been waiting for all this time.
He jumped with both feet.
There was a fine line between being out of control and scared to death, and out of control and thrilled. Being kissed senseless by Zach Sorenson fell into the second category.
Thrilling wasn’t always a good thing.
Still, Julia buried her hands in his hair and felt the bubbling rush of heat in her veins for just another moment. Because, damn, the man could kiss. His lips against hers were firm and demanding. His taste rushed through her. Her cheek tingled from where his five o’clock shadow had scuffed.
By the time he let her up for air, her face wasn’t the only part tingling.
Still, she reined in her libido best she could even as she savoured the hard muscles under her.
Their gazes met. His pupils were wide, his breathing slightly out of kilter, although nowhere near as erratic as her own gasping inhalations. People were watching—murmured words swirled as people swung lips close to ears to share secrets. A slow examination of the way their bodies aligned.
His hand at her back slid downwards. It stopped before it went into dangerous territory, but now it rested on the swell of her ass.
A shiver rippled over her.
A soft chuckle danced against her skin as he twisted her head just enough to hide her face against his chest while he spoke in her ear.
“Come on.”
An instant later, cool air filled the space between them. With strong fingers tangled around hers, he guided her toward the side of the hall and the emergency exit door.
She hesitated before he could tug her from the pub. It took a sharp squeeze on his fingers to get his attention.
He curled himself around her so he could hear her words.
“People need to see us,” she insisted.
“Some people need to not see us until I know what the hell is going on,” Zach insisted. “Talk first.”
She let him lead her, glancing over her shoulder to try to see if any of the key gossips of the community had spotted them.
Her gaze fell on her sister’s fiancée. Finn Marlette’s alert gaze followed her and Zach, and a rush of oh shit arrived.
She had damn good reasons for what she’d started, but she hadn’t thought this through before acting.
At this point the only choice was to go forward. She ducked her chin and slipped out the door at Zach’s side.
The ice-cold wind stole her breath and sent goose bumps rising over her heated skin. A second later a warm, soft jacket settled around her shoulders, right before Zach grabbed the lapels of the coat—his coat that she now wore like a shawl—and tugged her to face him.
“Why?”
A man of few words. She could work with that. Only when laughter rang from the front entrance barely fifteen feet to their right, Julia paused before diving into her explanation.
A group of three women were staring at them, gazes darting up and down. Were they the ones Julia had overheard? She supposed it didn’t matter, except for the fact she had to sell this bit of bullshit with everything in her.
She turned her focus on Zach, draping her arms over his shoulders and pressing their torsos together again. “I swear I will explain, but right now you need to lose that frown.”
“It’s hard to look like everything’s peachy keen when I don’t know what’s going on,” Zach said, but his lips curled upward, and his hands wound around her waist again.
Big hands, strong and controlling—
A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold evening air shook her from top to bottom. Julia fought the fear inside her and nodded briskly even as she let her fingers drift up to play with the curl of brown hair that had fallen over his forehead.
“Someone was gossiping. Really mean shit. Maybe even those women, and I guarantee you will agree to help when you hear the whole story. But for now, trust me?”
He didn’t answer. Then she couldn’t ask again, because his lips were on hers once more, the kiss making teeny electric zaps fly up and down her spine.
Her body liked this man. Which was a weird thing for her to acknowledge, all things considered.
At her back, footsteps echoed on the boardwalk. Feminine giggles rang as the group of ladies passed by.
Zach teased his tongue against hers, and a moan escaped. Honestly escaped, because the last thing she wanted him to know was how much being pressed against him affected her. Although—hello—the thick length of a healthy erection