A Million Kisses or More Read online

  A MILLION KISSES OR MORE

  Copyright © 2015 Andrea Warneke

  All Rights Reserved

  Images by © CJGwin Photography

  Models:

  Ana: Alexandra Fresquez

  Harrison: Kiki Salcido

  Dedication:

  To the readers, the writers, the dreamers, the doers

  To the men and woman in blue

  To the men and women of the Armed Forces

  Thank you

  Acknowledgements:

  This book has been so much fun to write because I got to work with Christina Gwin, an amazing photographer who somehow discovered the perfect Ana and Harrison in Alexandra and Kiki. These two make me swoon ~ every picture of them is a thing of utter beauty.

  I also owe a huge thanks to my fantastic group of Beta readers:

  ♥ Christina Gwin ♥ Lakecia Gassett ♥ Jessica Gentile ♥ Paris Lemos ♥

  ♥ Lindsey Armstrong ♥Jacque Burford ♥ Jodi Negri ♥

  I love you ladies!

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Author Information

  Prologue

  “Dude, she’s having another man’s baby,” Asher said, his eyes wide with pity and undisguised excitement.

  Harrison shook his head in denial, wishing for the millionth time he could remember the last six months of his life, the six months that Ana had been gone. Maybe there was a reason he forgot, though he couldn’t for the life of him imagine Ana breaking up with him. Or him breaking up with her. What the hell happened after she kissed him goodbye New Year’s Day and headed off to California?

  Chapter 1

  8 ¾ MONTHS PRIOR….

  Pulling into his driveway, Harrison Miller saw the strangest thing on his neighbor’s front step: a bundle of brightly colored clothes that looked as out of place in the pristine yard as a nun in a sea of strippers. He should go investigate since it was the neighborly thing to do but he had just gotten off a twelve hour shift and he was bone tired. Normally he worked the day shift but he was filling in for Nichols, who just had a baby, so he was on nights for the next couple of weeks. All he wanted to do was get a few hours of sleep, wake up and get some writing in, and then pick up his kid.

  Scrubbing his hands through his messy black hair, he took another look at the curious object and jumped when it moved. He held his breath as the material slid back to reveal a young woman with reddish-blond hair. Even from this distance he could see that her lips were turning blue. As he watched, she put her head back down and huddled deeper into herself.

  “Shit,” he swore, ripping the seatbelt off and pushing the door open with more force than necessary. If he wasn’t so damn tired, he would have remembered Helen telling him about her niece who was going to be house-sitting for her and her husband while they spent a few months in Florida. With the freezing wind and promise of snow in the air, he wished he was in Florida. And it was only October.

  Stomping across the street, he called out, “What seems to be the problem here?”

  Her head shot up and she looked at him with wide, forest green eyes and he swore he felt the planet shift beneath him. As she stood up, he realized she wasn’t wearing anything remotely appropriate for the weather, at least not the weather in Minnesota. The vibrant yellow material was satiny and sexy but it was what she had on underneath that nearly unmanned him. The short, silky boy shorts showcased her long, long legs and the cropped camisole played peek-a-boo with her belly button, which was adorned by a small jewel. His cock sat up and took notice, despite the freezing temperature.

  “Thank god you’re home,” she breathed, her words coming out staggered as her teeth clicked together. Glancing down, he saw a pair of bright blue rubber boots on her feet and a smile almost curved his lips. If she wasn’t freezing, he would have asked her what the hell she was thinking going outside in little more than her underwear. Almost as if he asked the question out loud, she answered, “I came outside to get the mail and I locked myself out of the house.”

  “It’s Sunday,” he murmured, holding a hand out and catching his breath when she slid her nearly frozen palm into his. Pulling her to her feet, he added, “There’s no mail today.”

  She looked up at him with those green eyes of hers and frowned while he took a moment to study her. While she had legs that went on forever, the top of her head only reached his chin. The leg thing must have been an illusion brought on by the cold as well as the skimpy clothes she was wearing. Her lips moved and he had to concentrate on her words when his mind was wondering about those legs. When he let her go, she wobbled so he quickly put an arm around her waist to hold her steady, appreciating the slender curves. Except she was shaking like a leaf and he had no idea what he was going to do with her.

  Holding onto him, she said, “I could have sworn it was Saturday, otherwise why would I have gone outside to get the mail?”

  “Because you’re clearly insane,” he muttered, his eyes widening in his head as he realized he had said that out loud. Instead of being offended, she laughed, a rich, almost husky sound that made his cock twitch.

  “Probably,” she agreed, not offering a single protest when he started across the street with his arms still around her. The foolish girl was probably too cold to care about stranger danger. Shaking her head, “I just can’t believe I locked myself out… well, no, I can but I had been so careful. I kept the door open because I knew it was touchy but I’m pretty sure the demon cat slammed it shut before I even reached the mailbox. The little bastard has it in for me, I swear. I had never sworn so colorfully in my life when I realized what he did. I’m just glad there’s no one else for miles around.”

