Close to You (15 page)

His slow smile was very male. He
tongued her again, even slower, only this time he stopped at her
clitoris. He rubbed his tongue around it and then
sucked.

Eve cried out, her back arching off
the bed. Holding his head to her, she came violently and without
warning.

The wave was tapering off when
suddenly he shifted his mouth and sent her off into another climax.
More powerful than the previous one, she screamed, clutching his
hair for dear life.

She was still cresting when Treat
stopped for a condom. Quickly rolling it on, he glided into her in
one smooth motion.

She gasped.

Hooking her leg in the crook of his
arm, he pumped in and out of her feverishly.

Eve pulled his head down and mimicked
his movement with her tongue in his mouth. He groaned and picked up
the pace. From a long way off she heard mewling noises and was
surprised when she realized they were coming from her.

She could feel the change in him as he
got ready to explode. The muscles of his shoulders tensed under her
hands, and inside her he grew taut and harder, if that were
possible.

She pulled his hair to lift his head
enough so she could see him. “Yes,” she moaned, feeling herself
coiling again as she watched his eyes grow cloudier. He threw his
head back and roared, and she followed helplessly.

He collapsed on top of her. She could
feel his heart beating heavily against her own, and she wrapped her
arms around him.

He hummed and turned over, taking her
with him so she was sprawled over him. He held her thigh against
his hip, his other hand buried in her hair.

She nuzzled closer and bit him lightly
on the shoulder.

He tugged her head back and kissed
her.

Something inside her melted. Where
their kisses had been explosive before, this one was soft and
lingering and sweet. She felt her heart expanding and would have
started to panic if he didn’t break the kiss.

“
Bath? Or are you hungry?”
His voice was a sexy whisper, and she had the feeling he was
talking about more than just food.

“
I want it all.”

He stroked her face, pressing another
sweet kiss to her lips. “So do I.”

Chapter Twenty-two

Eve didn’t argue when Treat sent her
to take a bath while he whipped up some food. She eagerly went into
his awesome bathroom, filled the tub, and sank into the hot
water.

“
This is nice,” she
murmured, closing her eyes. She soaked until she felt boneless. For
the first time since she opened her café to find it waterlogged she
didn’t feel like she was overwhelmed and drowning.

It was the nicest thing anyone had
ever done for her.

Drying off, she slipped back into her
underwear, covered it with a buttoned shirt she found in the
closet, and went to find Treat.

Curious, she poked her head into the
doorways as she walked by. A guest room as lavish as his bedroom,
another lush bathroom. Pale hardwood floors gleamed
throughout.

His living room was huge. It had a
large fireplace with a cushy rug on the floor in front of it, and
his couches big and plush.

But it was his kitchen that blew her
away. Airy and light, one wall had wide glass doors that opened
onto the deck. There was a long kitchen table with a bench on one
side and chairs on the other.

The workspace itself was a chef’s
dream—a professional range and grill, a large island, plenty of
gleaming counter space and lots of cabinets. She wondered if Treat
liked to cook. She wasn’t sure why that would surprise her, but it
did. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would take the time to
put together anything more than a frozen dinner.

He had his back to her. She watched
him before she cleared her throat to let him know she was there,
admiring the muscles rippling across his back as he moved. In
clothes he looked broad and strong, but in the flesh he was
incredible. Well-defined muscles upon well-defined muscles. She’d
never been one for bulky men, but she had a feeling her tastes were
changed forever.

When he turned around and smiled, her
heart thudded and her face flushed.

“
Hey. Come here.” He held
his hand out to her. He’d pulled his jeans on, but they were
unfastened. The line of hair down his hard stomach gave way to a
thicker thatch not quite concealed—and she knew what lay hidden
beyond.

She padded over to him, torn between
shyness and wanting to explore what his pants hid.

He took her hand and pulled her to
him. With open eyes, he kissed her. He tucked her hair behind her
ear. “I thought I’d make steak and a salad.”

She nodded, wondering what she’d have
to do for another kiss.

“
Sit with me while I
cook.”

She looked at the table. It seemed so
far away.

Before she could say anything, he
picked her up and set her down on the cold counter. “Stay here. I’m
going to get a bottle of wine.”

She watched him disappear and come
back with a dark, dusty bottle. Expertly, he popped the cork and
poured them each a glass.

“
What are we going to toast
to?” She could think of any number of things, hot sex being at the
top of the list.

“
To beginnings.” He tapped
his glass to hers and sipped, watching her as she did the same.
Then he stepped between her legs and kissed her. It was deep, dark,
and rich, just like the wine.

One last soft brush of his lips, and
he set his glass down to chop vegetables.

Eve watched his deft handling of the
knife, impressed. “You’re good at that.”

“
My mom insisted. She
didn’t want some poor woman to wait on me,” he said, coring a red
pepper.

Eve smiled softly as she pictured him
as a little boy, standing at the counter. He probably had unruly
dark hair and big, earnest eyes that sparkled devilishly. “Your mom
must be proud then.”

His brow furrowed. “My mom’s been
going through a hard time,” he finally said carefully.

“
I’m sorry to hear
that.”

“
She’s been lost ever since
my father died eight years ago.” Grabbing an oven mitt, he opened
the broiler and flipped the steaks. Then he faced her, frustration
and concern in his expression. “I wish you’d known her before. She
used to be so vibrant and lively. She’s an empty shell of who she
used to be.”

