Free Cape Cod Kisses by Bella Andre, Melissa Foster Page A

desire as she was. “You’ll see.”
    He snagged a bucket, and then she followed him into the boathouse. Tools and boating equipment filled the high-ceilinged building. Large workbenches lined the walls, with cabinets above and below. Quinn reached into a cabinet beneath one of the work areas, grabbed a towel and tossed it over his shoulder. He took the rakes from Shelley and put them in the bucket.
    “Now we’re ready,” he said as he led her away from the boathouse along the main road.
    Yes, she thought. She was so freaking ready to kiss him again, it wasn't even funny...
    Still, she tried to focus on the secret he was about to show her. “We’re either going to build some funky sand castles,” she guessed, “or you’re going to use the rakes to dig a shallow grave, bury me before the tide comes in, and hope no one notices.”
    “Sweetheart, if those are the best ideas you can come up with for a rake and a bucket, you haven’t spent nearly enough time on the island yet.”
    Sweetheart . He barely knew her, yet the endearment sounded natural. Just as natural as it had when he’d said it to her last night. Right before she'd thrown herself into his arms and learned just how good a kiss could be. Good enough to turn a girl wanton.
    “I already love it here on the island. So much, in fact, that I’d like to stay longer.”
    He shot her a questioning glance. “Are you considering extending your vacation?”
    “I don’t know exactly what I’m thinking yet, but even in the short time I’ve been here…I feel like I fit , you know?”
    “I can’t imagine you not fitting in anywhere.”
    “Oh, there are definitely places,” she said softly.
    But she didn’t want to go into details on her family life right now. She wanted to get to know the real Quinn Rockwell, and if she told him about her childhood and her concerns about wealthy people as a whole, he might try to bend to please her.
    She didn’t even know why she’d revealed to him that she’d like to stay longer, but once the words were out, she knew they were true. She did feel like she fit in with the easygoing lifestyle here, at least what she’d seen of it so far. She felt relaxed and accepted here, just like she always had with her aunt in Eastham.
    Shelley was glad that he didn’t push for details as they walked down a side street to a sandy, rutted road that looked like it had seen better days. Every part of her was keenly aware of his athletic build, the firm outlines of his thighs against his khaki shorts, his strong hands engulfing hers. He was just so sexy and confident, and best of all, noticeably lacking the air of self-importance that surrounded her father like a cloud. Quinn felt substantial—not that she needed a big man to protect her, or that she was looking for one, for that matter, but she felt safe with him.
    At the end of the dirt road, a hill rose up to meet thick, spiny bushes. “We’re heading through there.” He nodded to a narrow path between the thorny bushes. “I’ll go first to clear away the branches.”
    “What’s over the ridge?”
    He grinned, and her heart started pounding faster at the way the expression utterly transformed his face, from handsome to heart-stoppingly gorgeous and carefree.
    “Your surprise.” Quinn carefully pushed aside the bushes.
    He held the bucket in one hand high above the tops of the bushes and used his other hand to hold the branches away from her, oblivious to the way thorns were clinging to his own shirt.
    “You’re getting pricked!” She tried to pull the branches from his shirt and a thorn stuck in her fingers. “Ouch.”
    She drew her hand back, and a bead of blood appeared on her finger. When she sucked it into her mouth, Quinn’s eyes darkened and the air between them sizzled, causing her pulse to quicken. She couldn't stop herself from imagining what it would feel like to have his mouth on her finger, his tongue licking a lazy path up her skin.
    “Shelley.”
    She'd