They were softer than she had expected them to be, and she couldn’t help but whimper a little, sheerly from the things his lips were setting off inside her body. It was like she was waking up from a lifetime of black and white, finally seeing color all around her. Never in her life had she experienced anything like this, and never did she ever want this feeling to stop.
His kiss had turned more urgent, deeper almost, than what it had started out to be. Still, though, Lizzie didn’t find herself afraid. Instead, she felt her body giving in to the kiss, letting Payton take from her, and do to her anything his heart desired. Stopping him would have been like taking all the breath from her body. He softly nipped her lips with his teeth, and she absently opened her mouth to object when she felt his whole mouth take over the process of kissing her. Suddenly it was no longer just lips connecting with lips. Now it was lips, teeth, and tongue, all mingling with hers, making her desperate, driving her crazy.
She had never, ever been kissed this way before, never thought that she would want to be, and still she felt like a kiss any other way, with any other man would just be wrong. Wrong. Her whole body was in flames, and instead of lying back, waiting for Payton to continue kissing her, she felt her body, as if in a dream, take over the active role of kissing. Suddenly she was kissing him, teeth, and tongue, and lips. She was going crazy with desire, and it wasn’t until she heard him groan that she pulled away, eyes wide in shock.
“Are you okay?” She watched him, afraid that she had done something wrong, still dazed from the intense intoxication she had felt from the kiss. Payton sat up and scrubbed his hands through his hair, then turned back to her and smiled.
“I’m more than okay, Lizzie. Aren’t you?” She smiled then, a small, unsure giggle bubbling up in her throat.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that I’m more than okay, too.”
Payton lay back down where he had been and pulled her up next to him, cradling her in his arms. She could feel his heart beating wildly against his chest, and even though she tried, she couldn’t conceal the grin that radiated up from the center of her being.
Payton had kissed her. She wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs. Run wildly through the party telling everyone she passed. It was the most amazing thing she had ever, ever, felt in her life.
He was looking up into the night sky, and she thought that maybe he’d fallen asleep when he asked her, “What do you want to do with your life?”
No one had ever asked her that before, certainly no one her age, so she thought about it for a minute. “Well, I’m pretty good at science and I like watching all those medical shows on TV. Maybe I’ll be a doctor.” She paused, a little thrill going down her spine. She was having such an adult conversation, and she couldn’t believe it was with Payton. “What about you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. All I ever think about is football. Hopefully I’ll go pro, but if that doesn’t work out…” he trailed off.
“You could coach. You know, at some college or something.”
“Yeah, but…I don’t know. I’ve always pictured myself here in Edenville. I like it here.”
She smiled. “Me, too. At first this was the worst place I could ever imagine living and raising a family, but I could picture it now.”
“But you couldn’t be a doctor in Edenville. The closest clinic is in Clarkston.”
She thought about that for a while as she studied the sky and listened to his heart beat strong and steady beneath her ear. “Well, if I opened my own place here in Edenville, I bet people would use it.” Inside her she could feel the excitement start to build as this new idea began to swirl into formation. She sat up, her eyes bright with excitement and crossed her legs, Indian style, facing him. “That would be really neat. Like a family practice. Everybody in Edenville and the farmers that live beyond the city lines could come in and use it.”
Thoughts were clicking in her head, and she smiled at the image in her mind. Payton reached out and touched her, bringing her suddenly back to reality. “Oh, sorry.” She giggled. “I’m getting carried away.”
His smile was bright in the moonlight and she felt goose bumps prickle down her arms. “No, it’s alright. I’ve never seen you get so excited about something in your life.” He leaned in and gently brushed her lips with his thumb. He paused, his face turning somber. “Can I tell you something?”
“Sure.”
“The girls I’m used to being with… they always want to talk about me. They don’t ever tell me what it is that they like.”
Lizzie’s face registered shock. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so carried away about myself, I just-” She paused when she heard him stifle a laugh. “What?”
“No, I’m not upset about it. I’m glad. I can’t tell you how nice it is to hear about something other than football for a change.” He looked thoughtful. “Now, don’t go getting me wrong, football is the single most important subject on the face of the Earth,” he smiled, “but I like to be well-rounded in my conversations.”
Lizzie laughed. “Oh, right, of course.” She caught her breath when she saw him move toward her again. The intensity in his eyes took her breath away, and she sighed when his lips touched hers again. She couldn’t remember ever wanting to do this with another person so badly, but with him, she couldn’t think of another thing she’d rather be doing.
When Payton sat up a few minutes later and helped her out of the bed of the truck, Lizzie was surprised that it was already time for her to be home. They had just enough time to make their way back to the party and bid their goodbyes before her curfew.
As he walked her to her front door, he took her hand in his and squeezed it tight. She looked over at him and found him watching her with those big green eyes of his.
“I didn’t scare you tonight, did I, Liz?” His look was so sincere, she felt almost like laughing, but she realized just how serious he was.
“No, Payton. You didn’t scare me. I told you earlier I’ve always trusted you, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” He stopped at the front door, and waited for her to lock the door behind her on her way in. He almost said something else but caught himself before he did. Instead, he held up a hand and waved goodnight before he turned and walked back to his truck in the dark.
