Edmund missed his second dart throw and sighed. “Well, shit,” he said and reached for his beer.

Kris squinted at him from her barstool. “You sure nothing’s wrong?” she asked. Since she’d come back from the hardware store that afternoon, he’d seemed off. She worried it was her, but he stayed by her side in the garage and they talked as easily as they usually did and shared a few kisses and feather-light touches that promised so much more.

“Nah, it’s nothing,” he promised and rested his hand on her bare knee. “Your turn. Stop stalling.”

“I’m not stalling,” she grouched. “I believe I’m winning right now. You should be stalling.”

He shrugged. “I’m just letting you think you’re winning. It’s all about strategy.”

She rolled her eyes and spotted Dennis a few tables away. He sat with a group of his friends, drinking pop, not beer, and every now and then, his gaze flickered towards them. “Is Dennis making you nervous?”

“No. I think your brother and I have an understanding,” Edmund said and lifted his beer to Dennis. Her brother lifted his pop in turn, and his lips twitched almost into a smile. “See? No trouble there, so quit stalling and throw your damn dart, woman.”

Kris saw past his smile to the annoyance beneath, not directed at her, but let it go for now. She picked up her dart and lined up her shot. The dart hit dead center, and she jumped up and down, laughing hysterically. “I did it! Did you see that? Oh, man, you really shouldn’t have taught me how to throw. I’m going to whoop your ass now.”

Wearing a stunned look, Edmund’s lips mouthed a curse. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Well, I did,” she teased. “And now, I have to pee.”

He grinned, picking up the next dart as she pushed through the Saturday night crowd towards the short hall leading to the restrooms. A stall was open so she got in and out quick, ready to get back out to the action, but when she opened the door to the hall a large man blocked her path.

“Excuse me,” she said politely and tried to step around him, but when he turned to face her, she gritted her teeth and tried to hold on to her smile. “Roy, hey, can you move your ass? I’m trying to get back out there.”

“To your boyfriend?” He leered, bending lower so their faces were level. His breath reeked of beer and whiskey, and Kris cringed. “Now, what is it about him that’s so goddamn special?”

“He knows how to shower, for starters,” she said and pinched her nose. “Move, please.”

“No. I want to know why I wasn’t good enough for you,” he said and shifted his broad-shouldered body until she was cornered. “Us small town boys don’t have the right size cock or something?”

Her fist curling in anger, she raised it to deck him, but he caught it easily in his hand. “Get out of my face right now.”

“Or what?” he whispered roughly. “I think you didn’t give me a good enough shot with you.”

“You had plenty of shots, and you blew them all,” she argued, yanking her hand, but he held her wrist fast. “Let me go, you bastard!”

He caught her other wrist and pinned her hands to her sides, pressing his body against hers. “Not until you give me another chance. Now that you’ve broken your code of not sleeping with anyone ‘til you’re married, we can have a go at it. And I can tell you right now, I’m twice the man that rich asshole is.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and crushed his lips against her, but she wasn’t having it. She bit his tongue the second it made an appearance, and he yelped. She screamed for Edmund as Roy raised his hand to slap her. She ducked under the hit and darted for the bar. Edmund rushed towards her, his eyes glowing with an anger she hadn’t seen in him. She reached for him, but Roy snatched her arm back and she slammed into his side.

“Kris was just telling me she missed me now that she’s stuck with you.” Roy sniggered.

Kris elbowed him in the gut, and he let go of her long enough for Edmund to take her hand and plant her safely behind him. Dennis was on his feet and barreled towards them as Roy made ready to lunge at Edmund.

“You stay away from Kris,” Edmund snapped. “Don’t you ever touch her again.”

Roy’s eyes narrowed, and without a word, he aimed a punch at Edmund. The latter dodged it and hit Roy with one of his own. He followed it with a second across the face, then a third, slamming his jaw upwards and sending him crashing to the floor. Dennis loomed in at his side, but Roy did not try to get up and his eyes closed.

“You know, I think I’m gonna like you,” Dennis said and patted Edmund on the shoulder.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Edmund panted as the adrenaline coursed through his body. “What should we do with him?”

“Ah, get my sis out of here. We’ll take him to the station for a night,” Dennis said. “Kris? You okay?”

She swallowed the fear quickly turning into rage, marched over, and gave Roy a solid kick to the groin. He squealed awake and rolled onto his side, clutching his package. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good,” she huffed. “No one saw that, right?”

