Thankful for You (7 page)

“I guess I would.” She flipped the sign to closed and locked the door behind her. Stepping out onto the street, she sniffed the brisk autumn breeze. “I love this time of year. Not thrilled with shoveling snow, or baking in 90 percent humidity, but you can’t beat Michigan in spring or fall.”

“No, you can’t.” Sig took her arm and waved cheerfully at passers-by with his other hand. “I have no urge to live anywhere else. Not anymore.”

“Haven must have been a fun place when you were young, with the beach and so close to Grand Rapids for shopping or concerts and so on.” She enjoyed living where she could run into a city in under an hour, but then go home to peace and quiet.

“It wasn’t bad. If I ever have kids, I’ll want to raise them here.” He looked off into the distance as he spoke.

Elsie froze in place. “So you want kids?” Her throat had gone as dry as the maple leaf drifting by her foot on the wind. Once upon a time, she’d dreamed of having a family, but she’d lost that dream somewhere along the way.

“Someday.” He shrugged. “I’m not too far from forty, so probably sooner rather than later. What about you?”

Elsie started moving again. “I doubt it. Not long-term relationship material, remember? And I have no interest in being a single mom.” She didn’t trust herself to protect a child—having failed at that so badly once before. “That’s one of the reasons I work with animals. They’re a lot easier to take care of and you don’t have to save for college.”

Sig gave her a look that said he wasn’t buying her bullshit, but he dropped the subject and instead regaled her with stories about the neighborhood. She could see him as a scrappy little boy with perpetually skinned knees. It made her long for what couldn’t be. Tonight wasn’t for regrets, though, so Elsie forced the gloom away and thought instead about how wonderful it was going to be when she got him in bed again.

That did the trick right quick. She smiled at him when he paused.

“So, what do you think?” He nodded toward a pale brick house. The glowing porch light highlighted bright green shutters and door. A few evergreen shrubs poked above the mulch in neatly-tended flower beds, and a green swing graced the wide front porch.

Now her smile wasn’t forced. “It’s beautiful. I’ve passed this house dozens of times and loved it. Especially the rhododendron bushes. You must be a fabulous gardener.” Elsie had itched to get her fingers on those flower beds. Gardening wasn’t something she could do in her space above the shop, other than a few window boxes.

He actually blushed. “Not a bit. But my mom is. She takes pity on me. Comes over now and then to tell me what to do and touch up my mistakes.”

“Well, however you manage it, it looks great. Now can I see inside?”

He nodded. “Remember, it’s not finished yet.” He led her to the porch and opened the door.

“Unlocked?”

Sig laughed. “I walked four blocks there and back. Besides, everyone on the street looks out for one another. I’m not worried.”

Yet another thing she’d never quite get used to about small town life. “Maybe if you had a big dog,” she pondered. “One that would scare away burglars before they got inside.” She stepped into the foyer, then on to the living room and forgot her train of thought. It was too late for sunlight to stream through the leaded-glass windows, but during the day, the big room would be filled with sunshine. A wide archway led to a dining room, with a marvelous built-in china cabinet and a big cherry wood table.

“There’s a little bathroom there, if you want to wash your hands before we eat.” Sig pointed to a door beneath the stairs, which had probably once led to a closet. “Be careful, the paint on the shoe and crown molding might still be tacky.”

“I doubt I could reach the crown molding if I tried. But I’ll watch my feet.” She was touched that he’d obviously hurried to get the project done in time for her to see.

When she emerged, Sig leaned against another archway, this one leading to the kitchen. Off to the side of the dining room, pocket doors were partially open to a study. She glanced in and saw the pièce de résistance. “Oh my goodness, your fish tank!” Forgetting dinner, or even to ask if it was all right, Elsie rushed forward to look.

Dominating the back wall of the room, the wide aquarium had been built in with wood paneling to match the rest of the house. Three hundred gallons of salt water—she’d ordered the tank for him—teemed with brightly colored fish, corals, tiny crustaceans, and more. The lights in the lid gleamed enough to cast the entire room in a rippling glow, making it feel as if she were in a marine grotto instead of a house. “Sig, this is amazing. My goodness!” she marveled, watching the clownfish she’d sold him last week dart around a piece of fan coral.

“I’m glad you like it.” He stood behind her, his lips close to her ear. “You have no idea how much this has helped me readjust. Having something depending on me, something to care for—it made a huge difference in my recovery.”

