How to Handle a Heartbreaker (7 page)

“Did you hear what I said?” she asked, waspish and still so cute.

“What?”

“I said if you’re firm with Mutt, he won’t ignore you like he normally does.”

“Firm, hmm?”

“Yes. Firm. Use discipline.” She frowned. “You’re totally thinking about something else right now, aren’t you?”

“No.” Damn straight. He was firm and wanted to show her some discipline. He swallowed. “So you watch a show about dog training yet have no dog. You want one?”

“Are you offering Mutt?”

He laughed at her horrified tone. “No. He’s not bad once you look past the matted fur.”

“And the big teeth, the poor manners, the smell…” Abby scrunched her nose. “So you’re really keeping him?”

Brody shrugged. “Somebody needs to. I kept seeing him around the neighborhood. And then one day he was gone, and I heard someone had called animal control on him. So I went down there and found him. He looked so pathetic in that tiny cage.”

“He might have been adopted.”

Brody just remembered how sad and helpless the dog had seemed. Feelings he’d known all too well while growing up. Though he’d lived with the McCauleys, there had always been the possibility that Alan would yank his chain and keep him in that bleak world filled with hopeless unhappiness.

He shrugged, aware of Abby’s keen gaze. “Yeah, well, about ten percent of the animals there don’t get adopted out. I didn’t want to take that chance.”

She smiled. “You’re a softie, aren’t you? Big old brash Brody has a marshmallow for a heart.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He flushed, not liking that she saw him as weak. “So I took in a dog. Maybe I’m training him to fight.”

“Yeah, right. The only thing that dog fights is the leash. Well, that and you.” She nodded at the television. “If you paid attention to what this guy is saying, you could have Mutt trained in a few weeks, tops. You just need to be consistent.”

“You know, that reminds me.” The idea sprang on him suddenly, a way to be around Abby and integrate himself into her life a bit more. “I have to go to Anacortes to work on a custom house next week. I’ll only be gone a few days, and—”

“No.”

“And the guys are supposed to watch Mutt for me,” he said over her protest. “But they don’t love him like I do. They won’t give him the attention or discipline he needs—what you said I should give him to train him. Why don’t you do it for me? Prove me wrong.”

She frowned. “I don’t need to prove anything.”

“You finished your last book, right?”

That wary expression crossed her face again. “How did you know that?”

“Baby—”

“Abby.”

“—you were yelling at me just a few days ago. Remember? When Mutt got in the house? You said you only had five more days to meet your deadline. Halloween has come and gone. So are you working on something new?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“But you’re not in a rush, are you?”

“I’m trying to put together a proposal for my agent,” she said slowly. “So not a rush. But I do have to work to earn a living.”

“Right. Well, I do too. I have to go away for a few days on a job, and Flynn did say he’d watch Mutt. But if you’d watch him, I’d rather have you. I’ll pay you.”

“You already owe me for the website I’m designing for you,” she just had to point out.

He thought for a moment. “Yeah, but how about I sweeten the pot?”

She turned to fully face him. “I’m listening.”

“I pay you the standard fee for the website, not the family discount
I
know
you were going to offer me and Flynn.”

She snorted. “Great. What else?”

“I’ll fix what Mutt messed up in the yard, plus I’ll put in an irrigation system for you. Not something plumbers normally do. But for you, I’ll pretend to be a landscaper.”

“Hmm. But I’m renting this place. So technically you’re really helping Beth and James. I can’t take that landscaping when I leave.”

He hated when she reminded him of how temporary her time here was. “So what do you want? Money? I could pay you to watch him.”

“No.” She clenched her hands on her leggings. “But…”

Curious, he dragged her hands into his, conscious of her much smaller size. Neanderthal that he was, he liked being stronger and bigger. And this close, touching her, his body reacted painfully. “But what?” he asked softly.

“Would you… Do you think you’d agree to answer some questions for me, for research?”

He paused, remembering the story he’d read. Her romance where her characters got up to all kinds of no good in the bedroom, the library, the park… He grinned. “Hell yeah. What do you want to know? Want to try out a few positions and see what clicks?”

