Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

should be calling a halt to this evening anyway. They all needed their rest for their first day of drifting.
    “Hey, Sonya. We forgot the makings for s’mores. Run up to the cabin and get them, will you?” Gramps asked, followed by, “Garrett, why don’t you give her a hand?”
    Sonya closed her eyes. What was Gramps trying to do?
    “I’d be happy to.” Garrett rose to his feet.
    Sonya took the violin with her, and Garrett followed. They didn’t talk on the climb to the cabin.
    The cabin was shadowed when they entered. Sonya laid her violin on the table, and lit a candle to find the smore ingredients. The strong smell of sulfur dioxide from the match tainted the air and seemed to enclose the space, making it a touch too romantic with the burning candle.
    “Nice place,” Garrett commented, looking around. “You’re pretty set up considering you’re only here a couple of months every summer.”
    “Gramps likes to do for Grams.” She opened the cupboard and took down the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars.
    “It’s nice that he’s still courting her after all the years they’ve been together.”
    She cocked her head to the side. “I’ve never thought of it that way, but you’re right. He does court her.” The man was perceptive to pick up on that. She wondered what else he was good at. Sonya started to bundle the ingredients into her arms.
    “Here, let me help with that. After all—” he smiled and it reached all the way to his eyes “—wasn’t that why Nikolai asked me to come along?”
    Her matchmaking grandpa hoped something else would happen between them. Sonya handed the goods to Garrett and then thought, what the hell . “Why don’t we get this out of the way?” With his hands occupied, she captured his face between hers, and kissed him.
    Damn, his lips were as soft as they looked. It was the last coherent thought she had.
    Garrett growled and yanked her flush against his chest. She heard the crunch of graham crackers beneath their feet and didn’t care. All she cared about was getting closer to him, which was probably physically impossible unless they lost some clothes. But she was willing to give it a go.
    They broke apart as suddenly as they’d come together as though simultaneously realizing where the kiss was headed. It wasn’t the right time. Definitely not the right place.
    “That was better than I thought it would be,” she said, her voice huskier than she’d like, and for a moment she didn’t recognize it as her own.
    “That’s an understatement.” He leaned back against the counter, breathing deep. “Maybe it was a fluke.” He seemed to be talking to himself more than to her, as if trying to convince himself that what had just happened hadn’t really meant anything. She was all for agreeing with his argument. She didn’t want that kiss to mean anything either.
    “Want to try it again?” she found herself asking. “You know—” she shrugged “—rule out the fluke factor?”
    His eyes burned into hers, and he pushed himself away from the counter. She swallowed. He was big and imposing as he stepped toward her. Their bodies came into contact as his hands framed her face, diving deep into her hair and forcing her head back. He lowered his mouth until their breaths mixed, mated.
    He paused, just before taking her mouth. “If I kiss you again, we won’t be leaving this cabin until after I get you naked.”
    Damn, her toes were curling. She wished she could deny it. Just having him this close, she was ready and willing to forget the people down on the beach and strip. The problem with acting on impulse was that when she returned to sanity, she always regretted her actions. She didn’t know this man well enough to share herself with him. He didn’t know her either, and once men really got to know her, they usually begged off.
    She tended to intimidate.
    “Well—” she swallowed “—best not, then.” Her voice was breathless.
    “It would be best,” he said, his voice just as breathless. He still hadn’t moved. Still held her as though he couldn’t break away. She hoped he wasn’t counting on her being the sensible one. She’d started this.
    Slowly he let go of her and moved back. His step crunched, and he glanced down. “We might have a problem.”
    A bigger problem than their raging hormones? She glanced down at the floor and couldn’t help but laugh. “This will be the last time Gramps sends me for dessert.”
    “If he does