the state whisper about in wonderment while wishing they could live here.”
“Wow, that was incredibly bucolic.”
“It’s who I am.” I grinned as we hit the end of my walkway. “Why don’t you come inside, and I’ll return your book to you before you head home?”
He gave me a courtly bow. I liked the way the snow looked resting on his dark hair before the delicate formations melted.
“Lead on, oh mayorous one.”
Sniggering under my breath, I unlocked the door then sped inside, eager for the warmth on my cheeks. Gideon rushed in after me and hurried to close the door on the snowy night.
“I think we’ll have a measurable amount come morning,” he said as he rubbed his bare hands together while I found and flipped on the light.
“Good! That will add to the charm of our city. Maybe I can get Aubrey to walk up and down Main Street and snap some pictures for those free ads you offered us.” I removed my coat, hung it on the coat closet just inside the door, and then toed off my loafers. “Let me just run into the bedroom. Do you want some coffee before you head up the hill?”
“I’m fine. Your mother’s coffee will probably keep me up all night as it is. I’m more a decaf man now,” he said as I headed to the bedroom.
“To be young again,” I called out as I picked up the book and shoved the thank you note between the covers. With a mental nod to my father and Ben Franklin, I jogged out to the living room and held out the book. “Thank you for letting me borrow it. I feel as if I have a much better understanding of you now I’ve read them.”
“Oh? Well good. What have you learned as you flipped through the pages?” He opened the book to speed through the pages and found the thank you note. His gaze met mine. I lifted a shoulder in reply to the question in his green eyes. “A thank you note.” His mouth curled up at the edges. “You are so damn homogenized. Thoughtful, but incredibly homogenized.”
“I wish I could take the credit,” I said as he slid a finger under the small flap and pulled out the crème-colored card. “But I have to give it to Ben Franklin and my father.”
He said nothing as he read the short note but when his attention settled on me again, there was a universe of swirling emotions in his eyes.
“You’re more than welcome to read any book I own, Evan.”
“Is that a veiled invitation to come up and check out your library?” I joked but the humor I was going for fell flat when it slammed into the cloud of unbridled lust forming inside my home.
Plug in the humidifier! Quickly, before you breathe that in and Mr. Penis takes over.
His gaze simmered like a pot on a low flame. “I would like to kiss you now. May I?”
Knowing I was acting against my own internal alarms as well as my mother’s warnings, I nodded anyway. That crunchy beetle and the taste of gym socks seemingly forgotten as we came together to taste each other again. He gave the book in his hand a toss as his eyes stayed locked on me. It hit the floor somewhere to our right. His books were taking quite the beating of late.
“This is unreal,” I whispered right before he took my face between his hands and tipped my head just an inch to the left.
“Stop talking for a few minutes. I know that’s hard for a liberal.” His lips crashed down over mine and the biting remark I’d been thinking of flittered away like a startled sparrow. I licked at the seam of his mouth, eager for another taste, and he swept in unabashedly. My fingers latched onto his shoulders, tugging wantonly at his thick woolen coat. His tongue slid over mine, hot and possessive, with the subtle taste of coffee and pumpkin pie spices. I lapped at his mouth, rubbed my pelvis against him, and then carded my fingers into his thick hair.
He took a step back. I chased the kiss. A smile played on his slick lips. “I should be going home…”
“No, I don’t think so. I think we should keep doing this.”
He angled my head upward, pulling my attention from his mouth. “Are you sure?”
“Mostly.” I fisted his hair and led his mouth back to mine. I kissed him like a man starved, which