Free Sweet Talkin' Scoundrel by Tess Oliver Page A

between his hard body and his jeep. “Kinley.” His warm breath caressed my face as he uttered my name with a tone that made me want to turn to liquid right there in his indisputably solid arms.
    As the kiss deepened and I lost myself more and more in his scent, his touch, his warmth, an irritating thought kept poking at me, like a sharp finger. ‘What are you doing, Kinley?’ it asked.
    I pulled my mouth from his. Before Dax could kiss me again, I ducked out from between his body and the jeep.
    He pushed his fedora down low on his head and took a deep breath. “Kinley.” He reached for my hand, but I stepped out of his reach.
    “No, I can’t,” I said plainly as if I was just turning down a second scoop of ice cream. “I’m just trying to erase some bad choices and start a new life, and this, you—I promised myself I’d make better decisions.” I knew the words had come out all wrong the second I ended them. His face clearly showed it. “What I mean—”
    He put up a hand to stop me. “It was just a kiss, Kinley.” He headed to his side of the jeep. “Don’t get so fucking worked up about it.”
    His harsh tone caused tears to burn my eyes. I was such an idiot. I climbed into the jeep and shut the door hard enough to rattle the front windshield. He started the jeep and cranked the radio, signaling that we were through with conversation and niceties.
    We drove back to the airstrip in a thick, bitter silence. I badly wanted to kick myself for losing control and kissing him. At the time, it was the only thing I could think of, kissing Dax, being in his arms. Now I was suffering the consequences of my rash decision.
    My hand shot forward. I turned down the music. Dax kept his indifferent expression trained on the road in front of us. The wide open jeep caused my hair to swirl around my face like long, furry tentacles. I wrapped my hand around it to hold it back, deciding I couldn’t make a point with hair whipping my face.
    Dax continued to stare straight ahead as if he hadn’t noticed me turn down the music.
    “I just want to apologize. I started the kiss. I don’t know what got into me. Just to be clear, I’m not a tease.”
    The sound of his dry laugh assured me I’d just made things worse with my silly declaration.
    He pulled his eyes from the road for the first time since we’d climbed into the jeep. “Tease? You think I’m mad because you were taunting me with those pink lips as if I’m a sixteen-year-old kid with a permanent hard on?”
    “Well, when you say it like that—” I released my monstrous, Medusa hair. It whipped around my face as I used my arms to hug myself against the cold wind. “Now I’m feeling extra foolish. Thank you for peeling away every layer of confidence I’ve built up since my awkward preteen years.”
    The jeep tires chirped as we left paved road and rolled onto the dirt lot lining the runway. His little plane waited for us in front of the hangar. Dax turned off the engine and climbed out, leaving behind a chilly silence in the air.
    I climbed out of the passenger side and walked to the back of the jeep. “Dax.” I decided to use his own words to make my point. I hadn’t expected it but he stopped and faced me. I nearly lost my nerve under his direct gaze. “I couldn’t get through the day thinking you hated me.” I said it so quietly, I was sure the distant thunder of the ocean had muted it.
    Dax moved closer. “Unlike you, I hate plenty.” The heat rolling off his body made me lightheaded.
    I held my breath, certain that if I took in air, it would be a shuddering sob.
    Unexpectedly, he reached for my hand. He stared down at it, looking small and frail in his. He lifted his gaze to my face. “But I could never hate you, Rabbit. Never. I just wish you were in King’s Beach for a different reason. I wish you weren’t working on Wildthorne Island.”
    His words, his touch, the heady scent of his soap, had left me stunned and speechless. I couldn’t for