Sweet Hill Temptation(11)

“Luke,” she said between strangled breaths. “You’re going to … make me … again …”

He smiled and bit her bottom lip. “Good. Come on, baby. Come for me again.”

Nothing had ever brought him more satisfaction than that moment— Annie in his arms, coming apart for the second time around him. Because of him. It was like it was what he was meant to do. Bring her pleasure. Make her feel good.

That was what she did to him.

She had him crazed. Desperate for her. Gritting his teeth, he held back the ache in his gut and his own release, until she had hers.

Pumping faster, they held on to each other.

“Luke, yes!” She yelled his name to the ceiling, and he felt her flood him with her orgasm. He couldn’t hold back any longer. He was right there with her. A release so powerful it made him see stars and made his legs a little shaky.

Still breathing hard, Annie buried her face in his neck and hugged him like she didn’t want him to leave her. So he wouldn’t. Hopefully, he’d just changed her mind about keeping a distance, as she was saying earlier.

After long moments, she lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “Okay. Maybe I missed you a little.”





Chapter Four

“Ah, crap. What now?” Annie said, walking up to her café, which had a small crowd of geriatric looky-loos surrounding her front door. She couldn’t possibly hope that they were forming a line to get in this early in the morning.

Since she’d left Luke sleeping last night, she was so wired that instead of rest, she’d pulled an all-nighter pacing around her home and thinking. There was no way anyone could know her business, right? Of course, this was Sweet Hill and everyone seemed to know everything.

“Good morning,” she said with a cheery smile, making her way through the bystanders to get to the front door.

She stopped dead in her tracks. There were three big crates of apples piled on top of one another, the name JACOBS ORCHARD printed on the side. A big note was stuck to the top of the box of Pink Ladies:

When life gives you apples, make apple pie.

And yours is the best in town. Hope these help!

~Luke

The little old ladies surrounding her smiled. A couple of older gentlemen nodded and grunted, including Herb Lee, owner of Leeve It and Lube, across the street.

“This true?” he asked. “You making pie today with Jacobs apples?”

Annie looked at the crates, then at the crowd. They didn’t look hostile, or look at her like she was hostile. This was a good sign. Sure, Luke’s sign—basically a public banner of peace between her and him—also helped.

“Looks like I am.”

A few claps and cheers let out as she opened the door to the café and turned on the lights.

To her surprise, everyone followed her in. Herb hollered at his son, and a few other men from his shop who had also gathered, to pick up the crates and take them inside.

“Where do we put these, Miss Annie?” Joel Lee asked, hoisting up a crate.

“They can go in the kitchen in back. Thank you so much.”

And in a matter of seconds, her little place was full of people ordering coffee and happy to spend their morning waiting for apple pie.

Annie set straight to work, hustling between patrons, delivering coffee and scones, getting everyone settled, all while having a massive smile on her face.

The sentiment behind what Luke had done wasn’t lost on her. He put to bed the miniscandal of her slugging him, but in a way that the town would know they had made up without knowing they’d “made up.”

He must have delivered the apples at an ungodly hour, since she’d left him not too long ago. The gesture was incredible.

“Looks like you kids worked it out,” Nana said, shuffling into the café for her morning shift and peeking into the kitchen. “Gotta love them apples.” She smiled and tied her apron on.

Annie laughed and under her breath muttered, “You have no idea.”





It was only fair that Annie take him lunch since Luke had given her hundreds of dollars in apples that morning. Which was keeping the café pretty busy and putting the regulars back in their seats.

Pulling up to the loading dock, she got out, paper bag in hand, and searched for Luke. She found him bent over the forklift, messing with the engine.

She tilted her head, examining his amazing ass in those jeans, and a small sigh escaped. It just wasn’t fair for one man to possess all that hotness.

“Hey,” she called out.

He looked over his shoulder. “Hey, baby.”

Grabbing a rag from his back pocket and wiping his hands, he turned and walked toward her. Not hesitating for a second, he wrapped her up and kissed her like crazy.