Pulling my jacket around me tighter, I smiled at the young couple walking toward me holding hands.
I loved love. I was just not lucky in it.
Ever since my parents passed away, I wasn’t lucky in anything.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Reaching in, I pulled it out and answered it without looking.
Huge mistake.
“Hello?”
“Kilyn. Baby, how are you?”
Ugh. It was Jack. We met at a cooking class and I agreed to go out with him one time. Worst two hours of my life.
“I’m doing well, Jack. How are you?”
“I’d be better if you were here next to me.”
With an internal groan, I opened the door to my car and slid in. “Jack, we talked about this. I’m not interested in you like that.”
He laughed. “I know! I know! Listen, I’m in the mood to get my shake on. Please say you’ll go with me. I’ve had a hell of a shit week.”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, I dropped my head back. “I’m sorry. I have to pass. I’ve got to get some designs done up. Maybe next weekend or something?”
“Yeah. Sounds good.”
“Bye, Jack, be careful and have fun.”
The sooner I got home and changed, the better. The drive to my new condo in Manitou Springs wasn’t far from my office. I’d change into my running stuff and clear my head with a good long run.
“Kilyn?”
The sound of his voice made my heart stop, and I swear I was involuntarily holding my breath.
Glancing over my shoulder, there he stood.
Good. Lord. Help. Me.
Thano smiled that big smile of his, showcasing the two dimples and his straight white teeth. My eyes traveled down his body and I swear the ground shook.
Breathe, Kilyn. Breathe.
“Um . . . ah . . .”
I couldn’t utter a word. Not a damn word. I’d never had a man make me feel like this and it scared the piss out of me. Maybe I was so affected by him because of how insanely good looking he was.
He held up his hands in defense and said, “I swear, I’m not following you. I was out for a run and I looked over here and saw you. I can’t believe we’ve run into each other twice since that night in the bar.”
Talk, Kilyn. You idiot! Talk!
“I um . . . I just moved to Manitou Springs not too long ago. Do you live around here? Close by? I mean, you don’t have to tell me where you live. I live a few miles that way.”
Damn it. I sounded like a teenager. And the worse part was I actually pointed down the street as I was talking.
Where is the rock for me to crawl under? Pulling my lip in, I chewed the hell out of it. I couldn’t help but notice his eyes grow darker while he zeroed in on my lips.
The throbbing between my legs was getting to the point where I was going to have to do something about it and soon.
Holy hell. Has it really been that long since I’d had sex? Or was it just him?
“I live in town, but I’m also building a log cabin up in the mountains. Hopefully to live there full time someday.”
Please take me there and ravage me!
No. Wait. Jesus, Kilyn, pull yourself together, woman!
“I like cabins. And love the mountains.”
That was all I could come up with. I was slowly dying inside. I’d never been at a loss for words no matter who I was talking to.
His smile grew bigger as he replied, “Me too. Another thing we have in common.”
My eyes shot up while I watched him push his fingers through his sweat-soaked dark hair. His comment snapped me out of my current daze. “Another thing?”
“Yeah,” he said with a wink. “We both like to run and we both love the mountains.”
Why did my knees feel weak? Did I run too hard? Maybe I was tired.
With an awkward chuckle, I nodded. “I’d kill for a weekend in the mountains. Anything to get away. You’re lucky.”
He lifted his eyebrow and something moved across his face.
Change the subject, Kilyn. Fast.
“Hey, so is Thano short for something?”
“It is,” he said with another drop-my-panties smile. “My full name is Athanasios.”
Dear. God. Why does that make my panties soaking wet? It’s the way he said it. Those green eyes of his confused me. They held a sad secret, but every now and then he would look at me like he wanted to rip my clothes off.
I would so be down with him ripping my clothes off. My eyes moved to his arm and the tattoos on it. Licking my lips, I forced the moan to stay in.
“That’s . . . a really cool name.”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “Gotta love my Greek parents.”
I needed to know his full name. Okay, that’s not true. I didn’t need to know, I just wanted to hear him say his name again.