Free Love Me by Cheryl Holt Page B

would be an enormous amount of work—decades of it—but they were determined. 
    “The house will be so beautiful,” she said, “when Dustin is through.”
    “Yes, it will.”
    “And they want me to help them!  They like me,” she said again.  “They like me!”
    She twirled him in several circles, making him dizzy.  Then she spun away, practically skipping with delight as she went into the bathroom.  Momentarily, the shower came on, and he walked over and sat on the bed.
    He loosened his boots and belt, unbuttoned his shirt and got more comfortable.  He lay on the pillows, listening to her.
    It had been a long time since he’d shared space with a female.  He liked the sounds and smells of being around her, liked the humidity of the hot water, the hint of shampoo and lotion wafting out from under the closed door.
    He dozed off, content, exhausted.
    When he roused again, she was stretched out on top of him, the brief touch of her lips to his own yanking him to consciousness.  Her glorious blond hair was curled over her shoulders, her big green eyes ablaze with mischief.
    “Were you sleeping?”  Her voice was husky, sexy, luring him to his doom.
    “No, I wasn’t sleeping.”
    “Good, because I’m not ready to go to bed.”
    He begged to disagree.  She was absolutely ready.
    “I like you,” she stated.  “I don’t want to like you, but I do.”
    He grinned.  “What’s not to like?”
    “You’re different from the other men in my life.  I feel safe with you.”
    “I’m glad.”
    “You’d never let anything bad happen to me, would you?”
    “No,” he lied, “I never would.”
    She studied his eyes, but she missed the deceit buried there.  She was too trusting, too naïve.  As she’d mentioned, she’d had no men like Matt in her life, so how could she be expected to understand the deeds of which he was capable? 
    “Doesn’t it seem like we’ve met before?” she asked.
    “Why would you say that?”
    “It seems like we’ve always been connected.”
    He’d been suffering from the same sensation.  He could read her mind, could assess and sort out her emotions before she even realized what they were. 
    If he’d been a more romantic type, he might have believed in idiotic ideas like soul mates and meant-to-be, but he wasn’t a romantic, and he didn’t really believe in much of anything anymore.
    “You’re not much of a drinker, are you?” he said, eager to steer the conversation to lighter topics.
    “Not hardly ever.”
    “Were you aware that alcohol has a more potent effect at higher altitudes?”
    “It does?”
    “You should remember that when you visit your brother.  It’ll keep you out of trouble.”
    “You’ll be here with me,” she ludicrously said, though he had no intention of ever coming to Gold Creek again, “so I don’t have to keep myself out of trouble.  You can do it for me.”
    “I will baby cakes,” he lied again, “whenever I can.”
    “I like you when you’re being nice to me.”
    She initiated a second kiss.  It was chaste and sweet, another fleeting touch of her lips to his.  She was inviting him to join in, to take them to the next level, and a thousand questions rattled through him. 
    Should he?  Shouldn’t he?
    From the chemistry they shared, it was obviously only a matter of time before they yielded to it.  Should he proceed?  Should he wait? 
    She was about to end up hurt and pissed off—at many, many people.  No doubt, Matt would be one of them.  Or maybe not.  Maybe everything would work out.  Maybe she’d wind up happy for the catastrophe he was about to dump on her.
    Yeah, right! he scoffed. 
    No good conclusion was approaching for anyone.  So where did that leave him?
    He pulled her nearer, and he was unnerved to discover that she was wearing just a tank top and panties.  Her legs were bare, her arms were bare, and there was no bra in evidence. 
    With a few quick maneuvers, he could have her naked beneath him.