Rock Your Body: A BWWM Romance (27 page)

“Hi, Larry,” Sophie said.

Suddenly the sullen teenager was gone.

“Hello, Sophie,” Larry said.

“I have to go start my homework? You staying for dinner?”

“I brought dinner,” he said.

“Pizza?”

“No, something else, but I think you’ll like it.”

“Okay.”

She bounced off into the house. Kelly eyed him.

“I figured since I already met Sophie that it might be okay to have dinner with you two. And I brought dinner.”

She cocked her head. She couldn’t be mad at him so she smiled. “What did you bring?”

“It’s a surprise.” He walked closer to her. “Will your daughter be traumatized if I kissed you?”

Kelly wanted to kiss him back so she wasn’t sure her answer was true or self-serving. “No.”

So he kissed her. A sweet brush of his lips. “Let me get the bags.”

“I can carry something.”

“No, I’m good. How was your day?”

He hefted two paper bags into his arms then fell into step beside her.

“Okay until I had to listen to my daughter whine about why I should let her come to Colin’s benefit concert.”

“You don’t think she’ll be safe?”

“No and I can’t keep an eye on her and do my job.”

“What about this. I can keep an eye on her. There’s really nothing I can do to keep Colin safe. I could keep Sophie with me and that will free you up,” Larry said.

“And you get to be the hero with my daughter.”

“That is a nice side benefit.”

She held open her front door for him.

“Why you trying so hard?”

“Because I really like you, Kelly. And Sophie is part of the package. If she likes me, all the better.”

He followed her into her kitchen. Kelly motioned that he could put his bags on the counter. His answer made her think about him more. Where was this going? Was she intending this to be serious?

Why not? What did she have to lose? Larry was a great guy.

CHAPTER 22

Larry held his breath. He didn’t know Kelly’s intentions, but he knew his. This was why he’d come out of Manhattan on a
weeknight
and brought food. This was why he wanted Sophie to like him. This was why he was trying so hard.

He really liked Kelly and wanted her to like him back. Sounded so high school, but it really was that simple. He wanted more from Kelly than he’d ever wanted from anyone before this.

Even with Sophie as part of the package and the added baggage of an ex-husband. None of that mattered. He didn’t see any of it as obstacles. Just part of what he needed to deal with.

“That was very honest. Just so you know, I need to take things slowly if this is more than a fling.”

He kissed her nose. “I’m fine with that. Now, I have some things that I need to heat in the oven.”

She pointed to her oven. “I’m getting out of these clothes. I’ll be right back.”

Larry busied himself putting the various containers into the oven to warm up. The trip had been longer than he thought it would and the food had gone a little cold. He hummed as he worked, happy to be in a house with Kelly.

With the woman he loved. That made him stop. He did love her.

“Something smells good,” Sophie said from the doorway.

“Did you finish your homework?”

“No, but I’m too hungry to work.”

He pulled a breadstick out of the oven. “Here. Munch on that while you wait.”

“Garlicky. It’s good.”

Sophie took another bite then set the table. Kelly came in and eyed her daughter as if they’d just met. “Thanks Sophie.”

“The sooner the table is set, the sooner we eat.”

“It’s going to take a few minutes to heat up,” Larry said. “I can’t make it go any faster.”

Sophie shrugged. “Then I’ll take my breadstick and do some more work.”

“She likes you,” Kelly said when her daughter was out of earshot.

“Good. I hope her mother does, too.”

“How can I dislike someone who brings me dinner on a busy night that we might have eaten cereal instead?”

“Cold cereal?” Larry said.

“Yep.”

“Then I’ve saved the day.”

He took her in his arms.

“I guess you have.”

“Think about what I said about Colin’s benefit concert. I don’t mind keeping Sophie with me.”

“I’ll think about it.”

***

Colin woke in the middle of the night, the day before his concert. Tamra wasn’t in his bed. He pulled on some boxers then left his bedroom to find her.

