Page 33 of Wicked Love

“Ohmygoodness, this is beautiful,” Grace exclaimed from beside me, grinning like I had just offered her the world. She jumped into my embrace before I had time to react, locking her arms around my neck. “Thank you for this.”

My arms wrapped around her body of their own volition for the second time in less than an hour. This time, I held her against my pounding heart. Fuck, why did our bodies always feel perfect when molded together?

No matter how much I tried to stay indifferent to her charisma, I kept failing.

Grace’s happiness overload faded as we stared at each other. Reality hit us like a cold shower.

“We shouldn’t—” I muttered.

“I’m-I’m sorry…for my enthusiasm. I’ll try to dial it down a notch from now on.”

I cleared my throat. And erased all the thoughts of her lips on mine swimming in my mind. “Don’t be. I’m glad you’re happy.”

“I am.” She jumped down. “I won’t attack you like this again. It was…huh…inappropriate?”

It sounded more like a question than a comment.

It’s not inappropriate, I wanted to argue. Please keep doing it.

Instead, I kept my mouth shut.

“I’ll get our stuff from the car.” I turned to leave, sucking a full breath in to release every particle of tension clinging to me.

I lit up the fireplace, and since we had stopped by the grocery store on our way here to grab some necessities, I busied myself emptying the bags, while Grace offered to set up the bedrooms and unpack our luggage. She assigned me the lumberjack-themed room after I insisted she take the master midnight-hour one.

On my phone, I played some music, humming and keeping my brain occupied so it couldn’t nag me about why I chose to spend a month in a cabin with a girl who got me all tangled up inside. I had no recollection of the last time I’d been so confused in my life.

A scratching sound coming from the front door captured my attention and released me from my drowning thoughts.

Could it be a bear?

After all, we were in the middle of the woods in the mountains. Bears, elks, bobcats. Any creature could be standing on our front porch right now.

I hated the fact the door had no glass panel and that I had to open it to see who stood on the other side. The last thing I wished was for an intruder to walk in unannounced. One with claws and an appetite for human beings.

Armed with a kitchen knife, I yanked the door open and looked around. Nothing. All I could see were the blinding lights emanating from the cabin and the thick forest ahead.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the sounds around me. The breeze. An owl. And maybe a deer.

Something pushed against my shin. I opened my lids, and when I glanced down, my heart melted. A tiny gray kitten bunted my leg. I bent forward to pick him up. “Hey, you. How did you get here? Are you lost? Want to come in?”

The small ball of fur purred in response.

“You must be freezing. Come with me. We’ll warm you up.”

I put down the knife on the coffee table, and using a pillow from the couch, I placed the little thing in front of the fireplace and fed him warm milk in a bowl. Yeah, I checked, and he was a male.

He lapped some of the milk and fell asleep within a minute.

This thing was adorable.

Climbing the stairs, I went to get Grace, excited at the prospect of her meeting our new roommate. I heard her before I saw her. She was in her bedroom, emptying her bag, swaying to the music she was humming.

Kill. Me. Now.

I wasn’t allowed to find her pretty. Or even sexy.

Those thoughts had to dissipate, or they would ruin me.