AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without answering, he stalks forward, his eyes boring holes into mine until he’s towering over me–all six foot three inches of solid muscle and authority.
I’ve never wanted to break the law so badly, so long as it meant Ryan was the one arresting me.
Tilting my chin up, he lowers his mouth to mine in a gentle kiss. It’s far from the fevered aggression I was expecting, but it still makes my heart stutter in my chest.
“I’m going to change, and then we’ll go.”
“Do you have to change?” I smirk, biting my lip.
Laughing lightly, he shakes his head and backs away. “I do.”
“Fine,” I huff, pretending to be upset about it. Truth is, I want to go out withjustRyan, not Sheriff Taylor.
I wait for him on the couch, and he’s only gone for five minutes before I hear him come back into the room. Damn, this man can wear anything–or nothing–and I’m melting on the spot.
He changed into dark rinse jeans that show off his powerful thighs, and a white button-down shirt that does nothing to hide the broad chest and muscular arms beneath.
I want to fucking rip it open and see the taught ropes of muscles I was denied touching last night.
“You look so sexy, Ashley.” His low, rough, voice courses through me like the waters of the Amazon River–twisting, turning, and carving its own path through my veins.
With a small smile, I reach up and brush my fingers across his cheeks, his five o’clock shadow a perfect contrast against my skin. Pushing up on my toes, I kiss his soft lips with a tentativeness that scares me. I want to go slow. I want to savor every second.
Pulling back, I see the red lipstick I left behind and smile, wiping it with my thumb. “Sorry,” I say, his lips turning up beneath my touch. “I’m ready.”
“For our date,” he says, his eyes dancing.
“Yes.” I smile. “For our date.”
Grabbing my coat, Ryan holds it up for me, and I turn around, threading my arms through the holes. He shrugs his on as I button mine all the way up and tie the belt at the waist. Wrapping my scarf around my neck, I loop my arm through his, and we walk through the kitchen and out the side door, the cold air hitting me immediately.
“Are you up for walking? It’s not far, and because of the snow, there’s no parking.” He looks down at me with nervous eyes, thinking this might be a deal breaker. But fuck it, I’d walk a mile in the snow as long as it was with him.
Oh, sweet baby Jesus, I can’t believe I just thought that.
“I don’t mind. I feel like I haven’t been outside in a week. But I’ll need this then.” I pull out my white knit hat from my pocket that has a big white fur pompom on top, and my matching white knit gloves.
Laughing, he takes my arm again when I’m fully bundled up, and we start our trek. He only lives maybe a block off of the end of Main Street, so it shouldn’t be too bad.
The quiet surrounds us in a calming, cleansing sort of way. Only the crunching of our boots in the snow keeps us company.
“There’s someplace open on Main Street? The power only just came back on.”
“Anthony’s is open. They had generators to keep their freezers and refrigerators going.”
“Oh, good. I’m not trying to get sick,” I joke, looking up just in time to see him role his eyes.
“Like I’d take you somewhere we’d get sick. Plus, they wouldn’t dare poison their sheriff. I can have them arrested.”
“Ooh, look at you, just casually throwing your power around.”
“A man’s gotta do it sometimes.” He shrugs.
“And a woman.” I smirk.
“Of course. Women do it every day, though.”
“What?”
