Keys To Her Heart (Brookfield) (10 page)

She pulled into Cody’s driveway, impressed by how different it appeared now. Before it was an over grown mess with branches all over the yard, now everything was freshly cut and ready for the snowy winter ahead.

After she parked her car, she climbed out and the scent of the grill welcomed her. Deciding not to knock on the door, she walked around back to find Cody on his back porch, beer in hand. What a site he was. He had a ball cap on and a tight T-shirt. How he wasn’t cold, she didn’t know. Though, if she were as hot as him, she’d never need a jacket.

“Hey there,” she called, startling him.

“Hey.” He tugged his hat off and set it on the railing, letting her see his gorgeous blue eyes.

She climbed the steps and went straight to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. She was so glad she’d given up the fight of just wanting to be friends, and gave into her feelings. Now she could finally be with him. No interruptions, just hours of them all alone.

Cody stepped back and opened the small cooler, then held out a dripping-wet beer bottle. Before she took it, he popped the top off. She held the ice-cold bottle and slowly lifted it to her lips. Ah, the beer tasted good. It had been so long since she’d treated herself to an adult beverage. She never wanted to let her inhibitions down around her mom, but tonight, for a few hours, she was just Lily again.

“How do you like your steak?” He leaned against the railing, crossing his arms in front of him with his drink still in hand. The way his arms flexed, she swore she saw the veins body builders had coming from his sexy arms.

Woo, she was already wet just imagining those things wrapped around her waist as she rode him to release.

“There’s that look again, but there’s no one here to stop you.” He winked.

She lifted her beer to her lips. Maybe this was a bad idea. There was no way she’d be able to control herself around him. She wanted him—bad. Hell, she’d even worn her sexy lace panties set just in case he saw her with her clothes off. She was so bad.
Bad. Bad. Bad.
Deep down she knew she wanted to throw caution to the wind, and let that hunk of a man take her right here, but then the conservative woman told her not to be easy.

The question was, which side would win?

“So, how do you like your steak?”

“Medium,” she replied with a shaky voice.

“I’m going to go grab them from the fridge. Feel free to have a seat.” He gestured toward the patio chairs.

She took a seat and a moment later he came back with a plate in hand. “These are marinated in my secret recipe.”

At least he had a secret, too. “I can’t wait to try it.”

“Your brother was fine watching Gunther?” He opened the grill and laid the steaks down.

God, whatever the marinade was, it made her mouth water as the meat met the open flame. “Yes. Gunther is close with my brothers.”

“How many do you have?”

“Just two. Brent and Jake. Though, I suspect Brent is having some issues in his marriage. He’s thinking about staying a little longer. Last time we talked, he mentioned they were fighting a lot.” She really needed to make a point to talk to him tomorrow and see what was going on. She hated to think his marriage was failing.

“And you live with your mom?” He closed the grill lid then turned toward her.

“Yeah.”

“Must be cool. I bet she’s a good help with Gunther, as well.”

Lily took a deep breath and slowly let it out. If she was going to do this relationship thing, she had to start being honest with him. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed of her mom, and now, thinking about how she’d kept it a secret, it almost felt silly.

“I moved to town to care for my mom. She’s ill.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that.” He rubbed his temple. “It makes sense now.”

“What does?”

“When you said you weren’t sure you had enough time to date. I feel almost bad now pressuring you.”

She smirked. “Almost.”

“That’s right. In no way do I regret that you’re here tonight.” He winked then returned to the grill, opening the lid.

She set the beer down, hoping it would help her steady herself from drinking it too quickly. The last thing she needed was to become a lush. She had a hard enough time walking around Cody half the time. Too much alcohol, she’d probably fall down the porch steps or something.

She pulled her jacket tighter to her. “Bo did a really good job.”

Cody nodded. “He’s a good kid, I think. Just needs a little guidance.”

“What are his plans?”

He drank from the brown bottle then rested it next to his hat. “He’d like to get into law enforcement, but before that he needs a job. So I told him I’d look around and see what I could help him find.”

“I think Swift Water is looking for a new night cook. Mike could train him.”

“I’ll ask him and see if he’s interested. He might be too embarrassed to show his face there again.”

She waved her hand. “Anyone can understand his situation. Some people get the bad end of the stick. We just gotta help him.”

Life wasn’t a walk in the park for anyone. No one’s life was perfect, even if they made it look that way.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“Nope. I’m waiting on you tonight.”

That was a pleasant change. Her life was spent taking care of others, from her job to home life. Sitting back and having nothing to do was different—a good different.

Cody put the steaks on two separate plates, grabbed his beer, and set the items down on the patio table. “I’ll be right back.”

He went into the house, returning with a big bowl of salad. He took a seat next to her, placing the bowl in the center of the table.

“I hope you like the dressing. It’s a recipe I found on Pinterest.”

Had she heard him right? “You get on Pinterest?”

Cody scooped some salad onto her plate. “Don’t tell. My sisters got me onto the site and before I knew it, I had all these boards crea
ted. Mostly food.”

“You’re an interesting man.” In more than one way. He intrigued her, and without a doubt, she knew life would never be boring with him around.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” His smile brightened his face, sending a wave of swooning emotions through her.

Yes, she’d throw caution to the wind all right. She wanted this man and was determined to have him tonight. Life was short; there was no time to waste on being a shy, sweet girl. She was a strong independent woman, and she knew what she wanted.

“Try it.”

“Huh?” Try what?

“The salad.” He pointed.

