Page 10 of One Scorching Summer

“C'mon.” He moved closer, a hand still on her shoulder, and lowered his voice. “I don’t bite, unless you want me to.” He stroked a finger down the column of her neck. “Do you?”

With a will of its own, her body leaned into the lover’s caress and shivered.

His blue eyes filled with heat.

The ache in her core blossomed and her panties lost the war. Tongue-tied, trembling, and breathing heavily, she said nothing but swallowed again.

“This hunger we have, it needs to be addressed, honey. Can I kiss you?”

Fuck yes.She could only nod.

He leaned in, dropping the hand on her shoulder to her hip, pressing her into him so that she felt his desire. His lips—feather-soft and leisurely—trailed over her temple, the shell of her ear, and along her jaw line. His rapid and shallow breathing matched hers. It was just them in their private bubble. Sounds and everyone else fell away.

He looked deeply into her eyes before slanting his mouth over hers. Again, taking his time to explore. She did as well, enjoying how he tasted, smelled, and moved, sure that if she ground into him she would come.

He deepened the kiss.

Wanting so much more, she surrendered to it, until reality surfaced through the euphoria. It was ridiculous. She was not some teen groping a guy in a secluded hallway. She was an adult.

What was he thinking?

What am I thinking?She broke the kiss. “I’m stepping outside,” she said flatly, battling the raging battle within herself, flashing the best ‘fuck you’ look she could muster before escaping.

“Hmm. It’s definitely gotten hot in here.” He chided, stepping back with a wink accompanying the smile tugging at his lips. “You can summon the spitfire in you when necessary. Sexy.”

His words annoyed her. That she had lost control, and with him of all people, irked her even more. She had to find a modicum of control around Rake Carpenter and hold onto it, or the craving vibrating through her would ignite and burst into flames.

The evening was comfortable, but it did nothing to ease the soupy mixture of emotions roiling in Jorja. She glanced upward. The orange-pink sunset had surrendered the last of its splendor to the approaching night. Pinpricks of light glittered above, scattering like moon dust across the sky. Normally, she would have stopped what she was doing to enjoy nature’s beautiful tapestry. But not tonight.

Her cowboy boots pounded the sidewalk as she considered the predicament. Heady, all-consuming desire. Mounting frustration. The unfortunate and contentious history between her family and Rake’s, which dated back to before the Depression. Yes, she knew all about it. Rake had to know all about it, too. The two of them were forever linked by the decisions of their forebears.

She ended up at the small park near Nettie’s and dropped onto one of the metal benches framing an area with a softly lit water feature made of large boulders. Additional uplighting painted the landscape of mature trees, shrubs, and flowers. It was lovely. The tranquil burbling and splattering soothed her mind. Jorja closed her eyes. Just for a moment.

Insistent gentle shaking roused her. “Hey sleepyhead.”

She bolted awake and peered into Nettie’s brown eyes, which thankfully, appeared amused. “Guess I conked out.”

“Mm-hmm. More than conked out. It’s after ten. I checked your location when you didn’t come back. You could have gone to my place. I gave you the code.”

“I’m sorry.” Jorja stretched slowly, like a cat, and sat up. “I screwed up playing trivia with you.”

“No worries. Ulen is a safe town, and we still had fun without you. Found a random player and ended up placing second. Won a bag of chocolate goodies from our incredible local chocolatier and a two-hundred-dollar gift certificate to Simple Harmony Spa, which would have been nice to have today. We’ll use it next time you’re here. Levi, Rake, and I gave the chocolate to our new friend … um—” She snapped her fingers. “Leon. A kind elderly man who was recently widowed.”

Jorja felt slightly better about her grandfaux paxof rushing out but still felt the need to explain. She never ran from anything, but Rake Carpenter had a way of making her feel disoriented and unbalanced—wholly new experiences for her.What are you going to do about it?“I meant to return but the sound of the fountain drew me in. I didn’t realize how tired I was. Add half of that delicious fried chicken and a lot of beer … A day of pampering …” She shrugged, gave her friend a sheepish look, then gazed at that sky.

Nettie hip-checked Jorja’s shoulder and sat next to her. “You went on a walk. Why?”

“Like I said, yesterday caught up with me—had to be because of the mellow day at the spa. Tonight … I don’t know. I just got into my head, and I needed to walk off the alcohol. But I’m awake now. Refreshed and ready for part two of our evening.”

Nettie faced Jorja with a half-smile and studied her. “You are skilled at so many things but lying is not one of them. Not to me, anyway.”

“I’m not lying. I’ve got a second wind.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. You ditched us, because you needed to walk off what you are feeling about Rake Carpenter.”

“No,” Jorja said, vehemently shaking her head.

“Yes. You aretotallyinto him. I get it. He’s off-the-chartshot. Strapping hard muscles and handsome as hell. Single. And if the rumors are true … There are always grains of truth in rumors, right? Exceptionally gifted in the intimacy department.”

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