I was about to step back, when he caught the back of my neck with one of his big hands and groaned against my lips.
My dormant libido kickstarted like heat activated yeast. Not exactly sexy, but the intense bloom of reaction was just like it. I could practically feel the fizz under my skin.
He kissed exactly like I thought he would.
Sue me.
I’d definitely thought about it over the years.
Firm and thorough, with just enough force to make everything inside of me hum. All the Murdock brothers were blue collar sturdy and slightly rough around the edges, but none more than Ripley. He always stood a little bit apart from the rest of his brothers. Something a little dangerous lingered around him at all times.
It might have been that beast of a motorcycle he drove, or the devil in his sharp grin, or the way his green eyes seemed to know way too much. All of it gave me a moment’s pause over the years. But just a moment.
Because I knew that I was definitely not ready for that kind of smoke.
Not with the goals I had for myself.
But oh, how I wondered.
And it was far better than I ever imagined.
I gripped his belt loops and every inch of him fit against me like a puzzle piece that had been missing for ten years. His other arm banded around me, crushing my chest against his until the rest of the air whooshed out of my lungs. I ripped my mouth away from his to drag in a deep breath and met those wicked green eyes.
“That was unexpected.” His voice was little more than a rumble.
I couldn’t help but roll my lip under my teeth. “Inconvenient,” I countered.
One raven eyebrow winged up. “Excuse me?”
“Cake.”
“Right.” He frowned. “Sully.” He stepped back and immediately it felt like something was missing.
I had the strongest urge to step forward into his arms again and had to plant my boots into the ground. I cleared my throat. “Can you help me with this?”
“Of course.” He set his big hands on the cart and we managed to get the cake onto the walkway. I winced as the wheels bounced into each crack in the sidewalk. So far, there was only minimal damage to the cake. I focused on the six tiers and the cracks in the fondant instead of my racing heart.
When we got to the cement floor of the pavilion, we picked up the pace slightly and I found the dessert table. I could pick up the cake on my own, but before I could, Ripley lifted the board.
“Where do you want it?”
I hurried around him and looked over the table quickly. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it in the center or on the end.
“Mercy.”
“Right, sorry. The center of the table. No, wait.”
He growled.
“The end. Will be better for pictures.” I hovered around him. “Careful.”
“If you get out of the way, I will.”
“Sorry.” I twisted my fingers. I wasn’t a nervous woman, but we’d been so lucky for so long.
I closed my eyes as he set the board down and yanked his fingers out and the board landed on the cloth with a soft thump. I opened one eye and it seemed to be all in one piece.
“Okay, we need to get the sheet cake out. And my bag. I need to do some surgery.”
