by Nina Lindsey
Not yet, anyway. She needed to keep her focus on her business and on herself, not to get caught up in the whole sex-and-romance thing, especially spontaneously.
She’d done spontaneous. It hadn’t worked out so well. Since returning to Bliss Cove six months ago, she was determined to do planned and methodical. This wacky night was throwing off her new game plan.
She took the robe. Much as she wanted to get home, she wanted to be warm and dry even more. She reasoned that Glowering Stranger was no longer exactly a stranger. He wasn’t a friend or even an acquaintance, but he was a…cat-rescuing person. And she was a cat person. So they had that in common. Sort of.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Hunter.”
“I’m Aria.”
“Get warmed up, Aria, before you start turning blue.” He turned away.
She went into the bathroom, casting a glance back at Porkchop. It was probably another trick of the light, but she could have sworn the cat winked at her.
Chapter 2
The second the bathroom door closed, Hunter pictured her naked. Okay, he’d pictured her naked when she was standing in front of him with that flimsy, wet dress clinging to every slender curve, and her smooth thigh peeking out from the rip in her skirt. In his mind, he’d taken off her clothes and imagined her bare breasts and perfect ass.
But in a futile attempt to be a gentleman, he’d cut the image short.
Unfortunately, now that Aria was actually stripping naked on the other side of the door, he couldn’t stop his brain from conjuring up another fantasy of what she looked like. Tanned, silky skin, round breasts that would fit perfectly in his hands, little pink nipples…
Christ.
Rubbing his hands over his face, he smothered a surge of lust.
This series of events never would have happened to him in New York. Or anywhere else. Aside from day-to-day activities like driving and running errands, Hunter tended to live multiple stories above ground level. His office, his apartment, the conference rooms, the high-rise properties, even the gym where he worked out…everything was elevated. He rarely talked to people who didn’t inhabit, or at least revolve around, the same world.
But in Bliss Cove, where the only places to stay were a motel on the interstate, B&Bs, or the Outside Inn, where Margaret had booked him…he’d ended up on the inn’s ground floor because the rooms on the upper floor were either occupied or not ready for guests.
He wasn’t happy about it. He’d worked damn hard to get off the ground floor—hell, below ground level—and he didn’t like being back there for any reason.
If he hadn’t been in this room, he wouldn’t have heard the prowling outside his window or a woman’s voice. He wouldn’t have found himself jumping out the window to rescue an overweight cat who looked at him like he was an idiot.
He wouldn’t have run through a damned storm to rescue the same cat from a seaweed trap.
And he sure as hell wouldn’t have encountered a stunning blonde who made his blood hot with one look. A woman whom he couldn’t stop picturing naked.
He raked a hand through his wet hair and glowered at the cat, who was still sprawled in the middle of the bed, licking his paw and twitching his tail.
It was saying something that Hunter had rescued the infernal creature without even thinking about it.
What it was saying, he didn’t want to know. One look at Aria—big blue eyes framed by thick lashes, that perfect mouth, a mass of shiny golden hair damp with rain—and the urge to help her had hit him like a lightning bolt. If Porkchop had gotten caught in an ocean riptide that carried him to Japan, Hunter would be swimming to Tokyo right now.
The idea alone defied all logic.
He opened the coffee-maker and filled the basket with coffee from one of the provided packets. He’d have to wait until Aria was out of the bathroom before filling the pot with water.
He slanted another glance at Porkchop, who was now pawing at the comforter. He couldn’t fathom why the cat had wanted to escape his mistress. Why would anyone run away from a woman like that, especially in a storm? God knew she made him want to get as close to her as he could.
Yet another reason he disliked cats. They lacked both reason and good instincts.
“Excuse me?” Her musical voice drifted from behind the door. “Hunter?”
She said his name as if it were a cinnamon candy melting on her tongue.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah?”
“Do you mind if I use some of the complimentary lotion in here?”
