Crushing on Love (The Bradens of Peaceful Harbor, Book Four) Read online

  When she’d been offered the assignment and the cabin, she’d accepted without hesitation. She’d missed Steve too much to deny the attraction, and she wanted to see if something might come of it.

  Now that she was here, her body was thrumming at the mere sight of him. Given that she’d actually asked him about his sex life—and nearly died on the spot when the question slipped out—she desperately needed to rein herself in.

  He wiped sweat from his brow, his tanned skin glistening in the morning sun. “Need anything from town?” he asked, setting another log on the stump.

  She couldn’t pry her eyes from his rippling abs and his bulbous biceps flexing with every move. “Town?”

  He cocked a smile and hoisted the ax again. “Town. You know, the place where people who like Pinterest live?”

  She forced her eyes away, glancing at the trees swaying in the breeze, the rocks at her feet, anywhere but at him.

  “I know what town is. I’m just surprised you’re going there.” Everyone knew Steve hated to leave his precious mountain.

  “Gotta take care of some business.”

  Going into town was a big deal. Unlike a quick trip to the store from her apartment in Peaceful Harbor, the drive into town took at least thirty to forty-five minutes, depending on which town he was going to. She’d realized last night she’d forgotten two very important supplies. Pop-Tarts and toilet paper. She could probably live with the single roll of toilet paper she had in the cabin for another few days if she needed to, but Pop-Tarts were pretty much a necessity. Besides, maybe she could convince Steve to help her scout gray-fox habitats at dusk. Perfect!

  “Can I come with you?” she asked hopefully. “I need to pick up a few things.”

  “I’ll get them for you. What do you need?”

  She bit her lower lip, willing herself not to fib. But if she asked him to pick up what she really needed, he’d leave and she’d have to go searching for habitats by herself. Now that she’d thought about going later with her yummy mountain man, she’d already settled on it in her mind.

  “It’s girl stuff. You won’t want to get it.” So much for not fibbing. “Can I please go with you?” She gave him her best pleading look. “I promise not to talk your ear off.” Fib, fib, fib! She had no control over what came out of her mouth, especially around him.

  He muttered under his breath and set the ax against the stump. “I’m not making a hundred stops.”

  She leapt with delight and ran over to hug him. Her heel slipped out of her boot and she stumbled into him in a half hug, half full-body-draped-over-Steve embrace. His skin was hot, his body was hard, and getting harder by the second. He smelled like man and musk, and…she was still plastered against him.

  She cleared her throat and managed, “Thank you.” Using his chest for leverage—yum, yum—she found her footing and pressed her heel back into her boot. “One stop. That’s it. Promise.”

  “You’re excited to get those supplies.” He picked up the logs he’d chopped and piled them on his forearm like they were toothpicks.

  “I’m just excited to be back. Maybe at dusk you can help me map out the habitats? It’ll be fun to scope them out together.”

  He gave her a curious look. “Haven’t heard anyone describe hanging out with me as fun in a long time.”

  “Then you’re hanging out with losers, and I’m taking that as a yes.” She grabbed the coffee mugs, unable to stop smiling.

  “I’m leaving in twenty minutes.”

  “I’ll be back lickety-split.” With a bounce in her step, she headed toward her cabin and heard him mutter, “Lickety-split,” followed by a chuckle.

  Chapter Two

  BEFORE THEY GOT in the truck, dangerous wasn’t a word Steve would have used to describe sweet and effervescent Shannon, but as they drove down the mountain, the scent of her perfume filled the cab. It was simple, understated, and feminine, contradicting the complicated woman who hadn’t stopped talking since they left. As constant as her chatter was, something about the excitement in her voice, combined with her tantalizing scent, made him want to shut her up with a kiss. Dangerous quickly became synonymous with Shannon.

