The Fireside Inn Read Online Free PDF Page A

and no one else.
    “Perhaps.” Leo shrugged, enjoying the way her eyes darkened as her gaze swept over his chest. “But perhaps the wedding reading is only part of my goal now.”
    Her brow furrowed, the space between those dark slashes of eyebrows crinkling adorably. “What’s the rest of it?”
    Leo grinned at the suspicion in her voice. He sauntered around the desk, carefully so as not to startle her with sudden movements, but she stood her ground. Even when she had to tilt her head back to be able to meet his eyes, she didn’t retreat.
    Lifting one hand to the side of her fair, smooth neck, Leo touched a tender fingertip to the throb of her pulse in the hollow of her throat. Her breath fluttered out, hitching appealingly, and Leo went hard in an aching rush that left him light-headed.
    “If I have to find a love poem,” he murmured, “I want you to be the one who reads them to me. I’m sure I could find, hire, or coerce someone else into doing this—but I want to spend more time with you, Serena Lightfoot. That’s why this matters so much to me.”
    She opened her mouth— to object or argue some more, Leo didn’t know. He didn’t wait to find out, either. Instead, he bent his head and closed the distance between them, covering her delectable mouth in a soft, nuzzling exploration of a kiss.
    ***
    Fireworks burst through the darkness of Serena’s closed eyelids. Her eyes had snapped shut instinctively the instant Leo Strathairn’s lips touched hers, and for a long, breathless moment, she couldn’t process anything but the heat of him, the fresh, spicy taste of his kiss, the lean strength of his body braced above her.
    The kiss started soft, but from one heartbeat to the next, hunger roared over them both and turned the kiss greedy and desperate. Serena’s senses whirled dizzily, every ounce of her focused on the man she clutched in her arms, until the sudden shift of the rolling chair’s wheels jerked her from her sensual daze.
    Gasping for air, Serena dropped her hands from Leo’s shoulders to push at his chest. It was like pushing at a granite wall. He resisted for a heartbeat, fire blazing in the depths of his molten silver eyes, but then he blinked and stepped back smoothly.
    “My apologies.” He ran a hand through his hair, disordering the already wildly tousled waves of auburn. “That was more…intense than I’d imagined.”
    Serena, whose lips were still tingling, cleared her throat. “Intense. That’s a word for it.”
    He still loomed over her, his wide shoulders blotting out the fluorescent lights. She’d had her hands on that chest, Serena remembered dazedly. She’d felt the hard slabs of muscle, barely hinted at by his buttoned-up attire, and her active imagination easily provided a picture of what those glorious sculpted planes would look like naked. Serena swayed toward him for an instant before she caught herself.
    Humor tugged at Leo’s handsome mouth. “Does that answer your question about why I’m working so hard to secure your assistance?”
    Not exactly, since Serena wasn’t a stranger to the kind of arrangement where a man thought he could use her feelings to get what he wanted out of her. But as she gazed up at Leo’s ruffled curls and the mischief twinkling in his eyes, Serena knew she was going to give in anyway.
    She’d just have to make darned sure all she gave up was her time and her help with his task—and that if she gave Leo anything else, it was something she could afford to lose.
    “All right.” Decisive as always when she’d made up her mind, Serena checked the clock high on the wall and cursed inwardly. “I’m in, but I have a few conditions. Number one, I need more than just one mammoth donation—I need community support, and since you don’t have any connection to this island, you can’t give me that. But you can help me get what I need.”
    Interest kindled in his expression. “How so?”
    Deep breath in. “Your friends, the Harringtons. They