A Curvy Girl for the Cadet: A Perfect Fit Novella (8 page)

“Clayton,” she cried out his name wanting more of him. He seemed to have read her mind, because he slipped his finger between her legs and lower lips and stroked her, relieving the throbbing but arousing her even more.

“I want to see you this time. How you moan and breathe and move and come,” he said in a low deep voice that was like silk running across her skin. “I want to know what makes your toes curl. I want to know what you like so I can do it over and over.” He plunged his fingers inside of her working them in and out, mimicking what their bodies were doing just a little while ago.

“I-I…” She felt the stirrings of climax rising up inside her. But it was too soon. She grabbed his hand, so she could breathe, so she could think. “I just want you.”

He gave her one of those deep kisses that made her forget herself and he moved his fingers inside her again, ignoring her plea. Orgasm struck her and Clayton removed his fingers and pushed himself deep inside her, pumping hard, making it even more powerful, making her shake. But he wasn’t done. He took her mouth again as he wrapped her legs around him and continued to work. He slowed his strokes, taking his time, moving his hips in a way that she had never experienced. In a way that had aroused her all over again.

“Damn it, Daisy,” he said through gritted teeth. “You feel so good around me.”

His pace quickened again, and his body grew tighter and she knew he was close to climaxing again. She was already there and she squeezed herself even tighter around him to let him know that she was just waiting for him. He opened his eyes and looked down into hers, just before he stroked inside her that one last time that caused both of them to explode.

She couldn’t move after that. She was too spent, too exhausted, too well satisfied to even try to.

Clay was heavy on top of her, but she didn’t care. She relished the feel of him, the closeness. He had given her her sexuality back. She had lost it for a while. She had gone so long feeling unwanted.

After a while he shifted his weight off of her and soon after she heard the firecrackers go off again. He stiffened slightly, but didn’t react the way he did the first time.

At first she was afraid he was going to be like Danny. And that was the last thing she wanted or needed. Another broken soldier, but unlike Danny instead of pushing her away, he brought her closer. “Stay here tonight,” she said.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving you.”

*

Clayton stood at Daisy’s front door early the next morning. He had stayed later than he had planned to, but no matter how many times he had her he still wanted more of her. He had lost count of how many times he had had her. She never said no, never pushed him away. She welcomed him each time and had met him stroke for stroke with as much passion and intensity as he gave her.

It had been one hell of a night.

“Stop staring at me, weirdo,” she said with a shy grin.

“No.” She stood there wrapped in a sheet. Her hair standing wildly on her head. He wanted her all over again. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. He knew they wouldn’t have another night like this. Her kid was coming back. She was still grieving the loss of her husband. He could see the sadness hovering in her eyes. And then there was him. Not able to have a relationship, unable to give her what she needed. Even though he wanted more, he knew tonight would have to be enough.

“Don’t kiss me like that,” she sighed. “We both have to go to work.”

“Okay. I’m going.”

“Fine. You twisted my arm.” She tugged him by the shirt back into the house. “One more time. Just make it quick.”

“Okay.” He grinned as he pulled her sheet. He knew walking away wasn’t going to be as easy as he hoped.

Chapter 8

Daisy walked into her shop over a half hour late that day. It had been hard to pull herself away from Clayton. The man had unbelievable stamina and he had done things to her that she only thought were possible in dirty movies. She was tired, pleasantly sore and a little sad because she knew that last night was going to be their only night. He told her he was moving on, thinking about taking a job overseas and she knew that meant he was going back to war. Danny had been the same way, even though memories of his time there still haunted him. She couldn’t go through that again. She couldn’t love another man who felt more at home risking his life every day than with her.

Loretta raised a brow at her as she hurried in. She was at Daisy’s station putting together their weekly arrangement for the local retirement community.

“Now I know why you were late,” Loretta said looking up from the white gardenias she was working with. “You look hot this morning. You spent all that extra time in the mirror.” She stepped from behind the counter and reached up to touch her face. “Your skin looks great. Are you using new cream? Where can I get it?”

“I had sex,” she blurted out, needing to tell someone. “All night. And a few times this morning. That’s why I’m late.”

“You had sex!” Loretta’s lips curled into a smile, surprising Daisy. “I’ve been telling you for the past year that it’s time to get back on the horse. Tell me details.” She sat down on the nearest chair. “Who, how, when, where? Don’t leave anything out.”

“You’re okay with this?”

“Of course. I’m okay with this. I know you loved my son. I know your marriage to him was difficult and half the time I think you stayed married to him those last couple of years because you didn’t want to hurt me. But you deserve happiness and love and really good sex. Now stop being ridiculous and tell me who you got it on with.”

“Clayton. My neighbor.”

“That big hot guy with the beard?”

“Yes.”