The…?
“Not that I’m snooping, but Mrs. Higgins gets the lotions from Madeline Fox, who owns Naked, and—”
“What?”
“Oh, you’re not from around here, are you?” She laughed. “Otherwise why would you be staying at the Outside Inn? Madeline sells handmade lotions and body scrubs at her store, which is called Naked, and for a couple of years, she’s been providing Mrs. Higgins with the complimentary lotions and shampoos for the inn. She just launched a new line of oat milk lotion with lavender that I haven’t tried yet, but I see it’s here in the little toiletries basket, and I was wondering if you’d mind if I use it.”
Hunter lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Tension laced his shoulders. Unless he got a lock on his fantasies, he’d be picturing Aria rubbing lotion into her smooth skin any minute now.
And…there it was.
With a grimace, he attempted to ignore the heat collecting in his groin. “Uh, no. I mean, go ahead. Use whatever you want.”
“Great, thanks. I didn’t want to use it in case you planned on saving it for your…um, wife or whomever. Or if you wanted to use it yourself. I try not to make assumptions.”
Porkchop blinked and swished his tail. Maybe the cat was right in thinking Hunter was an idiot. Otherwise, why would he have urged an incredibly tempting young woman into his room and invited her to undress and wear a robe?
Well, it wasn’t as if he’d had a choice. He couldn’t have left her outside all wet and cold. And she couldn’t hold on to that bruiser of a cat by herself, so…he had to ask her in.
The sound of a blow-dryer came from the bathroom. Based on his experience with women, between the hair and the lotion, Aria would be in there for a while.
In the meantime, his trousers and shirt were still drenched, clammy, and clinging heavily to his body.
Didn’t douse your lust at all, though, did it?
He expelled his breath and grabbed some clothes from his open suitcase. After pulling off his socks, he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the floor. He hitched his trousers and boxer briefs over his hips and added them to the pile. He could have used a shower, but that would have to wait until he’d dealt with this cat situation.
He pulled on clean briefs and reached for a pair of jeans.
“Okay, I’m…” Her voice faded the instant the bathroom door clicked open.
His heart crashed against his ribs. With the white robe loosely belted around her waist, her feet bare and her hair falling in a golden curtain around her shoulders, she was like a shot of concentrated sunlight.
He stepped into his jeans and hitched them over his hips before his arousal became any more obvious.
“…er, finished.” Her eyes widened as she dragged her gaze over his chest and shoulders. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to take so long.”
He yanked a shirt over his shoulders and fastened the buttons quickly—because if she looked at him with that heat brewing in her blue eyes for one second longer, he’d stride across the room and haul her right into his arms. Then he’d tilt her chin up and crush her mouth with his. She’d taste like bright summery things—peaches and…what else was summery? Ice cream. Lemonade. Treats he’d dreamed of as a child, but rarely had.
He grabbed the empty coffee-pot and walked past her to the bathroom.
Mistake.
Her flimsy little bra and panties—pink and flowered, no less, with lace around the edges�
��hung on the towel rack beside her torn dress.
No question. He was definitely an idiot. One who was about to lose his mind.
Forcing his attention away from her underwear, he filled the pot and returned to the room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, scratching Porkchop behind the ears and crooning to him in a low voice. The cat smirked at Hunter.
He pulled in a breath and poured the water into the coffee-maker.
Focus. Discipline. Plan.
Those three words had gotten him to where he was now—on the brink of a major promotion and one step closer to being the CEO of Imperial Properties. He needed to use the same concepts to deal with the current situation.
He didn’t want to risk running into Mrs. Higgins by taking Aria’s clothes to the communal dryer down the hall. But he didn’t want Aria to wear her wet clothes either. He didn’t like the idea of her shivering and cold again.
After pushing the button to start the coffee, he crossed to his suitcase and pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of running shorts. “Have some coffee, then put these on. I’ll drive you home.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She threaded her fingers into the cat’s fur. “And Porkchop needs a crate when he’s in a car. He hates riding.”
