Boudreaux 01 Easy Love (29 page)

God, I love her giggle.

“You also like it when I get you naked.”

“Stop it.” Now she stands firm, her hands on her hips, as though she’s a teacher and I’m an unruly student. “I’m serious, Eli. I have work to do.”

I grin. “So do I.”

Chapter Nineteen

Kate

“I never did ask you what happened with Asher.” I’m chatting on the phone with Lila. “I was too busy looking like a blow fish.”

“A lot happened with Asher,” she says.
 

“Was there sex?” I ask, and throw the last of my things in my carry-on bag.

“Oh, indeed, friend. There was lots of sex.”
 

“Was it good sex?” I grin and flop on the couch, wishing Lila was still here, rather than back in Denver.
 

“Maybe the best sex that has ever been had on this planet. Every time.”

“
Every
time?”
 

“Every. Time.”

“So, was there the exchange of phone numbers?”

There’s a pause, and I sit up straight, stare at my phone, then, “Seriously? Lila!”

“I don’t have time for a relationship.”

“Who said anything about a relationship? Just call him up now and again have the best sex on the planet.”

“Impossible,” Eli says as he walks through the door. “We have the best sex on the planet.”

I laugh and hold up my hand, signaling that I just need one more minute.
 

“He lives in Seattle, Kate,” Lila says with a sigh. “I never go to Seattle.”

“Maybe he goes to Denver,” I suggest.

“I’m not going to be in Denver much longer either.”

“You’re not? Why?”

“Because, while I was in New Orleans, I had that interview with Tulane University, and I have a new job beginning this fall.”

“Shut the front door!” I exclaim, and jump to my feet, dancing around the living room. “I’m so excited for you!”

“Thank you. So, I have enough to keep me occupied for now.”

“It’s not like being occupied by the best sex on the planet is a hardship,” I remind her dryly.

“Seattle, Kate.”

“Fine.” I sigh. “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway, since you didn’t get his number.”

“When do you come home?”

“Tomorrow.” I bite my lip and glance back at Eli, who’s sipping a bottle of water and leaning against the countertop, watching me. “I get in around noon.”

“Want me to pick you up?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, send me your itinerary. I’ll see you tomorrow. Go enjoy your sexy business man. Have the second best sex on the planet.”

“You’re sick,” I reply with a laugh. “Bye.”

“How is Lila?” Eli asks and joins me in the living room.

“Good. She got the job at Tulane.” I grin and stand on my tip-toes, so I can kiss him. He still has to bend down to meet my lips.

“Good for her.” He cups my neck in his hands and takes the kiss deeper, in that way he does that makes my toes curl and my fingertips tingle.

The man can seriously kiss.

“What would you like to do this afternoon?” he asks.

“I want to take one more walk through the Quarter. It’s so pretty this afternoon.”

“Grab your hat,” he instructs me, making me grin.
 

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t sass me.”

“No, sir.”

He swats my butt. “Smart ass.”

“Yes, sir.” I tug my hat onto my head, grab my purse, and Eli leads me down the steps to the sidewalk.
 

“Which way?”

“I get to choose?”

“Of course.” I stop on the sidewalk and take him in, standing so tall, his dark hair moving in the summer breeze, his sunglasses hiding his whiskey eyes. He has a little dark scruff on his face, and his lips are tipped in a half-smile, as if he finds me amusing. His body is perfectly comfortable in a white button-down and jeans, and despite having had him mere hours ago, I want to climb him.

“
Cher
?”

“Oh, what?” I shake my head and look up into his face.

“Where would you like to go?”

“Oh. Let’s start in here.” I lead the way into the amazing botanical shop beneath my flat. “I love the way it smells in here.”

“After you.” He holds the door for me, then follows me in, hanging back as I wander through the racks and tables of lotions, soaps, oils, and extracts. I saunter through, smelling the potions.
 

“Hi there,” a woman with long, thick dark hair and bright, happy blue eyes says from the checkout counter. “Can I help you find anything?”

“No,” I reply with a grin. “I’ve been staying upstairs, and I’ve wanted to stop in to look around. The smells that drift upstairs are delicious. I stopped in briefly one day to buy shampoo, which I love, but I didn’t have time to browse.”

“Well, I’m Mallory, the owner, and just let me know if I can answer any questions.”

I nod and smile, and before I’m done, I’ve gathered more shampoo and conditioner, cucumber lotion for my eyes, lip balm, and an eye-pillow full of lavender.

Mallory rings me up and Eli pays before I can pull my wallet out of my purse, earning a glare from me.

“You’re not paying for anything when you’re with me, Kate.”
 

“Thank you. That was fun,” I say with a smile, as we step out onto the sidewalk. “I should have gone in there before. I love girlie stuff.”

“Well, you are a girl, so I guess that fits,” Eli says with a laugh, and takes the bag of goodies out of my hand.

“You’re quite chivalrous, you know.”

“Mama raised me right,” he replies. Damn that accent gets me every time. Especially when he was in my hospital room, whispering in my ear.
 

You made a man who’s incapable of love fall in love with you.

He thought I was asleep, but I heard him.
 

Not that it changes anything. I’m still leaving tomorrow, and I refuse to be the one to tell him that I love him when I’m not full of medication.

Because, what if I was wrong? What if I was hallucinating?

How embarrassing would that be?

He takes my hand, kisses the back of it, and leads me down the sidewalk, toward Jackson Square, toward the sound of music and people and the smell of beignets.

I’m going to miss this.

I’m going to miss
him
.