Dennis shook his head, and everyone close by followed his lead. Edmund found her hand, and after they paid for the drinks—or tried to but the bartender said they were on the house—he guided her out the door into the humid night air. They walked past the closed-up shops and far from the noise of the crowded bar before Kris came to a sudden stop, threw her head back, and yelled curses incoherently. Edmund watched her pace back and forth but made no move to stop her rant. She wanted to go back and rip Roy to pieces with her bare hands, or better yet, go to the garage and find a wrench to finish the job. Edmund must have caught the murderous gleam in her eyes because he caught her hands and dragged her into a secure embrace.

“Feel better now?” he asked, the words tinged with his own rage.

“Maybe. Do you?”

“Hell no,” he confessed hotly. “I’d love to go back there and break his teeth, but I’ll resist the urge. It’s bad enough I had to deal with—” he clamped his mouth shut so fast his teeth clacked together.

“Deal with what?” Kris asked. “Is this why you’ve been off all day?”

He hung his head and nodded. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I thought it’d only upset you more.”

“What happened? Was Roy at the garage earlier?”

“No, your parents were,” he told her stiffly. “They wanted to ask you for collateral for some shitty deal, and they asked me for money, but I told them to get out of town and leave you alone for good.”

Kris stared at him blankly then raised up on her toes and kissed him. “You did something I’ve never been able to do,” she said as she pulled back. “And you didn’t have to do it.”

“Yes, I did,” he said, smoothing her hair back from her face. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you—ever, not while I’m around.” He kissed her forehead and hugged her closely. They stayed in their embrace, oblivious to the rest of the world for a few minutes before Kris slung her arm around his waist and they strolled to the garage. She unlocked the door, and they entered, Edmund going straight to the fridge for beers.

“Well, this night did not turn out as I hoped,” she mused, hopping up on the worktable.

“You did successfully kick my ass at darts,” he said as he handed her a beer. “I think that qualifies as a good night.”

“I guess you’re right.” She hunched forward. “I’m sorry you have to deal with my messes. Between Roy and my parents, I’m not sure which one’s worse.”

“I haven’t had a good bar fight in years,” he said wistfully.

“You were in bar fights?” she asked skeptically.

“Did you not see how easily I knocked him out?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, but he’s Roy. He’s a damn marshmallow under all that fluff.”

He set his beer down and leaned on her thighs with his hands. “You are killing my buzz right now,” he remarked. She leaned closer and licked his lips with a wink. He spread her legs wider so he could fit between them and cupped her cheeks in his hands. “Maybe not.”

Kris’s toes curled in her boots when his mouth claimed hers and his tongue immediately rubbed against hers. She set her beer down before she dropped it and grabbed his belt loops to pull him even closer. He lifted her shirt over her head in one smooth move, and his hands gripped her breasts, heavy with want. He didn’t even have to touch them for her nipples to harden beneath the lace and draw his gaze. Kris’s chest lifted with each deep breath as he slid her bra straps tenderly down her shoulders, kissing a trail of pure fire along her shoulders and lower to the soft mounds. Her head fell back as he dragged the lace aside and rolled her nipple with his tongue, drawing it into his mouth with one hard suck.

She pressed his head against her body as her hand dug through his hair and the other gripped the edge of the table. Edmund kissed and fondled her breasts until he grunted in annoyance at her bra and unhooked it, tossing it aside with her shirt. He buried his face between them again, kneading and massaging until the pool of want grew to impossible levels low in her belly. Her panties were soaked through, and her vision blurred with each flick of his tongue against the sensitive pink flesh. His lips found hers again, and hungrily, she kissed him, sucking hard on his tongue until one of his hands fisted in her hair as his other followed her curves, roaming over every inch of exposed skin as if she was the most beautiful thing he had ever witnessed in this world.

Panting for air, Edmund’s hand slipped to her jeans and unbuttoned them before sliding down the zipper. He cleared any tools behind Kris quickly and laid her back. He lifted her ass so he could remove the rest of her clothing with one good tug. The cool air of the garage hit her soaked and swollen lips as Edmund spread her legs wider to gaze upon her cleft. He blew a warm breath against her, and she shivered, her hands groping her breasts while his massaged up her thighs, squeezing as he reached her hips and gliding back down again.

“I never thought I’d use my work table for this,” she whispered raggedly.