  “You should have seen Cole and Leesa walk down the aisle. They were be-au-ti-ful!” She sighed as if she were caught up in a fantasy. “Oh, and did I tell you Sam and Faith got engaged? I can hardly believe it. I got to watch him propose over Skype while I was at my uncle’s. It was so romantic, and Faith cried, which made us all cry. Nate and Jewel are getting married in September. It’s so hard to believe I’ll have two married brothers and one who is engaged. It’s like cupid got arrow happy.”

  Steve knew her close-knit family, and he liked hearing about them, despite the fact that they were a constant reminder that her life in Colorado was only temporary. If she’d moved there, wild horses couldn’t keep him away, but he was too drawn to her to open a door he might not be able to close.

  “Hello?” Shannon touched his arm. “You were totally spacing out. Thinking about how many trees you had to hug or something?”

  “Something like that.” He returned her smile, stealing a quick glance before pulling on to the main road. She’d changed her clothes, and looked hotter than the summer sun in her skinny jeans and a cranberry-red sweater. She wasn’t like other girls, who matched their shoes to every outfit and wore so much makeup it looked painted on. Shannon wore the leather hiking boots she’d had on earlier, with the pink laces tied this time, and just enough makeup to set off her hazel eyes and high cheekbones.

  When did I start noticing women’s clothes and makeup?

  “You’re a bit of a tree hugger yourself,” he said to distract himself from his thoughts.

  “I know, but I’m kind of rethinking my career at the moment.”

  “I thought you liked what you were doing. And you’re back again, so you must like something about it.”

  She nibbled on her lower lip. “I love the work, but I’m not like you.” She looked at him with a thoughtful gaze. “I need people.”

  “Most people do,” he admitted. Their differences were yet another reason he had to keep his lips to himself. Their families were too close for him to mess around with Shannon when it couldn’t lead anywhere.

  “I still don’t get how you don’t need people,” she said. “It’s not natural to want to be alone all the time.”

  He didn’t have to look to feel the heat of her gaze. He didn’t have an answer, at least not one he felt like talking about right now, so he focused on driving. Main Street in Weston was built to resemble the Wild West, complete with hitching posts in front of stores and old-fashioned, hand-carved wooden signs. To an outsider, life in Weston looked simple, quiet, easygoing, but that’s not how Steve saw it. There had never been anything simple about growing up in a town where everyone knew everyone else’s business and his father’s bad decisions clouded people’s judgment. At least that’s how he had always felt.

  “I’m not alone all the time, and I happen to like my life the way it is,” he told her, just as he had a hundred times before. Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “Where are we headed? Grocery store or the corner market?”

  “Oh! I just realized we’re close to the bakery. Can we please, please stop there? I know I said just one stop, but it’s only two, and I’m starved. Do you mind?” She turned hopeful eyes toward him, and he felt a pull in the pit of his stomach. “Please? Saralou makes those yummy chocolate- and fruit-filled croissants. Come on. We’ll get your favorite. What is your favorite anyway?”

  Laughing at her never-ending sentences, he shook his head and pulled down the next street, heading for the bakery. “Is there anything you don’t get excited about?”

  “I don’t know. Should there be?” She tilted her head and smiled. “I take life as it comes, and usually it’s pretty fun. I know people who are Negative Nellies, and they’re such bores. I hope I never become like them. I can’t imagine being negative all the time.”

  He parked in fron
t of the bakery and relaxed back into his seat.

  “You’re not coming in?”

  The disappointment in her voice was palpable, but he needed a moment to pull his head together. He thought he’d had his attraction to her under control, but he wasn’t even close. She was still right there under his skin. Every moment they were together was like a tug-of-war between wanting to get closer and needing to keep his distance.

  “It’s your thing,” he said. “Go ahead.”

  “But I don’t know your favorite flavor.” Her full lips curved down into a perfectly orchestrated pout that tugged at his heartstrings—reiterating his need for distance.

  “It’s okay. Grab whatever you like.” He reached for his wallet. “Need some money?”

  “No, I don’t need your money,” she huffed as she climbed out of the truck, and he closed his eyes.

  He startled when his door was yanked open. “What the—”

  Shannon grabbed his hand and pulled—hard.

