Free Where the Heart Is by Darcy Burke Page A

dimmed and she looked away.
    He moved closer, running his fingertips down her bicep. “Hey, don’t think about the fire. Not tonight.”
    â€œIt’s not that.” She looked up at him and blinked. “Okay, it is that, but not for the reasons you think. Do you have a vacant house?”
    Shit. The house. He should’ve broached the subject immediately. “Yes,” he said slowly. “I was going to offer it to you tonight.”
    Her eyes were guarded. “You’re not just saying that because I brought it up?”
    â€œNo.” He wrapped his hands around her shoulders. “Listen, Chloe, I really like you. My house is . . . it’s complicated. I’m thinking of selling it, but for now it’s a good place for you to land.”
    She was quiet a moment, but didn’t shrink from his touch. “What’s the rent? I’m on a tight budget.”
    â€œI know. Pay whatever you were paying over on McMurtry.”
    Her eyes widened briefly and she shook her head once. “I don’t want your pity.”
    Frustration over how the evening was going boiled over. “You think that’s what I’m feeling toward you?”
    Her gaze locked with his. “I don’t know.”
    â€œLet me show you then.” He drew her against his chest and lowered his lips to hers in a searing kiss, suddenly overwhelmed with the need to touch and taste her and prove she wasn’t some charity case. Not to him.
    He wrapped his arms around her back and held her close, but judging by the grip of her hands around his neck, she wasn’t going anywhere. She met his kiss with the same urgency he was feeling. She felt so good against him, her body pressed into his, her mouth opening beneath his lips and her tongue inviting his into her heat.
    The kiss continued for several minutes until Derek realized he had to get a handle on himself before he tumbled her back onto his bed. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. “We’re standing in the middle of my bedroom, you know.”
    â€œRight,” she said, sounding breathless. “But it’s not like you lured me here to see your fish tank. I’m here of my own accord, and I’m not going anywhere.” Her gaze darted to the side. “You don’t even have a fish tank. How’d you get girls to come way down here?”
    â€œWine cellar’s next door.” He pressed his lips to hers for a heated kiss, then pulled at her lower lip with his teeth before saying, “Do you want to see the wine cellar? It’s very well stocked.”
    â€œI’m more interested in how well you’re stocked,” she said, pressing her body tight to his. “Show me the wine cellar later.”
    â€œYou got it.” He resumed the kiss, and she met him with her lush tongue, coaxing him to slide into her mouth. God, she tasted great, like mint and lemon. Fresh and seductive. It’d been a long time since he’d made out with someone, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever done it like this.
    The feel of her breasts against his chest and her thighs tight against his sent him into a state of full arousal. He held her head and kissed her deeply. He wanted more of her. As much as he could get.
    Her hands twined into the base of his hair and clasped the back of his neck, holding him tight. Maybe it was this connection between them, but every touch felt like magic.
    He glided his palms down her back and savored the heat coming through the thin layer of her sweater. She looked and smelled so good tonight. Her perfume was some sort of vanilla and something herb-like, or maybe it was pine. He inhaled, getting that the pine was coming from her hair. When his hands settled at her waist, she pushed into him, her hips angling against his and stoking his desire to an even hotter level.
    He moved his mouth from hers, trailing kisses along her jawline. She arched her neck to give him better