“That makes sense. He was stripping you naked with his eyes the moment he walked in here that day. Totally ignoring me. And I looked damn fine that day I might add.”

“You did.” Daisy sighed. “Did you feel guilty the first time you had sex after your husband died?”

“I felt sad, but not guilty. I knew Jerry loved me. He wouldn’t want me to be alone and mourning him for the rest of my life. Did you feel guilty?”

“Not for sleeping with Clayton. I feel guilty because I couldn’t make Danny happy towards the end. Sometimes I think if I had tried a little harder things would have been different.”

“He was self-destructive and you had Aubrey to think of. You shouldn’t regret anything. You were a good wife and if your mother-in-law thinks that about you, you’re golden.”

“Thanks, Ma.”

“So how was it?”

“I was going to spew some bullshit about how a lady doesn’t kiss and tell, but I can’t, because there are no words to tell you how good, and thorough and… and… powerful he was. I know it was a mistake to sleep with him, but I don’t regret it, because every woman should be loved by that man at least once.”

“Whoa. Where can I sign up?” She laughed. “And why was it a mistake? You had a good time, right?”

“I had a one night stand with my next door neighbor. Now I have to see him all the time and it’s probably going to get awkward.”

“Why does it have to be a one night stand?”

“Because I have a seven-year-old. I can’t be having sex all over my house.”

“So don’t have it all over your house. Be sneaky. Be creative. Jerry and I did it every day until the Lord took him home. You’re young. You’re beautiful. Have a fling.”

A fling?
“Clayton is former military,” she said quietly. “He was hurt over there. He’s covered in scars.”

“Oh.” Daisy didn’t have to say anymore. Loretta understood. Understood what Daisy had gone through with Danny. “Just don’t get too attached, honey. But don’t let that stop you from having fun.”

*

“Get the hell off me, man!”

Clayton put down his saw after hearing the scuffle that was happening in the hallway of the apartment building they were rehabilitating. It was one of Ambrose’s new acquisitions. He had let Clayton handle the transaction. He had let Clayton acquire all the properties they had rehabbed in the last six months. Clayton should have realized that he was grooming him to take over. He had given him more and more responsibility for the past year. So much that Ambrose barely came into the office anymore.

“What the hell is going on out here?” Clayton stepped out into the hallway. Abraham came from the other direction and they both saw two of their guys dragging a man towards the stairwell.

“Found this guy squatting in one of the apartments,” Neil, one of his drywallers told him. “We’re evicting him.”

“Get the fuck off me!” The man fought against them and that’s when Clayton saw his tattoo. He had lost somebody important to him. The helmet, gun and boots permanently inked into his arm was a tribute.

“Let him go,” Clayton ordered.

“But, Lieutenant–”

“Let him go,” Clayton said again and they did. “How many tours did you do?”

“Three,” he said straightening his ratty clothes.

“Where’s your family?” Abraham asked.

“They don’t want me around much.” He looked young, not yet thirty and yet he had probably seen more action than most.

“You can stay here,” Clayton reach into his wallet and pulled out a few bills. “But you get yourself cleaned up and you report to work at seven am like the rest of the crew.”

“You don’t know anything about me. I could be a thief, a murderer and you’re giving me a job without knowing my name?”

“What is your name?”

“Jonathan Davies.”

“Well, Jonathan Davies, if you fuck this up or screw me over I’m coming after you myself. Abe and I are former army. Miguel,” he motioned to one of the men who had been holding him, “was in the marines. We take care of our own, but we’ll come after you and you’ll regret it.”

He nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t call me sir. It’s Clayton.” He extended his hand. “Welcome aboard. Now go get yourself cleaned up.”

He nodded and giving them one long look he left. “You’re sure about this?” Abraham asked him quietly enough that the other men didn’t hear.

“No, but we all need a chance. If Ambrose hadn’t hired me right when I got out I don’t know where I’d be.”

Abraham nodded. “The bookkeeper called my phone. She said she wanted you to come back to the office so that you could sign some checks.”

“Sign checks? I don’t do that.”

“You do now. Mr. Sanna must have given you the authority. You had to know this was coming. You have done all the hiring, firing and purchasing for the past six months. You’re running shit. Sanna may be the owner, but we all know that you’re the boss. The men are loyal to you here. And what you did for that kid is exactly the reason you don’t need to go back. You hire vets. You’re needed here.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. “I’m going to go now. Can you head over to the other sites and see how they are doing?”

“Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”

Clayton nodded and walked out feeling kind of choked. He hadn’t wanted the responsibility of owning his own business, having people’s livelihoods depend on him. He had been in charge of his own unit, of his men’s lives and he lost some of them. He couldn’t risk taking on this business and failing again.

As soon as his feet hit the pavement he sucked in a huge breath.

