All the while feeling his eyes on the back of me. And I wasn’t ashamed to admit I added a little more sway to my hips as I left.
Cool air hit my face as I stepped out, reminding me of just how stupid it was to leave home without a heavy coat. Moonlit Pines weather in the winter had a lot of highs and lows. My place was less than a mile away, and not only was it a safe town, it was still pretty early. It would take longer to stand around and wait for a ride than to walk back home. My feet were going to hate me in the morning, but at least their aching would remind me of why pining after a man like Austin Hart was a bad idea.
Not that I got far. Five minutes into my walk, I heard heavy footsteps start to slow down, and I knew it was him. I had no idea how, but I knew it down to my bones that Austin had run after me.
Chasing me.
And for some reason, I didn’t turn around.
I liked the thought of him pursuing me.
A minute later, his deep voice cut through the chilly mountain air. “Elizabeth.” My name rang in the air, close enough I knew he wasn’t directly behind me but close. But I still ignored him. “Liz, will you please slow down?”
This time, his hand reached for me, and my feet did as he asked. I stopped and glanced over him shoulder as I tried to hold on to indifference.
“What?” I asked.
“What? You just walked out of the brewery. It’s the middle of the night, and you’re not wearing a coat,” he accused, shrugging off his own and pulling it over my shoulders. The gesture was so sweet and unexpected, and his scent made me almost dizzy with desire.
“What?” I whispered. The stubborn fight I always held on to somehow melted outside in these frigid temps.
“It’s cold, baby. It feels like it’s going to snow soon, and you can’t walk all the way home dressed like that.”
“Dressed like—“ I glanced down at myself and the pretty, black dress I had put on with the very man in front of me in mind.
“Not to mention you’re lucky you haven’t slipped on black ice in those shoes you got on.” It felt like the two of us dropped our gazes down to the black patent leather stiletto heels on my feet.
“They’re pretty,” I explained. We simultaneously looked up at one another, and when his eyes connected with mine, my heart flipped on its side.
“They’re sexy as hell, Elizabeth,” he corrected, moving in a little closer. The heat of his body brushed against mine slightly, leaving me wanting for more. One of his hands touched my hip. “But I don’t want you to break your pretty little neck if you slip on ice.”.
“I’m very good with heels,” I started to say but gasped when he suddenly swooped in and picked me up, carrying me like a groom would his bride. “What are?—“
“Shh…” he hushed. “I got you.” He hefted me up in his arms. I hadn’t been carried by anyone since I was a little girl. Yet right here, in the middle of the darkened Main Street of ourhometown, he made me feel safe. Like he indeed had me, and not just to take me home.
“Cozy?” he asked as he started to walk.
“Austin.”
“I like when you say my name.”
“You can’t carry me all the way home,” I argued halfheartedly.
“Why not?”
“You’re not wearing a coat.”
“I’d much rather know you’re nice and warm,” he argued sweetly, and something in my lower belly heated.
“But…”
“Just let me do this, Elizabeth.”
“Okay, fine,” I muttered, trying to look away from him and not get too snuggled up in his embrace. “Why should I argue with you? If you wanna carry me home, I mean, you could drop both of us if you slip on ice.
“I won’t slip on ice,” Austin said adamantly.
“Why? Because you’re a man and?—“