  “You’re already in town,” she said with a look of fierce determination. “Get your butt out of the truck and pretend to be sociable. If I needed a chauffeur, I would have called one. I think you’ve lost some of your marbles up on that mountain. I wanted your company, dumbass.”

  “Dumbass?” he muttered, stepping from the truck. “You’re not quite as sweet as I thought you were.”

  “Get over it.” She flashed a haughty smile and dragged him toward the bakery.

  “What happened to you in Maryland? Did someone shoot you up with pushiness?” He held the door open and followed her in. The sweet aroma of sugary goodness filled his senses.

  “Heaven have mercy. Look who the cat dragged in.” Saralou Carmell, the owner of Sweet Sensations Bakery, came around the counter and hugged Steve. He had gone to high school with her daughter, Krista. She drew back with a warm smile that reached her blue eyes, which were currently scanning his face. “Sweetheart, you need a trim, but you are just as handsome as ever.”

  “Thanks, Saralou,” he said pleasantly. “I haven’t had time to get it cut. How’s Krista?”

  “Just dandy. Her little boy is cute as a button. Did you hear about the Cumberlands’ ranch? I hear there’s a development company sniffing around. As if those Cumberland boys don’t have enough on their plates these days.”

  Steve gritted his teeth. He’d thought he’d have time before the vultures swooped in, but who was he kidding? Probably half the town already knew about this. He should come into town more often, just to stay in the loop. Not surprising, that town gossip was one of the reasons he didn’t like hanging around. That and the fact that it took forever to get in and out of anyplace he went. Everyone wanted to chat.

  Before he could answer, Saralou said, “Jade was in the other morning with baby Hal. Goodness gracious, your nephew is the spitting image of his daddy, isn’t he?”

  “That he is,” he said with a smile, thinking of baby Hal’s sweet face.

  Saralou winked at Shannon. “And you, Ms. Braden. I have no idea how you got him off that mountain, but you did a good thing, honey. What can I get y’all?”

  “Let’s see…” Shannon leaned over the pastry display and began humming. She twisted a lock of hair around her finger as she looked over the cupcakes, croissants, pies, and cakes. She crouched to see the cookies on the lower shelves, and her tongue moved back and forth over her lower lip. Her eyes narrowed in concentration.

  Christ. The hair? The tongue? The happy little humming? He seriously needed to walk straight out that door and keep going until he was too far away to even think about her. Since that wasn’t an option, he hoped to at least hurry her up and lessen the lip licking, hair twirling, sexy-sweet torture she was doling out.

  He crouched beside her. “Big decision?”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “You said you wanted croissants,” he reminded her.

  “I know.” She began humming again.

  He pointed to the croissants. “Right there.”

  She gave him a deadpan look. “Can you really look at all this deliciousness and make a decision that fast? I mean, look at those cookies. And that pink frosting on those cupcakes? Don’t you just want to dip your finger in it and suck it off?”

  Holy. Hell. Like that image wouldn’t run rampant in his mind all day.

  “And look at the pies,” she said a little breathlessly. “And the muffins…”

  Nope. No pies or muffins or acts of God would erase the image of Shannon sucking frosting off of her finger.

  “It’s a wonder you don’t weigh three hundred pounds.” He wasn’t into string-skinny girls, and Shannon had curves in all the right places. Another thing he was trying not to think about. But the truth was, even if she’d weighed three hundred pounds she’d still be irresistible. It was her essence, her vivacious personality, and that sassy, brazen wit that called him on his shit that he was drawn to.

  He took her hand and rose to his feet, bringing her up beside him.

  “Saralou, we’ll take a chocolate croissant, a cherry croissant, a blueberry muffin, a cranberry muffin, one of each type of cookie, and”—he would surely be struck by lightning for this one—“one of those cupcakes with pink frosting, please.”

  Shannon squealed and hugged him again. “Thank you. I knew you would want something.”

