We go out now, come back late this afternoon. How’s
that?”
Kit had to admit, the invitation was tempting. Loving the
outdoors like she did, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to
sail. But then she thought of Baylee and then little Sarah. Her face fell.
Baylee would have to deal with customers both in the bookstore and the coffee
house, knew she’d be jumping all day and with Sarah she’d have her hands full.
“I can’t,” she finally admitted. “I only have Baylee
part-time and she’ll have Sarah with her today. It’s too much to ask with the
baby. Maybe we could do it another time, unless of course you’re planning to
take off again.”
“How long do you plan on throwing that up to me?” Then he
quickly changed tactics. “And what’s this about Baylee and Sarah? When I left
last year there was no baby.”
“Baylee’s not talking. See what can happen when you
disappear for a year.” She stood up, downed the last of her coffee, and headed
into the galley to wash her cup out in the sink. “As soon as I find my shoes,
I’ll be ready to go. The aspirin’s starting to kick in, my head feels better.”
Jake followed her, watching as she rinsed out her cup. When
she turned around, he moved to stand directly in front of her, blocking her way
before placing a palm on either side of the counter, boxing her in. “I’m not
running now, Kit. The question is what are you going to do about it?”
His nearness made her pulse quicken, her breath become erratic,
but she didn’t move, just looked into the depth of his lake-colored eyes. This
is what she’d wanted…for…years. She didn’t answer him and just stood there
staring up at him in wonderment. No longer one-sided, this mutual attraction
took some getting used to.
He took her demeanor for something else, though, and drew
back. “There’s no reason to be afraid of me, Kit.”
That brought her back to earth. “Afraid? Of you? No way.
Nervous maybe. But I’m not scared. I’ve been waiting for you too long.”
That was all he needed to hear. His hands went around her
waist, bringing her into him. He intended the kiss to be tender, gentle. But
then their lips met. Sizzle met burn. Opened-mouths devoured each other. This
was exactly what she’d wanted for so long that now that it was happening she
ached with such longing she didn’t care about work or anything else. She could
stay here in the moment wrapped in his arms for an hour, a day, a week.
Kit ran her fingers through his hair, took a good hold on
his head. Their tongues played tag until a burst of need had his hands rubbing
at her lower back, and then dropping further to her rear, molding her, fitting
her body between his legs.
Kit felt the hardness and moved to wrap him into her. She
couldn’t get close enough. She wanted to eat at him, be devoured by him. The
heat between them was enough to melt arctic ice. When they at last came up for
air, Jake rested his head on her forehead just to get his balance back. Kit
tried to recover by cracking a joke. “I waited a long time for that. And I just
want to say, it was worth the wait. Can we do that again?”
“That’s the plan.”
As he bent his head to show her, his cell phone went off. He
swore. Within minutes, he was embroiled in the middle of a conversation that
sounded to Kit like a crisis situation with Dylan Burke, his VP of Research and
Development.
At that moment, she heard a muffled ringing coming from her
handbag. As she rounded the counter to reach her purse, she felt her swollen
lips and reluctantly snapped open the bag. Immediately, the ringing grew louder
and brought back the heavy pounding in her head. When she retrieved the
annoying phone, the number appearing in the digital readout belonged to Aunt
Glo. Stepping back into the stateroom, she answered a bit breathlessly, “Hi
Glo.”
“Where are you, sweetie? I’ve been trying to call you all
morning. It’s all over the news.”
“What is?”
that?”
Kit had to admit, the invitation was tempting. Loving the
outdoors like she did, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to
sail. But then she thought of Baylee and then little Sarah. Her face fell.
Baylee would have to deal with customers both in the bookstore and the coffee
house, knew she’d be jumping all day and with Sarah she’d have her hands full.
“I can’t,” she finally admitted. “I only have Baylee
part-time and she’ll have Sarah with her today. It’s too much to ask with the
baby. Maybe we could do it another time, unless of course you’re planning to
take off again.”
“How long do you plan on throwing that up to me?” Then he
quickly changed tactics. “And what’s this about Baylee and Sarah? When I left
last year there was no baby.”
“Baylee’s not talking. See what can happen when you
disappear for a year.” She stood up, downed the last of her coffee, and headed
into the galley to wash her cup out in the sink. “As soon as I find my shoes,
I’ll be ready to go. The aspirin’s starting to kick in, my head feels better.”
Jake followed her, watching as she rinsed out her cup. When
she turned around, he moved to stand directly in front of her, blocking her way
before placing a palm on either side of the counter, boxing her in. “I’m not
running now, Kit. The question is what are you going to do about it?”
His nearness made her pulse quicken, her breath become erratic,
but she didn’t move, just looked into the depth of his lake-colored eyes. This
is what she’d wanted…for…years. She didn’t answer him and just stood there
staring up at him in wonderment. No longer one-sided, this mutual attraction
took some getting used to.
He took her demeanor for something else, though, and drew
back. “There’s no reason to be afraid of me, Kit.”
That brought her back to earth. “Afraid? Of you? No way.
Nervous maybe. But I’m not scared. I’ve been waiting for you too long.”
That was all he needed to hear. His hands went around her
waist, bringing her into him. He intended the kiss to be tender, gentle. But
then their lips met. Sizzle met burn. Opened-mouths devoured each other. This
was exactly what she’d wanted for so long that now that it was happening she
ached with such longing she didn’t care about work or anything else. She could
stay here in the moment wrapped in his arms for an hour, a day, a week.
Kit ran her fingers through his hair, took a good hold on
his head. Their tongues played tag until a burst of need had his hands rubbing
at her lower back, and then dropping further to her rear, molding her, fitting
her body between his legs.
Kit felt the hardness and moved to wrap him into her. She
couldn’t get close enough. She wanted to eat at him, be devoured by him. The
heat between them was enough to melt arctic ice. When they at last came up for
air, Jake rested his head on her forehead just to get his balance back. Kit
tried to recover by cracking a joke. “I waited a long time for that. And I just
want to say, it was worth the wait. Can we do that again?”
“That’s the plan.”
As he bent his head to show her, his cell phone went off. He
swore. Within minutes, he was embroiled in the middle of a conversation that
sounded to Kit like a crisis situation with Dylan Burke, his VP of Research and
Development.
At that moment, she heard a muffled ringing coming from her
handbag. As she rounded the counter to reach her purse, she felt her swollen
lips and reluctantly snapped open the bag. Immediately, the ringing grew louder
and brought back the heavy pounding in her head. When she retrieved the
annoying phone, the number appearing in the digital readout belonged to Aunt
Glo. Stepping back into the stateroom, she answered a bit breathlessly, “Hi
Glo.”
“Where are you, sweetie? I’ve been trying to call you all
morning. It’s all over the news.”
“What is?”
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