She’s up just as fast, gasping and screaming. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Now we’re even.” Turning my back, I walk out of the frigid water to where the sun beats down with a vengeance.
It actually feels pretty good standing in the scorching heat after that ice bath. My limbs are loose from the running and the laughing and the adrenaline, but as I watch her wading toward me, water running down her beautiful body, hair clinging to her cheeks and neck, I start to feel a different kind of adrenaline.
The beige tank she’s wearing is transparent, and I can see her thin lace bra under it and the dark circles of her areolas crowned by her hardened nipples.
Heat races below my belt, and I have to turn toward the pine trees while I push down the sudden wood in my pants.
“Oh, what? Now you’re going to act like nothing happened?” Noel’s voice is mad, but playful.
She jogs up behind me and wraps both her arms tightly around mine, soaking my backside with her frigid, wet body.
“How does that feel, Mr. Bruised Rib? Huh? How does it?” Her voice is so adorably taunting, like she’s going to fight me or something.
I kind of can’t take it anymore. Turning around, I swoop her up by the waist, putting her face directly level with mine. She gasps as our eyes meet. Her hands are on my shoulders, and all the pent-up heat, the nagging chemistry, her hard nipples pressing against my chest, all of it swirls into a fusion of lust and need.
“I want to kiss you.” My voice cracks roughly. I barely recognize it.
She nods, and I stretch up as she meets me halfway. Our lips brush, and it’s like two flints striking. Sparks swirl between us as I push her mouth open with mine.
I lower her to her feet so I can cup her face in my hands, and our tongues slide and curl together. She tastes like cold, fresh water, and she feels like diving off the top of a cliff into a bottomless ocean.
Her small body fits perfectly in my arms, and I pull her closer to me, wrapping my arms around her. She exhales a high noise, and my lips move to the top of her cheek, to her temple, to her brow. I don’t want to stop kissing her, holding her. I’ve never felt this way—desperate and hungry and so satisfied.
She slides her hands up to my neck, and she drops her forehead to my bare chest. I lower my nose to the top of her head and breathe.
“Taron.” Her soft voice sounds as bewildered as I feel.
How is this happening to us? Has this ever happened to anyone before? Is it possible? It feels so specific.
Her head lifts, and her golden-brown eyes are warm. “What are you doing?”
The question makes me grin. “Something I’ve wanted to do for two days.”
She blinks down as her cheeks flush. “I wondered why I didn’t do it when you caught me in the kitchen.” Her nose wrinkles, and she squints up at me. “Isn’t that what ladies do when they’re saved by handsome princes?”
“I’m not a prince.”
“But you are handsome.” A tease is in her eye.
Sliding my thumb along the top of her cheek, I lean down to kiss her lips once more. “If you ever need saving, I want to save you.”
Somehow I’m certain Noel LaGrange can take care of herself no matter what. Still, everybody slips off a kitchen counter sometimes.
“And I’ll save you back.”
I pull her to my chest, wanting to kiss her again. “It’s a deal.”
6
Noel
Taron’s full lips cover mine, and my insides turn molten and slippery. He tastes like salty sweat and fresh water, and he feels like a wall of granite. His hot skin is beneath my hands, and I want to wrap myself around him, feel every ridge and line of muscle. I want to trace my tongue over his collarbone and nip his broad shoulder.
All day today I’ve stolen glances at him working with the other men. He stomped around the shed in those boots with his faded jeans hugging his ass like a dare, making me sigh and shift in my seat.
Occasionally, his blue-green eyes would catch mine from under the brim of his ball cap, and it was like brushing against a live wire. I’d look away to keep from blushing, but I could feel the electricity simmering in my skin.
Digger also stalked in and out of the shed, his eyes on me like some kind of vulture. Every time I saw him, I’d immediately become engrossed in working with Betsy or Leon or Brenda or one of the other teens. When Taron pulled his shirt off in the midday heat, I’m pretty sure every female in the shed took a moment to appreciate the beauty of God’s creation.
Digger’s oversized frown almost made me snort. Jealous much?
I had to fight a swoon, watching the muscles in Taron’s arms flex and bulge, the sweat tracing lines down his neck every time he’d lift a crate of peaches. Muscles rippled across his sides and down his back, and I wondered how it was possible to be so fine.
Now I’m holding him, and everything is hot, including my panties.
Our gaze meets and tangles. His eyes seem darker, and he slides a large hand over my cheek, pushing a lock of wet hair behind my ear. I think he’s going to say something, want something, and I know I’ll say yes. I’m playing a dangerous game.
Clearing my throat, I force myself to step out of his arms. “We should get back. I kind of ditched out on the teenagers. Sawyer’s probably wondering where we are…”
He grins as if he understands what I’m thinking, and butterflies flood my stomach. I’m not sure my older brother would like me making out with his new best friend—or all the X-rated thoughts I’m having.
“This time I’m driving.” He takes my hand, pulling me close to his side as we walk.
It’s so possessive and unexpected, I forget to care what Sawyer thinks. I just want to stay here with him. I pull on my boots and climb onto the back of the three-wheeler.
My arms wrap around his waist, and I rest my cheek against his warm skin, closing my eyes and imagining this gorgeous man as my boyfriend… or something.
Akela is in dog heaven, barking and running the whole way with us. She probably thinks we’ve lost our minds charging into that icy pond… or she might think we’ve lost our minds not staying there. She is a cold-weather breed, after all.
Taron pulls up fast behind the small house, and we hop off, jogging around and up to the peach shed where only a few people still mill around.
“Where have you been?” Sawyer’s voice is sharp, and I look down at my drenched clothes, realizing my shirt has gone transparent.
My face flames hot as a firecracker. Gripping the fabric in both hands, I pull it away from my body, going to where he’s standing, Taron right behind me.
“It was so hot, and Taron asked me if there was a place to cool off. I thought we could go to Bates—”
“You’re supposed to be supervising the teenagers, not running off with Taron.”
“It was my fault,” Taron starts, but I interrupt him.
“You said we were done. We were off the clock—”
“Noel.” My brother’s hazel eyes flash.
I don’t even know why I’m arguing with him. This isn’t my first harvest. “Sorry. I’ll check on the kids and tell them when to be back tomorrow.”
“I’ve already done that. Go inside and make us something to eat. Mindy’s waiting for you.”