Read, Write, Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons, Book 5) Contemporary Romance (15 page)

Pepper barked.

They both stilled, then laughed.

Pepper climbed across the console and licked Leanna’s arm.

“Home.” Kurt lifted Leanna back onto the passenger seat, pulled his jeans up but left them unzipped—there was no way he was trapping his erection behind a hard, metal zipper.

He’d never driven so fast in his life.

THEY RAN UP the steps to the cottage like two teenagers stealing away. Leanna was hot, and wet, and she wanted Kurt so badly that her insides ached. They’d forgotten to leave the porch light on, and Kurt fumbled with the keys, cursing under his breath.

She slid between him and the door and lifted his shirt, kissing and groping his hard muscles and warm skin. He pressed his hips into her and the door pushed open. Leanna stumbled backward, her arms flailing. Kurt caught her with one strong arm. They kissed and groped their way to the couch, kicking off their shoes. Kurt dropped the keys and Pepper’s leash; then he lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it away and did the same with his own. Leanna hooked her hands in his pants and drew them down, licking his hard length on her way back up, and felt his body shudder as he wrapped his strong hands around her ribs and laid her on the couch.

“You’re impossibly beautiful,” he said in a husky voice.

She drew his hands to her breasts. His mouth followed, and the feel of his tongue on her hot skin was almost too much to take. She whimpered for more. She needed all of him, and she pulled his hips toward hers, arching into him.

“Let me make you come first,” he whispered.

“No. Need you. Now,” was all she could manage, and in the next breath, he slid gently, lovingly, into her. Her body went white hot, and she went a little wild. She didn’t want loving—she wanted hot, dirty, fun sex—the kind of sex she’d read about and her friends talked about, and she wanted it now. She pressed her palms to his cheeks and looked into his eyes with what she hoped was a serious stare.

“Take me. Love me. Fuck me,” she whispered. His eyes narrowed, and she recognized his hesitation. Her body vibrated with anticipation. Kurt was kind, generous, loving, everything a woman could want, but she knew he had more to give. His tight muscles told her he was holding back. She could see it in his eyes when they were in the throes of passion, and she wanted to experience it. Him. All of him. “I want more of you,” she assured him.

He narrowed his eyes and held her gaze.

She nodded, and in the next second, his eyes went almost black. When his lips found hers, the intensity of everything changed. It was a rougher, harder, scratch-her-face-with-his-stubble kiss that made her tingle all the way to her toes. His tongue didn’t just stroke her mouth. He consumed it. His hands moved hard and fast, pinching her nipples and groping her breasts as he thrust into her deeper, with more force and more passion than she ever imagined. Every thought fell away. She was enveloped in their heat. He never broke the kiss as he lifted her hips with one hand and pushed a cushion beneath them, then penetrated her deeper, harder, grunting with each powerful thrust. Her toes curled under, and her skin went so hot it felt icy cold. She clawed at his back, crying out so loud that Pepper whined. Kurt grabbed her knees and brought them up to her chest, driving into her from a new angle, bringing heightened arousal and new sensations rippling through her.

“More,” she managed.

He shifted his hips, and she gasped for air as another orgasm ravaged her, causing her inside muscles to clench tightly around him, over and over, but he still didn’t relent. Kurt pushed her legs farther back. His dark stare locked with her, sending heat through her tingling body.

“Holy…crap. You’re…a-amazing,” she said through heavy breaths.

Kurt lifted his hips, and her legs fell free.

“No, no. That was so good.” She reached for him.

The right side of his mouth lifted. “So is this.”

He repositioned her legs. The backs of her legs rested against his chest, and he entered her again, slow and deep. Leanna gripped the edge of the cushion and slammed her eyes shut as lights exploded behind her lids.  Kurt drove into her again and again at the same slow pace. She’d never felt so alive. Every nerve reached for him, and when he teased her with just the tip of his hard length, she nearly crawled out of her skin.

“More. Please, more.”
Oh my God. I’m begging for sex
. She pushed the embarrassment away. She was with Kurt, and this was so much more than sex. Her heart was so full of Kurt. She wanted to experience everything with him. Sweaty, steamy, sticky, I-can’t-breathe lovemaking—and he obliged, taking her right up to the crest again and holding her there as he pushed into her slowly until he was buried deep. Then he lowered her legs and moved the cushion from beneath her hips. With eyes full of love and every motion laden with tenderness, he came down on top of her and pressed his chest to hers.

“I have to love you.”

“Yes. Yes, love me.”

Their hips collided with every impassioned movement.

“Open your eyes,” he whispered.

“Can’t,” she said in one long breath.

He kissed her closed eyelids. “Try.”