  You have no idea how much something I want. He couldn’t look at her mouth without picturing her sucking…Christ. What was it about her that had him thinking about sex every time she was near? He was usually so good at keeping those thoughts locked away. She grinned up at him as if she were innocent of the mental lock picking she was doing.

  “Those aren’t for me,” he finally said, and paid for the pastries, trying to ignore the way Saralou was eyeing the two of them approvingly. There’s nothing to approve of here. Carry on.

  “I can’t eat all that,” Shannon insisted as they left the bakery. “I didn’t invite you in so you could pay for everything either. I’ll pay you back.”

  “You didn’t invite me in. You dragged me.” He opened the passenger door, and once she was settled in, he climbed into the driver’s side and opened the bakery box. “If it were left up to you, we’d have stood there all day debating pastries. Now you have choices.”

  “But you don’t even know if I like all of these.”

  Was there any point she wouldn’t argue? With the meeting with the Cumberlands looming, and the freaking inferno she stoked in him, he was a hot mess. Here comes lightning strike number two. “No, but I knew you wanted to taste the pink frosting.”

  “SERIOUSLY? YOU BOUGHT that cupcake just so I could taste the icing? You have just risen to favorite mountain man status. That was really sweet of you.” She dipped her finger into the thick, creamy pink frosting.

  “Not really,” he mumbled as he started the truck.

  She put her finger in her mouth and closed her eyes, savoring the sweetness as it melted on her tongue. “Mm.”

  When she opened her eyes, his heated gaze was locked on her mouth—with her finger still in it. A wolfish grin lifted his lips, and she nearly burst into flames.

  “You just paid me back,” he said in a low voice that ignited even more heat.

  Her finger dropped from her lips with a pop. “You…” Holy hotness. She had no idea how to react to that look. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  He laughed as he drove away from the curb. “Hey, you’re the one who planted the idea in my head.”

  “Planted the idea? You’re a pig!” She scooped up another fingerful of frosting and turned away. “To think I was going to offer you a taste. Tsk.”

  He grabbed her hand, both of them laughing as she struggled to pull it away. He kept one hand on the steering wheel while pulling her finger toward his mouth.

  “Don’t you dare—”

  He captured her finger in his mouth and swirled his tongue over it, sucking ever so gently and sending rivers of heat slithering through her, silencing her laughter along with every
other thought in her head. He stopped at a traffic light, holding her gaze as he withdrew her finger from his mouth and licked his lips. It was all she could do to remember to breathe.

  “You’re right,” he said seductively. “That was mind-blowingly good.”

  The light changed, and he shifted his eyes to the road, chuckling. “So, where to?” he asked casually. “Did you really need to get anything at the store, or did you just want to pick up your requisite sugar fix?”

  She closed her gaping mouth, still hung up on how strong and soft his tongue had felt as it slid over her finger, like it was made for giving pleasure—to my finger? Oh my God. I’m losing it.

  She forced herself to square her shoulders and lift her chin, regaining a modicum of control. “You have no idea where my finger’s been.”

  “Sure I do.” He slid his slate-blue eyes her way, and another wave of heat consumed her. “I watched it go in that smart mouth of yours just before it went in mine.”

  Holy cow, you are so hot.

  “Don’t get all weird on me. I was just messing with you.” He slowed at the corner of Main and South and asked, “Which way? Grocery store or corner market?”

  Messing with me? Heck yeah, you were messing with me. You made my whole body hot. Another second and I would have had to change my underwear.

  “Corner market.” She glared at him, but he didn’t seem to notice, which also annoyed her. What kind of game was he playing?

  He parked at the market and got out of the truck.

  “You’re coming in?” she asked.

  “I’m suddenly feeling hot. I thought I’d get a nice cold drink.” He put a hand on her lower back and nudged her through the door. “Don’t worry. I won’t watch you buy your lady things.”

  Oh shit. She’d forgotten about that ruse. It didn’t matter now. She wasn’t about to buy lady things in front of him. Especially after what he’d done. There was no way she wanted him thinking she was on her period. No way. She wanted him to have sexy thoughts about her.