LITMIR.BIZ

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      She sampled it off the end of his fork, contemplated, and nodded again.

      With an exaggerated sigh, he pushed the middle cake out of the lineup. “Now we need to concentrate.”

      She couldn’t help smiling because he made eating cake very serious work. They both tried the wedge with strawberry cream filling again, and then the chocolate-vanilla marble with the fudge filling again. And again.

      “This,” he said, “could take all night.”

      Laughing, she noticed a dab of frosting on his lower lip. Her thumb, of its own volition and without so much as a thought to decorum, glided across his mouth to wipe it away.

      He caught her wrist in his hand and took the tip of her thumb into his mouth. Her heart hammered, but Summer held perfectly still. Playfulness became something else, something weightier, something living, breathing and instinctive. Her breath caught and her eyes closed, as traitorous as the rest of her.

      The next thing she knew, she was in Kyle’s arms. And his mouth was on hers. And everything merged, every thought converged, every heartbeat stammered, and the entire length of her body was melded to the entire length of his.

      Kyle heard Summer’s breath whoosh out of her, he felt her hands glide up around his neck, and he tasted the frosting they’d both sampled. None of it was enough.

      He kissed her. At least that was how it began, with a kiss that exploded into something uncontrollable and invincible. It was possessive and hungry, a mating of heat and heart, discovery and instinct. Need filled him, too intense to question, and so tumultuous it became a tumbling free fall without a parachute, an adrenaline rush with only one end in sight.

      He backed her to the nearest wall, his mouth open against hers, his hands all over her back. And still it wasn’t enough. He molded her to him, her body soft where his wasn’t, yielding and pliant where his was seeking and insistent.

      Her mouth opened, and his tongue found hers. She moaned deep in her throat, the sound setting off an answering pounding in his ears, like the echoing beat of pagan drums. Slightly making room between them, he took her breast in his hand. It was full and soft and puckered and fit his hand so perfectly it was his turn to moan.

      Two doors led off the back of the kitchen. He was fairly certain the first opened into a storage room. That meant the second must lead to her private quarters. He wanted to swing her into his arms and carry her there, for he needed a bed to pleasure her the way he wanted to pleasure her. And he needed it now.

      He let his lips trail down her neck and loved that she tipped her head back, giving him better access. Her hands got caught in the fabric of his shirt, her touch insistent, at once strong and gentle as only a woman could be. He wanted to feel those hands on his bare skin. He wanted a lot more than that, and he would start by getting her out of her clothes.

      “Summer. Are you home? Summer? Where are you?”

      Kyle heard a voice in the distance. “Yoo-hoo. Summer. Jake’s here.” It came from far away, outside this haze of passion.

      He felt the change in Summer before the words registered in his brain. She stiffened, then went perfectly still.

      “I know she’s here somewhere.” Whoever was talking was getting closer. “I’ll just be a moment. Make yourself comfortable.”

      Summer drew her neck away from Kyle’s lips and awkwardly pressed her hand to his chest where his heart was beating hard. Through the roaring din inside her skull, she recognized Abby’s voice.

      She slipped out from between Kyle and the wall. She didn’t have time to straighten her clothes or run a hand through her hair. She barely had time to take a shallow breath before Abby swished through the swinging kitchen door.

      She stopped in her tracks the moment she saw Summer and Kyle. “Oh.” Her blue eyes were round with surprise as she said, “There you are.”

      The feeling was returning to Summer’s limbs, but the roaring in her ears hadn’t lessened. “What is it, Abby?”

      Upon meeting Abby Fitzpatrick for the first time, and seeing her wispy light blond hair and petite build, her bow lips and ready smile, people often assumed she was flighty. First impressions weren’t always accurate, for she had an IQ that put most people to shame. It didn’t require great brilliance to recognize the reason for Summer’s disheveled appearance and glazed eyes, however, or the reason Kyle kept his back to the door.

      “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Abby said apologetically. “But Jake’s here.”

      Summer’s hands went to either side of her face. Jake. Of course. That was what she’d forgotten.

      To Summer, Kyle said, “Who the hell is Jake?”

      It was Abby who answered. “He’s Summer’s date.” Her voice rose on the last word, turning the statement into a question.

      Summer and Jake Nichols had been in the middle of dinner two nights ago when he’d had to make an emergency house call to help a mother goat deliver twins. He’d promised to make it up to Summer. Tonight. Summer wasn’t sure what Abby was doing here, but it probably had to do with helping them choose the wedding cake.

      “Shall I tell him something came—er, that you stepped out?”

      “Yes,” Kyle said.

      “No,” Summer said at the same time. She pulled a face at her friend and took a deep breath. Walking to the counter on rubbery legs, she said, “I won’t lie. Tell him—What should we tell him? Tell him I’m running a little late. Can you keep him entertained for a few minutes?”

      “Are you sure?” Abby asked.

      The friends shared a look.

      Trying on a shaky smile, Summer said, “I’m sure, Abby. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

      Abby spun on her heel and swished out the way she’d entered.

      “What are you doing, Summer?” Kyle asked.

      She went to the hook beside the refrigerator and opened her purse. After fishing out a brush and small mirror, she fixed her hair and applied lipstick and blush. Steadier now, she finally looked at Kyle again.

      He’d turned around and now faced her. His shirt was untucked—she’d untucked it. His collar was askew, again her doing. His green eyes were stormy and narrowed, but there was little she could do about that.

      She ran a hand down her dress, adjusted the waist and straightened the neckline. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m going to dinner.”

      “The hell you are.”

      The edge in Kyle’s voice held Summer momentarily still. He walked toward her like a stealth bomber, determination and displeasure in every step. He didn’t stop until he was close enough for her to see that he meant business.

      “I have to go, Kyle.”

      “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

      She could tell he was trying to hold on to his temper—trying but not entirely succeeding. He was a force to be reckoned with, and she understood why he was upset. She was wildly attracted to him. There was no sense trying to deny it. Her heart rate still hadn’t settled back into its normal rhythm, her breathing was shallow and her legs were shaky. He’d touched her body and she’d felt his need. If Abby hadn’t interrupted, they would probably be in her bedroom right now. But Abby had interrupted, and Summer did have to go tonight.

      “Jake knows I’m here. I’m not going to stand him up.”

      He took her hand, then promptly released it. “So what we started he’ll—”

      Summer’s chin came up a notch. A few responses came to mind, none of them nice. In the end, she met his gaze and quietly said, “Nobody else could finish what you started.”

      She glanced at the

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