Read And To Cherish for Free Online Page A

vibes, but bottom line, you’re not interested. That’s means I should just cut my losses and leave. Got it.”
    “You’re...leaving?”
    “Unless you have a better idea.”
    “Take me with you.”
    “
What?
”
    “Take me with you,” she repeated.
    Sam’s mouth dropped open. He’d been wrong. The earlier feeling hadn’t been elation. Or, if it was, it had been low volume. Her words nearly sent him airborne. Something about his expression must not be reflecting it, however. Her brows lowered. She glanced away for a moment before looking back. There was the slightest gloss atop her eyes, too.
    “Is that...wrong?” she asked.
    “Oh. Heck no. Just...unexpected. And wow. It’s wow. You want to come with me?”
    “Yes.”
    “Right now? To my home?
    “Yes.”
    “Okay, then. Let me just get you seatbelted in, and...”
    Sam had toyed with putting an arm about her shoulders, but something stopped him. He raced instead to the passenger door, and found it locked.
    Shit.
    “Give me a sec. I’ll have this unlocked.”
    He raced around the back. His door was still gaping wide open. So much for heating the interior while they’d conversed.
Man.
He was exhibiting even clumsier moves than normal. It couldn’t be helped. He’d found the woman of his dreams. She wanted to be alone with him. At his apartment!
Holy shit again
. This was incredible.
    He wasn’t exactly virginal, although he might as well be. There’d been some fumbling hook-ups in his senior year of high school. Prom night. Homecoming. He’d even had a girlfriend in college. They’d been together for a full semester. He’d almost asked her to move in. He’d thought they were in love...until he figured out she was ashamed to be seen with him in public. Hard to get past that in a relationship.
    So, he wasn’t that experienced. He didn’t think it mattered. Cherish was a one-woman testosterone feast. He didn’t need experience to sense how different she was. Every cell on his body was informing him.
    His mind raced ahead, mentally checking details. He wasn’t a slob, but he hadn’t prepared for company. His living room area was usually clutter-free. It might be dusty, though. He could keep the lights dim. Put on some slow music. Maybe join her in a glass of wine. He had a full wine rack near the sofa. Had he left a sink full of dirty dishes? No. He’d started the dishwasher before leaving. The laundry room? Had he shut the door to the laundry room? He only washed on the weekends. By Friday, the area was pretty much a disaster. He may have shut the door. If not, he could always slip it closed before he escorted her down the hall...
    To his bedroom.
    Sam gulped again. The bowtie tightened.
Geez.
This was unbelievable.
Details, Sam.
Back to details.
    The bedroom. Crap. What about his bed? He hadn’t made it this morning. And he’d dumped a drawer-full of socks out onto it to find a pair that matched this suit. Had he put them back?
Damn!
He couldn’t remember. But wait. He did have brand-new sheets. Satin. In a zebra-striped pattern. They’d looked really sweet against his black wooden bed frame. Hadn’t he put them on...was it yesterday? Yeah. That was right. Just yesterday. They were probably still creased from the packaging. Okay. His bedroom was in a bachelor’s pad. Not pristine, but it would do. Now. For the major question...did he have condoms? He’d made a mental note to stop by a drugstore and actually get some. He hadn’t quite made it that far. Then again, maybe he was over-thinking this. Maybe Miss Cherish supplied her own. This was her idea, after all.
    He lurched into the cab for the key-bob and opened all the other doors with a double-click. That done, he returned to the front bumper area. She hadn’t moved. She was still watching him with those fathomless dark eyes.
    “Um. You ready to go, then?” he asked.
    She nodded.
    Sam held out his hand, palm up. She glanced from it back to him. The buzzing in his ears