Page 10 of A Reason to Try

Holy fuck. Could he be any hotter?

“You alright, Caro Darlin’?” he murmured.

“What?”

“Uh, nothing,” he said, letting go of my waist to rub the back of his neck.

“I think we better find you something dry to put on,” he grumbled, and I noticed then he was looking at my chest and his cheeks, what I could see above his beard, were going all ruddy.

He turned and looked around, opening the front door and grabbing a bag someone had tossed up on his porch.

The wind was howling, and the rain was falling in buckets. The storm was definitely worse than the weather center had predicted.

“Shit. I won’t be able to leave,” I muttered, knowing full well that this far west storms tended to turn into hurricanes at the drop of a hat.

“Here,” he said.

He was holding a shirt out to me, something he must have found in the large duffle bag he was sifting through.

“Oh, um, thanks,” I murmured.

A shiver ran through me and since he’d already seen most of me through the stupid white shirt I wore, I figured why waste time playing coy?

Still, I gave him my back. I mean, I wasn’t an exhibitionist.

Then I peeled the wet sweater off my body, trembling uncontrollably now that the cold had seeped in.

My bra was soaked too, and I knew it had to come off. I unhooked it, shrugging it off before I started putting my arms through the sleeves of his enormous shirt.

“Bloody fucking hell,” he murmured, and I looked up, locking eyes with his in the reflection of the TV.

Uh oh.

“Oh my God! Turn around,” I said, pulling his shirt over my head.

It smelled good. Spicy and masculine, and I wondered if he smelled the same.

“Not on your life,” he rumbled and closed the space between us, spinning me around with one big hand on my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” I whispered, my heart racing as I met his emerald fire stare.

There was a mixture of confusion and anticipation swirling within me, my breath hitching in my throat.

The intensity on his face held me captive, igniting something within me.

“This,” he replied, his voice low and smooth, as he closed the distance between us.

Before I could even start to process what was happening, he pressed his mouth to mine.

The world around us faded in an instant. All I could feel was the warmth of his lips against my own.

It was electric—a rush of sensations that coursed through me, igniting every nerve ending.

This kiss was not soft or tentative. It was rough and deliberate. I moaned as his hands slid to the back of my neck, pulling me closer.

My mind raced, caught between the thrill of the moment and the weight of reality. I mean, I really didn’t know this man past his name.

Dane Barret. Good name.

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