Chapter Twenty
The school year had ended almost a month ago and Lizzie could hardly believe it was already time to think about her senior year of high school and then college. She still had one more year to go at Dixie, though, and she planned to make the most of it.
Currently, she sat in her simply cut yellow bikini on top of an old towel on the cool grass surrounding the pond, and dipped her toes into the warm water as she skimmed a few more pages from a college brochure that had come in the mail earlier that day. She wasn’t positive that the University of Georgia was where she wanted to go, but almost all her friends had already decided that was their top choice, so maybe it should be hers too.
“The University of Georgia, huh?” A deep voice sounded over her shoulder, reading the top of the pamphlet. She turned and smiled as Payton sauntered up and sat next to her on the towel. “Going to be like the rest of us and head to Dawg country?”
“Maybe. What’s it to you?” She smiled at the spark that it set in his eye.
“I’ll tell you what it is to me.” And with that he up-ended her over his shoulder so he could carry her to the edge of the water and unceremoniously drop her into the pond.
Lizzie came up sputtering, her hair a wet mop stuck to her head, her eyes lit with fire. “Hey! Pick on someone your own size. Or at least get in here with me so I can properly attempt to drown you.” Payton laughed as he slid his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the towel.
Lizzie couldn’t help but sigh at the gorgeous sight his body displayed. All those tanned muscles, and hard ridges that begged for her to touch and taste. She hadn’t yet grown brave enough to try and kiss any part of him other than his lips, but seeing him now wi
thout his shirt, and in those red swim trunks that made his body even more gorgeous, she was having a hard time resisting the thought of what she’d like to do to him.
“Hey, New Girl. See something you like?” She tore her eyes away from his chest and up to his eyes to find him smiling ear to ear, a big smug smile of male sureness spread across his face.
“In your dreams, chump.” She took off swimming to the other side of the pond, but was beaten there by two powerful arms and swift kicking legs. She touched the other bank only to find Payton there, leaning against the bank, his hair all wet and tousled like he was her reward waiting for her to take.
“How do you know what I dream about?” She could see the twinkle of mischief in his eyes, and refused to take the bait. “Must be that you spend so much time there, you know exactly what I think about too.”
“What are you saying Payton? That I’m the woman of your dreams?” She was merely egging him on, so she didn’t expect his honest response, or the swift hand that reached out and took hold of her own before she turned away from him.
“Yeah, Lizzie. That’s what I’m saying.” She noticed that all his smugness was gone now, leaving only a trace of insecurity edging his face. It was the first time she’d ever seen Payton Cartwright insecure, and she wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or afraid of the sight.
“Lizzie…” He paused to make sure he had her attention. “Will you let me touch you?” She wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but by the way he watched her and the darkness those depthless green eyes were, she presumed it meant more than just the way he was touching her hand right then. Slowly, she nodded her assent and felt the water sway around her as he moved closer to her.
He was close enough now that she could feel his breath on her wet skin, and it gave her chill bumps remembering how good the handful of other times he had been this close to her had felt. His hands were warm and sure as he skimmed them up her arms and through her long, wet hair. He bent his head to kiss her, and when he did, she felt her body flood with warmth so bright and good she was sure she was in heaven. She lost herself in his caress of her lips, and found new sensations washing over her as he moved his hands from her face down and across the hard, pointed tips of her nipples. Little brilliant explosions went off in her body, and she was swamped with even greater warmth than she felt when he kissed her lips.
Now his hands were gently massaging the small of her back, his strong, athletic fingers were like magic wherever they touched. He pulled back from his kiss to watch her for a moment, but Lizzie didn’t notice. Her eyes were closed, her body relaxed, and fully compliant to anything he had in store for her just then.
“God,” He whispered, almost reverently. “You’re so beautiful like that.” Lizzie opened her eyes, still dazed from the kiss, and smiled a lazy smile at him.
“Like what?”
“Like this. Your body all relaxed in my arms, your green eyes looking at me like I’m the greatest person on earth.” He paused to stroke his strong hand across the rapid pulse in her throat. “I swear, when you look at me like that, I could conquer whole football teams by myself alone- that’s how you make me feel.”
Lizzie smiled. It was the sweetest thing she’d ever heard him say. Heck, it was the sweetest thing she’d ever heard anyone say, and it made her want to melt into a pile of mush on the pond floor.
Three nights later she lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, listening to the crickets serenade her through her bedroom window. She was trying to sleep, and had been for a solid hour, but she just kept thinking about what Payton had said at the pond, and it was driving her crazy with desire.
Lizzie rolled in her bed, trying to find another cool spot on her mattress, and a more conducive position for sleep. Thank the Lord it was summer and they didn’t have school the next day, she thought as she peeked at the glowing red numbers from her alarm clock.
