Page 23 of The Cinnamon Spice Inn (Maple Falls #1)

SIXTEEN

ZACH

It must’ve rained when they’d been in the Kettle. He hadn’t even noticed. A few area shops had nightlights on, bathing their display windows in a soft glow. The night was silent except for the sound of Zach’s and Madison’s footsteps as they walked down Oak Way.

Zach kept his hands jammed deep in his pockets, his shoulders hunched against the cold, and against the temptation walking beside him.

Zach was fighting with himself to make sense of the past. He was reeling, stunned.

Nothing was how he thought it had been, not really.

Madison hadn’t just left him without a look back all those years ago.

It was all a damn misunderstanding that had kept them apart all these years.

Zach didn’t know what to make of that. Or where to go from here.

So instead he thought about Madison.

The way she had smiled as she’d lined up her shots, the way she’d toyed with him, pulling her sweater off like she didn’t know exactly what it did to him, flashing him that ribbed tank top, the hem riding just a little too high over those hips he used to grip when he?—

Zach growled under his breath and shoved the thought away.

She walked a little ahead now, her body still tucked into that tank top, her sweater off her shoulder, and jeans that hugged every curve.

And when her fingers accidentally brushed his, Zach nearly lost his footing.

Madison didn’t seem to notice. But Zach did. Every nerve ending lit up, his body attuned to her like it always had been.

He was about to say something, anything, just to kill the silence between them when Madison caught her foot on the uneven curb.

She stumbled with a soft gasp.

Zach reacted without thinking, reaching out and grabbing her waist, pulling her tight against him before she could fall. It wasn’t lost on him how many times Fate had placed her in his arms.

“Careful.” His voice came out rough. “You keep falling into me like that, and I’m going to start thinking it’s on purpose.”

Madison’s palms were on his chest. She looked up, her eyes locked with his. “Third time’s the charm?”

Zach froze. He could feel the quick stutter of her heartbeat against his ribs.

Jesus. He should have let her go. He knew he should have let her go.

But he didn’t move. Neither did she.

His hands flexed against her hips, drawing her a fraction closer without meaning to. Her scent hit him, something faint and sweet like apples and ginger, and it undid whatever strength he had left.

Zach swore under his breath and dipped his head, sealing his mouth over hers before he could talk himself out of it.

The kiss was soft at first. Tentative. Like he expected her to push off his chest and cuss him out any second. But she didn’t. She kissed him back, cradling his face and pulling him down, as if she’d been waiting for this.

She wanted more.

How could he resist? He could be that man. He could give her what she wanted. What she needed.

His hands slid up her back, pulling her scarlet hair as he deepened the kiss, hunger for her overtaking him.

Madison gasped against him, and he swallowed the sound.

Zach slanted his mouth over hers again and again, taking everything she gave him and giving it back twice as hard. She moaned softly and desire surged through him. It was frantic, all-consuming. As if the world would end soon and this was the last moment they had.

They stumbled backward together, Zach’s boots scraping the sidewalk, until Madison’s back hit the cool brick of a nearby building—an alley tucked between two shops. Shadowed, private.

He pressed her into the wall with the weight of his body, his hands roaming on her hips, waist, ribs, everywhere he’d missed for far too long.

Her body pressed against his was driving him wild. It short-circuited his brain.

He kissed down the line of her jaw, along her throat, desperate to taste every inch of her, to hear those soft, breathless sounds that used to drive him crazy.

“Zach,” she whispered, her voice cracking with need.

It shredded him. He slipped one hand into her hair, fisting it just enough to tilt her head, and took her mouth again—deeper, rougher. His hips ground into hers without thought, his body begging for more.

God, he wanted her. Right there. Right now. He couldn’t wait.

And judging by the way Madison clutched at him, the way she moaned quietly against his mouth, she wanted him just as badly.

Then—

Laughter. Loud, stumbling footsteps.

Zach stilled, his chest heaving.

Down the sidewalk, a group spilled out of the Kettle. He recognized Liam’s voice, loud and teasing, and Emily’s laughter as Kit sang off-key.

Zach’s heart pounded against Madison’s chest as they froze together, barely breathing, pressed against the brick wall like fugitives.

For a moment, Zach was half-crazed, still poised to kiss her again—to take this all the way together, the hell with consequences. But he forced himself to step back a fraction, his hands falling away, his breathing ragged.

They stood there, pressed into the shadows, silent, while their friends’ laughter and footsteps echoed past them down the street.

Madison’s lips were kiss-swollen, her cheeks flushed, her scarlet curls wild from where he’d gripped them.

He could see the golden flecks in her eyes, the freckles over her nose.

She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and it wrecked him.

What was he doing? She’d moved on, moved away.

She was here for a heartbeat, until she’d rescued the inn.

Then she’d be gone. He couldn’t handle the pain of losing her all over again.

For a beat, neither of them said a word.

Then Zach raked a shaky hand through his hair, cursing under his breath.

“This was a bad idea,” he rasped, voice low and crumbling.

Madison’s brows drew together, hurt flickering across her face.

Zach forced the words out, hating himself even as he said them. “I’ve had too much to drink. Let’s not pretend we’re who we used to be.”

Madison flinched, her mouth opening like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. She just stared at him, her eyes darkening, pulling her arms tightly around herself like she was trying to hold something in.

Zach took another step back. “Come on,” he muttered roughly, jerking his head toward the sidewalk. “I’ll walk you the rest of the way.”

Neither of them said another word. But Zach could still taste her on his lips, feel her in his blood.

And God help him, he already knew he would never get enough.