Free Anywhere You Are by Elisabeth Barrett Page B

me.”
    She let out a breath and her shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Thank you.”
    Marc glanced at his watch. It was already four. “If I’m going to make my flight, I should go. Are you sure you’re going to be all right with the dog while I’m gone?”
    “Sure. He loves it here. Look.” She pointed to where Big Blue had curled up in a corner of the barn on a pile of old oilcloths. “He’s already made himself right at home.”
    The dog really did look content, which made him happy. If he couldn’t personally take care of Aunt Sarah’s prized possession, being with Grace, in a warm, loving home with plenty of exercise and food, surely had to be the next best thing.
    “Thanks again for lunch,” Marc said. “And for saving my ass.”
    Grace gave a little shrug. “After all the trouble I put you through, it was my pleasure.”
    “You didn’t put me through any trouble.”
    “Sure I did.” She tipped her head to the side, daring him to contradict it. “But hopefully I’m making up for it now.”
    “You have no idea,” he told her. She’d salvaged his entire week, and he’d owe her big-time after this. “I’ll come pick him up on Wednesday after my board meeting at Briarwood.”
    Grace nodded. “Sounds great. I’ll take good care of him. Goodbye, and um, safe travels.”
    “Goodbye.”
    She was staring up at him, her eyes huge, her lips slightly parted. And then she leaned in. Just a fraction, but he felt it,
everywhere.
So he did what he’d been dying to do all afternoon. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.
    “Marc?” she breathed.
    So he did something brave or stupid or both.
    He speared a hand through her hair, bent his head, and pressed his lips to hers.
    He’d meant his kiss to be tame, composed, before they completely fell down the rabbit hole, but Grace was having none of it. Before he could even get his bearings, she licked against the seam of his lips, urging him to open, and the moment he did, her tongue touched his. There was nothing tentative about the way she tasted and explored, unmooring him in an instant.
    Her passion was palpable, her eyes closed, her breathing deep. She’d wrapped one little hand around his waist and the other was fisted in the front of his shirt, using it as leverage to tug him closer. The hard little points of her nipples rasped his chest. She was aroused, and the thought that he’d been the one to do that—to make this wild woman want him—filled him with a deep satisfaction.
    Her mouth was heaven, wet and warm, and dear God, what was she doing with her tongue? Whatever it was sent a jolt straight to his cock.
    His hand tightened in her hair, the other hand snaked up the back of her shirt to touch petal-soft skin. She wasn’t wearing a bra.
    Of course she wasn’t, which made him even harder.
    Grace Davingham wasn’t tidy or neat. She was messy, passionate, and earthy. She didn’t fit into his life at all. And yet he felt himself unraveling. Work, family, obligations—all of that flew directly out the window.
    He’d need hours with her in bed. Days, to explore every inch of her sweet curves. To lose himself in her over and over again.
    If he didn’t stop this now…well, he didn’t want to think about what might happen. Gently, he pulled back, extricating himself from her luscious body.
    She pulled back too, the lingering expression of passion on her face slowly morphing to one of surprise. “I didn’t think you’d kiss like that,” she said, her voice husky.
    There were a lot of things he’d bet she didn’t think about him. And before he threw all his carefully made plans out the window, he needed to get some distance.
    “I should go.”
    Her gaze dipped. “Right. Uh, well, I’ll take care of Big Blue, and you can, um, call me when you get back or you want to pick him up. I—”
    “Grace?”
    She still wouldn’t look at him.
    “Grace.” His tone of voice brooked no opposition. She turned and tipped her head up. He