Free Winter's Wonder: Pine Point, Book 2 by Allie Boniface Page B

chin, and his lips met hers in another kiss. Hot. Sweet. Dangerous in the way it had the power to knock her off her feet. Somehow, they made it from the kitchen back into the living room. He never stopped kissing her. She never stopped touching him. Every nerve ending, from her lips to her palms to her bare toes, hummed with want. Cinnamon mixed with butter and the smell of wood smoke and Zane’s faint, spiced aftershave sent her senses reeling. When he slipped one hand beneath her sweater, she nearly jumped.
    She could feel him smile, his mouth against the hollow of her throat, against the cool silver of her necklace. In another second, they sank onto the couch. He pulled her onto his lap, those enormous hands holding her in place above him. For a moment, he just looked at her, eyes half-closed. “So many things I want to do to you,” he murmured, and that was all it took. She reached down and pulled her sweater over her head, emboldened by the way he watched her, the way he began to rock her against him.
    This is going to happen…
    And she wanted it, all of it, no matter the consequences. She wanted to lose herself in him, with him, feel the magnificent energy that seemed to hum through him day and night. Without hesitation, she kissed him again, deeper, snaking her tongue to meet his. He groaned and moved his hands from her hips up her sides. Her bare flesh sparked at his touch, and when he finally settled his palms atop her lace bra, she was the one who cried aloud. So hard. So desperately wanting. He ran his thumbs over her nipples, and when she let herself move against him, a sensual rocking, the beginnings of an orgasm seeped through her.
    Heat flushed her face, her chest, the pooling desire between her legs. Something hummed from far away. Once. Then twice. Becca opened her eyes.
    “Don’t answer it,” Zane said, recognizing the buzzing of her cell phone before she did.
    Oh, hell. Double, triple hell. She reached into her back pocket. Maybe it was Ella. Or a college alumni rep asking for donations. Or—
    But, no. Of course not. She sat back, still on Zane’s lap, and trailed one hand down his chest.
    “Is it the shelter?” he asked in a rough voice.
    She nodded and listened to the voicemail.
    “Bec? If you get this, you gotta come here. Please.” Julito’s voice shook. “I was takin’ Buddy out for a walk, havin’ a smoke, and I came by…there’s a carrier with two cats inside. Left on the back porch. They look…not good.”
    Her mouth went dry. Her dinner heaved in her stomach. Becca slipped off Zane’s lap and pulled on her sweater. Zero degrees outside, and someone dumps two housecats locked in a carrier? Like garbage? What if Julito had walked the other way down the road? What if no one had passed the shelter at all until its regular opening tomorrow morning at eight?
    “Becca?”
    She glanced up. Her eyes burned with tears. “I’m so sorry. I have to go.” Suddenly, she realized she hadn’t driven herself there. “Crap. Can you—”
    He pushed himself to a stand. “I can. Of course. But you want to tell me what’s going on?”
    Sniffling, trying to keep composure, she did. Without another word, he put on his shoes and coat and held her arm as she wobbled to his truck in her stupid, impractical high heels. They drove the four miles to Pine Point Paws in silence, Becca’s heart beating out of her chest. Half of her ached for the helpless animals who’d been dumped on a doorstep. The other half ached for the ruin of this whole shitty night. She glanced at Zane a couple times, but he kept his eyes straight ahead as he steered through the dark.
    By the time he dropped her off at the shelter’s front door with a brief kiss on the cheek, she was pretty sure he’d never want to see her again.

Chapter Twelve
    Zane sat in the Pine Point Paws driveway for a long time after Becca disappeared inside. In the foyer, he watched her kick off her shoes and pull on a pair of muddy boots. Over the