Time suspended for a moment as their gazes locked in the inches that separated them. She was so close she could see the light coat of dust on his nose, and the hint of where dark whiskers would form on his cheeks and jaw. His hands held her lightly, balancing her on top of his long, solid body, and she realized belatedly that one of her legs had slipped between his knees so that she and her skirt were straddling a muscular thigh.
Something changed when his gaze drifted from hers, dropping to her slightly parted lips, and Fiona felt a hot wash of desire flood her. As she caught her breath, he lifted his head and brought her face to his, fitting their lips together in a gentle, tentative kiss.
He tasted of dust—moist, hot dust—and smelled of some subtle male scent that wrapped around her just as his arms did. His lips caressed and coaxed hers, opening them to explore within, and drawing her upper, then her lower, lip into his mouth to taste them. He shifted under her, a rumbling sigh escaping from the depths of his throat, and pulled her closer to his chest as his mouth continued to explore hers.
Fiona was just bringing her hand to touch his thick, dark hair, when, in the very faintest corner of her consciousness, she heard the tinkle of a bell. Someone called out from the front of the store. Jerking back, she rolled clumsily off his body, still tangled in skirts, and banged into the leg of a piece of furniture as she pulled herself to her feet. “Someone’s here!”
Stumbling to her feet, she brushed frantically at her sweater and skirt as she stumbled out of the storage room, leaving Gideon behind to struggle to his own feet.
Five
Gideon’s veinshummed and his breathing felt like the rasp of iron over wood, rough and unsteady. He pulled himself slowly upright, feeling as if he’d been run over by a Mack truck.
Jesus.
He looked at his hand and saw that his fingers were trembling. His breathing was slowing to normal, but his heart rate and the heaviness between his legs indicated how aroused he was. He took a deep breath and held it, but his body still hummed, and his lips still buzzed from the heat of that amazing kiss.
When he dragged a hand through his hair, more dust and cobwebs floated down to land on his dark pants and leather shoes.Damn.He took a few more moments to brush himself off, trying to regain some dignity before joining Fiona and her customer.
Customer? Didn’t the sign say the store was closed?
Disregarding the fact that he had ignored the sign himself, Gideon hurried out to the front of the shop, straightening his shirt and finger-combing back his hair as he went.
When he reached the open area of the store, he found Fiona casually chatting with a well-dressed man—who was not the least bit dusty, dirty, or disheveled. And he was standing much too close to her.
Gideon was even less pleased to recognize the man as Bradley Forth.
“Hello, H.—er, Gideon,” Fiona greeted him as if he’d just run out for milk. Her cheeks weren’t even flushed, and though her lips were a little swollen, she didn’t seem at all off-balance by that kiss. “Apparently you’re not the only one who decided to ignore the closed sign.” She gave them both an exasperated look.
Gideon crossed his arms over his chest to hide as much as he could of his rumpled clothing and offered a polite smile to the other man, who had the grace to look embarrassed by Fiona’s comment.
Gideon managed to ungrit his teeth enough to speak. “Good to see you again, Forth. Nice of you to drive down here,” he added dryly.
“Yes. I wanted to see how Miss Murphy was doing here at Uncle Nevio’s shop. I haven’t been here for awhile, but I thought I’d stop by and see how things were going.”
Stop by?Forth lived in Grand Rapids. Wicks Hollow was not a “stopping by” sort of place from the big city…
As if reading his mind, Forth continued with the smooth smile of a politician, “There’s a large event going on here this weekend—some big class reunion—and with the election being only three weeks out, my team decided it was important for me to be as visible as possible.”
And Forth was likely hoping to turn up a nice little feature in theGrand Rapids Pressabout his deceased uncle and the quaint little shop he’d bequeathed to a mysterious woman…which would of course be accompanied by a spread about the grand-nephew of the old man who’d left it to her, who’d made it a point to visit tiny Wicks Hollow in support of a local event.
Smart and savvy. And annoying as hell.
“Of course, my schedule is extremely tight,” Forth continued, shooting a quick look at Fiona as if to make certain she heard his comment.
“Ah, yes, that’s right. The other night, you mentioned how busy you are right now.”
The other night?What the hell did that mean?
Gideon’s irritation grew when Forth modestly smoothed a hand over his thick head of hair—with not a receding hairline or grey strand in sight.
“Yes, but it was very nice to see you. Oh, and I did ask my mother about Gretchen.”
Apparently Forth and Fiona had developed quite a friendship, Gideon thought darkly. How the hell had that happened?
“And? Did she know anything about her?” replied Fiona.
“Unfortunately, no,” said the politician. “But I will ask Uncle Arnie and Aunt Vera, as promised. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to it yet—so busy with campaign events and fundraisers and press conferences, you know.” He smiled winningly. “I’ll be sure to let you know once I do.”