  Her words were coming out rapidly but he was having a difficult time deciphering what she was saying since her teeth were clattering so loudly together. Plus, she had the slightest southern drawl that probably sounded like slow sex and whiskey when she was thawed out but now just sounded pitiful.

  “And yet if there were, you would have been able to find shelter in a warm home,” he told her, keeping his arm around her as he dug his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Ushering her inside, he said, “Let’s get you warmed up and then you can return home.”

  “Uh huh,” she murmured, her head resting against his shoulder. Strawberries. She smelled like strawberries. Up close, her hair looked strawberry blond, which wasn’t quite accurate since strawberries were bright red and her hair was pale red but just as beautiful. He could have buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her scent all day.

  Jeeze, he had no right lusting after a girl that was practically frozen, no matter how pretty or how sweet smelling.

  Taking her hand in his, chafing warmth into the cool skin, he asked, “How long were you outside?”

  “An eternity,” she murmured, raising her eyelids and looking at him through dark and lush eyelashes. Her nose was slender, her cheeks high and her blue-ish lips surprisingly full. If she was this attractive now, he couldn’t imagine how much better looking she’d be once she was thawed out. Pursing those lips, she concentrated for a moment and said, “But it was probably only half an hour. I didn’t re
alize it was possible to actually freeze one’s nipples off.”

  She slammed a hand over her mouth and stared at him in horror, “I can’t believe I just said that. Out loud. In front of you.”

  He chuckled, taking his coat off and revealing the uniform he was wearing. If he hadn’t had the night shift and didn’t have a ton of paperwork to fill out, he might not have been around to help her out at all. So, even though it was nearly ten, three hours past the time he should have been in bed, he was grateful, otherwise the poor girl might have been outside all damn day. That possibility bothered him greatly.

  The way the girl’s eyes filled with appreciation as he tossed his jacket onto the couch had him consider wearing his uniform on his days off. Letting his eyes drift over her frozen but utterly tempting body, he grinned, “Trust me, sweetheart, nothing has frozen off.”

  Crap, he almost blushed at the words coming out of his mouth. It wasn’t like him to flirt with anyone, let alone a strange girl that was frozen and probably way too young for him. Hell, he had a kid to worry about and an ex-wife and that was more than enough relationship trouble than he cared to handle. Still, he needed to get her warm. “Let’s get you into bed and I’ll make you some tea. We’ll try thawing you out from both the inside and the outside.”

  She merely nodded, letting him drag her through the house and up the stairs to his bedroom. Thank god he remembered to make his bed that morning. And hopefully she was too cold to care about the few clothes that were lying on the floor. Pulling the covers back, he helped her onto the bed, took off her frozen robe, and then gently laid her back. Once she was settled, he tugged the rubber boots off her feet, admiring her pretty toes before he caught himself and mentally slammed his head against a wall. When he looked up, she was watching him with wide, worshipful eyes. His heart stilled in his chest as she murmured, “Thank you.”

  Brushing the strands of silky hair from her face, he found he was unable to speak. Instead, he nodded his head as he tucked her in. Grabbing an extra blanket from the foot of the bed, he pulled it over her for added warmth before he stood up and said, “I’m just going to put some hot water on but I’ll be right back to check on you. Is that all right?”

  She nodded, her eyelids heavy and he was afraid she’d fall asleep and never wake up. More gruffly than he meant to, he ordered her, “Don’t fall asleep.”

  “I’m too cold to sleep,” she said with a tired smile.

  “Well, I’ll be back in two minutes,” he said. “If you’ve fallen asleep, I’ll dump the hot water on your head.”

  She chuckled and slowly pried her eyes open. “But then you’ll ruin your bed and I don’t think your wife would appreciate that.”

  “I’m not married,” he said, though why he felt the need to correct her assumption he had no idea. It’s not like he had any intention of pursuing a relationship with a girl who locked herself out of the house on one of the coldest days they’ve had so far that fall. He turned and walked away before he could see her reaction, telling himself that he wasn’t interested in her. For one thing he was too busy to have a relationship with anyone and for another she was definitely too young.

  *****

  Ana Smithfield’s eyes hadn’t been lying when she looked up at the sound of the truck and she saw perhaps the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in her life. Too cold to ogle openly, she put her head down and watched him over the top of her arm. As he had strolled across the street, wearing an air of authority that did things to her insides that weren’t completely frozen, she could only stare. He had the blackest hair that looked sex-tousled and made one want to drag one’s fingers through it. In fact, it looked like he had been doing just that when he had appeared. His face was chiseled by a Renaissance master, all lovingly crafted planes and angles, softened only by a pair of luscious lips. There was a shadow of a beard that matched the shadows beneath his eyes, but the exhaustion made him look even more like a conquering hero.

  Then there were his eyes: a deep, rich, chocolaty brown that she could have drowned in if she hadn’t been so cold. Weariness had bracketed his features but he had still come to her rescue, bringing her home like some lost puppy. Like that lost puppy, she had eagerly followed him.

