A Cautious Heart (The Heart's Temptation Series Book 1)

by Genevieve Matthews

  She looks happily surprised and I love the soft blush that flushes her cheeks. “You don’t need to apologize,” she says with a smile, “you can interrupt me with your kisses anytime.”

  I give her one more kiss and whisper that I’ll see her later. The guy sitting at the bar looks less than pleased. “Hey man, enjoy your night,” I say as I walk back around the bar and head back to where T-bone is waiting.

  “You sneaky son of a bitch!” T-bone laughs as I walk back. “You could have just told me you were already hittin’ that.”

  I want to correct him to let him know that it isn’t just about the sex. That to me, she’s perfect and she means everything to me. But I let it go. I don’t feel the need to explain how she makes me feel right now in this crowded bar. I don’t want to cheapen it like that.

  “Are you serious? You expect me to sled down that?” I can’t help sounding completely freaked out, because I am. We are standing at the top of an extremely steep hill with our sleds in hand, all decked out in warm hats, gloves, snow pants—basically if you can think of it, we’re wearing it.

  “You said you’ve been sledding before,” Heath says.

  “Yes! But it was when I was a little kid. It has been years and well, I don’t know! I thought it would be a smaller sledding hill when you asked if I wanted to go sledding.”

  The huge smile on his face just confirms how amused he is at my hesitation to go flying down this hill. “Don’t worry baby. We can go together.” He sounds way too happy as he says this.

  “Uhhhh,” I grumble to myself. “Okay. Let’s just do this quickly before I think about it anymore and completely chicken out.”

  “Alright!” He sets his sled down, perched at the top of the hill ready to take the plunge and then scoots all the way forward. “Jump on behind me. We’ll go down together.”

  Without thinking about it, I sit down behind him and wrap my arms and legs around him. The next thing I know he tips the sled forward and we are flying down the hill. At first my eyes are closed but I think this actually makes the feeling that I’m out of control worse. So I open my eyes. The trees to the sides are flying past us and snow is being kicked up to the sides of us. When I look ahead to see where we are going, I get a huge spray of snow to the face. Heath is yelling from pure enjoyment, I’m yelling because of the overwhelming feeling I have that I’m going to die. I’ve never been much of a daredevil.

  As we near the bottom of the hill, we hit a rock that is mostly covered with snow and the sled flips to the left and launches us off into a mound of snow. After I stop screaming I can’t help but laugh. I’m lying in the snow looking up at the blue sky as the waves of adrenaline continue to flow through my body. Okay, that was a lot of fun. The next thing I know, Heath launches himself on top of me. I’m screaming and laughing as he pulls me into his arms and kisses my face and neck.

  “Are you okay?” he says through kisses.

  “Yes, I’m wonderful actually. Now that I know I’m not going to die, let’s do it again! That was a lot of fun.” I push Heath off of me, dust the snow off and start climbing the hill back to the top. After a few steps I feel a snowball hit me right in the back.

  “This is really good packing snow,” Heath says as he scoops another handful of snow and starts packing it into another snowball.

  “Really? Huh, let me see about that.” Reaching over I also start packing snow into a nice, tight snowball. We just stare each other down, both of us equipped with a snowball, waiting for the other one to make a move. Tired of waiting, I launch my snowball at him and nail him right in the chest.

  “You’re going to pay for that,” he says as he throws his snowball right back at me. We both scramble to pack another one while laughing uncontrollably. He lets another one fly and it hits me right in the side of the face.

  “Hey! That hurt!” I’m laughing too hard to be taken seriously as really being hurt but a face shot does seem excessive.

  “I’m sorry, bad aim,” he says as he walks over with his hands up. “Let me kiss it for you, no hard feelings.”

  “Okay” I say as he leans in and kisses the spot where the snowball hit me. “No hard feelings.” He moves over to my lips and plants a cold but soft kiss.

  “Now our next time down, how about a race?”

  “I think I can handle that. What does the winner get?” I ask.

