Page 38 of Scotch & Shortbread

He did not want her help. What he wanted was for her to get the hell away from him so he could stop feeling this way. Unfocused, undisciplined. Like he was out of control.Fuck.It was all wrong. In two years, he hadn’t been tempted by anyone as much as he was right now, and he didn’t like it. If she would just stop getting so close to him.

“I got this,” he murmured, intentionally avoiding her gaze.

“You’re sure?”

“Aye,” he growled impatiently. “Ye’re just in the way.”

Quinn bristled at his abrupt response. “Right. Got it,” she said tight-lipped, and he could hear the hurt in her voice.

A piece of him knew he should apologize. But what could he say?I just need you to get the hell away from me so I can stop imagining fucking you!Christ.

No, let her think he was an arse. That was a better option. He needed a little space. She could be mad at him. Perhaps it was safer that way.

He could feel her eyes boring into him as he purposefully ignored her and continued gathering ingredients.

“I’m going to lie down for a bit. Is it okay if I go in your room?” she asked, and he could hear the apprehension in her voice.

He nodded curtly without looking up.

Quinn made her exit, feeling irritated at the return of Cold Mean Cop. It had all been going so well…or so she thought. What had changed from in the loft to coming down to make dinner? She was dumbfounded and disappointed. Bear plodded in behind her as she walked into Alex’s bedroom.

“Come on boy,” she encouraged him onto the bed with her, and he happily obliged, cuddling up next to her. Alex might hate that she was here, but at least Bear liked her company.

Quinn absently stroked Bear’s soft ears. There were moments when things were so easy between them. She even found that she liked their time together, but then he’d get all cold and mean again. It was frustrating. She wondered how much of the way he was with her had to do with the woman in the photograph. He’d said he wasn’t married, and she believed him. He had no reason to lie, and somehow, she just felt like she could take him at his word. But what was his story? None of it made sense to her.

Quinn bit her lip. It didn’t help anything that she was very attracted to him, and it seemed that he was to her too. But if he wasn’t married, why did he seem to fight their chemistry? They were stuck alone in this cabin. How bad would it be to have a fling? The thought sent heated tingles straight to her core.Don’t go there, Quinn, she chided herself.

Maybe his reluctance had something to do with the woman and kids in the picture. Perhaps they were dating, and they were the woman’s kids from before him? Except the toddler had a definite resemblance to Alex. She rolled onto her side pulling the thick cozy duvet around her. A terrible thought came to her. What if he was widowed? Had something happened to his family? The thought alone made her heart sad for him. Could that be it? Her thoughts eventually turned lucid as she drifted to sleep.

With time to think while he prepared the food, Alex started to feel bad for how he’d behaved. She didn’t deserve his wrath. It wasn’t her fault that he couldn’t seem to get a grip on his base urges. As much as he didn’t want anything to happen between them, he realized that it was ridiculous that he couldn’t just enjoy her company with no strings attached. She wasn’t so bad to have around if he was honest. Minus the damn horny thoughts that barraged his mind, but he could keep that in check. Heneededto keep that in check. Perhaps a few extra showers would be required over the next couple of days to help keep his sex-starved cock quiet. Lord help him.

Having a clearer mind, he allowed himself to appreciate that he’d have some company for Christmas. Even if it was Quinn West. She still talked too much and made him crazy, but he also kind of enjoyed her company. He liked that she’d busied herself today baking. If she could make the most of being stuck here together, he could too.

Dinner ready, Alex strode into his room where Bear popped a lazy eye open from the bed. The bedside lamp cast a warm glow. Quinn looked cozy curled on her side, blankets pulled around her. She must have drifted off. She lay with her hands slid together and tucked under her cheek. He’d tried so damn hard not to notice her loveliness, but as he looked down at her now, he was almost taken aback. God, she was achingly beautiful.

Awareness and desire collided in his body. It seemed an unrelenting combination. He should’ve turned and walked back out of the room. Gone to take another shower. That would have been the wise thing to do. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed beside her. Those innocent big eyes opened, sleepily landing on him and a sweet smile touched her pouty mouth.

“Hi,” she said softly.

Christ, she was irresistible. He shouldn’t have done it, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. He reached down and ran his hand over her hair that lay across the pillow, letting the silky strands slip between his fingers. His resolve slipped away faster than steam from hot coffee. His eyes slid to her face as she watched him with those big curious brown eyes lined with thick sooty lashes. Her rounded cheeks narrowed as they rode up to her temples giving her the look of a magazine model. Her nose was pert and adorable and God help him, those lips. Berry pink, full, and pouty. They practically begged to be kissed.

And he wanted nothing more than to taste them, take them in his, conquer them, and kiss those lips that had given him grief since he first saw them…surrender to them. Without thought, he cupped her jaw in his hand and ran his thumb over those soft plump lips. She allowed him to. Her innocent brown eyes were fixed on his, and he could see desire growing in them. His cock thickened, begging for her. That mouth of hers had taunted him since the moment she’d stepped out of her car the day he’d given her the defunct ticket.

Unable to stop himself, he leaned down closer to her, and a rush of pleasure hit his groin as her eyes widened in anticipation. His eyes dropped to her beckoning sinful mouth, and her rosy pink lips parted, ready, longing to be kissed.

Every fibre in his being wanted to plunder those full lips and give her what she desired. Like Santa’s reindeer hurdling through the sky on Christmas Eve, Alex was helpless to stop himself, and his mouth dropped to hers. The touch of her full warm lips against his set every nerve ending in his body on fire and need roared through him as intensely as the torrential winds whipping around outside the window.

Despite the light touch of his lips on hers, the hitch of her breath nearly scorched him. He wanted to reach up into her thick auburn hair and pull her firmly against him, to open those sweet torturous lips with his and taste her.

The blissful sigh against his mouth as her lips parted slightly for him, allowing him to kiss her more deeply, made him feel feral, and he knew he had to stop. Now. He pulled back from her, refusing to play with fire—refusing to lose the control that he clung to like a thread of Christmas tinsel. Giving in and kissing her how he wanted to, letting his tongue touch hers, the thought alone made his cock jerk painfully. Giving in to his hunger would open floodgates that were never meant to be opened. God but pulling back was a herculean feat.

25

The Accidental Confession

Oneminutehismouthwas pressed to hers in the sweetest kiss of her life, the next Alex stood up abruptly, and she was sure she heard a growl as he strode to the door.

“Wait,” she pleaded, scrambling to sit up in his bed. Her mind rolled with a hundred thoughts as her body still clung to desire.

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