Melt (11 page)

That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. She blinked, wishing for some frigid air to freeze her tears. She was so tempted. But scared. “Hunter, I’m not—”

“Nor am I,” he interrupted with an easy shrug. “We both have our pasts, Emma. And our issues. But we both want to make more of our lives, right? Why not try it together? I feel happier with you than I’ve ever felt with anyone. I want more of that. I don’t want to walk away from you, and I don’t want you to walk away from me.”

Not ever
.

She closed her eyes and smiled as she leaned against him.

He cradled her, taking her weight, giving the solid support she’d longed for. Yet she knew she was giving him the soft comfort he needed, too. And between them grew the heat they both craved.

“Does your hotel rent rooms by the hour?” Hunter asked slyly—his hands seeking out her curves.

She pulled her head back and laughed. “It’s more than an hour you’ll be needing!”

He smiled down at her, and she saw the excitement and happiness in his gaze. She saw the possibilities. He’d come after her. He wanted her.

Those once most frozen places—his heart and hers—had melted.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, massive thanks to my editor, Liz! It’s absolutely brilliant working with you and also Eagle Eyes Stacy! My two writing buddies Soraya Lane and Nicola Marsh—you guys bust cheerleading moves like no others. : ) Thanks, as always, to my amazing, awesomely patient mother and, of course, my four beautiful scamps who put up with Zombie Mum on deadline. And I’m the luckiest woman in the world to have the husband I do—one with such general knowledge and a thirst for obscure facts! It was from you driving SO slow past the airport (EVERY time) to check out the pallets waiting to be loaded onto the Antarctic-bound Starlifter and Hercules aircraft, and to see the Hägglund roving around the Antarctic centre over the road, that this idea was born. Dave, words can’t ever express how wonderful you are and what you mean to me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA TODAY
bestseller Natalie Anderson writes fun, frisky, feels-good contemporary romance for Entangled Publishing and Harlequin Mills & Boon.

With twenty books published, she’s hit several bestseller lists, been a Romantic Times Award nominee, and a finalist for the R*BY (Romantic Book of the Year).

She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, with her husband, four children, and what feels like a million ducks.

She’s on Twitter @authornataliea and facebook.com/authornataliea and you can also find out more at her website,
www.natalie-anderson.com
.

OTHER RECENT TITLES BY NATALIE ANDERSON

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Nice Girls Finish Last

The End of Faking It

Dating and Other Dangers

Walk on the Wild Side