  “How about a nice massage in front of the fire?”

  “Ooh, that’s worth a win! Let’s do it.”

  “Oh, that’s really nice. A little harder would be even better.” I can’t help but roll my eyes as Heath starts getting bossy about his back massage. “Down a little bit more, oh yeah, right there. That’s perfect.” I don’t really mind losing when it means I get to have my hands all over his sculpted shoulder and back muscles. To rub it in even more, he took his shirt off as soon as he sat down in front of the fire. It didn’t have the effect on me he thought it would. It is hard to think of anything I enjoy more than a shirtless Heath sitting in front of the fire looking like a bronzed Greek god.

  “You know, if I hadn’t hit another rock, I’d be the one with my shirt off getting worked over right now.”

  The deep rumble of a laugh coming from his chest is quickly becoming one of my favorite sounds. “Well, I don’t want you to feel left out,” he says as he quickly flips around and pulls my legs out from under me so that I fall back onto the soft blankets. Instead of pulling my shirt off, though, he starts unbuttoning my pants.

  “Just lay back, baby, and enjoy your massage.”

  I feel a flutter of excitement in my belly as he slowly pulls one of my legs out of my pants followed by the other. His brown eyes hypnotize me and I can’t look away as his hands move back up to remove my panties as well. He’s moving at such a leisurely pace, I can feel the anticipation building inside of me. He always knows just what I need. His hands slowly massage my legs starting at my calves and move up to my thighs. I feel my legs start to tremble, I’m desperate for him to touch me between my thighs. He’s purposefully avoiding the place I need him to touch the most.

  “Please Heath, you’re such a tease.” I moan.

  “Tell me what you need baby.” He says as his hands continue to massage my body.

  “Touch me.” I whine.

  “I am touching you.” He teases.

  “Kiss me then.”

  His mouth joins his hands, trailing kisses on the path his hands leave behind.

  “Ooh, that’s nice but I still need you to kiss me somewhere else.”

  “Oh yeah? Where else do you want me to kiss you?”

  “You know,” I shyly whisper.

  “Where baby?”

  “Here” I say as I take my index finger and point to my sex. Now that I’ve felt the magic of his tongue I’m an addict. I know all too well the delicious ache that he creates between my legs that makes me gasp and beg until I explode with pleasure.

  He smiles as he pushes my legs apart and positions his shoulders under my thighs. With a passionate look he leans forward and presses a soft kiss on my pussy. “Right here?” he says, looking up at me while his fingers barely brush the skin of my folds.

  “Yes,” I reply breathlessly.

  Using his fingers to completely open me to him he leans in and slowly licks me from my core to just below my clit. He stops before he hits my sweet spot.

  “You’re making me crazy,” I say as I wiggle my hips for him. An invitation for him to go back to what he was doing.

  “Okay, baby. I’ll stop playing. You’re just so cute when you beg.”

  Without missing a beat his head dips down to my pussy again. This time I feel his tongue licking, kissing and sucking. When he gets to my clit he swirls his tongue around in circles. I moan and lift my hips for him, wanting even more friction. My pleasure is building at a fever pitch. Rocking my hips in rhythm with his tongue I fist the blankets at my sides and scream as the orgasm consumes me. He continues to lick and kiss me until I come down from my high. Whe
n it becomes too sensitive I sit up and pull his face up to mine, needing the passion he gives me with his kiss.

  “We’re not done yet, beautiful,” he says.

  “I hope not.”

  Repositioning himself, he sits up and leans back supporting his weight on his arms behind him. His cock is hard and standing straight up, just asking for some attention. Straddling him, I position my body so the head of his cock is pressing against my soaking wet pussy. I play with him just a little, slowly rubbing myself up and down his smooth shaft. Then, unable to wait a moment longer, I sink down on his cock until he’s inside of me balls deep.

  “Oh fuck, baby. You feel so amazing.”

