Page 47 of Wind Valley

Go with what you know, he told himself. Which was—be direct.

She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, holding her hot chocolate in both hands like a child. His heart ached at the thought of everything she’d gone through with that obsessed stalker.

He bought himself some time by messing with the fire, using a poker to shift the logs and send a spray of sparks up the smokestack. Then he rose to his feet and faced her.

“Maura, you must know that I like you,” he said simply. “But I’d never want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“I don’t,” she said quickly. “I never have, with you.”

“Because we’re friends.” He swallowed down his disappointment. Hadn’t he already accepted that reality? Now that he knew the reason for her caginess, it made even more sense. He should be grateful she even wanted a friendship after she’d sworn off men for good.

“No. It’s not that.” She unfurled her legs and set her mug down on his coffee table, though it was hard to find a space for it between all the books and papers. She padded toward him in her bare feet until she was right next to him. “It’s because you’re you.”

Her deep blue eyes captured his in a kind of enchantment that made everything else turn to a blur. All he wanted was to kiss her again. His lips could already feel her, his tongue could already taste her…and then he was doing exactly that. He paused just before their lips made contact, giving her a chance to pull away, to say no.

Thank all the powers in the universe, that didn’t happen, and they surrendered to one of the most delicious forces of all…pure unadulterated desire.

This kiss was nothing like that first one, which had taken them both by surprise. He poured his heart and soul into this kiss. He wanted her to know how much he cared about her, how attracted he was to her, how much he loved her company. It was so much easier to share such things in the form of a kiss.

The smooth inner velvet of her mouth was like a drug. The more he tasted, the more he wanted. He felt her hands on his back, under his sweater, against his skin. He groaned deep in his chest at her touch, which started cool but warmed quickly against his flesh.

“These muscles…” she murmured mischievously. “Who would have thought?”

“Hmmm.” He’d lost his words. Who could blame him, when her hands were eagerly exploring his shoulders, his spine, all the way down to the belt holding up his pants?

His own hands were going on an adventure of their own, not waiting for him to consciously give them permission. Maybe they knew that would take too long, given all his worries about treading carefully with her. Goddamn body parts think they run things, he thought wryly.

“What’s funny?” she muttered through her shivers, as he skimmed his hands along the sensitive skin between her waist and the sides of her breasts. The swell of her flesh made him see stars.

“Just having a little talk with certain parts of my body.”

“I have a few things to say too. Can we make it a general conversation?”

“Sure,” he gritted as she deftly unbuckled his belt. God. This was moving fast. Not long ago, they’d been taking things at a glacial pace. Now it was like jökulhlaup—lots of action all at once.

“Well, I’d just like to say that I’m very into your body parts,” she murmured.

“Are you?”

“Yes. I like the way you touch me.” She leaned against him, shivering, as he lightly circled her breasts with his thumbs, converging on the nipples that stiffened under his touch. His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, craving the taste of her.

He lifted her layers of shirts to expose her breasts. Her bra was barely containing the swell of her nipples. He eased it away from them and bent down to feast on the rosy peaks.

She let out a low moan and arched her back to make it easier for him. That sound coming from her throat made him lose a bit of his control. He thrust his hips against hers so she could feel how hard he was. Feel that baseball bat in his pants—that was how big and erect it felt.

“Bedroom?” she gasped.

“Come on.” He tugged her across the living room toward his room, which was set off from the rest of the house, an addition that had been added later. As a result, it tended to be colder than the rest of the house, so he’d installed another little woodstove for extra heat.

But he hadn’t taken the time to start a fire in here, so the temperature difference made her gasp.

“I promise I’ll keep you warm,” he told her. “Just get into that bed and leave it to me.”

“Okay then.” She laughed up at him. “I like it when you talk like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I don’t have to do anything.”

---