The gentle touch snapped Evie out of her daze. She stepped back, needing space to think clearly. "Asher, I... This is..." She shook her head, trying to gather her scattered thoughts.
“I refuse to stay out of the running. If Gabe’s thrown his hat into the ring, then, baby, so have I.”
After an afternoonwith Asher in the grotto, filled with sexual tension and innuendo, Evie trudged back to the bakery to meet Shepherd for the evening deliveries. She rubbed at her temples, her mind a mess of confusion and conflicting desires. Her lips still tingled from remembering Asher's passionate kiss, yet thoughts of Gabe and their heated moment in her kitchen kept intruding. And now she had to face Shepherd, whose quiet intensity always left her feeling off-balance.
As she approached the bakery, Evie spotted Shepherd's tall form leaning against his van. Her heart did a little flip at the sight of him, his dark, chin-length hair tousled by the wind and the start of a denser beard covering his strong jaw, like he was growing it in for the winter. She sternly told herself to get a grip.
"Hey," she called, forcing a cheerful tone. "Sorry I'm a bit late. The festival ran long."
Shepherd's dark eyes met hers, his gaze seeming to pierce right through her. "No problem. It’s not like I had to come far."
Evie busied herself unwinding her scarf as she walked through the back room of the bakery, hyper-aware of Shepherd's presence behind her. The scent of coffee and spice that always clung to him wafted over her, making her mouth water.
She called out a greeting to Jane and turned to Shepherd.
“So, ah… I need to speak to you before you go out on deliveries…” she told him, wincing at how high-pitched her voice sounded. “It’s just that, well, Gabe and Asher… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Um…”
She was rambling again. She couldn’t help it. These men were sneaky thieves who stole her common sense.
“I think it’s best if you stop doing my deliveries because…”
Shepherd grasped her hands, which Evie only just realized she’d been wildly gesticulating with. “So, Gabe and Asher got in there before me, huh?” he mused, his dark eyes boring into her like they were searching her soul. “I should have known better than to let Gabe talk me into letting him bring your favorite hot chocolate to you every evening and done it myself when I saw you for deliveries.”
His fingers played over her pink, chilled cheeks, leaving bright spots of heat. “But I wanted you to enjoy it when you’d stopped for long enough to appreciate it without it going cold.”
He cupped her face in both hands and searched her face. “Are you really going to deny me, sweet Evie?”
Her mouth opened, closed, opened again, but nothing came out.
Shepherd, however, obviously wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. His head dipped and he claimed her lips… and there was no doubt in Evie’s mind this was a claiming. Well, what little cognizance she had before he swept her away on a tide of passion that made her toes curl.
The kiss consumed Evie entirely. Shepherd's lips moved against hers with a slow, smoldering intensity that left her breathless. His beard tickled her skin, a delicious contrast to the softness of his mouth. The scent of coffee and spice enveloped her, making her head spin.
Evie's hands found their way into Shepherd's hair, needing something to anchor her as the world tilted on its axis and a soft whimper escaped her throat.
When they finally broke apart, Evie struggled to catch her breath. Her whole body felt electrified. She blinked up at Shepherd, taking in his desire-darkened eyes, and a thrill ran through her at the realization that she'd done that to him.
"I..." Evie started, then faltered. What could she possibly say after that? Her mind was a jumble.
Shepherd's thumb brushed across her cheek. "You don't have to decide anything right now," he murmured, his voice little more than a murmur. “But you should know, I intend to hold my own for a place in your affections, regardless of the competition.”
He leaned close to her ear and his voice dropped to a half-whisper, half-growl, which had goosebumps shivering down her neck. “Even if I have to tie you to the bed to make you listen.”
Chapter
Sixteen
EVIE
“Posy? It’s an emergency. Bring wine!”
“Wait, didn’t we just do this last night?” Posy replied in confusion.
“It’s worse,” Evie told her. “Way worse.”
Was she exaggerating? Hell no!
“Do I need to bring a spade?” her friend asked cautiously.