She groaned. “This is why I never tell people what I write.”

“Oh, come on. I’m only teasing. You know I want to ‘bend you over the couch.’ Ask me whatever you want. I’m an open book.”

The intelligent gleam in her dark eyes only made her look sexier. “Really?”

“Sure.”

“Because that’s one of my problems, a lack of understanding when it comes to men.”

He wanted badly to comment but kept his thoughts to himself. “Uh-huh.”

“But I don’t want you telling the others about this.” She squirmed. “My writing is personal. Sure, it goes out to a mass audience, but when I’m writing, I’m close to the story. I don’t want to be a punch line in one of your jokes. Especially since I like the McCauleys. I don’t want you guys to think less of me if I ask certain things.”

He didn’t like the vulnerability he was seeing.

“Forget I asked.” She shook her head. “It’s stupid.”

“No. Not at all.” He tightened his hold over her hands. “You know, I read all of
Fireman’s Kiss
.”

“Oh boy.”

“I liked it.” A lot. He’d jerked off after reading it, imagining himself and Abby as the lead characters. “It was sexy and fun. The guy was a little douchie, but he got the girl, so I guess it was okay in the end.”

“Douchie?” She didn’t seem incensed, but interested. “How do you mean?”

“Well, most guys don’t say
sweetheart
and
honeybear
.”

“I was being facetious.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “I just thought he was bending over backward for her when a real dude would probably give her more crap about what she wanted. Flowers all the time? Candy? Talking all nice to her mom and pretty much bowing to her every whim? He was supposed to be this manly guy but he came across as a pussy. Just sayin’.” Realizing he’d insulted her without meaning to, he tried to backpedal. “But I mean, it’s just fiction. So it was good. I don’t read that stuff, so what do I know?”

“No. I like that.” She shifted closer, and he let her, wanting that intensity under him. “It’s hard to get good feedback. I have a couple of beta readers who—”

“What?” The only beta he knew of was an aggressive fish.

“Test readers. They tell me what they think, but they always like everything I write. I need a broader perspective.”

And he had his angle. “Well, I tell you what. You watch Mutt for me, and I’ll not only help your garden, I’ll fill you in on whatever questions you have. I’ll give you a guy’s perspective on life. Would that work?”

“That would be great.” She lit up, her plump lips parted on a thanks.

“Well now, I’m not done.” He pulled her into his lap and adjusted her legs around him. This close, she couldn’t miss his arousal against the warmth between her legs.

“Brody,” she breathed.

“I want you, and I think you want me.” At her silence, he frowned. “I’m not imagining you like me, right?”

She blushed. “You’re obnoxious, but handsome enough, I suppose. Happy now?”

“Not even close.” He stroked her back. “I’ll make you feel so good. This will stay between us, I swear. And hey, you can do anything you want with me and I’ll just lie there and take it like a man.”

She chuckled, losing that deer-in-the-headlights look.

“If you’re concerned about being safe, I don’t mess around without protection.
Ever.
The guys think I’m a big player, but I’m not. Exactly. When I’m with a girl, I’m just with her. Period. And besides…” Was he really going to tell her? Looking into her big brown eyes, he had to. “You can’t tell the guys this. But it’s been six months since I’ve seen any action. I’m clean as a whistle.”

She just stared at him. “Six months?”

He flushed. “You’re distracting. Okay?”

When she just smiled but said nothing, he grew desperate.

“How about I show you how a guy acts when he’s with a woman he wants? How he kisses her and touches her?” He stroked her back, petting away her tension.

“But—I—”

He kissed her and stunned her to silence. “Say yes, Abby. Let me thank you for the other night at the party. I came really hard. How about I show you what that felt like? Consider it research for your next book.”

She bit her lip, and he felt a sinking sensation that rejection was sure to follow.

“Just between us,” she said nervously.

“And no one else.”

“And no one else,” she whispered and kissed him.

Abby knew better, but she was only human. Having Brody so close had been playing havoc with her senses for the better part of the hour they’d been watching television. Or rather, he’d been watching TV, and she’d been watching him out of the corner of her eye.

