One Bossy Offer (43)

“Here we go. I thought you were being nice for once.” She rolls her eyes. “Lay off Ace. He’s a good guy.”

She’s defending him now?

Damn.

Have they already—

No. Don’t let your stupid jealous monkey brain go there.

I shift my weight, searching for words.

Technically, she isn’t wrong.

If he didn’t have his nose trapped up her butt, he’d be a perfectly competent worker. Decent enough for Lottie to keep him around for years, even if I still want to bash his head in.

Nothing is the right thing to say.

She crosses her arms.

“So, what else? I get the impression you aren’t done,” she ventures.

I clear my throat, all simmering tension and uncertainty.

“You might remember how your grandmother used to leave flowers for every grave at the cemetery in town?” I start slowly.

She nods. “Yeah. She did that a few times a year. One time school let me out early and I went with her on Memorial Day to put little flags on all the veterans’ graves.”

“Do you remember the day you saw me coming out of the general store with the flowers and asked me if ‘she was hot?’”

She smiles reluctantly, trying to hide it.

“How could I forget? That’s the day you ghosted the whole crew.”

“My mother’s buried in the Pinnacle Pointe cemetery. I was visiting her grave, a family ritual of sorts I do a couple times a year.”

A ritual that’s my responsibility alone because my father can’t anymore.

Her mouth drops. “Oh. I’m so sorry...”

I hold up a hand, cutting her off.

There’s only room for one apology at a time, and right now I’m on deck.

“It’s okay. Not long after I moved here, I noticed someone kept bringing fresh flowers to her grave and I knew it wasn’t the grounds people. They don’t have the resources for that.”

“Gram did all the graves. Even the ones from the 1800s who don’t have any people around who’d remember them,” she says softly.

“She was too kind for this world. One day, I ran into Lottie while she was laying a bouquet at each grave and saying a quick prayer. I had to thank her. We had our first real conversation.” I pause, pulled back to that day when my family falling apart was so recent, so raw, so real. “I knew she owned the place next door. I saw her in passing, but I had no idea she was the flower lady. Before I knew it, she started bringing flowers and honey over. She made me feel at home in a town where I hardly knew anyone. She also had the best damned blueberry-honey cheesecake in the known universe—in Benson’s opinion,” I add quickly.

I’ve already said too much.

Jennifer Landers does not need to know I have a terrible sweet tooth.

She laughs, but a single tear slides down her face she’s slow to wipe away.

“Oh, a lot of folks would agree. But I have to say, you’re scaring me, Cromwell.”

I cock my head, searching her eyes.

“You’re making me think you might have a heart bigger than a raisin.”

I raise a brow. “Why would you say that? We were doing so well.”

“Because you’re still a liar. You obviously loved Gram’s cheesecake. Why can’t you just admit it?”

“Benson,” I bite off, turning away as my face heats behind my shadow of a beard.

“I’m grateful for the heart-to-heart. Really. But all of this could have waited until tomorrow. You didn’t have to drag yourself over here so late,” she says.

“The hell I didn’t.” The conviction in my voice surprises me. “I’m just glad I got here before Ace started working on your wiring.”

I know I’m risking her throwing me out.

I don’t care.

When her eyes soften, I’m surprised. She scrapes her teeth against her bottom lip and moves closer. “And what if he does?”

Her chin tilts up.

Her face is already red as it comes as close to mine as it was on my boat that night I should have taken her lip with my teeth.

I missed my chance once.

Never again.

Before I can ground myself, I grab her and throw her against the wall.

My lips chase hers like a hunter.

My tongue flicks against her soft lips ravenously, forcing her mouth open.

I don’t have to try hard.

She melts like her grandmother’s honey, all willing sweetness.

Fuck, I’ve never tasted anything so sweet.

And if I could ignore the hurt in my cock, the braising sting to take more, to take everything, I might never come up for air.

I’m sure she’s caught in the same delicious pain.

Her arms curl around my neck, pleading for more.

I kiss her until I can’t, tearing myself away with a scorched breath.

“Tell Ace to fuck off, kitten. No one—no one but me—ever touches you.”

Every word makes me more delirious.

I don’t recognize who or what the fuck I am saying this, spouting jealous demands I’ve never made to any other woman.

But her eyes burn back into mine, green witchfire enchanting my soul.

She nods, her nails dragging through my hair, urging my mouth back to hers.

This time, it’s incandescent, a slow burn with a building hunger.