Rider's Kiss

“Do you wear perfume?” he asked, a frown marring his brow. “It’s driving me crazy.”

“Er, perfume?” Victoria couldn’t think straight. She was still reeling from the power of him.

“You smell like…cupcakes.” He moaned low in his throat. “I friggin’ love cupcakes.”

She laughed. “I’m not wearing perfume.”

Rider’s gaze strayed to her mouth and her lips tingled as if begging for his taste. “You always smell as if you’ve been baking sweets,” he murmured. “Delicious.”

“Probably because I always am,” she explained. Things suddenly felt too hot, too fast. She mentally backpedaled. “Rider, what’s going on here?” She didn’t realize until that moment that she was falling down the rabbit hole. The instinct to protect her fragile heart rose up. She knew that if anyone could crush it, Rider could.

“This is exactly what it looks like,” he told her as a frown appeared on his handsome face. “A man on a lunch date with a beautiful woman.” He paused before adding, “One he wants more than his next breath.” He wrapped his powerful arms around her. “Do you have a problem with that, Vic?”

Well, that did it. As if he’d taken out a sledgehammer and started swinging, Victoria’s defenses were shattered. She leaned her head forward and kissed him. Then he took control, and the sweet caress of lips turned into searing fire. She was thrown off balance. Her equilibrium went all out of whack in an instant.

She melted as he made sweet, slow love to her mouth. God, the man could kiss. With all the effort she could muster, Victoria barely managed to break the connection and place a palm against his chest. “Uh, we’re in a public place here.”

“Mm, yes, I see that. What’s your point?” he asked, passion darkening his eyes.

She cleared her throat and held her ground. Why she held her ground was a mystery to her. If she was smart, she’d go with the flow. It was what she’d always wanted, after all. “We can’t possibly pursue this…whatever is going on here. I think that sort of public display may be against the law. In fact, I’m sure it is.”

“It’s just a kiss, sweetheart. I’m not going to ravish you.”

“Oh,” she mumbled. God, what a dolt. As if for a single moment a man like Rider could possibly be overcome by lust for her. Plain Victoria Kiss. Yeah, right. “Of course.”

He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “I’d rather have complete privacy for that,” he whispered. “As well as a whole lot of time.”

Her gaze widened at the candid statement. “You would?”

“I’m not through with you yet, sweetheart,” he explained with a wink. “Not by a long shot.” He took hold of her upper arms and gently pushed her backward onto the soft blanket, then trapped her beneath him. “You know, it occurs to me that you’re quite a contradiction. On the outside, you’re this sweet innocent small-town girl, but on the inside, I bet you’re hot enough to set my blood on fire, huh?”

“Rider, you might be sorely disappointed.” She bit her lip, unsure how to explain how inexperienced she truly was. “I just think you shouldn’t expect too much.”

Rider stared hard at the woman lying beneath him, trying to digest what she’d said. He suddenly felt like the luckiest son of a bitch who ever lived to be the man with Victoria right at that moment. But the feeling was short-lived as suspicion rose up and distrust caused him to wonder if she was being entirely truthful. How could a woman like Victoria have gone so long without getting into at least one serious relationship? Were all the men of Summit Green blind? An inner voice called him a hypocrite though. Hadn’t he kept his distance from Victoria too? Like an idiot, he’d wasted so many years. Years of wondering if her skin would be as soft as it appeared. Wondering what it’d be like to have her pretty hazel eyes trained on him as he made love to her.

Rider cupped her cheek, holding her still, and kissed her. He licked her lower lip, then sucked it into his mouth. It was full and plump. He didn’t think there was any other mouth quite like it. Her lips were made for touching, licking and kissi

ng. For his pleasure and his alone.

Not so fast. With Victoria, he would need to take it slow. To build the pleasure and bring her to new peaks before they did a freefall over the edge of desire together. He ached to make it as perfect for her as possible.

He grudgingly stopped playing with her mouth and raised his head. “So sweet, so soft,” he murmured.

Desire lit her eyes and a blush stained her cheeks. “I like to see you blush.” He stroked one pink cheek with his thumb, tracing her delicate features. “It’s very sexy on you.”

“It’s a good thing,” she breathed out, “because I have a feeling I’ll be doing it a lot around you.”

He chuckled and got up off the blanket and her. When their bodies were no longer touching, he felt an unexpected sense of loss. It wasn’t an entirely comfortable feeling. He held a hand down for her and helped her to her feet. Together they put away the remains of their picnic in the large basket Victoria had brought along, then walked hand in hand back to his car.

Rider ached for Victoria like never before. The brief lunch date was like dangling candy in front of a child. The few hours they’d spent together flirting and kissing only served to tease his appetite. When it came to Victoria, Rider wanted all or nothing.

Chapter Six

It was Friday night, nearly a week since her date with Rider. He’d called and texted. He’d even sent her flowers. A gorgeous bouquet of daisies. Her favorite, of course. Oh, man, she was falling further and further down that blasted rabbit hole, and she was helpless to do anything about it.

As she stood in the bedroom and stared at her outfit, Victoria groaned. The soft material of the snug black skirt and red satin blouse were absolutely beautiful. She actually looked pretty decent in it too. Yep, she was certainly ready for a night on the town, just as planned. So why was she frozen in place? “Because I’m a freaking coward,” she groused.

Victoria had never been one to go to bars. She’d only decided to give it a shot this time because Reena had talked her into it. She’d said it would do her good to show off her new look a little. All Victoria wanted to do was put on her comfortable sweats, grab a book and hit the couch. “God, I am so pathetic,” she moaned.