The deal he’d offered was secondary to this—this passion between them. Knowing that she’d handled him so intimately at the party gave her a sense of weird pride. Abby Dunn had brought a man to orgasm. A sexy, powerful change of pace for a mousy woman more at home behind a computer than at a costume party.

And now, to have him under her, kissing him…

She controlled the pace, conscious of his large hands on her back, still stroking her while he moaned into her mouth. He tasted like root beer, and the sweetness encouraged her to sip deeper. She didn’t feel caged or overwhelmed because his tender motions let her know in no uncertain terms that she could stop him at any time. And it made her like him that much more.

She shifted over him and he swore. “Shit. Easy. I don’t want to go off in my jeans.” He nuzzled her cheek. “So can I touch you? Kiss you all over?” He paused. “I have a condom in my pants.”

“What if I say no?” She pulled back to stare into his light brown eyes.

“Then we stop.” He sounded so firm. “You’re in charge, Abby. Of all of it. I think we both want to keep this uncomplicated. We have fun, we enjoy each other. No mess or fuss. And we agree to like each other after it’s done. We’re practically family as it is, with Maddie and Flynn in love.”

“Agreed.” Thank God he didn’t want to complicate matters. No boyfriend-girlfriend talk. No need for a deeper meaning than that two people wanted to have sex. So different from her last mess of a relationship. This time, the pleasure came front and center. “So this is just sex.”

“We’ll call it research, hmm?”

She smiled, and he smiled back. So much delight and acceptance in his reaction. “Okay.”

“For the record, I don’t plan to kiss and tell. You can’t either.” He paused. “Unless you’re telling your friends how big and manly I am.”

She chuckled. “Well, now that I know it wasn’t a dream, I can say with surety you’re big.”

“And manly. Don’t forget the manly part. Because size doesn’t matter if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Brody made their play both sensual and fun. Not dirty, but something to enjoy. “We’ll see if you put your money where your mouth is.”

He laughed. “Oh, I will.” He leaned forward, then stopped. “Vanessa coming home anytime soon?”

“She’s out of town until tomorrow night. It’s just you and me.”

He kissed her, and this time she felt the difference. He didn’t hold back, and he’d taken control of the embrace. He pulled her closer as he kissed the breath from her. His tongue penetrated, and he was sweeping into her mouth with strokes she wanted to feel lower, where she ached between her legs.

He groaned and moved his hands, no longer holding her back. Instead he cupped her breasts.

“Oh yeah,” she whispered and nibbled his jaw. “That feels good.”

“I’m just gonna say it. I have a thing for your breasts. You’re so full here.” He held one and ran his thumb over the extended nipple. “Fuck. I need to kiss you.” He took the flannel shirt off her and lifted the tank so that she wore only a serviceable cotton bra. No lace for boring Abby.

But he wouldn’t let her be embarrassed. “Hell. I might come in my jeans after all.” He put his mouth over her bra and teethed her nipple. The pleasure hit the core of her, and she rocked over his impressive erection, needing more.

Brody alternated his mouth over both breasts.

Abby wanted to feel him against her bare skin, so she reached behind her to remove her bra.

Brody latched on to her hands and held them pinned at the small of her back. “That’s better.”

Wow.
Her lust skyrocketed. Being restrained was one of her hot buttons. And he did it so effortlessly. She whispered his name and kissed him again.

He only had to use one hand to keep her wrists in place. With the other, he unfastened her bra. And by the sound of his heavy breathing, he liked holding her as much as she liked being held.

“You’re pretty good at that,” Abby praised.

“I’m a plumber. We’re good with our hands.”

Her laugh turned into a moan when the bra fell from her shoulders, exposing her. A moment of uncertainty struck. He said he liked her breasts, but were they too big? Did she look more like a cow than a woman? Would he—

His gaze darkened, and then he was kissing her, taking her nipple between his lips and sucking her close to orgasm.

She rocked over him, no longer able to worry about anything, lost in the moment. Half-naked on top of a sexy man she’d been lusting after for months. Before the party, she never would have imagined herself the type to take this kind of risk. Things with Brody could turn badly for her, but none of that mattered while he manipulated her into a sighing ball of
yes
.

