Preview

Eventually, the visitors stumbled off with promises to continue the conversation at the bachelor and bachelorette parties the next night. As they stumbled their way out of the ramshackle house — which had indeed managed not to fall — Andy said, “Hey, guys, you think you can find your way back to the house? Sis and I got some catching up to do.”

Lea was about to say that, no, she had no idea where they were or how to get back to the Harrises’ house, but Sean said, “Sure thing, Andy-boy. Cherokee Ridge Road, yeah?”

Andy nodded and led his bemused sister off in the opposite direction.

Lea watched them go and turned to Sean. “What was that about?” she whispered.

“I’m hoping he’s trying to warn her to back off of me a bit.”

Lea grinned up at Sean. “Aw, poor boy.”

“Hey,” he muttered, “she’s scary.” Sean led her uphill at slow pace, and Lea could feel the heat pouring out of her into the warm, sticky Georgia night. Moths and lightning bugs played a game of shadow-and-light tag. “Also,” he said when they’d gotten a couple of minutes up the road to a place where the winding road passed through a dark copse of pine trees, “I’d like to think that he’s trying to make it up to us for all of the entertainment we’ve provided his family by givin’ us a bit of alone time.” And before Lea could say a word, he lifted her up onto the split-rail fence, stepped between her surprise-widened legs, and kissed her in that whole-body, nothing-else-in-the-universe way that Sean could kiss.

Within seconds, Lea’s libido, which was already at a simmer, went to a full boil. “Oh. God. Sean. Want you. Want you so much….”

“Then by god, honey, you’re gonna have me,” Sean murmured.