Not much was happening in town as I passed through. A few cars sat outside The Knotty Tap, Ridge’s bar, including my dad’s. Great. For a guy who didn’t like company, he sure spent a lot of time at the local watering hole. Wasn’t my problem anymore, though. He didn’t want a thing to do with me, and the feeling was mutual.
Lights still blazed in the windows of the store. My gut clenched as I stopped in front. Hell, if she’d left all the lights on… Then Jessa stepped into the front window and set a wide-brimmed hat on top of a mannequin.
What the fuck was she doing? I’d left her there hours ago. I got out of the truck and headed straight to the front door. She hadn’t even locked it. Anger made my pulse skyrocket.
Her eyes went wide as I stormed into the store. “Harlan, what are you doing here?”
“I drove by and saw the lights on. Why the hell are you still here?” I stalked toward her, the anger I’d felt shifting into relief as I looked her over to make sure she was okay. “And why the fuck wasn’t the door locked? Anyone could have come in here while you were alone.”
“Oh my.” She looked up at me, her eyes sparkling as she bit back a smile. “Were you worried about me?”
Fuck. This woman… she could drive me mad with a single look. I wouldn’t admit that was exactly what I was worried about. It would be better to focus on the store. “Somebody could have come in and wiped me out.”
“Mmhm.” She looked around, her gaze pausing on a display of hunting knives. “Yeah. I suppose that could have happened. Too bad there’s nothing here that I could have used to defend myself.”
It wouldn’t take an expert in interpersonal relations to tell she was mocking me. “You really think you’ve got what it takes to be able to defend yourself? What if the guy was my size?”
“Is your fictional bad guy focused on robbing the store or attacking me?” She rolled her eyes.
I moved closer, forcing her to step back until she bumped into the wall. Then I put my palms on either side of her head, caging her in. “What if he wanted to do both?”
She stared up at me and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she flattened her palms against my chest. Heat sizzled through me at her touch. My cock twitched, especially as she drew in one deep breath right after another. Fuck, I could see right down the V-neck of her t-shirt if I wanted to.
Seconds ticked by while we locked eyes. She was so close I could almost taste her, and it was torture. My hands stayed braced against the wall, blocking her in, and I forced myself not to move. Not to give in.
“You shouldn’t look at me like that,” I ground out, my voice low and rough. “I’m not a guy you want to play games with.”
Her lips curved in the faintest, most infuriating smile. “Maybe I’m not playing.”
I clenched my jaw, dragging in a breath through my nose, trying to find a shred of control I could cling to. “Jessa…”
“Say it,” she whispered, her palms pressing harder against my chest, her eyes sparkling like she knew exactly what kind of fire she was feeding. “Say you don’t want to kiss me.”
Fuck. The challenge was all over her face, and the truth burned a hole straight through me. I held still one more second, one more breath, then snapped.
I crushed my mouth to hers, the kiss rough and reckless, everything I’d been holding back for years exploding at once. She made a sound, half-surprised, half-triumphant, and fisted her hands in my shirt to drag me closer.
Just like that, I was gone.
CHAPTER 4
JESSA
I wasn’t sure whether to slap him or kiss him back. I’d be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t thought about what it might feel like to kiss my brothers’ best friend, but Harlan was impossible. He didn’t earn the nickname Boulder for no reason. He was unyielding, stubborn, and more immovable than the mountains surrounding Hard Timber.
Still, I couldn’t think with the way his big body pressed against mine, the way his hand slid up behind my neck and cupped the back of my head, and the way his tongue pressed against my lips demanding entrance.
The scent of campfire smoke mingled with the smell of the forest that always seemed to surround him. He took control, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw as he took the kiss even deeper. My hands tightened in his shirt, trying to tug him impossibly closer.
I’m not sure how long we would have gone on or how far I would have let it go if Bubbles hadn’t barked at something outside on the street and jolted me back to reality. I jerked back, bumping my head against the wall. Harlan looked just as surprised as I was.
His eyes widened, then softened as he ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “Fuck, Firecracker.”
I couldn’t tell if he regretted the kiss or only regretted that it had happened with me.
“I should go,” I said, not waiting to see his reaction. I ducked out from under his arm and grabbed my purse from behind the counter. Anything I’d been working on could wait. At that moment, I needed air. I was desperate to get away from the giant mountain man before one of us did something we’d both regret.
““I’m sorry,” Harlan called out after me. “That was a mistake.”
