Same story she read up on after Andrea mentioned it, I guess.
I grin. She’s a natural storyteller, her words just suck me in.
Not because I’m thinking about going to Hawaii.
I’m not.
Maybe for a vacation one day, with the way Andrea’s eyes are shining.
Next winter, maybe.
Nice break from all the snow.
I don’t mind being invisible, listening to Peace’s stories as we cast little glances back and forth over the table.
“What?” she whispers emphatically. “I swear to God, that Valerie chick did have a wild cat when she washed up on shore with Mr. SEAL. A serval—er, half serval. I read all about it. I’m so not making this up.”
“Careful, darlin’. You keep on bringing these Hawaiian romance thrillers here, and soon little old Heart’s Edge won’t be so freaky, and I won’t have much to blab about on the radio.”
“Perish the thought.” Andrea chomps off a big bite of eggs and points her fork at me. “I can’t figure out what’s worse.”
I quirk an eyebrow, waiting.
“You playing Mr. Conspiracy or Dr. Love. God, Dad, the things you tell some people.”
“Hey, now, some people at this table have gotten pretty good advice,” Peace says, flashing me a sun-shiny look that ignites my blood.
Andrea’s face goes red. “I mean, well…it’s not all bad. Like that chick who asked you about her crush, Tony the Comic Book Boy. Ugh. They’re freaking inseparable now. Everyone just wishes they’d get a room.”
We all burst out laughing.
For once, I ain’t even fed up with her bullcrap. It’s a rarity to have my little girl giving me a backhanded compliment, and today, I’ll take it.
I can’t even feel my headache now, absorbing the way Peace Rabe brightens up the whole house.
Maybe I get a little too comfortable. We’re all moving around and murmuring over cleaning up the dishes and putting things away when it happens.
Without thinking, my arm brushes Peace, then it snags her around the waist and pulls her close.
Like we’re one big happy family and I’m just kissing my girl goodbye on the way out the door.
I freeze as her body presses up to mine.
Shit, what am I doing?
I catch myself just inches away from bending down to steal her mouth.
She goes stock-still against me, not even breathing, staring up with those soft green eyes. They’re still glacial forests, but they’re also burning hot.
That’s the kind of paradox she is.
All wild whims, and she pulls me all her witch ways when her body feels just like I imagined against mine.
Soft.
Lush.
Hot.
Like she’s this plush marshmallow thing just melting against me in a whimper.
Her pert breasts against my stomach, my chest.
Her breath curled against my lips like the precursor to a kiss that shouldn’t happen.
She’s frozen with her hands held out from her sides, but slowly she lifts them against my chest, her gaze searching mine. “Blake?”
I can hardly hear her over my heartbeat.
Over my imagination going fuck-wild, thinking she’s saying my name the way I’d dreamed it in the shower, Blake, Blake, Blake, oh God, Blake, her thighs gripping my hips and her body pumping down on mine and—
My whole body tingles, burning from the inside out.
Not nearly as much as the fire in my cock, the pounding blood roaring through my veins.
Fuck.
I swear under my breath, stepping back quickly, letting her go so sharply she stumbles. I reach out to grasp her arm and steady her.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “Thought you tripped for a second there.”
I’m a horrific liar.
She doesn’t say anything. I have no idea what I’ll say if she says I don’t believe that.
So I just clear my throat.
I turn around, face the door, then do some more turning. Make sure Andrea isn’t looking, but she’s gone up to her room.
Screw it, here goes.
Her eyes go up in a fireball as I bring my mouth to hers, claiming this pixie who can’t stop stirring me up without even trying.
Oh, but fuck do I try something right now, taking her tongue and her heat, leaving her delirious.
Believe me, it’s mutual.
That first kiss is a freight collision, not just our mouths, but our bodies. Peace moans against my mouth as I take her, grasping her neck, lacing my fingers through her hair, and pulling gently so she dips real sweet for me.
It’s everything I feared.
Fiery, divine, and so sexy I feel like I need a cold shower.
Her little mouth ripples again, pulsing another moan that sounds an awful lot like Blake! before I pull back for half a breath and take her again. This time she’s ready. Her tongue dives at mine, starting a thirty-second battle of dueling tongues and teeth and breathless pleasure.
Fuck.
I’m grateful Andrea’s still in the house.
It’s the only shred of sanity that saves me from spinning her around, throwing her on the couch, and having my way right here and now.
I barely tear myself away, relishing her heat on my lips, watching her still leaning against the wall, wide-eyed and panting. “Blake…what…what was—?”