Free Where Their Hearts Collide: Wardham Book #2 by Zoe York Page A

wasn’t where his thoughts ended up in the middle of the night, surrounded by the proof that life can sometimes veer horribly off-track. That people can damage each other. Goodness was fleeting, and he’d touched goodness now more than once. It was time to stop pretending that he wasn’t lucky for it. Time to stop testing the stretch of that luck.
    He was no stranger to dirty sex. For a long time, it was the only kind of sex he had. After Susan, he hadn’t wanted another serious relationship, and nothing advertised that a hookup was casual better than being explicit about carnal intent.
    But yesterday had been almost exactly the reverse. The harder each of them pushed against their growing attraction, the tighter the web around them gathered. There was nothing casual about his feelings toward Karen. He wasn’t delusional—there were still significant road blocks to his life being relationship-friendly. But he was tired of pretending that he didn’t want more of her. Her mouth, to start with. Her heart and mind, too. Her body, wrapped around his, and not just for a night.
    Dating. He thought he’d sworn it off forever, but Karen was different. They’d have to take it slow, and he’d need to make it clear up front that Megan-time was sacred, but that wouldn’t be a problem. She’d probably kneecap him for thinking otherwise.
    He was grinning as he changed at the station, enough so that the desk clerk commented on his mood as he headed out to his car. He just waved and kept going. It probably wouldn’t take long for the entire town to find out about their relationship, but he wasn’t giving anyone a head start with the gossip.
    The shit-eating grin didn’t waver as he quietly pulled into their shared drive and parked his car in his garage. It was inevitable that they’d meet, being neighbours, but he was glad he’d parked between their houses long enough to rile her up. The image of her striding toward him, arms streaked with dirt, sun glinting off her mahogany hair, breasts bouncing lightly under her t-shirt, would always make him smile. A woman on a mission. She had no idea how determined she could be. How fierce.
    He thought about dashing into his house and having a quick shower, but he was bagged. He didn’t want a quick fuck with Karen. Well, he did, and would always, but not today. Not their first time. He wanted to share a cup of coffee with her, and soak in her goodness, and then crawl into bed and recharge so they could have a real date that night. Maybe crack open the box of condoms he’d bought last week. The box he’d he told himself he wasn’t going to need. Liar .
    He rapped twice on her back door and stretched his arm up high, resting his forearm against the frame, so when she opened the door and stepped forward, she was close enough to catch around the waist and he pulled her tight against him. “Hey, darlin’.”
    “Hi, you.” She tilted her face toward his, which didn’t take much, as their bodies aligned perfectly. “You coming in?”
    “In a minute. First…good morning.” He drifted the tip of his nose against hers, relishing the slow smile that crawled across her face before he lowered his mouth to cover hers. She tasted like orange juice, and the pure greatness of that almost brought him to his knees. He threaded his free hand into her curls and lost himself in all that was soft. Her hair, her mouth, the swell of her hip under his other hand. It was all just exactly what he wanted. What he needed.
    “Long night?” Karen whispered the question against his face, seemingly happy to stay wrapped in his arms in her doorway. He nodded and she buried her face in his neck, transferring her happy morning warmth to him. “I’ve got coffee, or I can make tea if you’ll have trouble falling asleep?”
    He squeezed her hip and signaled that they could move inside. “ Fifteen years of shift work. I don’t have any problem falling asleep. Coffee would be great.”
    He told her what he