One Week in Maine by Shayna Ryan Read Free Book Online

me to catch his scent and feel the heat radiating from his body. It was absolutely maddening and I struggled to refrain from reaching out to him. I yearned to feel his strong arms around me, to press my slender frame against his solid, muscular one. Even though I knew my desires were not to be explored, they still distracted me from the task at hand.
    There was a palpable tension between us, I was sure of it. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who felt the spark between us, the simmering undercurrent of lust. But he had a girlfriend, I reminded myself sternly. It didn’t matter what attraction might be brewing between us because he was off limits.
    My primal hunger for Will unsettled me, so I tried to concentrate on cleaning up fast and efficiently. I was disgusted with myself; I was a grown woman, not some hormonal teenage girl, so why was this magnetic pull to him so hard to resist? The moment the dishes were done and the kitchen was all clean, I set the sponge down beside the sink and hastily bid Will goodnight again before scurrying off to my room.
    I couldn’t get there fast enough, and once I did I closed the door behind me and leaned against it with a sigh. It was the stress of the day, I rationalized. It had been a terrible, tense day and my body was just looking for a release, that was all. But that didn’t change the fact that my emotional attraction to him was swiftly catching up with the physical attraction I felt towards him.
    It was only a week, I reasoned. I could keep my hands and lips to myself for a week, no matter what kind of looks he gave me. At least, I hoped so.

 
     
    -4-
     
    I slept soundly through night after my long, stressful ride to Maine, and dreamed of a smoky-eyed warrior fighting his way through wave after wave of deer to reach me high on a mountaintop. I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping in a nearby tree as sunlight filled the room.
    “Good Lor d, now I’m dreaming about game wardens,” I muttered to myself.
    After dressing quickly in a pair of jeans and a light sweater, I went downstairs to see if I could find Dottie to say good morning. The bottom floor was silent so I moved softly through the kitchen and peeked into the little room directly off of it.
    It looked like the room might have been a sitting room of sorts at one time but somewhere along the way someone had put up a door at either end of the room and converted it into a bedroom for Dottie. The old woman was dozing in a recliner in front of the television, so I decided not to disturb her and closed the door softly behind me instead.
    In the kitchen, I found a note from Will.
    Home around noon, we’ll grab some lunch and go run that errand afterwards if you still want to come along. –Will
    A quick look at the kitchen clock revealed that it was already 11:35.
    Cursing under my breath, I took the stairs two at a time as I flew to my room to get ready. After emptying out my entire bag on my bed, I finally settled on staying in the clothes I was already wearing. They were nothing special, but the jeans looked good on me and the pale blue v-neck sweater hugged my feminine curves nicely. I threw on a pair of gold hoop earrings and rushed into the bathroom to put the finishing touches on my look.
    As I hastily applied my makeup, it occurred to me that I was being ridiculous. What did I care about looking my best for a man that was already spoken for, a man I couldn’t have anyway? It shouldn’t have mattered to me what he thought, but my desire to be found attractive by Will overrode my common sense.
    Once I had brushed my teeth and finished applying my makeup, I anxiously waited in my room by the front window for his arrival. Very little traffic passed by the Inn, but finally a warden’s vehicle came into view.
    Even though I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing aside from seeing Janie, I was eager to get out of the Inn. The days looming before me as I waited for my SUV to be repaired were bound to be