Page 46 of Forbidden Secrets
Her hands fisted in his shirt and she pulled him closer.Cupping her face, he buried his fingers in the silky thickness of her hair.He tried to ignore the message his brain was sending: a giant neon light blinkingminesurrounded by caution tape.
They broke apart and realization seemed to strike each of them at the same moment.She stared at him with a deer-in-the-headlights look.He lifted his hands carefully as if she was unstable dynamite.They each took a step back.
He needed to think, to put this moment in perspective, but the wind ruffling her hair distracted him.He never thought short hair would do it for him, but god help him, he found it sexy as hell.Tousled on top and falling over her forehead in choppy bangs, it somehow made her eyes look big enough to drown in.And the bare slope of her neck?Next opportunity he had he was putting his mouth right there.Now that they’d had a taste of what they’d be like together he didn’t think either of them would be able to resist going for more.Lots more.
“Looking like you want to eat me alive isn’t making this any easier.”Her throat moved as she swallowed.“That was a heat-of-the-moment kiss, right?”
“If that’s what you want to tell yourself.”
“Yes, I do.It’s way safer than the alternative.”
“No doubt.But me?I like direct.”He took a breath and went for it.“There’s something about you that’s grabbed me and it’s not letting go.”
“Oh shit.”
If that kiss had hit her like the freight train that had flattened him, he figured she understood.“Yeah, oh shit.”
She opened her mouth, but Pancake barked and there was the thunder of racing feet and then they were swarmed by dog and kids and the moment was gone.
“Mom, Mom, Mom.Guess what?Me and Olivia’s fairy boat sank but Jordy’s pirate ship didn’t sink.Can we follow it down the creek and see how far it goes?”
Canine and kids all had muddy feet and happy faces.That kind of carefree happiness should never be taken for granted.
Melanie cleared her throat.“No, it’s a school night and almost dinner time.”She glanced at Gage, then the kids.Jordy was examining the ladder resting on its side.
“Jordy, help me break that ladder apart and we’ll get it in the trash.”
Melanie bent to retrieve her screwdriver.“I’ll do it.It’s mine to deal with.”
Addy piped up, “Us too.Me and Olivia want to help.”
Gage couldn’t help smirking when he caught her gaze.“Ball’s in your court.”
She rolled her eyes and he stifled the desire to laugh.He couldn’t shake the feeling of being in tune with her, like he understood her on some fundamental level.He didn’t know her well enough for that, but that didn’t diminish the feeling.
“Girls, the ladder is a two-person job so we’ll let the boys take care of it.You can help me clean Pancake’s feet and we’ll rinse off your boots.”
He watched them retreat up the driveway.Two little girls, the dog, the woman who’d seeped into his skin, and need pulsed through him.His own childhood had been traumatic, and he’d made the choice early on never to risk the heartache certain to come if he had his own family.
But deep inside he craved the warmth and sunlight he was missing.
***
Melanie tasted the soup, added more salt, and stirred.The task didn’t occupy her mind nearly enough to keep her from replaying that kiss.She’d never experienced a kiss that so completelyconsumedher.Made her feel like every cell in her body was on fire.Made her want to explore a man’s body with her lips, her tongue, her fingertips.Not any man’s, only Gage’s.And that erotic image had no place in her head when she was standing in her kitchen making dinner.
She dumped a bowl of chopped spinach into the steaming pot.It would cook down enough Addy would deem it edible.
She’d managed to keep her few boyfriends at a safe emotional distance, but with one kiss Gage had obliterated every barrier she possessed.It scared her at the same time it thrilled her.
Setting down the spoon, she peered through the slider to the patio.She hadn’t heard a peep from her girl since Jordy and Olivia had left for home.The rumble of thunder echoed off the mountain.
She slid a tray with a bake-at-home loaf into the oven before going in search of her daughter.The deep timbre of Gage’s voice carried from the front of the house, followed by Addy’s lighter tones.A glance through the living room window had Melanie making a beeline for the front door.
Addy and Pancake sat on the front stoop while Gage stood on a ladder—this one sturdy and made of aluminum—with pliers in his hand.
“What the hell are you doing?”
He glanced at her, the corner of his mouth lifting before returning his attention to pulling out the staples holding up the sunshade.“Back to that, are we?”
