Page 119 of Taken Away

Too slow.

He caught her by the waist, his warm hands locking onto bare skin, and hauled her down flush against his bare chest.

She landed in a soft, breathless heap on top of him.

Her heart hammered.

Naked skin pressed against the solid heat of his torso sent a sharp jolt straight down her spine.

She braced her hands against his chest, glaring down at him, face flushed.

She didn’t actually try to pull away.

“Bennett McCrae, you are a menace.”

Bennett didn’t laugh this time.

His hands stayed locked around her waist, anchoring her hips against his bare body.

His gaze dragged over her—pale shoulders, the swell of her breasts—before settling on her eyes again.

Intense. Heavy. Unblinking.

“You are beautiful,” he murmured. “You know that, baby?”

Something in her…melted.

Her fingers tightened on his shoulders.

For one perfect moment, the rest of the world stopped existing.

There was only June sunlight spilling through the glass...

A ridiculous dog snoring at their feet...

And the impossible ease of being in Bennett's arms.

It had been so easy to forget the murder.

Almost too easy.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, a blue jay flickered across the valley below, and the quiet silence of the ridge reminded them both that the outside world was still waiting.

TWENTY-NINE

Jackson County Visitor Center

Mary Lou

The bell over the door jingled as Burke Scott stepped into the Visitor Center.

Mary Lou stood behind the counter helping a young family plan a weekend.

“If you’ve only got two days, don’t try to see every waterfall in Western North Carolina,” she said. “You’ll spend more time in the truck than outside it.”

The husband laughed. “Probably true.”

“It is true.” Mary Lou handed him a map. “Pick three. Enjoy those. Then come back and see us again.”