Her cheeks burned. She really needed to stop zoning out like that. Glancing away from him, she took several deep breaths to bring her emotions back in check. Then she picked up her fork and scooped some salad in her mouth.

“Oh my, that’s really good.” It was sweet and tangy all at once. She could just drink the dressing and be happy.

“I’m glad. Eat up.” He lifted his beer to his mouth.

Oh, she’d eat up all right. She needed the energy for what she had planned.

* * * *

Lily placed the last plate into the dishwasher, even though Cody insisted she sit and let him do it. But she’d wiggled her way next to him at the sink, and the next thing he knew, he was rinsing them off and she was loading them into the dishwasher.

“Can I get you another beer?” he asked.

“Nope. Just the one was enough to help me relax a little more.”

“Want to go sit on the deck?”

“Let’s sit on the couch. It’s cold out there.”

Oh yeah, his big comfy couch. At least outside all they had was a bench and chairs, and there was no way he’d lay her back on that. It was taking every ounce of his control not to ravish her and instead be the gentleman women wanted.

They went into the living room and she sat right in the center of the suede couch. Cody plopped down beside her. He let his gaze wander over her tight, blue top. It was a conservative shirt, but it hugged her perky breasts.

He cleared his throat and looked into her eyes. “Tell me a little more about your mom.”

“I don’t really want to talk about it at the moment.”

Her eyes were dark. She wanted him. Usually she stared at him like he was tasty, but at the moment, she wanted to devour him, he was pretty sure. Screw it. He clasped his hands on both sides of her face and captured her lips with his. Her mouth parted right away, letting his tongue slide in. She had a mixture of sweetness and tangy meet him.

She wrapped her arms behind his neck and pulled her body right into his. Damn, she was hard to resist, but it didn’t seem as though she wanted him to. Her kiss was urgent with each swoop of her tongue.

Must take things slow.

He’d repeat that over and over if he had to; he couldn’t let this get out of control.

“Touch me,” she whispered against his lips.

She was trying to kill him, but at least he’d die happy. Taking her suggestion seriously, he let one hand linger down her shoulder then slip forward to her breast. His heart raced and his palms were damp. It had been awhile since he’d felt a woman’s tit. It was as he remembered, though; soft and pliable.

She sighed as he squeezed. Her nipple hardened under her thin cup. He needed more and he tugged at the hem of her shirt, yanking it over her head. For the brief moment the kiss was broken, she stared at him, then brought her mouth back to his with more passion than before.

He gently pushed her to lie back on the couch. Lily spread her legs, letting him climb between them. God, he was so hard, he worried he might break the zipper of his pants.

Take it easy.

He had no idea how long it had been for her since she’d been with a man, but it had been way too long since he’d been with a woman. This woman, under him and willing, was the one he wanted right now. Hell, who was he kidding? She’d taken over his life. He’d never tire of Lily.

Pulling back the cup of her bra, he circled her hard nipple and pinched it between his fingers. She moaned, causing his cock to ache that much more.

“We’ve got to stop.” He stared down at the beautiful woman, giving her the chance to end this now.

“No, we don’t.” She tried to pull his mouth back to her, but he stayed firm.

He took a deep breath. “We can’t rush this.”

“Why not? I want this. I want to be with you.” Her eyes pleaded with him.

“Fuck.” He nudged her center with his clothed erection, before kissing her again.

Her legs wrapped around his waist and her hips gyrated against his cock. She wasn’t letting up. Everything about her body language said if he wanted to go all the way, she was willing. But would she regret it after?

The way her center rubbed against his, he worried he’d spill his seed. Needing a break from the rubbing, he trailed kisses down her neck and straight to her chest. His licked her cleavage, then dipped under her bra, circling her nipple. He sucked her hardened nub deep into his mouth and she gasped, arching her back.

He had to stop this now or he wouldn’t stop.

Cody pulled away abruptly, standing. He raked his hands through his hair then tugged at his pants, trying to position the damn things so his cock didn’t hurt so much.

“Okay, we really do need to stop.”

Lily sat up and sucked her bottom lip in. “I guess you’re right, but I really don’t want to.”

Cody sat on the love seat. There was no way he was getting back on that couch with her. Just one touch from her and he’d be inside her before he could count to ten.

“I want you. I really do.” And he didn’t care if he sounded like a talking idiot. “But I don’t want what we have to become about sex.”

She smiled. “I don’t think we’ll see one another enough for this to be about only that. My time is limited. I’d like to make the best of it when we can. Otherwise, it’s just long talks on the phone getting to know one another. At least right now we can explore each other physically. The way we’ve both been dreaming of doing.”

Well, when she put it that way, they did have plenty of time to get to know one another. Right now was as good a time as ever to explore each and every part of her body. She sat there in a pink bra with black lace on it. He’d really like to know if the panties matched.

“You sure about this?” he asked, needing to make sure.

“Please, make me feel like a woman.”

He stood, held his hand out then pulled her to him as he picked her up. “Let’s go to my bed.”

Chapter Nine

Cody softly laid Lily on the bed. She’d thought he’d been adorable trying to stop this, but there was no denying it. She’d set her mind to getting this guy in the sack tonight, and she wouldn’t leave here until they had.

He climbed onto the bed next to her, staring into her eyes. She caressed his cheek before running her hands down his neck, over his firm chest, then to his belly button. She pulled at his shirt, and watched in awe as he sat up and removed it. His entire chest was bare, but he had a sexy patch of curls around his belly button.