Love in a Small Town (Pine Harbour Book 1) Read Free Page A

is now off-limits to you.”

 
    — TWO —
     
    H IS jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. “You don’t want me here?”
    Oh, hell. Why did he have to ask that exact question? She didn’t want to lie. “I don’t think it’s healthy for you to come in here multiple times a week. You should buy some groceries.”
    “That’s not an answer to my question, baby.”
    “I’m not your baby.” She hated the waver in her voice. She totally was and always would be. But it hadn’t been enough. “I need to get back to work.”
    He looked around and then back at her with a now amused look on his face. “Yeah?” He lifted his voice. “Hey, Frank, can Liv take a break?”
    A muffled yes sounded from the back of the kitchen and she rolled her eyes. “You don’t get to—”
    “Oh, shut up.” He snagged her hand and pulled her outside. She hated how willingly she trotted along behind him.
    The diner sat on a large gravel lot on the edge of town, one block in from the county road that ran north up the peninsula. Between the diner and the county road was a country block of nothing but trees and snowmobile trails, and it was into this wooded area that Rafe headed.
    A cool wind rustled the leaves overhead—just starting to turn colours—and she shivered. He unzipped his hoodie and handed it over but she shook her head. “I’m fine.”
    “Don’t be stupid,” he muttered and wrapped it around her. She reluctantly shoved her arms in the sleeves and he glowered at her as he reached for the zipper. The sweatshirt was way too big—he had a solid foot on her—and as he ducked low enough to grab the lower hem, their cheeks touched. 
    Damn double damn . Somehow this was totally different than the hug inside the dinner. His breath hot against her ear, the pounding of her heart in her chest. He froze, bent over her like that, and she opened her mouth to tell him to back up but nothing came out.
    Ever so slowly, he dropped the zipper parts and slid his hands inside the warm fleece instead. He found her waist and tugged gently at her t-shirt, freeing it from the waistband of her jeans. He breathed her name against her skin, and she froze. Don’t say anything else. Don’t stop touching me but let’s not talk. Let’s pretend for a minute.
    As if he understood, he pressed his mouth against her neck and sucked gently at her pulse point at the same time as he found bare skin under her shirt. With a groan, he lifted her up and pressed her gently against a tree, notching one of his super awesome thighs between her legs and under her butt. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and tipped her head back, letting him feast on her skin. This was a terrible idea. She was definitely going to regret muddying these waters.
    Two years and they hadn’t so much as touched hands. Now two embraces in one day. At this rate she was going to let him fuck her in a forest. 
    But he didn’t move his hands higher or lower. He stroked one thumb back and forth across the bottom of her rib cage, but the rest of him was perfectly restrained. Except for the part where she was wrapped around him and his mouth was wet and hot on her neck, this was just a hug. 
    A completely naughty, nipple-tightening hug. 
    And then he shifted his pelvis and she felt his erection beneath her, and it was most definitely not just a hug. They were ten seconds away from dry-humping. And she couldn’t wait.
    “Rafe.” She gasped as he ground against her core at the sound of his name. “We can’t do this.”
    “I’m not moving on.” He nipped at her ear. “I’ve tried. I can’t do it. You’re it for me.”
    She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about his attempts to move on. Didn’t want to think about the mess they were currently making by opening this can of worms between them, either.
    She didn’t want to think, full stop. “I need to get back inside. Come over tonight and we can talk.”
    There wouldn’t be any talking.