Page 44 of Rocky Mountain Desire
Hope nodded. “I’ve always got a workstation set up if you want to drop by the shop. But for these sampler classes? Mrs. Coleman has been kind enough to offer to host here. And if you know anyone who lives south of Rocky who doesn’t want to drive this far, you can tell them I’ll be out at the Macmillans’ once a month as well.”
She got them all working on the next step of their paper-piecing projects before having time to congratulate herself on having organized this brainwave. Every one of the women in the room had paid up front for a year’s worth of sample materials and monthly lessons. This project alone was enough to get her through the lean months of the start of the year, and that was before any of them came in to spend money on extra material for more projects. After she got people hooked on a new technique, she always had a flurry of sales.
“Psst.”
Hope glanced over her shoulder to spot Matt’s handsome face peeking from behind the kitchen door. A quick perusal confirmed all the quilters were busy working at their machines, happily chatting with their neighbors at the folding tables arranged around the room. She snuck past him into the muted lighting of the kitchen.
“Hey, you. I thought you were going to be busy all night in the barns.”
“I got the lambs cleaned up and tucked in, and then, hallelujah, the last ewe finally dropped. Which means I’m free for a bit. Well, as free as it gets around here.”
She leaned in as close as possible without making her actions too noticeable. A deep breath let her soak in the scent of his freshly washed body. The soapy fragrance clinging to him made her want to eat him alive.
It also reminded her of his very blatant display in the shower the other day.
Three weeks and counting. They’d made it this far without falling into bed, but it was getting tougher to remember why she’d insisted they wait in the first place. Not counting all the times he’d dropped in at the shop or she’d been around the ranch, they’d also gone to a movie and had a couple of game nights with his family. Each activity confirmed how much she enjoyed his company, but now that pleasure seemed to highlight their rising sexual frustration.
“Did you just sniff me?”
Hope looked up guiltily. “Maybe?”
Matt laughed softly. “Come here.”
He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in, not stopping until she was flush with the front of his body. He lowered his head slowly, giving her tons of time to retreat.
Like that was going to happen.
That first brush of his lips against hers made a shiver race over her entire body. The teasing rub of his whiskers against her lips made her hungry for more. She grabbed his belt loops, twining her fingers through them to resist sliding her fingers farther back to clutch his ass and grind them together.
Sweet kisses followed, accompanied by not-so-sweet mental images. Even as his tongue slipped between her lips, she was imagining his lips and tongue on other parts of her anatomy. The fine scratch of his facial hair dragging over sensitive skin.
“Hmm.” He pulled back, dark eyes staring down. “So, what you playing at with my mom and the ladies tonight?”
She dragged her mind back into gear. “Paper piecing. The ultimate in chopping up defenseless scraps of material.”
He grinned. “What time you working until? Because Jaxi offered for us to drop in over there and have a drink with them, if that’s not going to make you too late.”
“I’d…like that, I guess.”
One brow rose. “Like? You guess?”
God.She bit her lip for a second then continued her policy of honesty as the best policy. “What I really want to do is go back to your trailer, but that would lead to more fooling around, and so yes, visiting with Jaxi and Blake is far safer, but I ain’t going to lie and tell you it’s my first choice.”
Matt closed his eyes for a second, his throat moving as he swallowed hard. Where their bodies touched, his erection had expanded in girth, the hardness very clear as he pressed into her belly, as if refusing to hide. “You’re killing me.”
“Yup, and doing myself in as well.”
“Why aren’t we going to my trailer and getting ourselves over this crazy lust between us?”
“Because…” She had no idea anymore why.
He grabbed her hips and lifted her onto the countertop of the island, batted her legs apart and stepped between her thighs. Instant full-torso contact dragged a gasp from her as he returned to kissing her, his hands delicately cupping her cheeks as he worked his way across her lips methodically, thoroughly.
Hope widened her legs, clutched his shoulders and held on tight. Wrapping her legs around his hips increased the pressure on all the sensitive spots that were aching—again—for him to do more than simply kiss her.
He pulled away from her mouth and dropped a series of kisses along her jaw, moving up to play with the dangling lobe of her ear. His chin whiskers scratched, and she turned her head, letting him tease her further, scraping his teeth along her neck.
She had the top buttons of his shirt undone before she realized what she was doing.
