need to breathe or even move from this position.
    Harrison kisses down my jaw. I let out a little squeak showing him my displeasure of him leaving my now swollen lips. I know I’ll have red lips from razor burn, but at the moment I’m going to welcome them. He pulls at my top lip, whispering my name as he does. His lust filled voice makes my toes curl and I want to demand more. I want to stand-up and tell him I need more, but I’m too lost in my own head to let that happen. He’s distracting me like he said he would.
    I almost cry out when he pulls away. He sits forward and pulls my hand into his. He links his fingers with mine and sets our hands down between us on the bench. No one can see the connection we are sharing at this moment. I can’t see it either, but I can feel it. Our bodies are in tune with one another. Mine wants his to touch me, to feel him pressed up against me in the most intimate way. My skin, it feels scorched from his touch. How can a simple kiss make me feel like this? When the ride stops, he gives my fingers a squeeze before helping me out of the car.
    My steps are shaky. He puts his arm around my waist, steadying me. His lips brush against my ear. I feel like my skin is about to catch fire. “I hope you enjoyed the ride.” He steps away and waits for me to lead the way out.
    “How was it?” Both girls ask at the same time.
    “It was great,” I say and that’s not a lie. What I felt in there, what I’ve been feeling since earlier this morning… no man should be able to elicit those types of feelings from me.