Hunter rubbed the back of his neck. “So we’ll get a crate from your house, and come back here and pick him up.”
She shook her head. “He hates being alone too. He has anxiety issues. He might claw the furniture or yowl a lot, which means Mrs. Higgins might hear him. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.”
“What do you want to do, then?” He tossed the clothes onto the bed beside her.
She pursed her lips in thought. Rosebud mouth. He wanted to kiss her. He dug his fingers into his palms.
“I’ll go home and get my van and a crate, then I’ll come back to pick him up.” She squinted at the window. “It’s not raining quite as hard anymore. You stay here with Porkchop. It won’t take me long, maybe fifteen minutes at most.”
“What about Mrs. Higgins?”
“We’ll have to go through the window again, but we’re getting pretty good at that.” She flashed him a smile. The area around his heart constricted.
The coffee-maker beeped. He poured her a cup and tried not to notice the way her lips closed around the rim as she took a sip. He didn’t want to send her off into the dark alone, but he couldn’t think of another option.
That had to be a first. He could always think of another option.
“This is good, thanks.” Her slender throat worked as she swallowed more coffee. He’d always loved a woman’s neck and shoulders, and he couldn’t stop his gaze from traveling over her smooth, exposed skin. Her collarbones framed the hollow of her throat, and he suddenly wondered what it would feel like to kiss her there.
Heat rose up his spine.
“Let me put these on.” Setting the cup on the nightstand, she grabbed his shorts and T-shirt and disappeared into the bathroom again. A few seconds later, she emerged looking as if she were drowning in the way-too-big clothes. The shirt fell to her knees, and she had to hold the shorts up around her waist.
Adorable.
Hunter frowned. Another first. He’d never thought the word adorable in his life. He’d sure as hell never said it aloud. He never would.
“This isn’t quite going to work as is.” She hitched the shorts up and wiggled her hips. “Hold on. I have an idea.”
She went into the bathroom again and returned, fastening the robe belt around her waist. “This should get me home. Do you have an umbrella I can borrow?”
Though he pointed to the complimentary umbrellas provided by the inn, frustration tightened his chest. “If you won’t let me take you, why don’t you at least call an Uber or taxi? I don’t want you to walk home alone.”
Not until surprise flashed over her expression did he realize how possessive he sounded.
What the hell was going on with him? He always kept his emotions tightly controlled, especially around people he didn’t know.
“The chances of me getting a driver I know are pretty high.” She put on her sandals, grabbed an umbrella, and started toward the window. “Obviously that would lead to questions about my attire, not to mention there’s the whole Mrs. Higgins issue. Plus, it’s really not far. I’ll be fine. I’ll just take the side streets and be back in fifteen minutes.”
Against his better judgement, Hunter lifted the window sash. The scent of her drifted to him—lavender and some earthy, sexy smell that seemed to belong to her alone. Her fingernails were painted light pink. A tiny stud glittered at the side of her nose.
“It’s too dark out there.” He picked up the flashlight that was still on the floor. “Take this with you.”
“Where did you get this anyway?” She took the light from him and pushed the floral curtains aside. “Do you always have a flashlight handy?”
He jerked his thumb toward a wicker basket in the corner with a printed label reading Emergency Supplies. “Mrs. Higgins told me she stocks all the rooms with supplies in case of power outages, fires, earthquakes, or tsunamis. She didn’t say anything about escaped cats.”
“There’s a first time for everything.” She swung her leg over the window sash.
He stepped forward to hold the curtains, which put him close enough to her that he could not only smell her, he could feel her. Even lost in his overlarge clothes, warmth radiated from her like the heat of the sun. Hot enough to melt the ice inside him.
“I feel like a teenager sneaking out for the night.” She paused and shot him a grin. “This is kind of fun.”
He could think of another word. Like insane.
