Page 25 of When It Snows

She yanks her hand from mine and I scowl. I want to touch her constantly. Scarlett Harris is quickly becoming an obsession. Touching her is more satisfying than the smoothest whiskey from Buccaneer’s Distillery.

But she’s skittish. She thinks I’m a player who’s not interested in more than fun times in bed. She’s wrong but I’ll give her space to figure it out for herself.

“You said Japanese businessmen say the craziest things to women. What else have they said?”

She drums her fingers on the table. “You can read this? Which doesn’t sound bad until you realize it’s a document I translated. Of course, I can read it, dude. I wrote it.”

“Did you tell him that?”

She pushes her glasses back up her nose. “Nah. Japanese society is very polite.”

“It doesn’t sound as if they were being polite to you.”

“Maybe not, but I’m the foreigner. I’m the one who will lose business if I act unprofessional.”

“Sounds like bullshit.”

“Welcome to the patriarchy Japanese style.”

I shake my head. “My mom would get a kick out of your stories. And by kick, I mean she’d get riled up and everyone on the island would end up writing letters to our congressman about sexism in Japanese business.”

“Your mom sounds awesome.”

I can’t stand the flash of pain in her light green eyes. I squeeze her hand to comfort her.

“I’m sorry your mom didn’t support you.”

She glances away. “I should be over it. I’m thirty-four. I’ve been away for sixteen years. But they’re stuck in my head.”

“Hey.” I slide over a chair until I’m sitting next to her. I grasp her chin and force her to meet my gaze. “They’re your parents. It doesn’t matter how old you are. You will always long for their approval.”

“When did you get this smart?”

“I took some psychology classes in college. I always knew I wanted to be a cop. I figured understanding people’s motivations would help me to de-escalate dangerous situations.”

“And has it?”

“Scarlett Harris, are you trying to change the subject?”

She shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t talk about my family to anyone. It feels weird and uncomfortable. As if I’m betraying them.”

I draw her close enough to lean my forehead against hers. “It’s just me and you here. You’re not betraying your parents by telling me how you feel. You have a right to your feelings.”

“Wow. Those psychology classes really paid off.”

I tweak her nose. “Smart ass.”

She grins. “It’s true. I am pretty smart.”

“And your ass is pretty spectacular, too.”

Her cheeks warm and those green eyes sparkle. My gaze drops to her pretty pink lips. She licks her bottom lip and I groan.

“Temptress,” I mutter before I slam my mouth down on hers. She immediately opens and I thrust my tongue inside. Her spicy taste hits me and I need more. I angle her head to allow me to dive deeper.

She threads her hands through my hair and tugs on the ends. I growl before picking her up and placing her on my lap. She rubs her core up and down my hard cock.

Fuck. I could come like this. I don’t even need to be in her and she’s driving me crazy with desire.

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