She did, and the love in his eyes seared a path to her heart. He tilted his hips up, sending a frisson of pleasure through her entire body, and then he took her in another intimate, loving kiss. She felt his thighs flex in perfect time to her own magnificent climax, which was seizing her body. He held her tightly as they rode out their love, barely breathing and clinging to each other as their bodies trembled and shook, until they collapsed beside each other, sated and spent.

THE NEXT MORNING Kurt drove Leanna home before going for his run so she could prepare for her day at the flea market, and when they got there, he didn’t want to leave. Hell, he never wanted to be apart from her.

Leanna flitted from room to room, packing up what she’d need for the sunny afternoon. Sunscreen, paper towels, bottles of water. She stopped in the middle of the kitchen floor, looking cute as hell in her shorts and tank and tapping her lips with her finger as if it might bring forth whatever she was looking for.

Kurt folded her into his arms. “Have you thought any more about how much time you want to commit to your business or where you might want to set up shop?”

She ran her index finger down the center of his chin to his chest. “Mm-hm.”

“And?” His heart raced. He didn’t want to put added pressure on her, but damn if he didn’t feel like he’d go crazy if they weren’t together.

She looked up at him, and he saw the answer in her hazel eyes. “I think I want to keep the business as a summer business. That’s when fruits are freshest, and I can specialize in gift baskets or something similar and equally as fun, the rest of the year. And…” She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. “I want to be near you.”

Near me
. Kurt could hardly believe it. He filled the silence with an embrace.

“Near me. You’re sure?”

She nodded.

“I live just outside of New York City. Is that someplace you would really consider moving to?”

“If that’s where you’ll be, then I want to be there, too. Unless you don’t want me to. I’d totally understand if you didn’t, I mean, we haven’t known each other that long, and I can be noisy, and you like quiet, and I can be a little messy, and you’re neat, and—”

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I want you there with me. In my house. By my side. Talking while I try to write and making messes that I have to clean up.”

He felt her heart beating fast and hard against his chest.

“You want me to move in with you?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t have to feel pressure or anything. I can find an apartment nearby.” Her voice shook. “I have some money saved from my
real
jobs, so I can manage for a while without dipping into my trust fund.”

The love in her eyes betrayed her offer. “Leanna,
I feel it in my crazy-ass heart
. I love you.”

Her cheeks flushed pink, and her finger made quick work of tracing the edge of his triceps. “You heard that?”

He kissed her. “I love you, and you love me. It’s fast, but I trust my instincts. Hell, when you’re not with me, I’m looking for you.”

Pepper pawed at his leg.

Kurt glanced at Pepper. “Yes, you, too, Pep.”

Her eyes welled with tears.

“Is this too fast? I’m sorry. I’m a pretty focused guy, but if it’s too fast—”

“No.” She gripped his waist. “No. I want to be with you more than anything in the world.”

“Then what is it?”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “It’s just…” She buried her face in his chest. “You fill my empty spots.”

He loved her so much that his heart ached. He wiped the tear with the pad of his thumb and held her close. “You fill mine, too. Even the ones I never knew I had.” They hugged until Leanna pushed him playfully away.

“You need to go for your run or I’ll steal your writing
and
your running time, and then you’ll rethink my moving in with you.”

“I’ll probably need to write pretty late tonight. Want me to come over after I’m done, or would you like a break from me for a night?”

“Break? No way. I’m working with the girls on organizing the brochures and stuff. Just come over when you’re done.”

“It might be pretty late.”

“I’ll leave the door unlocked.” She kissed him and patted his butt on the way out the door.

“Careful or I’ll miss my run and you’ll miss the flea market.”

 On the way back to his cottage, Kurt’s pulse raced. He’d never felt so aware of everything around him or so alive. The trees looked more interesting, the wildflowers on the side of the road more vibrant, the grass greener; the air even smelled clearer. His mind ran in a hundred different directions, and every one of them circled back to the studio. Leanna. Forever.

He called Siena on the way back to his cottage.

“You realize it’s the ass crack of dawn, right?” Siena yawned.

“No, it’s not. It’s seven. Listen, isn’t Cash’s brother a contractor in New England?”

“Yeah. Blue. He’s good, too. I’ve seen pictures of his work.”

“Think he’d do work for me on the Cape?” Kurt’s mind was going a mile a minute. He had a plan in place, and surprising Leanna with the studio was the tip of the iceberg.

“I guess.” She yawned again. “Hold on.”

He heard her talking to Cash. A minute later, Cash came to the phone.

“Hey, Kurt. You need a contractor on the Cape?” Cash sounded far more awake than Siena. He was a firefighter and used to waking up fast.

