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Into less than one hundred and fifty square feet, she’d fit a kitchen and bathroom, full-size bed, dinette and a decent-sized closet. Vintage pastel fabrics softened the white walls, tin-tile ceiling and wood-look vinyl flooring. The appliances were the same mint green as the exterior and appeared original to the 1960s’ vibe.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Being openminded.” Her infectious smile bloomed for the first time since Dallas had interrupted them at the carriage house. “You know, we aren’t likely to get interrupted anytime soon.” While he processed what she’d said, she blew out an exasperated breath. “Are you just going to stare at me?” Giving his shirt a sassy tug, she finished, “Or are you going to take me in your arms and rock my world?”
Relief flooded him. They were going to be okay. Paul wrapped his arm around her waist and hauled her up against him. The breath swept out of her in a soft, satisfying huff. He expected her to get all clingy and press herself against him, but instead she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek on his chest.
“What are you doing?” Paul asked.
She flexed her arm muscles, embracing him more snugly. “Giving you a hug.”
“Why?”
“I want you to know that I like you.” Without lifting her cheek from the front of his shirt, she canted her head and gazed up at him. “Before you kiss me. Before I go all weak-kneed and gooey inside. I want you to know I like you. You. Not your money. Or the power your family wields in this town. I’m a simple girl with simple needs. One of them being a gorgeous, sexy man who makes love to her as if she’s the most desirable woman he’s ever known.”
It was both a request and a plea for him to treat her well. But her declaration tempered Paul’s all-consuming drive to possess her. He eased his grip, second-guessing everything.
“Why is that important before I kiss you?”
“I don’t think this time we’ll be able to stop there,” she said. “And after whatever happens you’ll be even less willing to trust me.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you...” It was more that he didn’t trust himself around her. The feelings she aroused messed with his head.
“You trust that I’m good for your grandfather. But I don’t think you’ll ever trust that I could be good for you.”
With his gaze locked on her lips, he rasped, “That’s not true.”
But he recognized the reason for her apprehension. He approached decisions with logic; she believed a deck of cards could predict what was to come. She took leaps of faith with little regard for her own safety. He rarely made a move without knowing in advance what the outcome would be. Yet at the moment he felt driven beyond wisdom and sense by his need for her.
“You won’t believe that I don’t want anything from you,” she persisted. “Even when nothing I’ve done gives you any reason to suspect me.”
It should’ve bothered him that she had him all figured out. Well, maybe not all figured out. But her grasp on what made him tick surpassed what he understood about her.
“I don’t have all the answers,” he admitted. “You’re not like anyone I’ve ever known before and frankly, you scare the hell out of me.”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t see how.”
“You’ve brought magic into my life.” He braced his hip against her kitchen counter as his admission caused something inside him to snap. Light-headed and reeling, he closed his eyes.
“You don’t believe in magic,” she murmured.
“I believe in you.”
He dropped his head and let his breath flow over her lips before easing forward to taste her. Anticipating a powerful jolt of desire, he was unprepared for the way his entire body lit up like he’d backed into a high-voltage generator marked Danger.
Drinking deep of her sweet, sinful mouth, Paul savored a kiss that reminded him of a quality bourbon, warm and complex. Heat spiraled through his veins. Her moan gave him the signal to take the kiss deeper. Lost in the liquid slide of their dancing tongues, Paul sucked on her lower lip and smiled as an eager groan broke from her throat. Their teeth clicked and he slanted his head to adjust the angle of the kiss so he could continue to devour her unhindered.
Lia’s questing fingers dove beneath his shirt and an electrical storm flashed behind his closed eyes. He crackled with wild thrumming energy.
He came up for air long enough to whisper, “This is going to complicate things.”
“Oh.” The anguish in her murmur made him hate that he’d voiced his concerns. But then she kept going and it was her throaty yes that sealed both their fates.
He breathed in her laughter, capturing it in his lungs before crushing his mouth to hers. A needy whimper broke from her as she ground herself against him, her movement becoming more frantic by the second. She rocked her hips, as if she’d given herself over to what her body needed and to hell with pride or consequences.
Paul couldn’t get enough of this woman. The chemistry between them was born of Lia’s romantic optimism and his surrender to everything caring and earnest about her. Even knowing this stolen moment couldn’t last and despite recognizing her sweetness might shatter his defenses and leave him open and exposed, Paul could no more stop or pause than he could fly.
