Page 44 of Unpacking Secrets

A lock of dark hair fell across his forehead and I seized the impulse to reach out and smooth it back into place. His eyes darkened in response, so I let my fingers drift along the sharp line of his jaw. When my thumb brushed over his lower lip, he caught my hand in his and watched me in silent challenge.

“Yes,” I said simply.

He blinked, clearly trying to remember what he’d even asked before I touched him, but I slipped off the stool before he could respond. Holding his gaze with my own, I laid my hands firmly against his chest, enjoying the feel of warm, hard muscle beneath his shirt. He shifted so I could stand between his knees as he set his own hands at my waist. My palms roamed from his chest to his shoulders before slipping around to cradle the back of his neck.

“Yes, I want you to kiss me.”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he murmured, shifting his thumbs under the hem of my shirt to brush across my skin.

I shivered at the caress. “And I think I underestimated.”

“Oh?”

“When I said I’m not opposed to you touching me, I mean.”

It was laughable just how big an understatement that was. At the moment, I was sure I’d combust if he stopped touching me.

“I’ll take that as a good sign.”

The words teased over my skin. Henry laughed softly at my dazed expression and tugged me closer. When he nuzzled the edge of my jaw, I shivered in his arms and did the only thing left to do.

I kissed him.

Seventeen

Henry

WhenJulietfeatheredherlips across mine, my ability to formulate a coherent thought about anything other than her evaporated. She fit so well in my arms—so soft, so right.

I was determined to let her set the pace, even when the gentle insistence of her mouth made me want to groan. Instead, I let one hand slide to the small of her back, then grinned against her mouth when her fingers curled into my hair to angle my lips for better access.

She wasn’t shy or tentative in any way, merely painstakingly thorough. I’d always considered myself a patient man, but this slow progression sent tempting streaks of liquid fire through my veins. While she directed the kiss, I focused on learning her: the flare of her hip, the sweetness of her mouth, the soft hum of pleasure in her throat when my fingers stroked along her spine.

I couldn’t remember ever being so completely enthralled by another person before.

When she finally drew back, I swallowed a sound of protest. My hands stayed right where they were as I studied her expression. If her inadvertent blushes were appealing, the flush of passion under her fair skin was absolutely intoxicating.

“Wow,” she breathed. “Even the unflappable Henry Walker finally looks a bit ruffled. Definitely a spark.”

“More like an inferno,” I said as I drew her mouth to mine once more.

This time, she sighed against me, ceding control in the sweetest possible way. We went no further than kissing, but that invisible thread between us wound tight, tugging until her body melted into mine.

After several more long, thorough kisses, we managed to safely bank that fire, though heat still smoldered in her eyes. I touched my lips lightly to hers one last time before she served up bowls of ice cream from the freezer and we moved to the living room with our dessert. When she settled herself a polite distance away, I set my bowl down on the arm of the couch to tug her close to my side.

“I think we’re a bit past the ‘leave room for the Holy Ghost’ stage,” I teased.

Once she was snuggled up against me, I noticed a sketchbook lying on the side table. Curiosity got the better of me.

“Can I look at this, or is that too personal?”

“Be my guest.”

Juliet gestured regally with her spoon, though her smile looked a little self-conscious. I ignored my ice cream to flip slowly through the sketches. Most were landscapes, but there was one of Gramps working in the gardens at the inn. Even though he was turned away, I recognized him immediately and grinned.

“These are fantastic. You’re incredibly talented,” I said, lingering on the drawing of my favorite spot on the lake. She’d captured it perfectly, right down to the soaring eagle overhead and Blue pouncing in the waves.

When she scoffed around a mouthful of ice cream, I turned and took her chin in my hand, ignoring a tiny dot of mint chip at the corner of her lip.

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