“That’s it. I want you to come for me,” he whispered as he toyed with her other breast. He delved under the waistband of her leggings and between her legs. “You’re so wet.”

She gasped when he slid his finger inside her.

“Tight. Oh, baby, I need inside you,” he crooned and laid her back on the couch, where he pulled the dangling bra off her.

Brody shrugged out of his sweatshirt and jeans while she watched. He took a condom out of his pocket and shoved down his boxer briefs to roll it over himself.

“See? I’m huge,” he teased, but the hungry look in his eyes warned her he meant business. He might appear all fun and games, but Brody was all man. He removed the rest of his clothing.

She put her hands to her leggings, and he stopped her.

“No. Let me.”

She scooted up off her butt while he rolled the leggings off her. Then he pulled down her panties. Plain white and without any holes, fortunately. Before she could protest that she wanted to see him again, to hold that cock in her hands, he shoved her legs wider and put his head between them.

“Brody…
oh.
”

He put his entire mouth over her clit and sucked, and she swore she saw stars.

Abby keened as her world tilted on end and she came over his mouth. The rapture took her into another state, the climax sudden yet so fulfilling.

He continued to kiss her until she came down, and she realized her fingers were caught in his hair. Holding him to her without any chance he might escape.

She tried to move her hands, but he held her there, kissing her still. “That’s it. You liked that, hmm?”

“Are you kidding me?” she managed in a croak.

He lifted his head and grinned. His lips shiny with her arousal, he licked them deliberately. “You taste so sweet.” He slowly moved from between her legs and rose over her. “If I don’t get inside you in like two seconds, I might die.”

She found herself laughing.

“You okay with this?” he asked, and despite the levity between them, she knew he meant that she called the shots.

Warmth filled her. “Yeah. Let’s see if you’re good for more than just show.”

He gave her a mean grin. “You up for a rough ride?”

“Are you?” she challenged back.

He lost his smile as he nudged her thighs wider and put the tip of himself at her entrance. Even though she had more than enough lubrication, the tight fit didn’t surprise her. She’d gone a long time without a man, and lately her toys couldn’t compare to the idea of fantasy Brody, so she’d gone without even touching herself.

He moaned her name and kissed her as he surged deeper.

She tasted herself on his lips, and she wanted more. She needed to see him come apart in her arms, to know
she
made him lose control. That a woman like Abby could bring Brody to climax. She wasn’t freakish or clingy or bad at sex.
She
wasn’t the one who’d had the issues—or so she desperately needed to confirm.

Lost in Brody’s touch before, she hadn’t thought about her pleasure. She’d experienced it. But now, with him inside her, he’d learn the truth about her. She was slutty and fat and bad at sex with a partner.

Except he didn’t seem repulsed or turned off.

“God, don’t hate me if I don’t last.” He started moving, faster, deeper, and she loved it.

“That feels good. You’re so big,” she gasped then groaned when he hit a spot inside her that flipped the switch on her excitement all over again.

“Yeah. That’s it. Hold me tight. Fuck, I wish I was coming inside you. No stupid condom.”

The raw words pushed her into a frenzy, especially when he added more graphic detail about what he wanted to do to her. She nipped his shoulder and scored his back with her nails. “Harder, Brody,” she encouraged as he rammed with more force. “I want to feel you so deep.”

He kissed her as he speared her with that impossibly large shaft, again and again, until she lost herself in him once more. He pulled back to watch her as he continued to thrust. “So sexy. God, come around me. Let me see you.”

She cried out as she came and clenched her heels into his ass.

“
Abby.
” Brody slammed one final time and stopped, shuddering while he spilled inside her.

After a moment, the realization of what they’d done hit her, and she stared up at him to see him watching her. It had been amazing. And he’d come, but had the intensity been all in her mind?

“Well?” he asked.

“What?”

He blew out a breath. “Hello. I want some compliments. Tell me how good I am. How big. Remember? Manly. I like hearing that.” When she said nothing, he cringed. “You’re starting to give me a complex.”

