Page 39 of Pink and Country

HN broke the silence that had settled between us. “Desmond will be here after lunch to change the back door lock. I’ll come over deal with him.”

I nodded, my gaze stuck to his lips. “Great,” I mumbled with a shuddering breath.

“Hey, woman, did you hear a word I said?” My eyes landed on his. I pursed my lips, having no clue what HN just told me.

“Mm-hmm.”

HN touched my forearm, and I snapped out of my daze. I shook my head, blinking, rebooting my confused brain.

“Hello?”

“Sorry. Got lost for a moment. What did you say?” I straightened my back, projecting fake confidence. My insides had dissolved a long time ago.

“I said I’m going into town this afternoon. You need something? Groceries? A pair of boots? Anything?”

HN fixed me with a heavy stare. My organs failed. My breath caught in my lungs.

I opened my mouth and closed it a second later.

“Did you hear me? Pixie?” Warmth stirred low in my belly at the sound of his deep, husky voice. He narrowed the distance between us, his body grazing mine now. When he spoke close to my ear, I stopped breathing for a full minute. “So, do you need anything?”

“I—I’ll go by myself,” I stuttered, my voice shaky and low.

“No offense, but the roads are icy, and your car will never make it up here on the way back. We’ll take my truck.”

“Excuse me, are you making fun of Miss Dolly?”

“Miss who—? Oh, crap, did you give your car a name?” HN raked his fingers through his already tousled hair sprinkled with snowflakes.

“Don’t look so surprised. Lots of people do.” I folded my arms over my chest and tipped my chin up. “Anyway, I bet your dick has a name too. Not judging.” Why was I fixated on his penis? Damn it. Keep your thoughts to yourself, April.

“I—Never mind,” HN said before his eyes drifted down my body. His voice lowered. “What if my dick has a name? You—”

My tongue swept over my lips, and my heart pounded faster. I had no oxygen left in my brain to argue. HN’s palm brushed my shoulder, and I shut my eyes, breathing in his manly scent, the addictive mix of pine and cedarwood. Everything inside me screamed to kiss him again. His warmth reached my core. I leaned into his touch, butting his hand the same way Bernice always did when I petted her.

“I…what?”

HN sucked in a breath. My body sizzled.

I squeezed my legs tight, my composure slipping away.

My neighbor, without doubt, the most handsome male specimen I’d ever laid eyes on—according to my sex-crazed hormones—clamped onto my forearms with both hands and flashed me a grin. My chest rose and fell in quick succession. I was panting like I just ran a marathon, even as my feet were glued to the snowy ground. I stepped forward, the gap between us shrinking. My breasts swelled. My lips tingled. My lungs idled.

HN pivoted on his heels and walked away.

“See you later, Pixie.” His long strides brought him inside his cabin in no time, leaving me speechless and spellbound.

Aching and needy.

The heat radiating from me could melt the freshly fallen coat of snow all over town.

10

Carter

D id my presence only steal away Cute Neighbor’s ability to speak? Pixie’s eyes licked me up from head to toes, her big doe eyes lingering over my mouth.

I noticed her from my kitchen window, twirling around in the snow, and I found her way too irresistible. I had to come up with an excuse to go to her under any pretense.