She stared up at him. Had she done something right for a change? Henry, her ex-fiancé, had nearly had puppies when she’d rearranged his houseplants so they’d get more light. It had taken him a week to admit her arrangement might be better. He’d been positively grumpy when his Chinese evergreen had produced its first flowers ever, three weeks later.
“I did my best to keep it as authentic-looking as possible.” Heart pounding with renewed fury, the words left her in a rush. “If you don’t like anything I can put it back the way it was.” Hell, she’d even scuff dirt into the floorboards again if he insisted.
“Linnet, hush.”
His lips were awfully close to hers, his brown eyes darkening with something she wasn’t sure she recognized. Maybe didn’t even want to identify. At least it didn’t seem dangerous in the sense he meant to hurt her. Mint came to her again, warm and cool at the same time, as she took in the physical sensations. A strong arm encircled her back, and a large hand cupped her cheek, fingers stroking the edge of her hair ever so gently and non-threateningly. Warmth. From his body, eyes and hands, filling in the cold empty places inside her. Places she hadn’t even realized were cold and empty.
“You did a beautiful job. The repairs needed to be made. The improvements make it more comfortable. Thank you.” Spoken quietly, the words as much as the gruff rumble of his voice contributed to the weak feeling invading her entire body. Flight and fight were both impossible at this point.
His hand tilted her head back and she barely had time to suck in a deep breath before his lips lowered and brushed against hers. Blood pounding in her ears, she barely heard the kettle go quiet the way that meant it would begin to whistle in another minute. Opening her mouth to say she needed to get it, she never got the chance. Amazingly soft lips pressed against hers as he took her unintended invitation and fit his mouth to hers. Like a perfectly cut dovetail, their lips and tongues melded and the need to deal with the kettle faded.
Dizzy with never before encountered heat, Linnet wrapped her arms around the only solid thing handy. Hard muscles pressed against her body as her fingers sought handholds on his back. His shirt slid over rippling planes of steel and she held tight. Instead of pushing her away, he pulled her closer, his tongue probing deeply into her mouth, one strong arm holding her upright.
Oh. My. God. The power of the kiss swept her along faster than the current of the river and she gave herself up to it. No kiss had ever touched her like this and it made her head spin. Thankfully, he still held her head or she feared it might have fallen off. If not for his arm around her shoulders and her death grip on his back, she would have fallen when he abruptly broke the kiss.
“Manley, down,” Creed ordered the dog. His gruff tone cleared enough of the haze surrounding her; she heard the kettle screaming and felt Manley head-butting their legs.
“The kettle,” she whispered and shook her head. What was wrong with her? Kissing a stranger? Pulling back from Creed, relief and disappointment fought an epic battle in Linnet’s heart when he let her go. Glad she had a task, Linnet turned to the small stove and turned it off. The whistle began to soften immediately and it accompanied the cooling of the lust that had overcome her.
Out of habit, she reached for her mug and the jar of tea bags on the newly installed shelf over the counter that served as part of the kitchen. Just one of the improvements she’d made over the last few weeks.
Living alone in the middle of the wilderness left one with plenty of spare time. Always good with her hands, she’d filled the non-working hours by organizing this one little corner of the world. It wasn’t that she’d done anything big—the windows had been her most radical change—really, she’d just taken what was available and rearranged it.
A few nails, a little wood glue, and old wobbly furniture became solid once more. A thrift-store cushion or two and a mosquito net around her bunk and life couldn’t get much more comfortable out here.
Creed’s body heat warmed her back when he moved up behind her. She watched as he set his mug next to hers and reached for the glass jar holding packets of cocoa.
“Good idea to use glass for storage.” His voice was a soft warm rumble in her ear.
She needed to move away from him, wanted to move away. Couldn’t make her legs react to orders.
“Keeps the smell in and hopefully the bears out,” she said with a shrug and took the jar from him. Weakness swamped her again when his other hand settled on her shoulder. His thumb stroked her neck as he reached for the kettle.
Opening the jar to select an envelope of the powdered drink was almost an impossible task. Only with great concentration was she able to open the paper packet and empty the contents into his stainless steel mug. It looked solid and sleek next to her tin mug covered with blue speckled enamel. He poured the steaming water while she closed the jar and returned it to the shelf. Teabag followed water into her mug and that jar returned to its home.
“Spoons?” His breath whispered over her ear and a shiver followed.
Not trusting her voice she pointed. Another series of glass jars held mismatched flatware.
Without releasing her, he selected a spoon to stir his cocoa. “Do you need one?”
She shook her head and lifted her mug. Already the fruity fragrance of blueberries perfumed the steam.
“Shall we go sit at the table?” Creed suggested and nodded to where she’d arranged what looked like an old, scarred, dining table under the front window. Furniture polish had cleaned the wood and made it shine like a fine antique. Mismatched woven placemats protected the top while showing off the wood beneath.
“Sure.” She moved to her favorite seat. The best place to view the river, the spot was marked by her laptop and a stack of notebooks. Pencils and pens stood in a paper cup and further defined her workspace.
Creed pulled out the chair for her and then sat down next to her.
“Thanks.” The automatic word popped from her lips before she could find something else to say. He acknowledged it with a smile.
“Quite the little office here,” he teased her.
“Beats one in town.”
“Good point.”
Now what? What was there to say without babbling? The more she thought about it, the more the kiss scared her. Staring out the window she held the cup of tea before her and blew across the surface. A masculine groan made her look back at Creed.
“Women have no idea how their most innocent movements and gestures affect a man,” he chuckled.
Linnet set her cup down on the table and folded her hands in her lap.
“I didn’t mean to make you feel self-conscious.” His hand settled gently over the back of her neck and she felt trapped.
She’d walked into this one all by herself. Cornered by the cabin and the furniture, she found herself blocked from her escape route by Creed. Stupid, Linnet, just plain stupid. Always placing herself in the corner was a bad habit. Hell, even the bunk she’d chosen was in the corner. Dumb, dumb, dumb! She never left herself an escape route.
Clearing her throat she decided to avoid topics that could easily grow too personal. “You were going to tell me your history,” she reminded him. “How did you come to own this place? Is it a family homestead?”
His deep chuckle told her the redirection effort was obvious. “I’d rather keep doing what we were doing when the kettle whistled. It illustrated our condition rather well.”
Linnet closed her eyes and turned her head toward the window. Maybe she should make this one open and screen it as well? The breeze from the river would feel great on her scorched face right about now. She never blushed! What was going on here?
Beside her, Creed sighed. “Right. Moving too fast. Sorry, was a long stretch on the Slope this time. Guess I was