Sweet Nothings (19 page)

When he’d agreed to a sex-only relationship with her, he’d known there was no way he could stick to it, not completely. It was Joanie. She was sweet. Fun. Sexy. And she brightened a room just by walking into it. How was he not supposed to fall for that?

Plus, in the back of his mind he’d told himself she couldn’t stick to not caring for him either. She was too open and honest to be able to keep such a distance.

But at her blatant rejection of Bobcat, he’d had to question his initial thoughts. The way she’d backed away from them, one would think he’d been holding out a snake instead of an eight-week-old kitten. What had she said?

She didn’t do pets?

That was bull. She’d played with Cat every time she’d been over here. There had been evidence she’d done the same the night before while he’d
been out, too. He’d left before she’d arrived, heading to the Bungalow for dinner to try to figure out how he wanted to proceed. When he’d returned, he’d found the feather toy he’d picked up for Bob lying on the floor as if she’d been sitting there playing with him.

But the way she’d backed away from the two of them at her place had indicated that whether she liked animals or not, she had no intention of getting attached to one. Fine. He liked cats. He could always use another. He wasn’t afraid of getting attached to them at all.

It had just been a small gift, for heaven’s sake. Cats weren’t even hard to take care of. It had seemed the thing to do, both as an apology for his behavior with Gina, and as a… well, just as a gift. He liked giving people things. Especially people he cared about.

He caught sight of her climbing from her small car and his breath hitched in his throat. She was dressed in all yellow today. It was Thursday, cupcake van day, and apparently she’d decided not to change before coming over. He smiled, appreciating the thought, and hurried down the stairs. He opened the front door before she hit the porch.

“I’m guessing you smell like lemons today.” God, she looked good.

She stopped, glanced down at herself and then back up at him, and gave him a slow, appreciative smile. “You noticed.”

He’d noticed everything about her.

“You always smell like your theme. What’s the flavor of the week? Lemon pie?”

“Lemon tart.” She grinned and held the bakery box up, and began climbing the steps toward him. “I brought you some.”

“I see that.” He hoped she’d brought him some more of what he’d gotten a taste of the other night, too. Even if she was able to keep her emotions out of it, he couldn’t say no if the offer was still on the table. He guessed he was an idiot like that.

He took the bag of food from her when she passed in front of him, and he breathed in her scent. It was so intoxicating it almost made him dizzy. “Too big a hurry to change before coming over?” he teased.

Not that he was complaining. She could wear those go-go outfits every
day of the week and he’d be a happy man. Except for knowing that the rest of the town’s population of men would be just as happy.

That dimmed his ardor.

He closed the door and followed her in, watching her walk in front of him and smiling when Bob and Cat both came over and wound themselves welcomingly through her ankles. She squatted in the middle of the room and scratched each of them behind the ears until they purred. She was
so
a pet person. He’d known he hadn’t imagined that.

“I have a change of clothes in the car,” she said. “You didn’t come to the shop today.”

Laughter burst from him. He loved her lack of subtlety. “You wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the show? Not that I’m saying you should have changed, mind you. I’m quite enjoying the view.”

She peered up at him over her shoulder, her lids heavy, and flicked her gaze quickly over his body before returning her attention to the animals. “Maybe I’m just making sure you see what you missed.”

He crossed to stand behind her, purposely getting into her space. “Does that mean I’ve missed my chance?”

Getting entangled with her was not a good idea. He knew he couldn’t keep it light. Just as he knew she had every intention of making it nothing but.

She finally finished with the cats and stood facing him, not bothering to put distance between them. Though she was still a good six inches shorter in her boots, it felt as if she was right in his face. He wanted her closer.

“I guess that depends on you.” Her tone was telling. She moved away before he could either say anything or reach out and grab her, and set the box of cupcakes down on the seat of the recliner. Then she peeled off yellow gloves he hadn’t even noticed. It was darned near the sexiest move he’d ever seen. He was in way too deep with this woman, but he was fine with it. He wanted to drown in her.

