Free Deliciously Sinful by Lilli Feisty

been a month since Nick’s arrival in Redbolt. Watching him now, she realized there had been more subtle changes she hadn’t noticed until that moment. Not only was his skin a healthy bronze, but his face looked a bit less gaunt. His hair was a bit shaggier, and he’d lost a little of that wolflike edge he’d arrived with. Not that she wasn’t afraid he’d pounce on her any minute, but he was less…scary somehow.
    In fact, he hadn’t pounced on her at all since that night in his kitchen, two weeks back. That was good. It was a good thing. She’d pretended it had never happened and so had he. His point had been taken. He was a conceited bastard who could seduce any woman he wanted to, even her.
    It was a big mistake. Clenching the bucket in her hand, she approached him. She almost wished he’d make a move on her again, just so she could prove him wrong.
    Because she could resist Nick. She could .
    Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. Ugh. Now she was talking to herself in his voice. Irritation made her bite the inside of her cheek.
    “Nick. What are you doing?”
    With a jerk of his head, he glanced up. “Oh,” he said, clearly surprised to see her. Wiping his hands on his jeans, he stood. “I was out for a walk and I stumbled on this. Just taking a look.”
    She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “You went on a walk? Why?”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t know. It just seems out of character.”
    “Yeah, well, maybe you don’t know my character as well as you think you do.”
    Huh. She really didn’t want to think there was a chance of that being true. She didn’t want to see any cracks in the character description she had in her mind. Because right now, she didn’t like Nick, and she really wanted to keep it that way.
    He shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, and she wondered why he seemed nervous. She’d never seen Nick Avalon as anything less than what he claimed himself to be, which was arrogant and conceited.
    Which he was. Is. She knew it; everyone knew it.
    So why was she having little nibblings of doubt? Because, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, she’d seen something. A smile here and there. A joke. A genuine compliment. And the way he worked with Jesse was impressive. He had shown such patience with Phoebe’s niece it was surprising.
    Or maybe she was just losing her grip on reality due to the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about Nick. About Nick’s hands on her body, his tongue on her—
    She derailed that train of thought and narrowed her gaze at him. “I’ve never seen you out walking before. What are you doing outside your cabin? Be careful. Mother Nature might get you!”
    “I’m not worried about Mother Nature, and there’s not much else to do in this Podunk town.”
    His attempt to insult her community had less venom than it normally did; it was almost as if he responded more out of habit or obligation than spite.
    Now he was focusing on her, glancing up through dark lashes. His eyes were sparkling blue, reflecting the bright blue sky. His facial expression was soft, and for the first time, she noticed his features were actually much less harsh than she’d always thought.
    What had changed?
    “What do you have there?” he asked, glancing at her bucket.
    “Oh, I was just out looking for mushrooms.”
    “Find any?”
    Holding out the bucket in front of her, she said, “Just these.”
    He stepped forward and sized up her collection. With his long fingers, he plucked out a coral and brushed the dirt off the stem. “Nice. A Ramaria rubinosa ?”
    She hitched a breath and tried to ignore the way her heart fluttered a bit at his knowledge of mycology. “H-how did you know the proper name for it?”
    He shrugged and wiped off some more dirt. The mushroom was large and beautiful, and she’d discovered enough to feature them on that evening’s menu.
    He said, “Believe it or not, I read about produce. And I like mushrooms.” He had to