  Unable to keep his hands from me, he sits up and wraps his arms around me as I start to ride him. His mouth takes my nipple between his teeth and he gives it a gentle nip. I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped my lips if I tried. Our pace quickens and I feel the sweet burn starting deep in my belly.

  Before I can come, Heath grabs my hips and pulls me off of him. Before I can question what he’s doing, he flips me around on my stomach. The next thing I know his hands are gripping my hips and pulling my ass up toward him. I cry out when I feel his cock slam into me again. I have to pull up on my hands to hold on as he starts thrusting his cock deep inside of me.

  My fingers find my clit and I start to rub it as he continues to fuck me hard. It doesn’t take long before I’m screaming his name as another orgasm tears through my body. I can feel his cock throb as he comes hard inside of me. We stay like this for a bit, waiting for the waves of pleasure to slow.

  Eventually he collapses on the blankets and pulls me down with him. He pulls a blanket off of the couch behind us and covers us up. My eyes get heavy, I’m so relaxed. The soft crackling of the fire and Heath’s strong arms wrapped around me lull me to sleep.

  After a long and brutal winter, signs of spring are finally here. Instead of having inches of snow added to what we already have every day, the snow is starting to melt. Jack and I began the renovations on Bree’s future coffee shop. We took care of the fun part about a week ago, demolition. We pulled up the floors and ripped out the old cabinets. Sledgehammers and crowbars, baby. I probably get a little too much enjoyment from that stage of renovation but, oh well. It’s a necessary step so why not enjoy it.

  The inspection went really well. No big surprises that would have cost more money. The foundation is sound. It may be old, but they built these old places to stand the test of time. We have the new drywall in and today’s job is working on the counters. There’ll be one long counter where people will order and pay for their drinks. Other cabinets behind it will be for storage and whatever else Bree might need them for. Jack is meeting me over there today so we can get as much done as possible.

  It’s early when I pull myself out of the warm bed that Bree and I have been sharing every night for weeks straight. Once we both decided it was worth the risks to be happy, we jumped in to this relationship with both feet first. I quietly get dressed next to the bed, watching Bree’s sleeping body. It takes all of my willpower not to crawl back in there and wake her up so we can have a little fun together before I head off for the day. I’m so addicted to her. I’m like a man that has been stranded in the desert and she’s my glass of ice, cold water. I love her. I haven’t told her yet, but I do. And the way I love her, makes me think I haven’t really ever experienced love before. I know I thought I had when I was younger, but now I know that it wasn’t really love.

  I press a soft kiss to her forehead and quietly leave the room. Jack will be at the coffee shop raring to go. I don’t know where he gets the energy but I’m guessing it must be retirement; it agrees with him. There is already a pot of coffee brewing when I get in the kitchen. Bree sets a timer so that it automatically starts brewing a pot each morning. I was never a coffee drinker before, but I am now. It’s not necessarily the taste of it, but it’s nice waking up and having a warm mug to drink with a shot of caffeine each morning. Now I know what all the fuss is about.

  It’s about twenty minutes later when I pull up at the coffee shop. I was right, Jack is already here. The boards have already been measured and cut, stained and sealed. We’ll be able to install them today. I really want to get this coffee shop ready to go as soon as possible. Bree is only working at the bar to keep money coming in, and though I love being able to see her everyday at work, I don’t like having her around a bunch of drunk assholes and men with one thing on their minds. I already had to drive her to the emergency room after she was hit by the flying shards of a beer bottle.

  Not to mention the way the guys look her up and down when she’s busy at work, oblivious to the men checking her out. I notice it though, and I constantly battle with myself not to get too possessive and start acting like a caveman. I know her ex was crazy possessive. Not that I’d ever act as crazy as that creep but I feel protective of her and want men to know when they come into the bar at night, she’s mine and they need to back the fuck off.

  Jack’s on his cell phone when I walk in so I just wave my hello and get started. We’re installing all of the cabinets and counters today. The floors have been ordered so they’ll be able to go in as soon as the materials arrive.