Edmund chuckled darkly and licked her inner thigh, stopping just short of where she wanted to feel him the most. She squirmed with desire, but he licked her other thigh next. She cupped her breasts, tugging on her nipples as his gaze raked over her. Her eyes locked on his, and his tongue spread her folds and entered her, going as deeply as he could before drawing back out and circling her clit. Her back arched at the sudden flare of pure pleasure, and he did it again, over and over, until she pinched her nipples hard and her hips bucked off the table. He held her steady while his mouth rode out the orgasm with her until she was utterly spent and collapsed on the table in a gasping mess.

He straightened and ran his hands up her body, tracing each rib languidly until he reached her shoulders and down her arms to her hands. Gently, he pulled her into a sitting position, and she rested her head on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath as her heart raced. Her hands slipped beneath his shirt, and he helped her remove it from his body so she could kiss his chest, flicking her tongue against his nipples to make him squirm. She pushed him back and hopped down from the table, circling his body as her hands stroked his arms. Already, she grew wet for his touch again and from the bulge in his jeans, he was more than ready to give her exactly what she wanted—but she wanted him in more ways than one. Licking her lips, she reached his front again, undid his jeans, and shoved them down, sinking to her knees in front of him. He barely had a chance to grasp what she was doing before he filled her mouth.

“Jesus,” he cursed on a groan as his hands buried in her hair. “Kris.”

She licked from base to tip and back again, following the vein protruding along the side. She dug her nails into his hips as she drew him into the warmth of her mouth again, loving how his legs tensed and he muttered continually under his breath. The past few hours drifted away, and she no longer cared about Roy or her parents or the rest of the bloody town. She was going to love this man unconditionally as he loved her. This was her life and no one else’s. He swelled in her mouth, and when she grabbed him with one hand to increase his pleasure, he gripped her shoulders and dragged her to her feet. The predatory gaze in his eyes made her breath catch with excitement as he guided her backwards and turned her around.

She leaned on the hood of her unfinished car as he spread her legs with his knee. She gasped when he rubbed his thick cock against her silken folds, and as he braced one foot on the hood of the car and held her hips steady, he thrust all the way home. Kris moaned as her nipples tightened, and she clenched him hotly in her depths.

He pulled all the way out, and she whined at the loss, wanting him back where he belonged. He obliged her a moment later as he wrapped one hand in her long hair and tugged gently. Kris nibbled her tongue at the pleasure building in her belly with each deep thrust. She pressed her hands hard on the hood of the car, her nails digging into the metal as she struggled to not let go so soon. But his hand let go of her hair and reached around, rolling her bundle of nerves between his fingers. She cried out instantly, and his grunt of pleasure turned into a yell as he pounded into her, holding her against his body as they embraced the intense orgasm together.

“Damn,” he whispered, and she nodded slowly in agreement. “I don’t think I can walk.”

She giggled as her knees wobbled. He clutched her to his body to keep her from falling over. “Same.” She narrowed her eyes at the couch. “Think we can make it there?’

“Maybe,” he whispered, sucked in a deep breath, and scooped her into his arms.

She laughed as he stumbled across the garage to the couch and deposited her on it before she pulled him down to her. They snuggled against each other, their laughter echoing off the metal walls as their bodies recovered.

“I guess I can say my car’s been christened now,” she said. “Yours, on the other hand…” She trailed off as her fingers drifted down his chest and lower before he caught her hand.

“He needs a moment,” he grunted and lifted her onto his lap. “How did I ever manage to live without you?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” she mused as their lips met in a sweet kiss. “I guess eventually, we have to get back to the inn. We’ll give Charlie or Frank a heart attack if they walk in on us like this in the morning.”

“It’s Sunday,” he reminded her.

“Charlie’s like me, though. He works too much, although with you in town, I’d say I’ve slacked. I only went running two mornings this week.” She shook her head. “Look what you’ve done to me.”

He lay his head back on the couch. “That’s what I’m good for—total distraction so you can enjoy yourself.”

“You can distract me anytime you want,” she told him and closed her eyes, letting the beating of his heart lull her to drift off to sleep.

At some point, she remembered Edmund laughing quietly, and as she mumbled sleepily, he helped her dress in her jeans and shirt before he carried her across the street. He said something to her, but the words were lost as sleep took her again. She curled up under the covers on a bed with the man she loved beside her.