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Chapter 1
Prologue
***Four Months Ago***
It’snearlymidnight.
She’s swiveling her head around, searching, although who she could be looking for I haven’t the faintest idea.
Tiff came here alone, same as me, and I haven’t seen her so much as dance with anyone save for her de facto brother, my cousin, Cade. Yet after one dance he went back to his wife, and Tiff’s been lingering at the bar ever since.
Now, the clock ticks down and our friends break off into pairs. Well, everyone but Blake, Jace, and Becca, who have an altogether different type of arrangement. Either way, that leaves just her—and me—without a partner for the traditional New Year’s Kiss.
Twenty seconds. She seems to have given up on whoever she was looking for, staring at the glass of champagne on the bar as she twists the stem in her fingertips. A quick glance around the room tells me no one even notices. There aren’t any eyes hovering over her, not even the protective ones that seem to be everywhere in this town.
Should I?
If it were anyone but Tiff I wouldn’t think twice, both because the kiss wouldn’t matter, and because no one would care. Neither is true with her. It’d literally be a town scandal if I touch her, and since touching her is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, I’m not sure I could do it without wanting more. Although, itisNew Year’s… and if the midnight kiss isn’t the perfect excuse, I don’t know what is.
Fuck it.
Crossing the distance in less than a dozen steps, I reach her with two seconds to spare. Her eyes shift from startled to relieved as she realizes who she’s looking at, then grow wide when she reads the intent in mine. Her plump little lips fall open with a gasp just before I capture them with my own, plunging my tongue into her mouth to get the taste I’ve been craving.
The tart citrus from her champagne mingles with the whiskey on my lips, our drinks mirroring our reputations. Refined and savage. Sweet and sinful. Some might even say beauty and beast given the way I seem to corrupt what I touch. I prefer to think Heaven and Hell, because that’s surely where I’m going after I’ve defiled something so pure.
It’s only a kiss, but make no mistake, my lecherous lips on hers is the equivalent of ruin. I know that. Yet, I can’t seem to stop.
I plunder as deep as I can, stealing her breath and keeping it as my own. My rough thumbs caress the smooth skin on her face, cradling her like a precious treasure as I steal a tiny bit of her innocence. It’s only when a breathless little moan sounds deep in her throat that I come to my senses, pulling back before anyone realizes what I’ve done.
Her shaky hand presses against her swollen lips, eyes hooded with a mixture of awe and desire. My cock starts to swell in my pants, signaling the need for a hasty exit.
“Happy New Year,” I rasp as I turn toward the door, escaping before she or anyone else notices how much that kiss ruined me.
***Now***
“Another refill?” The bartender’s question jolts me back to the present before the memory can reach its conclusion.
“Yeah,” I grunt, hoping I wasn’t lost in thought for too long. Or that anyone noticedwhomy eyes were focused on while I relived our one and only night together.
We’re supposed to be celebrating my friend Ryder, who got sober and returned to the snowboard racing circuit after his brother’s death sent him through a downward spiral. Only I can’t seem to keep my gaze from straying toher.
She’s the town sweetheart. The good girl. Born and raised here, the town will forever see her as the bubbly blonde with the bright smile and youthful innocence in their eyes. To me, she’s a siren. Petite—barely reaching my shoulders—with hourglass curves I swear she flaunts my way when she thinks no one’s looking. But just like her, I’m trapped under the weight of the town’s perception. Only my prison is of my own making.
I moved here to have fun. To enjoy the outdoors—and the single life—that my cousin Cade bragged about. And I did, earning a reputation as a playboy and a flirt. The guy who’d bang any woman who spread her legs. I admit, that was the goal at first. Then Cade settled down and seemed…happy, and somehow I found myself flirting with the idea of doing the same. I might have if anyone but Tiff had caught my eye.
She's off limits. No exceptions. My cousin wouldn’t hesitate to murder me in my sleep if he knew the direction of my thoughts, so I’ve buried them down deep, in any willing pussy I could find. But it’s not just Cade who would kill me if I touched her, it’s the whole town, who tolerates my extra-curricular activities only because I’m so good at my job designing and building the outdoor spaces they thrive on.
Two long years I’ve suppressed my interest in the girl who I suspect has a wild streak hidden underneath that good-girl facade, but as my friends fall one by one into relationships it’s getting harder to deny myself what I want.
Chapter 2
Tiff
Murphy’sontheMountainis uncharacteristically busy tonight, though not with the out-of-town crowd.
It’s mud season, that in-between time when the mountain is closed because the snow is starting to melt, but there’s still enough of it you can’t use the bike trails. That means no tourists, at least for the next few months. Even the seasonal workers have gone, leaving only those of us who live here year-round.
Usually, I enjoy this time of year. The lull in activity gives me a chance to reconnect with my friends and neighbors who are just as busy as me when the chairs are spinning. Plus, it’s nice not to have to share my favorite places with an unfamiliar crowd. Tonight though, I’d give anything for a bunch of random people to keep me busy.
