Her lips tasted sweet and tangy, cinnamony. He meant for it to be a quick
kiss, an encouraging gesture, a promise of more to come, but her sudden gasp
and the way her arms curled around his neck made him linger and long for more,
a lifetime of summer evenings with this woman by his side. His hands dropped to
the curve of her back and tugged her close. She fit so right, so perfectly into
his arms, that all the binds around his heart cut loose.
What will it take, God, for her to
see that we can do this?
With a reluctant but satisfied sigh, he pulled back from her lips, dipped
his forehead to hers, and willed his heart rate to slow to normal.
He didn’t see Winter’s chest expand, so he knew she was holding her
breath. Finally, those luscious green eyes fluttered open, and then she
inhaled, deep and shaky, her arms still wrapped tight around his neck. Her
words whispered against his lips. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Could the evening get any sweeter?
“Mine, too. But don’t let it happen again.” Her arms dropped.
Whoa! Back it up there. Hadn’t she just admitted that she enjoyed the
kiss? What was he missing here? He narrowed his eyes. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t—”