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His ears were ringing Or ainst his ribs like a fist on piano keys Either way, he couldn&039;t get his mind clear or his body to move He&039;d have worried about tey to worry about anything
"Okay," he uess I tripped"
"Me, too" She was flattened under him, in the perfect position to nuzzle at his throat
"Did you get banged up anywhere?"
"No You brokeline of that throat a little scrape with her teeth "Such a hero"
"Yeah You bet"
"I rushed you I hope you don&039;t mind"
"It&039;s a little hard to coy to roll over, dragging her with hi you&039;ll give me a chance to show off my style and finesse"
She lifted her head, shook her hair back, and just grinned down at hi how li the party, I just wanted to lickaround in a suit he wished he didn&039;t have to wear, nursing one lonely beer all evening so he could drive people horeen eyes until I was so turned on I&039;d have to go back to the kitchen just to calht?" He ran his hands down her arms, aan to unbutton the you?"
"Not exactly"
"I was thinking how you looked like a dancer, all grace and coht have on under that starched white shirt and sexy little vest"
Once he&039;d freed her wrists, he ran his hands back up her arot such a fine, strea me crazy for weeks"
"I don&039;t kno to explain how it h to want that" She threw her head back, her arms up "Oh, God! I feel so alive I don&039;t want it ever to stop"
She leaned down again, kissed hine I want to get drunk and et behind that idea" He sat up, then his eyes widened as she pulled open the door "What" re you doing?"
"Getting the chaetto his feet as she raced outside, naked as a jaybird "Well, for God&039;s sake!" He grabbed his pants, carrying them with him to the doorway "Get back in here before I have to haul you in for indecent exposure"
"There&039;s nobody to see" It felt fabulous, and exactly right to stand naked in the cool night air, to feel it caress the skin so recently heated by passion With the grass tickling her feet, she threw her arms out to the side and turned in circles "Coht Moon and stars and the sound of the sea"
She looked iht, herwith it, and her face lifted to the sky
Then her gaze met his across the little patch of laith a power so intense it stole his breath For a moment he would have sworn the whole of her sparkled
"There&039;s so her hands up, palht "I feel it insidelike a pulse And when I feel that, it see"
With her palm still cupped, she held out her hand to hiht?"
He couldn&039;t resist, and didn&039;t try, but walked to her, took her outstretched hand With the sky sprinkling light over them, he lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that warmed rather than burned
The tenderness of it crept into her heart When he lifted her into his ar she was safe and welcoh the little cottage and to the old bed that shifted quietly under their weight
Later, he told himself as he lost himself in her, he would think about how he felt to find hi in love with a witch
She awoke before dawn from one of the snatches of sleep they&039;d allowed each other She felt his warht The ease of it, the sheer and steady normality of him, was both comfort and arousal
She drew his face for herself in her mind, feature by feature When she had it complete, she held it there as she slipped out of bed to start her day
She showered, dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt Quietly, she picked up the clothes they&039;d scattered in the living room and all but floated into the kitchen
She&039;d never experienced desire like that before, not the kind that sprang like an animal inside you and sed you whole
She hoped to have the experience again
And the tenderness that had come later, the insatiable thirst forAll of it
Nell Channing had a lover And he was sleeping in her bed
He wanted her, and that was a thrill He wanted her for who she was, and not who he could mold her to be And that was a balm
Blissful, she brewed coffee, and while its scent perfuh for cinna to herself and watched the new day put roses in the sky
Once her garden atered, and she&039;d sipped at her first cup of coffee, she slid a batch of buns into the oven With her an to toy with her ?"
She juhened sound of his voice, and the coffee slopped over onto the paper "Did I wake you? I&039;m sorry I tried to be quiet"
He held up a hand "Nell, don&039;t do that It pisses me off" His voice was thick with sleep, and despite herself dread curled in her stomach as he stepped toward her
"There&039;s one thing I&039;, drank to clear his mind and voice "Don&039;t ever mix me up with him If you&039;d waked me up and it annoyed me, I would say so But the fact is I woke up because you weren&039;t there and I missed you"
"Some habits are hard to break, no " He said it lightly, ot so already?" He sniffed the air "Mother of God" He breathed it, reverently "Cinnamon buns?"
Her dimples flickered "And if they are?"
"I&039;ll be your slave"
"You&039;re so easy, Sheriff" She got a hot mitt out of the drawer "Why don&039;t you sit down? I&039;ll give you breakfast, and we can discuss what I expect fro Nell breezed into Cafe Book loaded with boxes of baked goods, called out a cheery hello, and swung upstairs
At the front counter, Lulu stopped ringing up weekendshelves
"Soot lucky this weekend"
"You going up to squeeze her for details?"
"Please" Mia tucked in another book, brushed lint from her skirt "Do dryads dance in the woods?"
Aet to fill h the homey, irresistible scent of cinna&039;s offerings
"You bet"
"And a terrific party Saturday night Hell of a job, little sister"
"Thanks" Nell lined up hercoffee for Mia "I&039;ve got several s this ith potential clients that caratulations But" Mia drew in the scent of her coffee "I don&039;t think future catering jobs are what has you glowing today Let me try one of those buns there"
Casually, she walked around to the rear of the counter while Nell selected the bun "You definitely have the look of a wo"
"I did so"
"Mrant bun to her lips, took a neat bite "I&039; Sheriff Todd was just as tasty as this Give We open in ten"
"I shouldn&039;t talk about it It&039;s rude, isn&039;t it?"
"Absolutely not It&039;s required and expected Have a little syed in sexual activities for a considerable time, so I&039;m entitled to a few vicarious thrills You look so damn happy"
"I arabbed a bun for herself "Outrageous He has such staue over her lips "Don&039;t stop now"
"I think we broke several standing records"
"Now you&039;re bragging, but that&039;s all right You&039;re a friends"
"You know the best part?"
"I&039; you&039;ll tell me, and all the other parts as well"
"He didn&039;t, doesn&039;t, treat ile or needy or, I don&039;t knoounded So I don&039;t feel fragile or needy or wounded when I&039;m with him The first time, we barelyat each other&039;s clothes It was so normal"
"We could all use a bit of that kind of norreat kisser, isn&039;t he?"
"Oh, boy, and when he" Trailing off, Nell paled
"I was fifteen," Mia explained as she bit into the cinnaave me a ride home from a party, and we satisfied our , very intense lip-locks While I won&039;t insult your intelligence and clai my brother, I will say we didn&039;t suit and have chosen to be friends But they were really fine kisses"
She licked icing off her finger "So I have sohtful your weekend was"
"I&039;ht have been intimidated"
"Aren&039;t you sweet? So, what are you going to do about Zachariah Todd?"
"Enjoy him"
"Perfect answer" For the ood hands, too, doesn&039;t he?" Mia cooing to have to shut up"
Laughing, Mia started down the steps "I&039;ht, little sister, are you
It wouldn&039;t have surprised Mia to know that Zack was undergoing personal interrogation over coffee and buns as well
"Didn&039;t see you around much this weekend"
"Had stuff to do And didn&039;t I bring you a present?"
Ripley worked her way enthusiastically through the first bun "Ued to slur "Guess the stuff had to do with the island&039;s best cook, which I cleverly deduced since you&039;ve got a bag holding half a dozen buns"
"Down to four now" He enjoyed one of his ohile he slogged through paperwork at his desk "John Macey still hasn&039;t paid these parking tickets He needs a goose"
"I&039;ll goose hiot down to the le withering look "You&039;ve got such a et through life with it weighing you down"
"Avoiding the question&039;s usually answering the question in the affiro?"