Page 11 of A Match Made in Montana

As Annie tookthe other seat next to Craig, the subtle flowery and citrusy scent he’d come to associate with her wafted over him, slipped through every pore on his skin until he was just about breathing her in.

It had been a struggle not staring openly at her all night. When feeding people, she relaxed, exuding a warmth that simply reeled in everyone around her table. She made sure everyone else was eating before she helped herself. A true nurturer, she was happy when those around her were happy.

As she leaned forward to open her laptop, the shoulder of the top of her dress slid down her arm, revealing the thin satiny strap of a midnight-black bra. She readjusted the strap, but the damage was done, his body didn’t need much more to react.

Ignore the body parts—that had been the deal.

Restlessly, he moved on the seat, trying to find a comfortable position that would hide his reaction from Annie.

“Okay, here we are,” Annie finally said. “I don’t think it looks that bad.” She glanced at him over her shoulder, the movement bringing her even closer to him. Her soft lips were about an inch from his.

Clearly startled, she jumped up and started pacing. “Okay, so tell me. What is wrong with my website and what can I do that won’t cost me a fortune?”

Craig forced himself to pick up the laptop. Apart from the fact that it would hide his very obvious reaction to Annie, it would hopefully help him to focus on the reason he was here.

Clearing his throat, he used the few seconds to try and gather his thoughts. “Well, the first problem is that when I’ve searched forB and B in Mariettaorguesthouse in Mariettaon any search engine on the internet, there is no mention of Annie’s. So, the noticeable problem seems to be that you don’t rank high on the search engine results pages. There are ways you can improve your SEO ratings, like incorporating keywords into your page titles, meta descriptions, and content. Also, your website isn’t optimized for mobile platforms, a significant factor in the ranking algorithm. Your page also loads very slowly, something that prevents you from earning high rankings.”

Annie had stopped pacing and was looking dumbstruck. “I have absolutely no idea what you’ve just said. What on earth is SEO and the meta what-what you’ve mentioned?”

His first instinct was to pick her up and tell her everything would be okay, he’d do it for her, but he doubted that would be well received. Annie was no shrinking violet.

He handed her pad to her. “I’ll talk, you write. We also have to get Riley here as quickly as possible. You need photos. Lots and lots of them.”

Taking the pad from him, she sat down next to him again. “There are beautiful photos on my website,” she cried out.

“You’re right. Beautiful photos. Of the town, of the mountain—all good and well, but there is nothing that distinguishes you from any other B and B.”

“I don’t understand.”

He put his hand on her chest, just above her breasts. It was an instinctive gesture, one he often used, but when his hand touched the skin above the line of her dress, he had to inhale before he could continue.

Annie’s eyes widened and she quickly grabbed hold of his hand. Lacing his fingers with hers, he kept his hand against her chest.

“What makes this B and B different to any other place I’ve ever been to is you, Annie. You’re the brand you want to sell. To only have photos of the house and the luxury rooms, lovely as they are, is not enough. You are selling much more than just a building or rooms. What you’re selling, isyourB and B and that’s what you should focus on. Photos of you welcoming guests, photos of you in the kitchen, in the dining room, your food…” He grinned. “Of you reading in your hammock—those are the images that would get visitors to want to come to Annie’s.” The last word was a mere whisper.

Had he moved forward or had she? He had no idea. Her brown eyes nearly liquid chocolate, she gasped softly, her lips parted.

Fascinated, he pulled her slowly closer. “I want to kiss you, Annie…”

“Maybe not a good idea,” she got out. “Some of my body parts are not behaving.”

His eyes dropped. “I can see that. Mine is not behaving either.” He chuckled as he slipped a hand beneath her hair. “Just one kiss?” he asked, teasing her lips. “Surely our body parts can handle that?”

“Okay, but just one.” She sighed and met his lips.

It was only going to be a meeting of lips, a taste to find out whether her mouth was as soft as it looked, but the moment their lips met, a strange current flickered through his body, making a particular body part misbehave even more.

Trying desperately to rein in his galloping libido, Craig tried not to succumb to the hunger heating his blood within seconds. A soft moan escaped from Annie’s throat, though, her lips opened up, and he was lost. His tongue shot forward, meeting her dancing one. In that instant, he could swear the earth shifted beneath his feet.

As he pulled her even closer, her leg slipped over his lap pushing the laptop to slide from his lap. It fell soundlessly to the floor. Fortunately, there was a carpet, was his last rational thought before his senses took over.

*

Annie was lostin a sea of feeling and emotions. Craig’s lips and tongue were taking her to heights of pleasure she’d never experienced before. She had to stop him. Hadn’t they agreed to ignore their misbehaving body parts? Oh, but she hadn’t yet had enough, not nearly enough. She loved the feeling of the stubble of his beard against her face, the heat of his big hand around her breast, and the heady scent of leather mixed with vanilla and suede surrounding them.

A hoarse little voice finally penetrated her bemused mind—his hand around her breast.

Pushing him away, she gulped in much-needed air. No wonder she’d nearly landed on Craig’s lap—she was just about deprived of oxygen. “We said kiss, not touching…” she croaked. Her hand covered his. “This is way beyond kissing…”

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