Busted (Promise Harbor Wedding)(53)
Laughing, she kissed him again, slower, softer. “I guess we need to get you out of it, ASAP.” She drew back, but didn’t make it more than a few inches before he roped her back in.
“You’re forgetting something, Detective.”
She caged his face in his hands and went back up on her toes for one more lingering kiss. “I love you, too.”
“So let me get this straight,” Hayley began a couple hours later, after they’d returned the Zamboni that Jackson had “borrowed” and given the mascot costume to back to Bernice.
He’d joked about keeping it until he had to spend another thirty minutes wearing the damn thing—it was that or walk around in just his boxers since he’d stupidly left the rest of his clothes at the rink.
“Gavin and Allie are back in town,” Hayley continued, “but it’s complicated while Josh and his ex-girlfriend Devon are back together?”
Jackson forced himself to pay attention. “Mmmhmm.”
“And Greta disappeared, then turned up with a new man.”
“Right.”
“And Josh’s mom and Allie’s dad took a trip together?”
Jackson looked up at her. “Are you going to keep talking the entire time I’m trying to get you naked?”
She punched him in the arm, but didn’t stop him from stripping off her shorts. Her shirt quickly followed, and he nudged her back on the bed.
“I think your mom giving you the house is the biggest news winner of the day.”
“Really, ’cause I’m pretty sure it’ll be the guy in the bear suit who brought traffic to a crawl making headlines for the next few days.”
Jackson playfully nipped her on the shoulder. “At least there weren’t any handcuffs involved.”
“Not yet anyway,” she teased.
He caught her arms and pinned them above her head. Damn, she was sexy as hell. “I don’t recall agreeing to anything like that.”
She stared up at him, so happy and achingly gorgeous he almost had to remind himself that she really was a part of his life now. The most important part.
“Tell me again.”
He didn’t need to ask what she meant. “I love you, Hayley.” He dipped his head to run his mouth down her neck. “I also love your breasts and your ass, and I especially love the sexy spot—” his fingers traced a path around her hip, across her panties and lower, “—behind your knee.”
She wiggled beneath him, her infectious laugh making him grin. He hadn’t stopped smiling since he’d looked up from the Zamboni to see her planted squarely in his path. And not a moment too soon. He was pretty sure he’d been moments from heatstroke.
“I’m never going to get tired of hearing that.”
He licked the generous valley between her breasts. “That helps since I’m never going to get tired of loving you here—” he bit down on her nipple, wetting her bra “—or here—” he dragged his teeth across the curve of her hip, “—or here—” he finished, pressing a kiss through her panties.
A slam echoed through the house, followed by the sound of breaking glass.
Jesus. What now?
He jumped off the bed, but didn’t even think of leaving the room without Hayley right next to him. She’d go first if she had her way, but after the near-shooting, he wasn’t willing to go that far.
Down the hall they found the plastic that had hung over the open window in the sewing room on the floor, the window frame once more closed. Chunks of glass littered the floor.
“That window has been stuck for weeks, since Gramps got sick. The new one is being delivered tomorrow.” Hayley smiled. “Nan always had it open during the summer, even during the winter sometimes.”
“I remember. She would always sit up here and watch Coach play hockey with us or just throw a ball around.” He tugged her hand, keeping her from going close enough to cut her feet. “Think she’s gone now?”
Hayley had commented on the ghost situation, but never said one way or another what she thought, and judging by the I’m-on-to-you expression on her face, he wasn’t going to get an answer out of her now either.
“What I think is that everything is perfect. With the exception of one little detail,” she added, far too grave to be taken seriously.
He scooped her up and carried her back to the bedroom, glad that Gavin had disappeared for a while. “What’s that?”
She flashed him a sinful grin. “You still haven’t scored yet.”
Jackson tossed her on the bed and followed her down, covering her mouth with his. “Oh, yes I have.”
The game might have changed, but he’d won the girl and that was all that counted.
About the Author
A born and raised Maritimer, Sydney Somers fell in love with writing when she finished her first story, Jenny and the Glowing Green Mittens. After attempting her first book in high school, she set writing aside to focus on school. While getting her degrees in psychology and education, Sydney tried her hand at journalism between part time jobs before finally returning to her love of writing.
Twenty-five novels and novellas later, Sydney is thrilled to spend her days slaying demons, running with shape-shifter packs and making the people in her head fall wildly in love. When she’s not writing or curled up with a good book, Sydney can be found chasing after her herd of kids, talking her way into a gourmet meal, exterminating rogue dust bunnies or joking about the pending zombie apocalypse. She loves hearing from readers and invites them to email her ([email protected]) or drop by her website (www.sydneysomers.com) any time.