“Clay?” He heard his name being called and he saw Daisy walking towards him. She held a large flower arrangement filled with red and white flowers in a blue vase. His chest loosened when he saw her. He hadn’t had a glimpse of her in days, telling himself he could live with just one night with her. He wasn’t what she needed in her life right now.

But that didn’t stop the thoughts of her. Constant thoughts of her. Memories of their night together, memories of her skin pressed against his, and her moans and the way he felt when he was inside her and beside her sleeping that night.

“Are you okay?” She set the arrangement on the ground and placed her hand on his arm. He couldn’t miss the look of concern on her face.

He hated that she was concerned for him. “I’m fine. The fumes were getting to me.” He pulled her closer, took her face in his hands and kissed her. He didn’t care that it was in the middle of the street. He didn’t care who saw them. He had to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around him and let herself be kissed. Somehow she knew it was exactly what he needed right then.

“Um, Clay,” he heard his name, but didn’t immediately remove his lips from hers, in fact he gave her another much shorter kiss before he turned his attention to Abraham.

“I just wanted to give you this list of supplies I’m going to order for your approval.”

“It’s approved,” he said without looking at it.

“I had wondered why you didn’t want to go out with me, but now I know. Hello, beautiful. I am Clay’s friend, Abraham.”

Daisy smiled in that sexy way that made his insides heat. She was looking beautiful that day in a leopard print skirt, tight pink tee-shirt and black heels. “I’m Daisy. I’m Clay’s friend too.” She looked up at him. “We’re friends now, right?”

“I think you could call us that.”

“I’m going to head back to work now, and let you two
friends
get back to whatever you were doing. It was nice meeting you, Daisy.”

“You too, Abraham.”

Clayton watched him go, knowing he was going to be grilled about Daisy later, but he didn’t care right then. “Have lunch with me.”

“When?” She lifted up her arrangement again.

“Right now.”

“I have to deliver these flowers to Dr. Craig’s office.”

“Okay. Deliver them and then you’ll have lunch with me.”

*

“When you said have lunch with me,” Daisy said as she walked a little further into the water. “I envisioned water glasses and white tablecloths. Not an abandoned swimming hole.” She looked back at him, sitting in the back of his pickup truck with the sun shining down on him. “But I think I like this place much better.”

Durant was full of little gems like this. Swimming holes and ponds. Places where people could just get out and play. She had grown up in Annapolis and gone to school in New Orleans and had lived in half a dozen other places before she had come here. She didn’t think this little town at the base of the Catskills would be her most favorite place.

“I’m glad you like this better. I’m covered in saw dust and caulk. I don’t think they would let me in any place with white tablecloths and real glasses. But I can take you to one if you would like.”

“You want to take me out?” She walked out of the water and back to him. He had kissed the hell out of her in the middle of the sidewalk on one of Durant’s busiest streets. And again after his friend caught them. She didn’t know what was going through his head, but it didn’t involve hiding what they were doing.

“Yeah. Wherever you want to go.”

She touched his beard, wishing she could feel his skin, but still liking the way it looked on his face. “What if I said I wanted to go to Paris or Morocco or get chili cheese dogs with extra onions?”

“I love chili cheese dogs with extra onions.” He set his hands on her waist and brought her closer. “As for Paris you shove some ham and cheese in a croissant and I’m there. I don’t know what kind of food they have in Morocco, but I’ve spent a long time in the military so I can eat anything as long as there is a lot of it.”

She leaned forward to kiss him. She had meant for it to be just a quick little kiss, but he deepened the kiss and it turned hot immediately. She told herself that she was going to stay away from him. That she wasn’t going to have a fling. But she got near him and all that went out of the window.

“We should eat,” he said when he broke the kiss. “I ordered us the best sandwiches in town.” He pulled the biggest sandwich she had ever seen out of a large paper bag. “Spicy capicola, sweet soppresseta, prosciutto, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, lettuce and tomato on some damn fine Italian bread.”

“Mmm. I can feel my cholesterol rising already.”

“Wait till you see what else I got. Your sugar levels are about to spike.” He pulled out two glass bottles of old fashioned orange soda, then packaged snack cakes.

“Be still my heart.” She touched her chest. “You were busy while I was delivering that arrangement.”

“I wanted to impress you. Sit.” He handed her half the sandwich as she did.

“This is huge,” she said as she studied the meat stuffed specialty. “I’m not sure I can get my mouth around it.”

“I think you can manage.” He nuzzled her shoulder and grinned at her.

She knew exactly what he was thinking and laughed. “Don’t flatter yourself, buddy.”

He touched his heart. “You wound me, Daisy.”

“Just eat your sandwich.” She smiled again. He had a way of making her smile that no one else possessed. She almost felt like a different person when she was with him and in a way she felt more like herself, more honest with him than anyone else.