“Yeah. I have a studio that needs to be renovated.”

“He’s doing some work at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis, I think. I’ll text you his number. I’m sure if he can fit it in, he’d love to do it.”

“Thanks, Cash. We’ll see you at the wedding?” Kurt pulled into the driveway and walked around the house until the studio came into view.

“Yeah. Are you bringing Leanna?”

Kurt laughed. “That old Remington grapevine.”

“Oh, Siena made quick work of that. Burned up the cell lines. Everyone knows, and I think they expect you to bring her along.”

He heard Siena holler in the background. “It’s a big deal that Kurt has a girlfriend!”

“Tell my sister it
is
a big deal. Yeah, she’s coming with me, and thanks for texting Blue’s number. I’ll get in touch with him as soon as you send it over.” He ended the call and gazed at the studio, feeling the pieces of his heart falling into place.
No wonder I didn’t know what to do with you
.
You were waiting for Leanna.

Maybe I was, too
.

AFTER SHE ARRIVED home from the flea market, Leanna checked her email and confirmed the meeting with Daisy Chain for the twenty-eighth, the only day every member of their executive staff would be in town in the next four weeks. She fed Pepper, and for the first time, wished she had Kurt’s phone number. She’d like to hear his voice. Although that would require remembering where she left her phone. She took out her notepad and wrote
find phone
across the top of the page.

“Ready to get to work?” Jenna walked into the cottage armed with her iPad, a notebook, and a six-pack of wine coolers.

“As ready as I can be, I think.”

“Hey, girlies.” Amy held the door open for Bella; each of them carried their laptop and a plastic wineglass. “We’re ready to work, Leanna. Just tell us what you need.”

“You guys are the best. Let’s set up outside, though. That way we can scarf the Internet from Clark and Vanessa’s cottage. Their connection is so much stronger than mine.” She set her computer on the table, and Pepper settled down in the corner of the deck. Leanna couldn’t wait to tell them about her decision to move in with Kurt, and she knew just how she wanted to reveal her news.

“I made a list.” Jenna pulled out a notebook.

“Of course you did.” Bella rolled her eyes.

“Someone had to.” Jenna poured a wine cooler into her plastic cup.

“I made one, too.” Leanna pulled up her list, and the girls looked over her shoulder while she put a slash through the items she’d already taken care of.

Figure out where I want to live in the fall! Cape?
New York/Cape Cod!

Kurt?
Definitely!

Product list

Ingredient list

Delivery timetable

Backup generator? Cost? Facility cost? Share space? Check out bakeries?

Talk to an attorney about contracts and insurance liabilities

Employees?

“New York and Cape Cod?” Before Leanna could answer, Bella screamed. “New York and Cape Cod? Oh my God. You and Kurt? Leanna!”

Jenna and Amy shrieked, and they wrapped her into a group hug.

“I was just about to tell you.” She couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “I’m moving in with Kurt after the summer.”

Jenna and Amy squealed again.

“Oh my God. You’re really moving to New York? With Kurt?” Bella held Leanna’s forearm. “You and Kurt Remington? That gorgeous creature who looks at you like you were dropped from the clouds just for him? Holy crap, Leanna. I thought you were the
unlucky
Seaside girl!” She wrapped her arms around Leanna again and squeezed so tightly that Leanna had to push free just to breathe.

“I know.” Leanna shook her head. “I can’t believe it either. I know it’s crazy fast, but it feels so right! I feel like even if everything fell apart tomorrow, as long as we were together, everything would still be perfect.”

“I want that.” Amy leaned across the table. “Please tell me he knows about your penchant for laundry piles.”

Leanna laughed. “I haven’t hidden a thing. I’m sure we’ll both have to make concessions. I mean, he’s already accepted Pepper. He wouldn’t even smile at him when we first met, and I can’t believe he’s taking time away from his writing for us. But he is, and he says it’s what he wants.” She took a sip of her wine cooler. “Maybe my luck is changing. Speaking of which, if we don’t get to work, we’ll be at it all night.”

“From what I’ve seen, you’re good at going at it all night.” Bella raised her cup. “To Leanna and Kurt.”

They all clinked glasses. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, Leanna silently thanked God that she had Bella, Amy, and Jenna in her life. When she thought of the people who would always be there for her, they were the only ones who came to mind. She never thought anyone else outside of her family could measure up to the safety and love that her friends gave her unconditionally, and now that she’d met and fallen in love with Kurt, she knew just how wrong she’d been. And how lucky she was.

“Wait. Are you getting married or just living in sinful pleasure?” Amy asked.

