Free No Foolin' (Willowdale Romance Novel) by Lisa Scott

pass, too. He stole another glance at her and winced. Was it just knowing he couldn’t have her that made him want her? Was he no better than Chief Larsen?
    “Let’s go.” He flipped a few twenties on the table and told himself he wasn’t getting back on the bike just so he could feel her arms around him again. She hopped on behind him, looping her arms around his waist. He liked the feeling. Two cars pulled out onto the street, with photographers hanging out the windows.
    “Hold on!” He sped down the street and blew through a light just as it turned red. Dodging down a few side streets, he lost them. He was aware of every move her body made against his. Man, she fit against him nicely. The way she clung to him made him feel needed. Needed. That’s something he didn’t experience very often.
    They cruised along the coast until the sun started to set in a puddle of orange, dribbling into the sea. He pulled into his neighbor’s driveway, stashed his bike, and they snuck back into his house. “At least I can show you to your room tonight. You were pretty out of it yesterday.” He smirked, remembering it.
    Her smile fell. “That’s right. How did I get in?”
    One eyebrow raised. “I carried you.”
    “Oh,” she said in a tiny voice. “Up the stairs?” She pointed to the second floor.
    He shrugged. “My pleasure.” And it had been. There’d been something wildly provocative about sliding his hands underneath her thighs and neck, carrying her off the plane and then out of the car, settling her on her bed, like a treasure he couldn’t touch.
    Her cheeks were pink. “And you didn’t have any problem getting me up there?”
    Teague flexed his bicep. “Did it with one hand.” He winked at her.
    She looked up at him shyly and smiled. “Right. You do your own stunts.”
    “And so do you, as I recall.” He could think of a few stunts he’d like to try out with her right now.
    They stood at the base of the stairs like a pair of preteens at the front door after a first date. He scratched his head. “We should probably turn in. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”
    “I almost forgot.” She rolled her eyes.
    “Come on.” Laughing, he led her up the stairs to her room. “Do you need anything?” He leaned against her doorframe, just inches from her. It would be so easy to pull her to his chest and take a taste of those perky little lips that somehow always seemed to be formed in a smile. Kate was exceptionally cute when she was trying to be mad; it was a hard look to pull off with those lips.
    She rubbed her arms and stifled a yawn. “No, I don’t need anything. I have enough supplies to stay here for a year.” She paused, and pressed her hand against his chest. “Don’t worry. Not like I want to or anything.” Again, with the lips and the dimples. Then she yanked her hand back and a blush crept across her cheeks, as if she hadn’t realized she’d touched him.
    He smiled. A year with this woman? He’d never last. He needed to kiss her again, to see if that spark was real. The one he’d felt when he first laid his lips on hers, and then later at the café. He’d like to carry her to bed now that she was awake. He’d peel her clothes off and find out if this magical attraction was really there or just the result of this charade. Maybe then he’d be able to shake this longing he couldn’t ignore any longer.
    He blew out a breath and took a step back from the door before jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m down the hall if you need anything.” But he knew she wouldn’t come to him.
    He spent much of the night staring at the ceiling, wishing he’d been wrong.

Chapter 7
     
    DINA ALMOST DROPPED the phone. Good thing she didn’t; it was getting hard to bend over these days. “Kate? And T-Rex? It’s gotta be a different Kate.” When she said she was out of town she should have mentioned the part about the hot guy.
    “It’s in all the papers. Just go online and check it out,”