“What if your cat has a fit while you’re gone?” he asked.
“Do the tiger rumble.”
“I still don’t know what that is.”
“I told you, it’s this noise you make way down here.” She tapped his chest. Her eyes drifted from his face down to his torso. “It’s deep and really…um, soothing.”
“You’re making that up.” In the shadowy light, he could see the darker ring of indigo surrounding her irises.
“I would never make up a rumble.” She lifted her eyes back to his.
God, she was pretty. Thick, sooty eyelashes, freckle-dusted nose, pale lips. He was so accustomed to refined, carefully polished women that looking at her was like a revelation. In almost thirty-five years, he’d never encountered a woman who seemed so…natural.
A flame flickered low in his body. His razor-sharp brain seemed incapable of forming a thought that made any sense beyond I want to kiss you.
Before he could counter that with You’re an idiot, Armstrong, he lowered his head and brushed his mouth across hers.
Chapter 3
Inside Aria, a light clicked on. Was he kissing her?
He was kissing her. Or at least, his lips were gently touching hers. As her shock faded, bright sparks began to ignite in her blood, illuminating all her dark places. His lips were warm and firm, and the scent of him—rain and salt—filled her head.
He increased the pressure for an instant, and her heart jumped with anticipation at the idea of him fully kissing her. She imagined him cupping her face in his big hands, urging her mouth open, tilting her head to just the right angle so he could devour her.
Longing burst through her, almost as shocking as the fact that she was sitting on a windowsill being kissed by a man she’d met less than two hours ago. By Glowering Stranger, though he was no longer glowering and increasingly less a stranger.
But, oh, how long had it been since she’d been kissed with such gentleness, as if she were somehow precious? Lifting a tentative hand, she pressed it to his jaw. She rubbed her palm over his coarse whiskers. Tingles spread clear up her arm.
The light inside her burned brighter, hotter. He slid his hand to the back of her neck. Self-control laced his body. Aria curled her other hand into his shirtfront and parted her lips, but he kept the kiss gentle and restrained, a
lmost as if he didn’t want to scare her away.
She was anything but scared. Arousal coiled slowly through her lower body. Tightening her hand in his shirt, she slanted her mouth harder against his. A groan echoed in his chest.
What would it be like if he let go of his controlled self-restraint? If he pushed her against the windowsill, cupped her breasts, edged his body between her legs—
Breaking abruptly away, he lifted his head. Their eyes met with a jolt of hot urgency. Then he stepped back. A shutter came down over his hard features.
“Sorry.” He shook his head, as if shaking himself out of a trance. “Didn’t mean to do that.”
She pressed a hand to her thumping heart, her pleasure evaporating. “What, your mouth just happened to fall onto mine?”
“I shouldn’t have done that.” He raked a hand through his still-damp hair, seemingly frustrated by his own impulses. “I don’t make a habit of helping women rescue their cats and then kissing them. The women, not the cats.”
“Well, I don’t make a habit of kissing glowering strangers.” Pulling in a breath, she gripped the edge of the windowsill. “Like I said, there’s a first time for everything.”
“Everything about this night is a first time.” He shot a glance at Porkchop.
“Fifteen minutes.” Aria hitched herself over the windowsill and landed on the ground. “Time me.”
She opened the umbrella and hurried off into the night, feeling his gaze as he watched her leave. A hot sensation simmered in her belly, even as she told herself to calm down and not let her imagination run away with her. As a resident of the Outside Inn, Hunter was only in Bliss Cove for a short time, and she’d likely never see him again after tonight.
They were two passing ships, which was a good thing. She was still just dipping her toe into the dating waters again—an hour or two, a casual dinner or drink, a bare minimum of physical contact and certainly no kissing.
Big, masculine Hunter with his sexy rumble, dark glower, and that incredible body that looked as if it were carved by a master sculptor…yeah, he was entirely too much for her right now. Or ever.