Quick Trick (A Rough Riders Hockey Novel Book 1) by Skye Jordan, Joan Swan Page B

body. Then his hand came back, stroking her hip, rounding behind her, and sliding over her ass.
    Tingles seared her skin. Heat flooded every inch of her body below the waist. She sucked a breath. “Grant—”
    “There,” he said, pulling his hand from her pocket and loosening the arm around her waist. “Now you have it again.”
    He released her but let his hand rest on her hip an extra second before leaning away. Just when Faith thought she had her feet back under her, he lifted a hand and brushed a lock of hair off her forehead, then tucked it behind her ear.
    Faith closed her eyes. She couldn’t help it.
    His knuckles grazed her cheekbone before he murmured, “Call me, beautiful. We’ll get your video made. Get you back on your feet.”
    She swallowed and shored up her strength before she opened her eyes again.
    Just in time to see him turn the corner out of the aisle and disappear.

5
    G rant pulled into a parking spot at the end of the street and watched customers come and go from St. Nicholas Hardware. It had been four days since he’d almost kissed Faith, right there in the middle of her damned store. Not only hadn’t she called him to help with her pet project, but she continued to treat him as if the scorching heat between them was a figment of his imagination.
    In truth, he was starting to believe it. He was starting to believe that he’d lost his ability to read a woman. That he was seeing and feeling things that weren’t there only because he wanted them so badly.
    This was a simple matter of wanting what he couldn’t have. That was all. He’d never had to chase a woman, and his competitive streak just wouldn’t give up until she admitted she wanted him. At this point, he didn’t even care if he slept with her or not. He could get sex anywhere. He just wanted her to give. To acknowledge who and what he was. To show a sliver of real interest.
    Then he was sure this ridiculous infatuation would end.
    He climbed from the SUV, pocketed his keys, and pulled on his Braves ball cap before strolling toward the store. Grant checked out the front windows of other shops and returned friendly hellos from pedestrians. This was something he did miss about small-town life. And, he had to admit, he also found a soothing sort of rhythm in being able to focus on a project or a practice. On the quiet country setting. On the sounds of nature. All without a million other pressures on his mind.
    He hadn’t realized he’d missed it until now.
    As Christmas approached, now less than a week away, Faith’s store seemed busier every time he stopped in. That was great for Faith. Not so great for Grant. When she was busy, she barely gave him the time of day. On the occasions when things were slow, he’d been able to cajole her into helping him get what he needed for whatever project he’d adopted. Though, he hadn’t been able to hold her interest any longer.
    He was beginning to think he’d blown it by pushing her that day—even though he hadn’t pushed her near as far as he’d wanted to. He cursed his lack of finesse. But he was who he was. He didn’t like or want slow and sweet. Which made him question his own judgment every time he had a dirty thought about “the sweetest girl in town.”
    “Because I live in the boondocks, you don’t think I can think just as dirty as you?”
    Her words jumped to mind, followed by a wicked flash of heat from head to toe.
    “A man could dream,” he muttered under his breath.
    Regardless of whether she turned out to be the biggest prude he’d ever met or the nastiest lay he’d ever coveted, Faith Nicholas was very different from any woman he’d ever been interested in. But he was pretty sure the only reason he kept coming back was her impish little tendency to pretend he didn’t exist until he put himself directly in her way and forced her to acknowledge him.
    Passing the Holly Jolly Chocolatier, Grant glanced at the artistic displays of chocolates in the windows. He was