To her amazement, he still felt hard inside her. “You’re still hard?”

“I can’t help it. Give me a few minutes and I’ll go again. I swear.”

She grinned, feeling better than she had in a long, long time. “You were very manly, Brody. Hard, thick, and
manly
. Okay now?”

He nodded and fixated on her breasts. “I’m not dreaming, right?” He leaned down and sucked a nipple into his mouth, then let it go with a small tickle from his tongue. “Totally not dreaming. Man.”

“I came twice.”

He met her gaze with a satisfied one of his own. “Now you
have
to tell me I’m the man.”

She snorted. “You’re the man inside me, that’s for sure.”

“Technically, I’m winning. I made you come twice. You only made me come once. And no, Halloween doesn’t count. Different night.”

She’d never had so much fun teasing before, and not while naked. “Yes, but that’s because I have staying power. You’re a guy. One shot, you’re done.”

“Says who?” He rotated his pelvis and nudged her again.

“Really?” Interesting. She hadn’t realized a guy could go again without waiting at least half an hour to get hard once more.

“See, this is where your research is shoddy.” Brody started sliding in and out of her again.

“What about the condom?” she asked.

“I, ah, might have another in my jeans.”

“Well? Go get it on.”

He blinked at her, then grinned. Before she knew it, he’d left and returned wearing new protection. “See? Sometimes being quick isn’t so bad. You can write that down later.” He gently tugged her from the couch onto the floor. “Now we have more room. How do you feel about an encore?”

***

Abby spent all of Sunday in a daze. Brody had made love to her twice. She’d had three—
three
—orgasms in the span of one night. A new record. And then they’d spent another hour dithering back and forth on her arrangements to watch Mutt. He added a few conditions since he’d performed so well sexually. She’d been too satisfied to deny him.

What made the entire evening so surreal was that he’d looked at her tenderly and kissed her good-bye with a promise, once again, to keep their new “deal” between them.

She had exactly what she wanted. No-strings sex. Validation that she did not in fact suck—only in a good way—in bed. Brody hadn’t been demeaning or cruel, the opposite actually. A man she trusted, who turned her on, had wanted her. She felt gooey and warm inside.

And then the stupid emotional basket case inside her wondered
why
he hadn’t asked for more. Why didn’t he want to turn their agreed-upon casual sex into a relationship? Maybe if she’d been better or more exciting he—
Stop
it, Abby!

She hated overthinking things. One of her biggest flaws. She’d had incredible sex with a guy she liked. No need to turn herself into Mrs. Abby Singer. Especially since she still didn’t know all that much about Brody, truth to tell. Then again, considering he’d wheedled her into agreeing to spend the next week at his place to better care for Mutt, she might be able to learn more about the tricky con man.

After making sure she’d picked up and cleaned the place to Vanessa’s satisfaction, she made herself a salad and sat down to dinner. On cue, Vanessa arrived at six and gave Abby a thumbs-up on the housekeeping.

“Ah. It is so nice to come home to a clean, organized house. I love Jeanine, but she’s a slob.”

“So the trip to Whidbey went well?”

“I needed it.” Vanessa let out a breath. “Lately work has been a bitch. I’m always playing the bad guy and I’m tired of it. Jeanine lives in Langley, where the pace is so much slower. Plus, I got to ride the ferry, which I love.”

A relaxed Vanessa meant a relaxed household. Just one more plus to add to Abby’s stellar weekend.

Vanessa stole a carrot off Abby’s plate. “Anyway, I lazed around.”

“Meaning you ran five miles each day and only did a few hundred and not a thousand crunches.”

Vanessa grinned and swallowed her food. “Pretty much.” She tugged her ponytail. “I also read a book and watched the ocean. Saw some orcas on my way to the island. So cool.”

“I’m glad you had a good time. I had fun too.”
Did
I.
“I organized my room and watched my favorite shows without bossy people telling me to turn the channel.”

Vanessa snorted. “That dog show, right? Seriously? When you get that training to work on people, then I’ll be interested.”