Page 20 of Crazy Little Thing Called Love

“Yes, we do! We’re doing it now. A marriage, even a pretend one, won’t work if the couple is bickering all the time. You and I get under each other’s skin.”

He stared, pale eyes gazing at her with a startling intensity she’d never seen from him before. “Hmm.”

He stepped closer, and she pressed back against the wall. His chest brushed hers.

Her nipples, still hard from her earlier fantasy, rubbed against him. She bit her lip to hold in a moan. Holy crap, that felt good.

His head bent down, gaze focusing on her mouth, hunger blazing in their crystal-clear depths. “Do you ever think we fight so much to avoid this?”

“Avoid what?” The words were barely a squeak. She had no air in her lungs; it had all been taken the moment this man pressed his hard, tempting body against hers.

His answer came in the form of his lips, pressing against her own. Oh sweet mercy! Del was kissing her and he was good at it too. So, so good. The firm press of his soft lips sent a shockwave over her entire body. The moan she’d been stifling escaped, unable to hold the sound back this time. He answered her by grasping the back of her neck, angling her head for a better fit. His thumb brushed along her jaw right before his teeth nipped at her bottom lip. She gasped, and he took advantage, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth.

Holy cow, the man could kiss. She eagerly met his hunger with a voraciousness of her own. Yes, this is what she’d needed earlier. His lips, and his body pressed against hers. A particularly hard part of his anatomy rubbed against her lower stomach. Lifting up on her toes, she tried to adjust, to fit him right where she needed, but the second she brushed against him, he was gone.

Harsh pants escaped her lungs as she opened her eyes. Del stood across the tiny entryway hall, his breathing just as erratic as hers. Gone was the fun-loving guy who tended the bar at Jack’s, the little brother of her best friend. In his place was a man who resembled a hungry tiger. The way her heart beat a furious rhythm in her chest, she felt like his prey.

His eyes were liquid heat, searing her for a long moment just before he stepped toward the door. Looking over his shoulder with an expression that was a heady mix of lust and confidence, he said, “Goodnight, Cassandra.”

With those parting words, Del headed into the pre-dawn night, leaving her confused, unfulfilled, and…horny. Pressing her hands to her heated face, Cassie licked her lips, swearing she could still taste Del on them.

“What the hell was that?”

This night had gone from despair to confusion to… She didn’t even know what this strange feeling in her gut was. And what was with that kiss? That didn’t clear anything up. It only added more questions. Like why had Del kissed her, and why had she enjoyed it so much? Sure, it’d been a while since she’d gotten hot and bothered over a man, but Del? Was she seriously so hard up that one kiss from Del had her brain a puddle of mush and her body nothing but a coiled ball of need?

Headache be damned. After that sensually confusing visit she needed all the wine in her arsenal. She marched back over to the living room, forgoing the empty glass and drinking straight from the bottle. She would drive the ridiculous image of a naked and sweaty Del writhing above her from her mind with all the Cabernet she had. Then maybe she could get a peaceful night of sleep. But as she took a large sip, her brain played the kiss over and over again, her tongue not tasting the slightly bitter alcohol, but the sweet honey of Del’s mouth.

It was going to be a very long night.

CHAPTER 7

Two days later, Cassie wandered down Goldmine to the very end of the road. The sun burned brightly in the mid-day sky, and the warm June breeze kissed the heat of its rays off her shoulders. The temperature held at a pleasant seventy-five degrees. Perfect sundress weather. Since she’d finished all her orders for the day, she decided to treat herself to a stroll down the river walk and a bowl of double-fudge surprise from Sally’s Ice Cream Shoppe.

All her ice cream had been inhaled the previous two nights after Del’s insane kiss. Damn him, she still couldn’t get the tempting taste of him off her tongue. No matter how many pints of Mint Madness or bottles of Cabernet she went through.

In truth she was simply mad at herself for even considering his proposal.

After two days without a peep, it might be that he’d given up on the ludicrous idea of marriage. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Marrying Del would make some things easier and others a mess of complication.

Whatever she decided, she needed to do it fast. Time was running out, and she’d canceled her last two meetups because she couldn’t stand to go on any more bad dates.

And she couldn’t get the feel of Del’s hot, delicious body pressed against her out of her mind.

She took a giant bite of ice cream, telling her inner self to shut up.

The end of Goldmine ran along Clear Creek, a small-sized river that provided fishing, tubing and, when the water level was high enough, kayaking. The water came from the icy mountain snowmelt, but there were always a few brave souls who stripped down to take a plunge. Today was no exception. As she passed a street musician playing a beautiful rendition of Moonlight Sonata on her violin, Cassie noticed a couple of teenagers floating down the creek on black inter-tubes, laughing and pushing each other as they floated through the water. A smile curled her lips. They were outrageous; she never went in the creek until mid-July at the earliest.

As she sat down on a wooden bench facing the water, she sighed, heart weary. She loved this town so much. Kismet was the only home she’d ever known. She hated to complain. Most people would love to travel, see as much of the world as she had. But traveling of your own volition and being forced to pack up every six months and start somewhere new as a child were two very different things. Plus, with her parents’ jobs with Doctors Without Borders, it wasn’t like they were going to view the Seven Wonders of the World.

Cassie had seen some of the worst of humanity in her younger years. War-torn countries; curable diseases running rampant because of lack of medicine; and starving men, women, and children. She learned at a young age that life could be cruel to those who never deserved it. She didn’t have her parents’ medical skills, but she did have money. She used her inheritance to fund several charities helping supply food, water, and medicine to those in need all over the world.

Her jewelry-making paid the small number of bills she accrued. She loved using her artistic talent to make pieces that brought smiles to people’s faces. Crafting jewelry was her tiny contribution to make the world a little more beautiful.

In all honesty, her life was pretty wonderful. She had a job she enjoyed, amazing friends, and a town she loved with all her heart. Continuing to live in Gran’s home should not make one lick of difference in her life.

But it did.

That house was the only place she could still feel both of her parents. Though they may have put her second most of the time, she loved them and missed them with an ache that would never go away. Gran’s house felt like the last connection she had to them.

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