  Her heart had nearly faltered to a stop when he peeled off the heavy jacket he wore, revealing the broad, broad shoulders that could hold the weight of the world and the slender waist beneath a police uniform. There was just something about a man in uniform that made her forget the good sense that she had lived by all of her life. He demolished the rest when he tucked her into his bed and went to make her some tea. If only she wasn’t so cold she’d have been able to appreciate this stranger with kind eyes even more.

  Since her aunt and uncle moved to Minnesota several years before, she had only visited in the summer so she had had no idea how freaking cold it got in the winter. Had she known, she might have reconsidered the offer to stay in their house while they were away because Minnesota in October was a far different world than Savannah in October. It was going to take some getting used to dressing in layers. She knew she had been a little rash to accept her aunt’s request to watch their house and their cat but after all of the times her aunt listened to her whine about her mom over the years, it was the least Ana could do. Still, it was a little strange that her aunt asked her to watch the cat because they usually took Angelico with them when they headed south for the winter.

  At the time they had asked, it had seemed like a grand adventure: spending a few months in the outskirts of a small town and decompressing before she headed off to the yearlong internship that she had gotten way back when she was a junior in high school. The internship was the price she agreed to pay to have her college paid for, so it was totally worth it and she couldn’t complain at all, especially considering how accommodating they had been. When she called her contact at Madd and asked if she could start after the New Year, they had readily agreed, telling her that it would be no problem as long as she fulfilled the yearlong internship as she promised.

  But all of that faded to the background and saw chocolate brown eyes staring down at her.

  Of course her aunt had told her about her new neighbor, she had just failed to mention how utterly gorgeous he was. To be fair, her aunt was devoted to her husband and probably hadn’t even noticed how chocolaty brown her neighbor’s eyes were or how well he filled out his uniform. While he was off cooking up some water, Ana tried to remember everything her aunt had told her but her brain was still slushy.

  “Hey, now,” his deep voice rumbled through her, doing more to warm her up than the blankets he had piled on top of her. The bed shifted as he sat down and she felt his hand on her face. “I told you not to fall asleep.”

  “I’m not sleeping,” she protested, her words slurred. A shiver wracked her body and she frowned, “I’m just really, really cold.”

  He was silent for a moment and when she managed to open an eye, he was looking away from her with deep concentration etched on his face. His jaw tensed as he started to unbutton his shirt and he murmured, “I promise I’m not going to hurt you but body heat is….”

  “Yes,” she readily agreed, already imagining all of that masculine warmth that would soon be hers.

  He chuckled as he pulled the shirt over his head without unbuttoning it all of the way, revealing the white t-shirt underneath. For a moment, he seemed to debate whether or not to remove it, too, and she held her breath until he took it off. Her breath caught in her throat as the lovely expanse of hard muscles and lightly haired skin was revealed. She continued to hold her breath as he stood up and unbuttoned the front of his work slacks.

  Glancing at her, he must have seen the lust blazing in her eyes because he turned his back to her, giving her the amazing view of his perfect ass. He pushed the pants down his legs and the hopes that he didn’t wear underwear were dashed when a pair of black boxer briefs appeared. Before she could wonder if he’d take those off as well, he walked around the bed and slid between the c
overs.

  The disappointment was short lived as she immediately wrapped her body around his, trying to take as much of his warmth as possible. He twitched but he didn’t pull away as he said, “Jesus, you’re cold.”

  His arms wrapped around her and she thought she must have died and gone to heaven, they fit so perfectly together. But then she touched him with her feet and he nearly leapt out of his skin. She felt some guilt but not enough to pull her feet away from all of that wonderful heat. Instead, she offered a lame apology. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” he bit out through gritted teeth, holding himself very still when he must have wanted to push her out of the bed. He tensed even more when she ran her cold toes along his calf, feeling the hard muscle and crisp hair. She flattened her palm against his stomach and fought the urge to rub him all over. If she weren’t so cold – and he wasn’t a complete stranger – she might have explored a little bit further, to see if the tuft of hair that she spied on his hard belly trailed all the way down to his penis or if it stopped before it got to the good parts. Then she might have curled her fingers around said penis to see just how big he was. But she wasn’t that bold and daring, at least not in real life. Her imagination, on the other hand, was a horny beast.

  Obviously, she was suffering from prolonged exposure to the cold since she generally didn’t lust after complete strangers, no matter how gorgeous or heroic. And she didn’t climb into said stranger’s beds without speaking more than a handful of words. Luckily, she was too blissfully warm to think about the ramifications too much. Thank goodness he wasn’t married.

  “Mmm, you’re so warm,” she managed, burrowing further against his hard body, finally starting to thaw out. Pressing her nose against his shoulder, she inhaled his scent, the smell of leather and steel, and she nearly purred.

  “Sorry about the smell,” he murmured, his body relaxing as he started to drift off to sleep. The poor man was exhausted, especially if he could fall asleep with a stranger in his bed.