“Marriage? Sinful pleasure, thank you very much.”
Marriage?
She had trouble moving past the idea, but she pushed herself to focus. “Can you believe it? I’m so excited that I can barely stand it.”

“Lea, you’ll live close to me! We can get together during the year. New York and Connecticut aren’t far apart.” Bella hugged her again.

“I know. The whole thing has my heart going crazy.
He
has my heart going crazy.”

“That’s what love is,” Amy said as she patted Leanna’s hand. “Enjoy every second of it, so we can envy you.”

“Oh, I plan to.” Leanna let out a loud breath.  “Okay, we need to focus because I can talk about Kurt all night. Come on. Let’s get Sweet Treats off the ground so I’m not a moocher, too.” She pointed to the list on her computer. “Jenna, I put together the product and ingredient lists. Can you make them organized and presentable? I really stink at that.”

Jenna saluted. “Aye, aye, Captain. I’ve got this.”

“Bella, I know nothing about brochures or anything like that. Maybe we can work together to figure out something?” Leanna took an elastic hairband from her wrist and put her hair up in a ponytail. “That’s better. It was a little warm.”

“I was looking at facilities, and they’re superexpensive, Leanna.” Amy pulled up a website on her computer. “I was thinking that you could just sublet someplace for a few months, or work from your cottage, and if you need a backup power source, I looked into a few generators. Your place is so small that you wouldn’t need much. It might run you a couple grand, but at least you wouldn’t be locked into a lease.”

“I was actually thinking along the same lines. If I’ll be in New York in the fall, then I don’t really need another facility. I can work from the cottage in the summer and find a place in New York in the fall if I have to. We don’t lose power in the summers. Ever.” She sat back and blew out a breath. “Do you guys think I’m nuts? I mean, I want this to work so badly. I love what I’m doing, and next summer I’ll do the flea market in Dennis, too, which is during the week, so that works out perfectly.”

“Next year you won’t need to make jam.” Jenna looked up from her keyboard as she typed. “You’ll be married to a wealthy writer.”

“Married?”
Married!
“I’m not getting married, but even if I were, I’d still want to make jam for as long as I’m enjoying it. I can’t sit around and do nothing.” She shot a look at Jenna. “Married?”

“Probably. Don’t you think?” Amy nodded in agreement. “Jenna said every article she read about Kurt mentioned how important family was to him.”

“That’s right.” Jenna drank her wine cooler. “The article on the Huff Post said that he and his family get together every month for family dinners. I think that’s so sweet. I mean really, how many attractive, single guys make time like that for their family?”

“None that I know. I guess it’s a good thing Leanna’s going to move in with him. It would probably be hard to get him to move away from his family if they’re that close. And then you have the whole, is he a mama’s boy thing to worry about.” Bella stared intently at her laptop. “I’m working on a great logo idea for you.”

“Thanks, Bella.” Leanna ran her finger in circles on the table. “Should I worry that he’s a mama’s boy? I mean, I don’t know his family, but he sure doesn’t seem like one.”

“There’s one sure test.” Bella met Leanna’s gaze. “Mama’s boys have sex one way. Missionary, in a bed. That’s it. At least that’s been my experience.”

Amy went into the cottage and came back out with a bag of pretzels. “You know, I think you might be right about missionary-style sex and mama’s boys. Even nice guys like to taste the fruits of our loins once in a while, but mama’s boys...”

Leanna burst out laughing. “Fruits of our loins?”

“You know what I mean. Mama’s boys don’t do that. They’re all repressed and afraid their mothers will tell them they’re being dirty.” Amy leaned in close. “So, is he a mama’s boy?”

“No! God. He’s anything but a mama’s boy by your standards.”

“Ha! You owe me ten bucks.” Bella held out her hand.

“You bet on him?” Leanna ran her eyes between Amy and Bella.

“Not me. I pegged him as a down-and-dirty boy under the sheets,” Jenna said as she primly tucked her hair behind her ear.

Bella raised her hand. “Me too. Total alpha in the bedroom was my guess.”

“That’s not fair.” Amy crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t say he was a mama’s boy. I said he seemed refined and that guys who were refined weren’t as adventurous as other guys.”

“Well, my dear Amy, you’re sorely mistaken. I happen to have an adventurous, refined, alpha hottie who doesn’t mind that my rhythm is off or that I have piles of clothes on the floor and can’t clean worth shit. And you know what?” She finished her wine cooler. “I have no idea what he sees in me. I’m so flaky and he’s so not.”

“You are not flaky. You love life. You don’t settle for things that don’t make you happy, but you’re definitely not flaky.” Amy handed Leanna a pretzel. “Eat a pretzel and let’s get this stuff done. He knows he’s lucky to be with you, as he should.”

