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“This lot’s on high ground, so you don’t have to worry too much about spring runoff, but you should have the gullies cleared so melting snow won’t get backed up and flood the house.”
She laughed a little. “So I have to worry about the snowfall and then about when the snow melts.”
“Pretty much.” He leaned against one wall and watched as she peered through the kitchen window at the surrounding trees.
“How long did Ed and his wife live here?”
“About forty years,” he said with a shrug. “After Helen died, Ed didn’t visit much with anyone. They never had kids—it was always just the two of them. And without her, he kept to himself. Didn’t really keep up with the cabin, either.”
“He missed her.” She turned to look at him.
Gaze locked with hers, he nodded. “Yeah, he did.”
Which was yet another reason to keep to yourself. If you never let anyone in, you didn’t miss them when they were gone. He’d learned that lesson as a kid—and then again later on, when he should have known better, but took a risk, only to be slammed for it.
“I want to look around outside,” she said and he wondered if she could read minds. She was staring at him oddly and she’d suddenly gone quiet, and that just wasn’t like Colleen.
But he followed her out, locked the door after them and returned the key to its resting place. She walked to the end of the porch, leaned on the railing and gazed out over the rocky ravine that dropped from the edge of the porch and ran down the side of the mountain. Her hair trailed over her shoulders and as she leaned out farther, her jeans tightened over her behind, making Sage’s breathing a hell of a lot harder to control.
Then everything changed.
He heard a snap, then a squeak of alarm, and he was moving before he even realized it. In a blink, he reached out and caught her arm as the railing gave way. He heard the crash and rattle as the heavy wood barrier, rotted by time and weather, clattered and rolled down into the rocks below.
Pulling Colleen tight against him, he wrapped both arms around her and held on. He felt her trembling and knew that he was doing the same damn thing. “I told you he hadn’t kept the place up.” His voice came out in a harsh rasp of tension and what felt a lot like fear. “Never lean on a railing you’re not sure about. Hell. Never lean on a railing no matter what.”
“Good advice,” she murmured, her voice muffled against his chest. When she lifted her head and looked up at him, Sage felt the last of his control snap as completely as that rotted-out railing had.
Her mouth was right there. Her breathing was fast and the pulse point in her throat throbbed. He knew she was shaken. So was he. If he hadn’t grabbed her so quickly, she might now be at the bottom of that damned ravine. Broken. Bleeding. Hell, she’d have been lucky to survive the fall.
But she hadn’t fallen. And now she was pressed close to him and when his control snapped, all he could think was thank God. He bent his head, covered her mouth with his and tasted her for the first time.
Heat slammed into him and Sage surrendered to it. His kiss was hard and fierce and desperate. No time for subtle seduction. This was need. Hot and thick and running through his body like lava. He ground his mouth over hers and felt her surrender when she lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck.
He groaned in response and flipped them around until her back was braced against the cabin wall. His tongue parted her lips and he delved deep, determined to taste all of her after waiting so long. Longer than he’d ever waited before to claim a woman he desired. And he’d never wanted a woman as he wanted Colleen.
Fire roared through his veins, blurring his mind, leaving only his body in charge, and the aching throb in his groin let him know he couldn’t wait much longer. Need pounded inside him, feeding the flames threatening to consume him. Her breasts pressed to his chest, her fingers sliding up into his hair and all he could think was too many clothes.
The icy-cold wind sliding off the top of the mountain didn’t deter him as he reached down and tugged the hem of her shirt up. She shivered, but continued kissing him, giving him everything she had, pouring her own need and desire into the melding of their mouths.
His hands cupped her breasts and she gasped, tearing her mouth from his to lean her head back against the cabin wall and arch her body into his touch. Even through the fragile lace of her bra, he thumbed her nipples until she was groaning, leaning into him, offering herself.
And he took. Lifting the bra up and out of his way, Sage looked his fill of the full, luscious breasts that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since the first night he’d seen her in that red dress. Her dusky-rose nipples were hard and erect and he couldn’t help himself. He dipped low and took first one, then the other into his mouth, rolling that sensitive tip between his lips and tongue, scraping the edges of his teeth across the pebbly surface until she was sobbing his name. She held his head to her tightly and when he suckled her she actually shrieked. That unfettered sound went straight to his groin and pushed him to take more. To give more.
