Page 35 of Red Hot Roaster

Finally, after sayinggoodbyeandremember to take your pumpkinsanddon’t forget your certificates and prizesand especially, no thanks, we’ll clean up after we take the dogs out,Rafe and I were alone in the café.

Chapter 18

Rose

Iplucked my moist T-shirt away from my breasts, flapping it to cool myself.

From across the now not-so-crowded room, Rafe caught the motion, his eyes narrowing as they glided down and then back up. Taking their time.

He couldn’t have missed my hard tips swelling against the clingy cotton.

When I wiped my damp hands on my jeans, I found the wet heat between my thighs had seeped through. So instead, I snatched my hands up near my head, shaking them to dry. The fanning eased my flaming cheeks too—but only for a second.

Was my current state of steaminess due to the two courage-building mugs of spicy mulled wine I’d chugged in quick succession?

Or was I all hot and bothered because I wanted to pitch the angel act and play the devil? Was it time to yield to temptation when I’d been good for so long?

“Rose,” Rafe rumbled. “Are you okay? You look a little…a lot flushed.”

“How can you tell?” I tossed back to him. “I’m burning up over here, and you’re hiding out over there.”

He growled at that insult and crossed the café in three strides. I held my ground, not backing up—or down—an inch. We glared at each other before we moved at the same time.

It was another contest—one where we both could be winners. Who could melt into the other the fastest? We tied for the prize, and Rafe was just lowering his face to mine when he muttered, “Fuck. Windows.”

He backed up and let me go—oh, no…only to grab one of my hands again and take off down the hall toward the roastery.Oh, yes!He opened the door and reached in to turn on the lights. Too bright, evidently, and he turned them right off again.

“We’ll have enough light from the hall, don’t you think?”

“Barely.” I panted, ready to get a move on. “But barely is all we’ll need this time.”

“Yeah.” Rafe smirked. “Let’s save candlelight for another time and place. The fire marshal tends to frown on open flames.”

He tugged me into the roastery, spun me around and started backing me toward the pallets of coffee bean bags. When my thighs bumped up against the stacks of bags, I stopped—and had second thoughts. Not about getting closer to Rafe. That train had already left the station.

No, I had second thoughts about getting horizontal on bags of coffee beans—scratchy burlapbags of beans—versus on myvelvety-cushionycouch.

Especially given the next step in dealing with our now-mutually steamy states—the stripping and shedding of T-shirts, jeans and even silky underthingies.

Was burlap burn any different from beard burn?

Again, Rafe rescued me from being lost in my head. He did this by dropping my hand, stepping even closer and gently cupping my cheeks with his palms. He pressed his fingers into my hairline and tilted my chin up.

The heat of his stare scorched my skin. His calloused hands ignited a fire that raced from my face straight down to my core.

“Rose, I want to kiss you and touch you everywhere,” he rumbled. “Is that okay with you?”

At that, I just nodded, although this was hard since he was now clasping my face even tighter.

“I need words. Please.”

I reached up to grip the back of his neck and caress the corded muscles. “Yes, Rafe. It’s beyond okay. I want you too.”

His eyes flared and closed as he angled my head and leaned down to press his lips against mine. My eyes closed too, as I sighed—at last, a little less talk—and opened up to his tongue licking into my mouth, dancing with my tongue. We continued for a few minutes, changing angles, exchanging wet, open-mouthed kisses.

When I gasped for breath, Rafe pulled us apart. I followed his lips, and the devil just laughed. He reached up with both hands to unravel my messy bun, throwing my hair tie and hairpins behind him. He dug his fingers deep, gently unraveling the waves to fall around my shoulders.

Gripping the bottom of my T-shirt on either side, he paused a scant second to arch an eyebrow in question. When I responded by raising both arms, he peeled off the now super-snug T-shirt in one quick move. It disappeared over his shoulder too.

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