“
It can’t be easy losing
your husband after so many years.”

“
No.” He shook his head.
“But it doesn’t excuse you from going off the deep end
either.”

“
Has she gone off the deep
end?”

For a second Eve didn’t think he was
going to answer her. But then he said, “She’s not acting like
herself, but I’m not sure what to do about it. She denied it when I
tried talking to her.”

“
Does she live in the
city?”

“
Yes. Actually not that far
from you.” He faced her. “Eve—”

The timer went off.

“
Damn,” he muttered as he
turned it off.

“
Want me to get that?” Eve
looked at the oven eagerly. “It smells delicious.”

Treat took out the steaks. Pulling out
a couple plates, he dished up generous portions of salad and then
added one large steak for each of them.

Eve’s stomach gurgled impatient as she
inhaled the scent. She slid off the counter and followed him to the
table with their wine. “This looks great.”

Not waiting on ceremony, she dug in.
After a few eager bites, she looked up and found him watching her,
drinking his wine.

She shrugged. “I’m hungry, and it’s
delicious.”

“
Thank you.”

“
So your mom,” she
said.

He stilled. “Yes. About my
mom—”

“
She doesn’t try to run
your life?” She thought of her father and wrinkled her nose. “That
usually gives parents something to look forward to.”

“
I was married for five
minutes a few years ago, and even then she barely roused herself.
Though she didn’t like Phoebe. Eve, my mom—”

“
You were married?” Eve
blinked, fork frozen halfway to her mouth.

“
Not for long. Less than a
year before she ran off with her dentist.”

“
I shouldn’t have brought
it up,” she said, even though she wanted to ask more
questions.

“
I didn’t love her, Eve.
She needed me, and I liked that, but in the end it wasn’t enough.”
He shrugged. “It all ended the way it was supposed to. She’s happy
now.”

She nodded, absently eating while she
digested what he’d told her.

“
Are you done?” he asked,
when she’d tapered off eating.

“
Yes.”

“
Come on.” He tucked the
wine bottle under his arm, speared both their glasses between his
fingers, and led her by the hand into the living room.

Eve settled on the couch, folding her
legs under her, and watched him light a fire. When the logs caught,
he joined her, scooping her up and cradling her on his
lap.

With a finger under her chin, he
lifted her head. “For the record, I never felt about anyone the way
I feel about you.”

“
How is that?”

“
Excited. Hopeful.” His
hand snaked into her hair, massaging her skull. “I’m all in,
Eve.”

She swallowed thickly. “I’m all in
too.”

“
Good.” He snuggled her
closer, his fingers playing with the edge of her panties. “I have
something I need to tell you.”

“
Tell me later,” she said,
whispering the words against his lips.

He groaned. “Damn it, Eve, I want
you.”

“
Then take me.”

He chuckled, his breath tickling her.
“And to think I thought you were a good girl.”

“
I am a good girl.” She ran
her hands down into his jeans. “Very good.”

“
You are.” He tilted her
head and met her mouth, slipping his finger under the front
triangle of her panties.

They groaned into each other’s mouths.
She grabbed him by the hair and pulled him to her. She couldn’t
tell who was ravaging whom. They ignited the moment their lips
touched.

“
You’re so wet,” he
murmured, sliding his finger into her.

She pulled his head back, using his
hair to leverage him. “On the rug.”

He brow wrinkled. “The
rug?”

“
Seems like if you’re going
to have sex in front of a fire, it should be on a rug.” She glanced
at it. “Too bad it’s not a bear rug.”

He picked her up and carried her to
the fireplace. “I’ll buy you one.”

“
You’re good to
me.”

“
And I’m about to be even
better,” he said, setting her down and following on top.

Chapter Twenty-three

Eve woke up from the best night of not
sleeping she’d ever had and glanced at the clock.

Four-thirty. In an hour she needed to
be at the café getting ready for the day. She knew Treat would
insist on taking her, which meant they needed to get up to shower
in half an hour.

But for now… She snuggled into him as
he spooned her. He reflexively tightened his grip around her waist
and pressed his hips into her.

He was hard. Again.

Amazing.

He shifted a little, and his hand
moved up to cradle her right breast. Eve sighed again as his
fingers did delicious things to her nipple. “Are you awake?” she
whispered.

Her answer was even breathing and his
heavy weight settling more heavily against her.

Easing out of his embrace slowly so as
not to wake him up, she burrowed under the covers until her mouth
was level with his groin.

She reached out and ran a finger from
the tip down to the root. The covers rustled as Treat shifted in
his sleep, pushing into her hand.

Moving closer, she traced a path all
the way down with her tongue, lingering with a few licks at the
tip.

He groaned, unconsciously thrusting up
against her lips. She opened her mouth, took him in, and
suckled.

He groaned louder and his hands came
down to grip her head, moving it up and down on his length as he
plunged into her mouth.

Eve flushed with exhilaration. The
giving was as exciting as receiving. She was getting as turned on
by this as she did when he touched her.

“
Eve,” Treat gasped. He
pushed the covers down before she felt his fingers spear through
her hair again.

She looked up. He stared down at her
with heavy-lidded eyes. His jaw was clenched and his hair fell
wildly around his face.

She could tell by the way his hips
bucked off the bed that he was close. Before she could do anything
more, he dragged her up his body and kissed her hard.