Once she had the gloves off, he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the front windows toward the kitchen. He was tired of the dance. He wanted her. Now.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he set the food down on the table and continued pulling her across the room. “I thought we were going to eat.”

She’d called earlier to make sure he would be home, offering to pick up dinner and bring it over since she would be working tonight. It had made him wonder if she’d been annoyed when she’d shown up last night and hadn’t found him at the house. Had she wanted to make sure he stayed in?

He hoped so. He liked the idea that she was thinking about him when he wasn’t around.

When he had her in front of the kitchen counter, the new stainless steel stove top to one side and the built-in oven to the other, he finally answered her. “I wanted to show you something.”

She looked around and her eyes lit up. “You got the new appliances put in.”

He gripped her by the waist and hoisted her, plopping her on the top of the granite. She let out a breathy “oh” as he stepped between her legs.

“I installed the new counters, too,” he said. “Do you like them?”

She wiggled her rear back and forth. “I do. They’re very…” She lowered her gaze to his crotch. “Hard.”

“You’re evil.” His hands found her thighs. He’d been itching to touch them since he’d walked out of her house the other night carrying her cat. He rubbed his thumbs back where they lay against her legs and she slowly lifted her gaze to his. “We could still change our minds,” he said.

The gray of her eyes deepened. “I think I owe you one.”

“You don’t owe me anything, sweetness.” He gripped her behind the knees and tugged her closer, hitching her skirt up and spreading her legs wide around his hips. The tops of white stockings showed beneath the hem of her skirt and his heart skipped a beat.

Her smile made his jeans completely uncomfortable.

He grasped the bottom of her pale yellow sweater and slowly began to lift it over her head, the blood roaring in his ears as he did. She locked her gaze to his and raised her arms, letting him do as he pleased. When he had the top off, he tossed it behind him. Her small, firm breasts were now
displayed, plumped up in a pretty half-cup yellow bra, and he couldn’t care less about whether her sweater picked up sawdust from the floor where it fell or not.

“I’m kind of small,” her voice was soft. He lifted his gaze, finding hers not quite meeting his, and he believed it was the first time he’d seen her exhibit any amount of shyness.

He reached out and cupped a breast in his hand. “You’re amazing,” he said. He gave a small squeeze, enjoying it when her breathing picked up and her top teeth clamped down on her lip. “I’ve been dreaming of touching you like this.”

She wiggled forward another inch and slipped her fingers inside the waistband of his jeans. He sucked in a breath when she grazed over the top of him. “I can say the same thing about you,” she whispered.

Ignoring her wandering fingers as best he could, he focused back on his task. Her skin was a smooth, light cream, and he wanted to taste every square inch of it. He reached behind her and unhooked her bra and let out a low growl as the straps slid slowly off her shoulders. She put both palms over her to keep the garment from falling to her lap.

The mischievousness he liked so much looked up at him then and he felt another kink in his armor go. He was screwed.

“I think you should take your shirt off before I let this fall.”

“You do, huh?” He grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and ripped it over his head. “No problem.”

He tossed the shirt in the same general vicinity as hers, feeling his chest expand as she took him in with her eyes. There was nothing to compare with a hot woman looking at him the way she was. As if she wanted to have him for dinner
and
breakfast, and then do it all over again.

He focused on her hands. “Your turn.”

The bra fell to her lap and he lost all ability to think.

They reached for each other simultaneously. Him capturing a breast in each palm, and her running the tips of her fingers over the terrain of his chest. He scraped the pad of a thumb over one nipple and her spine arched.

“I like that,” she breathed out the words. “I’m pretty sensitive there.”

He flicked over her again and she moaned. It was a soft “oh” sound that came with a hot breath. “That’s going to make this a whole lot of fun, because I happen to be a fan of this spot.”

He leaned in and closed over one nipple, sucking it deep into his mouth, and she pushed out further toward him. His hand worked her other breast, alternating between gentle squeezes and tweaks, as her body practically vibrated against his.