  “Sorry about that,” Jack says as he walks over to help me move the cabinets into place. “I’ve got some interesting stuff to share with you.”

  “Yeah? What about?”

  “Brian.”

  Just the mention of his name makes my blood start to boil. “Tell me you’ve found that son of a bitch.”

  “No. We haven’t found him yet. But I have a buddy of mine working on finding out anything he can about the guy. I had him check out Brian’s place in the city to see if it would help us learn anything about him. Turns out, my buddy doesn’t think he’s been back to his place in quite a while. And while that sucks for Bree, at least we know that he has been hanging around town. He’s gotta be around here somewhere and it’s just a matter of time before we’re able to grab him.”

  “Goddamn it!” I slam my hand down in frustration. “It just pisses me off knowing he’s just lurking around waiting to do something and we don’t know what he’s planning, where it’ll happen, or even when. It has been months. This guy needs some serious help.”

  “That leads me into the next bit we’ve been able to uncover. Apparently, once a stalker, always a stalker. There was a woman that got a restraining order against him. It sounds like this would have been about six months before he started dating Bree. He never hurt this woman physically, but he started crossing the line with breaking into her home and her car. He would leave her strange gifts when he broke in. He even jacked off in her bed one time. She was able to get a restraining order and then there wasn’t anything else on the record after that. Maybe she skipped town at that point but I’m guessing it’s because he moved on to Bree.”

  “We’ll need to make sure we’re always with Bree until we can find this scum bag. He’s got major problems and it’s just going to set him off when he discovers that Bree and I are together.”

  “And find that out he will. That’ll definitely add fuel to the fire.”

  “Well, what can I do? I’m not going to break up with her just so we don’t aggravate this head case some more. He’s unstable regardless, so I’d rather be by her side looking out for her, making sure nothing happens to her.”

  “I know and I think that’s the right thing to do.”

  “She’ll be at the bar working today and then she’s going to the spring carnival tonight with Abbey. I’ll meet her there later and take her home and stay with her. She won’t be alone so hopefully Brian doesn’t try anything as long as she’s with other people.”

  “That’s a good start. I haven’t told Bree any of this yet. I mean, she knows Brian is still out there somewhere and that we’re looking for him, but I don’t think she knows about his creepy past.”

  “Do you think we should tell her? I think it would just freak her out even more to kn
ow he has a history of stalking.”

  “I’m assuming it will upset her but she has a right to know.”

  “Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. I’ll talk to her about it tonight.”

  “Good man. It’s important to be honest with her. It’ll be important down the road.”

  “I know. You’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right! And while we’re talking about how right I am, remember way back when Bree first came to town and I told you what a nice, beautiful woman she was?”

  I shake my head and smile. Eventually we always end up at this place in our conversations. “I do remember that, yes.”

  “Okay. Just making sure. I just know what’s good for you so you better keep listening to me. If you know what’s good for you that is.”

  “Will do, old man. So, since you’re always right about things, what do you think about marriage?”

  “Marriage? Ha! She’s got you caught in her web. I don’t blame you one bit for thinking about marriage with her. You two make a great pair. So you’ve been thinking about the popping the question?”

  “Yeah, I have. I bought a ring last week.”

  “Oh my God! That’s just-” He stops and puts his head down, hands on his hips. I can tell he’s getting choked up. It doesn’t happen very often, but I know it when I see it. “I’m just so happy for you, son.”

  “Thanks, Jack. And as you mentioned, I have you to thank for it. That’s if she says ‘yes’ of course. I’m talking like this is a done deal and I haven’t even asked her yet.”

  “Of course she’ll say yes, you fool. We all see the way you two look at each other. You were made to be together.”

  “She makes me crazy happy. I know it sounds stupid and cheesy, but it’s the truth. She’s my chance at happiness and I’m going to grab that chance by the balls.”

  “Nice. Maybe just think of a more elegant way to phrase it when you say it to her. Like leaving out any mention of balls. There just isn’t a place for ‘balls’ in a marriage proposal.”