I glance up, and for just a moment, the words are on the tip of my tongue.

“What is it,
cher
?”

“I just—” I take a deep breath and chicken out. “I’m going to miss this place.”

He smiles softly and kisses my cheek, but doesn’t say anything in return, and I swallow my disappointment and decide to simply enjoy our last day together.

***

“Another lemon drop?” Joe the waiter asks, as he delivers our Brussels sprouts.
 

“No,” Eli answers for me, giving me a stern look. “I’d like to actually have a coherent conversation with you this evening.”

“Come on,” I reply with a laugh. “I’m fun when I’m drunk.”

“You are fun,” he agrees and spears a sprout with his fork, then holds it up to my lips. “But since this is my last night with you, let’s keep it semi-sober.”

“Deal.” I chew the delicious vegetable and sit back in my seat, enjoying the courtyard of Café Amalie. “This place is so beautiful. I love the pretty lights in the trees. Isn’t it pretty?”

“Yes,” he replies, but when I look over at him, he’s not looking at the trees. He’s looking at me.

“Charmer,” I whisper, and take the last sip of my drink.
 

“You look beautiful in this dress.” He takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles, sending electricity up my arm.
 

“Thank you.”

“Your dinners,” Joe announces, as he places our entrées before us. Dinner is delicious and filling, and when Eli suggests that we take a longer walking route back to his place, I readily agree.

I need to work off some of this food.

“Oh, look at this gallery,” I breathe, and stop at a window with canvasses full of black trees and colorful leaves and backgrounds. They look almost…weepy. “I love this one with the yellows, golds, and oranges.” I point to the one that has caught my eye. “It reminds me of Denver in the fall.”

“Hmm,” Eli murmurs and kisses my cheek before leading me further up the block. We stop several more times to admire window displays, walking slowly, hand-in-hand, laughing and talking.

Enjoying
.

Did I ever honestly think this man was intimidating? Cold? Distant? It’s amazing to me the difference in him from when I first walked into his office to that same man walking next to me tonight.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” he asks quietly, his accent thicker, perfect for this lazy, easy moment.

“Nothing.”

“Now, that’s a lie,” he replies with a soft smile. “I can hear your wheels turning.”

“I was thinking about you.” I squeeze his hand a little tighter, and then bring it up to nuzzle it with my cheek. “And that I’ll miss you when I leave.”

He grows quiet for a moment, not responding at all, and then he surprises me.

“I’ve enjoyed every moment with you, Mary Katherine O’Shaughnessy,” he says, making me smile at the way he says my last name with his accent. “You are a special woman.”

We’re standing in front of his townhouse now. Based on his last statements, I’m wondering if he’s not saying goodbye.

“Thank you for a lovely evening.”

“No,
cher
, I’m not cutting our night short.” He leads me inside, up to the bedroom. “I just wanted to make sure I told you how much I’ve enjoyed you, in case I don’t have enough blood supply to my brain later and I forget.”

“Definitely charming,” I laugh. Eli’s phone rings, making him frown. He checks the display, dismisses the call, and sets his phone aside.

“I do believe I’d like to pamper you a bit this evening,” he says, as he slowly saunters toward me.
 

“How so?” I ask, feeling a bit breathless at the look in his eyes, the way his body moves so effortlessly, his muscles bunching and moving beneath his smooth skin.

He’s simply delicious.

“Well, I’ll begin by slowly taking this dress off of you,” he whispers. He’s pressed against me now, his arms around me as he lowers the zipper on my back, pushes the black fabric off my shoulders, and watches it fall to my ankles. “You pulled the leopard print back out,” he says with a cocked brow.

“You seemed to like it.” I swallow at the hot look in his eyes as they lazily roam up and down my body.
 

“I didn’t realize there was a matching bra.”

“Of course there’s a matching bra,” I reply dryly. “There’s always a matching bra.”

“I do love your taste in underwear,” he says, just before he hooks his fingers in the straps on my shoulders and tugs them aside, then lays his lips on my skin, kissing me gently all the way to the ball of my shoulder. He pays the same attention to the other side, just as his phone rings again.

“You should answer it,” I whisper in his ear, then kiss him, just below his earlobe, on that soft skin that feels so good on my lips.

“No.”

“It could be important.”

He shakes his head and unhooks my bra in the back; his fingertips drag over my skin as he pulls it down my arms, then lets it fall. I tug his shirt out of his pants, then slide my hands up his stomach, over his smooth, warm skin.
 

God, I love touching him.

“This is supposed to be about you,” he whispers against my collarbone.
 

“It is,” I reply softly. “Touching you makes me happy.”

He pauses, and then kisses me, right over my heart.
 

Tell him!
My mind screams.
Tell him you love him and you don’t want to leave!

“Eli.”

His phone rings again, and we both moan in frustration, but he ignores it.

“Eli, you really should answer it.”

“Fuck no,” he replies stubbornly. “Whoever it is can fuck off.”

I slide my hands down the back of his pants and grip onto his very firm, very fine butt.
 

“I like your butt,” I whisper, making him laugh.

“I’m glad you do,” he says.
 

“I think you’re wearing too many clothes,” I say, just as my own phone rings. Our eyes meet and wait, and sure enough, as soon as mine stops, his starts. “Seriously. Answer. Something is wrong.”

He swears and stalks over to his phone. “What.” He frowns as he listens. “Are you sure?” He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, then scrubs his hand over his mouth in agitation. “Fine. I said fine, Beau. I’ll be there in twenty.”