She was in the kitchen, in front of her laptop. She’d put on one of his shirts and some shorts. He paused in the doorway, his love for her welling up in his heart. She was so beautiful and she had no idea. Maybe that made her more beautiful.

He must have made a noise because she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Hi. Did I wake you?”

“No, my missing you woke me up.”

She smiled. “I’m just going over our plan for tomorrow one more time.”

“You don’t think you’ve done that often enough? You can’t change anything now.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

He came up behind her and put his arms around her middle, his head resting on her back. “I’m sure we can think of something more interesting to do than to go over plans that are as foolproof as they ever will be.”

“I can’t help but feel we’ve missed something.”

“You haven’t. The only thing we didn’t get to do was a dry run.  We’ll be fine. We’ll be back here at the end of the concert, celebrating success.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“I just am. Now shut down that laptop and come back to bed. I need some loving.”

“You need some sex.”

“Same thing. And you need it too to get back to sleep.”

She did as he asked then he took her hand and led her back to his bedroom. She went willingly. Tomorrow would be pivotal. If his stalker was caught, then Tamra’s job would be done. He had to convince her that she needed to stay in his life. In his bed. In his house.

He wanted her wherever he was. How much should they talk about it? He didn’t want to scare her off.

On the other hand, he didn’t want her to leave.

“Let’s take a bath. I’ll wash your hair,” he said.

“That sounds nice.”

He left her to undress in the bedroom to run the bath water. Not too hot. Just right. He put in some bubble bath. Tamra entered the bathroom naked. She’d become more comfortable doing that around him and he was grateful.

She had an amazing body.

“You want some wine?”

“No, thanks.”

She slid into the water, her eyes closing as she did.

“Okay temperature?”

“Perfect.”

He shucked off his boxers then joined her. He shifted her so that she was sitting between his legs and leaning against him. He kept a plastic cup in the bathroom for just his occasion.

He loved to wash a woman’s hair. From what he gathered, they liked it also.

“Was Bruce around when you got up?”

“Yes. He went out to check the perimeter.”

“Diligent.”

“He’s one of the best and I charmed him away from a competitor,” she said.

He poured water over Tamra’s hair. She shifted her head back and he poured again.

“Do you have much competition in your market?”

“Only a few companies, most of them started by former soldiers.  Some of them had been mercenaries or had worked in private security firms overseas. Bruce had done that and retired to a job here. Then I snatched him.”

“You’re clearly proud of that.”

“I am.”

He poured some shampoo into his hand, rubbed it into a lather then smeared her hair with it. He moved the lather around then massaged her scalp with his fingers.

“Mm.  You keep doing that and I’ll be at your beck and call.”

“Is that all it takes? I would have done this so much sooner.”

She laughed, but didn’t move from under his hands.

***

What Colin’s fingers were doing to her were glorious. Her whole body tingled and this was non-sexual contact. How did he do that?

“What did you do before you and Kelly started this business?”

She wasn’t sure she could concentrate on his questions, but she would try. “Uh, I was in security before this. For a smaller company than what we have now. We provided security for events, not specific people.”

“And Kelly approached you?”

“She did. We were roommates in college and we never lost touch. After her divorce, she wanted something with more flexibility and to get out of the field more. I’m still willing to do the
fieldwork
. No kids or spouse.”

“I see.”

She couldn’t have opened her eyes if she’d been on fire. His fingers had her enthralled. She shouldn’t be surprised. His fingers other places usually had her attention. “I was ready to make the leap out of my job and the rest is history.”

“And now you’re in my bathtub, getting your hair washed.”

“By an expert, I might add.”

He chuckled. “I’m good at other things, too.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“Now that I have you under my spell, I want to talk to you about something.”

Sounded serious, but she wasn’t moving. That felt too good on her scalp. “Okay.”

“Assuming you all catch my stalker, I know your job is done.”

“Uh, huh.”

Where was he going with this?

“I want to make it clear that I want you to stay here with me. Even after the job is done. I want you to be part of my life.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. He’d made his feelings pretty clear and she couldn’t  think of an argument against it. “Uh, okay.”