Her hands fell to his waistband, where she gripped the denim, and he stroked his tongue against her, noticing that she somehow managed to taste like lemons as well as smell like them. He gave a moan of his own when she lifted her legs to clamp around his waist. The movement put her flush against him.

“Oh shit, Jo.” His words didn’t sound like his own. “I’m trying to do this right, but you’re so…” He trailed off as she dug her heels into his ass and ground herself hard against his jeans. She’d come the other night by doing exactly that, and though it had been the hottest thing he’d ever seen, he wanted a piece of that action tonight.

Lowering his hands, he went for the waistband of her skirt, searching around until he found a zipper, then jerked at it until it would go no farther. He pushed the material off her hips, grateful as she lifted herself up so he could tug it below her butt, and equally happy when his hand slid over bare cheeks while doing so.

“Another thong?” he guessed.

She nodded. “Always.”

Hell
. Her underwear was going to kill him.

“We’re leaving it on,” he said.

She lowered her legs and helped him get the skirt past her feet, then went to work on his zipper while he fumbled in his back pocket for his wallet.

“There’s a condom in here somewhere,” he muttered, trying to keep focused long enough to complete the act before he looked back at the woman sitting practically naked in front of him.

“Hurry,” she whispered. She had his jeans open and was pulling him out into her soft, seeking hands.

When he got the packet freed, she threw the wallet to the floor and took over.

“Hurry,” she whispered again, almost as if she were telling herself this time since she was the one now in control.

His breath hissed as she finished the act, her hand fitting snugly over him for brief seconds, and only then did he let himself fully take her in.

She was gloriously naked from the waist up. Her breasts flushed, dark nipples perky and begging for his touch, and blond curls wild around her face. Her gray eyes were slits as she seemed to be studying him just as intently. Her lips were plump and slightly parted, little pants bursting rhythmically from them.

Below the waist, she was a dream come true.

A small triangle of lemon-colored silk covered her where she met the counter, then white lace started the stockings on those long, long legs, disappearing behind the boots on their way down.

He couldn’t think of anything else in the world he would rather be doing.

When her gaze traveled back up his body, going slowly over his chest, with her fingers following reverently in their path, he couldn’t imagine wanting a woman more.

“You’re built like a freaking god,” she said, licking her lips. Her gaze finally locked on his and she wrapped those legs around him again. “Take me, Nick. Now.”

Yes. That was exactly what he was going to do. He gave her one long kiss, wanting to taste that mouth before he forgot all about it, and then he shoved the material of her panties aside and positioned his head just between her lips.

“Oh, God,” she whispered. “Crap, that already feels good.”

“You’re good for a man’s ego, sweetness.” He put his hands to her rear, gripped and lifted her just the tiniest amount, and then he plunged. He buried himself. And he almost died with the sensations that ripped through him.

They both gasped and froze, then he pulled out and did it again. She felt insanely good.

Again, he thrust, wanting all of her. Wanting to make sure she wanted him in return.

“Nick,” she whispered. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, her head thrown back in pleasure. Her eyes were closed. “Nick,” she whispered again, not seeming to expect him to answer. “Yes. Oh, God. Yes. Nick. That feels so good.”

Shit. He wasn’t going to last a minute with the noises she was making.

He brought a hand around to touch her, determined to make sure she came before he did, and almost lost his bet when her inner muscles contracted around him. “Hurry, babe,” he whispered. “I can’t… I…
hurry
,” he growled out the last word.

He couldn’t stop pumping.

They were both wild, thrusting and grinding. He had one hand clutching the cheek of her ass, the other working furiously around front, and he could feel sweat rolling between his shoulder blades as he fought against his orgasm.

“I can’t wait.” Damn, she was too hot. “You’ve got to—”

His words were cut off by her scream and the way she stiffened in his arms. Then he quit worrying about anything else, and let go with her.