Thunder Canyon Homecoming Read Online Free PDF Page A

passenger seat and immediately cranked up the heat. After a few minutes, her teeth stopped chattering but she kept her arms folded across her chest and continued to stare straight ahead out the window.
    She was quiet during the short drive to her condo on the outside boundary of the resort property, only speaking when it was necessary to tell him to turn left or right. He kept stealing cautious glances at her, hoping for some clue as to how she was feeling, but neither her posture nor her expression gave anything away.
    He’d been talking to DJ and Allaire and hadn’t really paid attention to any of the other conversations. She’d been chatting with Grant and Matt, and he wondered now if either of those men had inadvertently said something that might have upset her. If so, no one else in the group seemed to have picked up on anything that might have caused her distress. Because the more Corey thought about it, the more convinced he was that Erin wasn’t drunk—she was upset.
    But whatever was on her mind, her silence clearly indicated that she had no intention of talking about it. Not with him, anyway.
    â€œRight here,” she said.
    He pulled into a narrow driveway, behind a dark-green Kia, and turned off the engine.
    â€œThanks for the ride,” she said, reaching for the handle before Corey could come around to help her out.
    â€œI’ll see you to your door,” he told her.
    â€œThat’s really not necessary.”
    â€œNecessary or not,” he said, falling into step beside her,“my mama would never forgive me if I left without making sure that you were safely inside.”
    â€œOkay, you walked me to my door,” she said, stopping under the porch light. “Now your mother can hold her head up, confident she raised her boys right, and you can go.”
    â€œNot just yet,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
    â€œFine.”
    She did look better, as if the effects of the champagne had already dissipated. If the champagne had truly been the reason for her abrupt departure.
    â€œNo nausea? No dizziness?”
    She shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said again. “Really. It was probably just too warm in the ballroom and once I got out into the fresh air, my head cleared.”
    â€œYou’re sure?”
    â€œYes, I’m sure.” She smiled up at him, and though the smile didn’t quite erase the shadows in her eyes, it made him forget his concerns and remember how much he wanted to kiss her.
    â€œGood,” he said and lowered his head to taste the sweet curve of her lips.
    Â 
    It was a testament to how preoccupied Erin’s thoughts were that she didn’t anticipate his kiss.
    She’d been kissed plenty of times before, and she knew how to read the signs and signals that usually led to the first touch of lips on lips—and how to dodge that touch if she wanted to.
    Not that she wanted to dodge Corey’s kiss. In fact, she’d spent an inordinate amount of time wondering what it would feel like to be kissed by him. She’d wondered if the same spark and sizzle she felt when he looked at her would translate through actual physical contact…or if the anticipation of his kiss would be more exciting than the actual event.
    No worries there, she thought, as his lips brushed against hers again, sending tremors of longing through her body.
    He kissed the way he talked—softly and smoothly, as if he had all the time in the world. And as if he intended to spend all of that time just kissing her.
    His hands skimmed up her back and, even through the fabric of the jacket she still wore, she could feel the heat of his fingertips tracing the ridges of her spine. Then his hands moved across her shoulders and down her arms.
    The keys that she held slipped from her fingers and crashed to the ground.
    Erin didn’t even notice.
    She was far too busy enjoying the slow, sensual assault on her mouth.
    His