“Don’t sound so thrilled.”

“I’m a little boneless here from what your fingers are doing to me.”

“But you want to stay?”

She did. She hadn’t thought about it until that moment, but she did want to stay. That scared her. “Let’s just get through tomorrow and then we can talk.”

He sighed. “Okay. I’ll take it. You didn’t outright reject me.”

“No, I didn’t.”

***

Colin would take it. A baby step, but an important one at that. “Let’s go to bed.”

He dried her off, then wrapped her in the towel.

“I love that towel heater.”

“It is nice. I’ll have to get one for my house.”

“Which one?”

He laughed. “All of them including the penthouse.”

He stood next to her at the bed. She dropped the towel, then put her arms around his neck. He liked that she was so eager.

He captured her lips in a kiss. She tasted like nectar. Her arms around him warmed him. He put her down on the bed then rested between her thighs. “I will never get tired of making love to you.”

She smiled up at him. “Then let’s get going.”

“Foreplay is there for a reason, madam.”

“To torture me?”

He chuckled, then slid down her body to pay homage to her center. He could stay there forever. He licked and sucked, and her body tensed, then her back arched. She came. He had made her come and that would never get old for him.

Her eyes were half closed when he slid himself back up her body.  “Good?”

“Mm.”

He entered her slowly, enjoying the sweet torture of being surrounded by her. If he could just pound into her he would, but then it would all be over. Why race to the finish line?

His rhythm was slow and she moved her body to meet his strokes. She gripped his shoulders, but he wasn’t going any faster.

“God, Colin.”

“I know.”

He did his best to think of something mundane, but her moaning and writhing beneath him was too much. She finally dug her nails into his back and that was his permission to let loose.

His body exploded as he came inside of her. As if every nerve ending was on fire. Not a bad feeling at all. Just intense and he almost couldn’t move.

He rested on his elbows, watching her slowly open her eyes to him. She smiled. “You are really good at that.”

“We’re good at that. It’s both of us.”

He caught his breath finally. He brushed a hair out of her face, wanting to memorize it in case she didn’t stay.

***

Larry picked up Sophie from her high school. She waved to her friends and then slid into his car. He bet she was gaining some kind of cachet with her friends. And probably getting noticed by others also. He did drive a Maserati. Most of those kids probably had no idea what that was.

Larry had to laugh at the shallowness of high school. He wouldn’t go back if you paid him.

“How was your day?”

She glanced at him. “Okay.”

“Any test today?”

“You sound like my Dad. And my Mom.”

“Okay. Sorry. I’m neither of those, but I’m still an adult and can’t really be your friend.”

She eyed him as he pulled away from the curb. “You’re trying really hard.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“Because I really like your Mom.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, I do and it’ll be easier on all of us if you like me.”

“So I hold some power.”

“Not as much as you think. Don’t get cocky.”

Sophie laughed and it reminded Larry of Kelly.  There was a lot of Kelly in Sophie as far as he could tell. They both were strong women and he liked that. He wasn’t any knight in shining armor and Kelly was no damsel in distress. He bet if she wanted to, she could kick his ass.

“But I hold some power because I’m going to this concert despite my mother’s concerns.”

“You are going to this concert because I volunteered to keep an eye on you. You screw this up, I won’t do that again.”

“Fair enough.” She looked out the window for a moment. “Colin says I should wait to get into show business until I’m older. What do you think?”

This was a mine field waiting to happen. “I agree with Colin. It’s a tough business and you need a certain amount of maturity to deal with it.”

Sophie frowned. “Not what I expected you to say.”

“I’m interested in your mother and I’m not going against what she wants in this case. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“Understood.”

“You should just enjoy your time today and see it for the gift it is. And remember who brought it to you.”

“And how exactly do you want me to help you?”

“I don’t need your help, Sophie. I’ve been romancing women for years. What I do want is to make it easy for your mother to be with me.”

“Do you love her?”