He tilted his head as his eyes narrowed. “Is this a trick?”
I laughed. “We’re two adults. If we want to hang out a little, it’s okay, right? But when everyone arrives, no more kissing. Dave would kill you.” Sigh. “Then we’d have to get rid of your body, and it’d become a whole thing. Agreed?”
He looked adorable as the wheels were spinning in his mind. “Agreed.” He pulled me closer. “Fern Ethel, I’m going to kiss you now.”
“Wait.” I grabbed my cherry Chap Stick from my pocket and swiped some on. “Cherry.”
“Nice.”
I shoved it back into my pocket. “Let’s go.”
For the next ten minutes, we had a super-duper-hot-as-hell make-out session that I swore must’ve melted the snow right off the roof of the ice shack. We went from standing, to me being held against the wall as my hands raked through his hair.
But I regretted my kissing pact, as his hands didn’t leave my waist. His taste and smell were quickly becoming my gateway drug, and I wanted more and more and more. I about lost it when he bit my lower lip before sitting on the bench and pulling me onto his lap.
“You’re killing me, girl.” He nuzzled my neck.
I needed to focus on something other than the one hundred and one things I wanted him to do to me and the fact my panties were on fire. I concentrated on slowing my heart rate. “It does look wonderful in here.”
He kissed my cheek. “We have bait and beer. What more do we need?”
Something pinged in my chest as I looked down at this rugged man. “Nothing. We have it all.” We sat quietly for several moments. “Hey, earlier I saw on maps that there’s a craft store in town. I need to pick up a few more items. Turns out, I have to make a freakin’ ring bearer’s pillow. Can you even believe that shit?”
He wrapped his arms around my waist. “Come on, don’t leave me.”
I gulped air as his words hung in my mind, knowing after a few days our time at the cabin would be over. This was it. I was giving a smile, throwing the match, and burning down my bridge to common sense.
“How about I bring us back a pizza?”
“Are you kidding me? I was just thinking about pizza.” He kissed my neck. “It’s scary that we think alike. Why do we think alike?”
I rolled my eyes as I ran my hands through his thick, perfect hair yet again. “Well, Dave thinks I was born with a dude gene.”
I felt tingly as his eyes slowly traveled from my face down. “Nope, not a single dude gene here. I can guarantee that.”
I had no words.
“I can drive you into town?—”
“No, it’s fine. You check on the chili, and I’ll be back in an hour.”
I stood, and he caught my wrist before grabbing his cell phone from his pocket. “Put your number in my contacts. Text me for anything.”
I put my info in his phone before flexing. “I think I can handle myself, Mr. Gabe.”
He hopped up and pulled me in for the best hug I’ve ever had. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to memorize the moment.
Chapter 4
No Strings Attached
She left for the store as I sat in the ice shack, still smelling her perfume, licking my lips like a lunatic trying to taste her cherry Chapstick.
What was I doing? She was Dave’s sister. It was so wrong, but she felt so right. Is that a song title? It should be. Anyway, I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around the carefree woman who could hula hoop, guzzle beer, stitch up a dude, and want a make-out session with no strings attached. A dream come true was what she just might be.
Since I’d been with her, my brain hadn’t gone dark. The dread and despair were MIA, leaving me feeling at ease for the first time in what felt like forever. Because of her.
The one woman I couldn’t have, for multiple reasons, was the single person who’d flipped a switch. Her even being gone for the past eighteen minutes had something pulling in me. Stop watching the clock, jackass!
