Page 139 of The Holiday Heartbreaker

So she went on, cursing the rocks without using profanity and trying to keep her thoughts from churning back to her fantasies, or her memory of his naked body.

She arrived at the cabin and didn’t see any movement, and she seriously considered running. Like hell, in fact.

Which was the closest she came to profanity even in her own head.

But she didn’t.

Because she was boring and she was tired of being boring. Because she was stagnant and she was sick of that too. Because the last three days she’d felt alive, and she wanted to keep on feeling that.

So she pressed forward to the cabin, and on a deep breath, she knocked.

She didn’t hear anything.

She was almost relieved. At least that was what she told herself the feeling of the air in her lungs evaporating was. Relief.

Not disappointment. Because disappointment would be ridiculous.

She set her basket down on the threshold and turned away, trying to hide her disappointment even from herself.

But when she was only about ten paces away from the door, she heard him.

The door opened, and then he spoke.

“Well, well, there you are, Little Red. And I don’t think you’re looking for grandma’s house.”

SHE WAS BACK, the little idiot. Zane would never hurt a woman, he would never and had never forced himself on one. He’d never coerced a woman, even. If she didn’t want to, he didn’t want to.

And given the experiences he’d had in his life, he was absolutely opposed.

She wasn’t in danger because he’d make her do a damned thing.

She was in danger because he was almost certain she felt the same electric pull that he did. He also had a feeling it would be too much for her. And that if they touched, neither of them would be able to resist.

She was in a dress today, delicate and sweet, and if anything was revealing of who she was, that was it.

It was ludicrous. All of it.

And he should have let her walk away, but he hadn’t.

He’d always been bad at resisting temptation.

She turned, her gray eyes looking luminous. “No. I was looking for my backpack.”

“Oh, were you?”

“Yes.”

“Not me?”

She cleared her throat, looking admirably brave. “Well, I believe you have my backpack, so by that very token, yes, I was looking for you. But in aid of getting my backpack returned to me.”

“Must be a special backpack.”

She shook her head. “Not really, it’s just mine.”

“I can understand that.” He regarded her for a long moment. “Come on in, Little Red.”

He could see her debate that.

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