She plopped her head back down on the pillow and let out a deep sigh, rolling again, and flopped her arm over her eyes in exaggerated desperation. It was then that she heard the soft tink-tink of something hitting her bedroom window. She lay still in her bed, listening for the sound again. A moment later she heard it again, this time a little harder, but still pretty soft. It sounded almost like a little pebble hitting the glass.
She crept to the window and looked out into the night, half relieved she didn’t find some crazy night bug or bat beating itself silly against the window pane. When she looked down, her heart skipped a beat, because there below her stood Payton, smiling up at her like Prince Charming. She held up a finger, telling him to wait, while she quickly threw on a pair of blue jeans and an old t-shirt over her bra.
She crept down the stairs, wincing when one of the stairs creaked, and waited a long, breathless minute to make sure she hadn’t woken her parents. Fortunately she hadn’t.
“What are you doing here,” She asked breathlessly, when she finally managed to unlock the porch door and slide out into the cool night air.
“I came to kidnap you,” He replied, smiling down at her just before he bent down and quickly brushed her lips with his. She felt her heart flutter and her body’s instinctive reaction.
“Kidnap me? You can’t kidnap me. It’s the middle of the night!”
“That’s the point. Kidnappings during the day aren’t nearly as adventurous.”
He had a point there.
“You also don’t see many willing abductees who just saunter out their back door and agree to go with their kidnapper either.” She crossed her arms and gave him her victory smirk, but he quickly managed to wipe that off her face.
He winked at her, and brushed another kiss across her lips, then smiled deep into her eyes. “I didn’t want to have to do this, Liz, but I’ll gladly hog tie you if I have to.” He watched her jaw drop as he pulled a ball of rope from his back pocket, and reached out to grab her wrists to tie them together.
“No, no!” She whispered quickly, as she took a step back. “I believe you… I guess I don’t have a choice then?” Payton smiled. He knew he had won.
“Guess not. Follow me.”
They walked in silence until she could tell they weren’t in hearing distance from the house. “Where are you taking me?” She demanded to know.
“Nope, sorry. Kidnappers don’t reveal their hideouts. You’ll have to wait and see.”
“That’s not fair,” she said in a pout.
He smiled at her over his shoulder, pausing so she could catch up to him. “Didn’t your daddy ever teach you that life’s not fair?” Lizzie tried to give him the best narrow slitted glare she could muster, but inside she was too excited and anxious about where they were going to really give it a good go.
The night air was warmer than she had expected it to be, but what had she really thought it would feel like in the middle of a heat wave, in the South, in mid-July? She thought she recognized the back entrance to Granny’s pond, and paused when they got closer to the gate.
“Are you taking me down to Granny’s pond?”
He reached out for her hand and took hold of it. “Is there a problem with that?”
“No, not really. Only…”
“Only what?”
“Only, I’ve never been down there at night. It’s going to be really scary, isn’t it?” She saw the gleam in Payton’s eye, and the smile that turned up the edges of his lips. He bent and brushed a kiss along her lips then smiled into her eyes so big and broad that she forgot anything about scary things that go bump at the pond.
“I promise, if I have anything to say about it, your first night visit to the pond will be anything but scary. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Okay then, let’s go.” He started off again, pulling her along with him. She liked the way her hand felt in his, and the way he led them forward, so secure in himself, in his body like he always was. It crossed Lizzie’s mind to wonder if he was ever uncomfortable or scared, but she sincerely doubted that God had installed those two parti
cular features inside this solid form of a man.
He bent down and grabbed something from behind a bush as they came into view of the pond. Lizzie wondered what it was but soon felt him drop her hand, and watched him spread what was obviously a blanket out onto the ground for them to sit on.
“Sit with me.”
“What are we doing out here, Payton?”
She shivered when he shifted closer and looked down at her, his eyes intent on her. “Don’t you know?”
He chuckled softly when her eyes rounded in shock. “We’re going to watch shooting stars, Liz. There’s a meteor shower occurring over the next few days, and this time of night is supposed to be the best time to see them. Why, did you have something else in mind?”
She blushed when he called her on her obvious train of thought, thankful that it was mostly hidden by the darkness around them.
Payton pulled her down onto the blanket and tucked her into the crook of his arm. Every once in a while he’d point to a star when it shot across the sky, and once she closed her eyes and made a wish.
They talked for awhile about nothing that really mattered before he turned to her and asked, “Do you believe in soul mates, Liz?” She’d shifted her attention from the stars to study him, her eyes wide and rounded with surprise. “I do,” he answered to the silent question in her eyes, and pulled her slender body closer to his own.
“You do?” She watched as he nodded. “I guess… well, yes, I suppose it’s possible. Why?”
“Just wondering.” He pushed himself up then with a huff, leaving her lying there on the blanket, and propped his arms on the knees of his bent legs. Lizzie lay on the blanket and folded her hands behind her head. The shocky feeling in her body was still pulsing through her, and she felt like she had suddenly lost about half of her hearing. Had Payton just told her that he believed they were soul mates? It couldn’t be possible. Payton was a hero, an idol, an untouchable, and she was… well, she was just someone who was lucky enough to have been chosen to keep him company for a while.
The Heart Will Lead You Home Page 19