Leanna put her head on Amy’s shoulder. “See why I love you guys? You’ll totally lie to me when I need you to.”

They spent the next few hours hammering out product and ingredient lists, brochures and order forms, and Amy even came up with an outline for a delivery schedule. Amy also offered to go with her to the print shop as soon as Leanna had finalized all of the documents.

“Thank you. I want to go over everything with Kurt, too. He might have some ideas. Bella, this logo is perfect. How did you come up with the idea for the grapevine interlaced with the Sweet Treats? I love how you put Luscious Leanna’s arched over it, too. It’s simple and elegant.”

“I’m glad you like it. It just came to me as we were talking.” Bella pointed to a few other examples she came up with.

“I love the first one. It’s clever and clean, and with Luscious Leanna’s in the title, it’s sexy, too, and sexy sells.” Jenna stood and stretched, wiggling as she tugged at the bottom of her shorts. “Are you guys hungry? Want to go out for pizza?”  

“Starved. I’m not sure when Kurt is going to be here, and I don’t have his phone number. Not that I know where my phone is.”
Where is that damn thing?
“Why don’t I drive over just to touch base with him and then I can meet you guys? Where are we going?”

“Let’s take one car. We’ll stop by Kurt’s—unless you plan on dragging his ass into bed, in which case we’ll take two cars. I can drive,” Bella offered.

“I’m not dragging his ass into bed. Jeez, Bella. I’ve had more sex in the past week than I’ve had in the past two years.” Leanna grabbed a sweatshirt from in the house and leashed Pepper. “Grab your sweatshirts and we can all meet at Bella’s in a few minutes.”

Bella drove to Kurt’s house, and when she pulled up in the driveway, they all got out with Leanna.

“Are you shitting me?” Bella whispered. “This is gorgeous.”

“I’m never leaving,” Jenna said as she headed up to the front door.

Leanna followed Pepper down the path toward the back of the house. “Come on, you guys. He’ll be out on the deck writing.”

They found Kurt on the deck, shirtless and writing, with an empty coffee cup beside his computer. Pepper made a beeline for him.

“Hey, Pep.” Kurt’s eyes remained trained on the computer, and his fingers never stopped typing.

“If it isn’t the Seaside girls. Did you
all
miss me?”

“How did you know we call ourselves that? I missed you something awful.” Leanna bent to kiss his cheek. He turned into the kiss and met her lips with his own.

“I didn’t know, but the name fit. I’ve missed you, too. You look adorable.” He tugged on the bottom of her sweatshirt.

“Thanks. We’re heading out for pizza, and I wanted to see when you thought you might be done.” It was breezier by the ocean than it was inland. The sound of the waves was soothing, and Pepper claimed his place by Kurt’s feet.

“I’ve got another few hours, I think.” Kurt stopped typing and smiled at Leanna. “I’m sorry, but this deadline is coming up so fast. I didn’t realize it was due in less than two weeks. I really need to put in a few hours. Go have fun. If it gets too late, I’ll just stay here.”

“No, you don’t need to do that. I don’t mind if you come over late.” She couldn’t even imagine sleeping without him.

“Hey, Kurt, what’s that building over by the trees?” Bella asked.

“A studio. This was an artist’s home before I bought it, and that’s where he worked.” He ran his hand through his hair, then pulled Leanna down on his lap and lowered his voice. “I might be writing until eleven or so. Are you sure you still want me to come by?”

“Absolutely. That’s not late. I thought you meant, like, two in the morning.”

“Sometimes I write that late, but I’ve had a great writing day. I shouldn’t need more than a few more hours.”

“Why don’t you write in the studio?” Bella zipped up her sweatshirt.

“I prefer to write outside. I find the fresh air and the sounds of the water inspiring.” He kissed Leanna’s cheek. “You inspire me, too. I came up with a great idea for a villain for my next book. She’s a free spirit.”

“You did that? I’ve been so wrapped up in figuring out my life that I haven’t even had time to ask for details on what you’re writing. I’m sorry.” She traced a circle on his chest. “You know I don’t like thrillers, or anything creepy like that, but if you want me to, I’ll read one of your books. I do care about what you do. I hope you know that.”

 “You’re patterning a villain after Leanna?” Amy sat down at the table. “She’s the sweetest person I know. She could never be a villain.”

“I’m just borrowing a few traits of hers. It’s not really her.” He brushed Leanna’s hair from her shoulder. “You don’t have to read them. I don’t want anything to steal your happiness. Not even for a second.”

“Jesus, you two are too fricking cute.” Bella leaned against the railing and sighed.