“You’re giving the fish too much credit, but I’m glad they helped.” Breathless, she turned and looped her arms around the back of his neck. She lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed him, letting him feel all the pent-up sexual tension that had been building in her throughout the day.

Sig wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her, even while he was tracing her lips with his tongue. She wound her legs around his waist and held on as he moved over to sit in one of the matched pair of dark leather recliners. He sat, bringing her down onto his lap, and she rubbed her aching pussy against his erection.

“Damn, Elsie. I’d hoped to get through dinner first.” He devoured her lips, his tongue plunging deep to tangle with hers. He slid his hands under her sweatshirt, unclasped her bra, and cupped her breasts. “But oh, God, do you feel good.”

“Don’t want to wait.” She arched her breasts into his hands and pulled her sweatshirt and bra off over her head. “Will dinner keep?”

“Yeah.” He pressed her backward over his arm and took her nipple into his mouth. She cried out at the wet heat and ground against his groin again, wishing they were both out of their clothes. His touch burned her skin, his rough fingers kneading her other breast and rubbing the nipple. She could barely breathe, but she gasped his name as he sucked on her, driving her toward a peak without even taking off her pants.

“Come for me, sweetheart.” He switched his mouth to the other breast, then used his other hand on the abandoned one. Her eyes fluttered shut. He sucked harder and pinched, grinding his pelvis against hers so she could feel his hard-on through both pairs of jeans. “Come on, you know you want to.”

When he nipped her softly with his teeth behind his lips, she did, wailing his name as she hung there. The position left her feeling suspended in space, which added an element something like free-fall to what was already a powerful orgasm. She squeezed her legs tight on his, wanting him so badly it hurt.

“Good job.” He licked and stroked her gently until she could breathe again, then lifted her to her feet. “Jeans off.”

Elsie held onto his shoulders for support while he shucked off her jeans and underwear. She’d kicked off her sneakers sometime before, but didn’t remember doing it. Then Sig shoved his own pants and boxers down to his knees, threw his flannel shirt onto the seat of the recliner, and sat, pulling her back above him, straddling his hips. Rubbing the tip of his cock with her wet pussy, Elsie licked her lips.

Sig groaned. “Shit. Rubber’s in my pocket.”

She backed away while he fumbled in his jeans and sheathed himself, then she poised herself again.

With a wicked grin, Sig reached over the edge and reclined the chair with a thump, so he lay stretched out beneath her. They both laughed—a first for Elsie. Sex had never been playful before, and she decided from now on, she was going to treat it that way. Sex ought to be fun, damn it. She wiggled her ass to torture Sig as she slowly impaled herself on his straining shaft.

“You fit me like a fucking glove,” he murmured, tangling a hand in her hair to pull her down for a kiss. “All hot and wet and so damned tight, I’m already about to burst.”

“Ah, come on, Nowicki,” she teased. “You’re better than that aren’t you?” She moved at a slow, sensual pace, loving the feeling of fullness, of
rightness
that she’d only ever experienced with Sig. He played with her nipples, already tender from the first round, and soon she was rocking furiously, moaning every time he lifted his hips to thrust into her. She peaked again, screaming this time as sparks flashed in her vision. Sig clamped both arms around her ass, holding her to him while he pumped deep into her, moaning her name.

For long moments, they lay in a sweaty heap on the recliner, both too limp to move. Sometime later, they both washed quickly in the tiny powder room. Then, her limbs still rubbery, Elsie pulled her clothes back on, minus socks and bra, and followed him into a beautiful kitchen, modern with stainless steel and granite, but with all the charm of the rest of the house. An antique enamel worktable and two chairs nestled in a window-filled breakfast nook, with a stack of books littering it as if he’d just stepped away from reading.

Warm, rich scents of baking bread and roasted vegetables filled her nostrils. “Something smells amazing.”

He used what looked like welding gloves to pull a casserole out of the lower drawer on his high-tech oven. “You said you didn’t eat a lot of meat, so tonight’s meal is vegetarian, though not totally vegan. The bread has eggs and milk in it and I crumbled some goat cheese in the salad.”

“Perfect. I do eat meat once or twice a week. I loved the salmon they had last night at the dinner. There were a few years, though, when I had to scrimp for every penny. During that time, I discovered that rationing out beef or chicken made my budget stretch a lot further. After a while, I didn’t miss it.” She looked at the cluttered table. “Do you usually eat in here or the dining room?”

“Here. But I thought we’d use the dining room tonight.” He gestured with his head since his hands were still full of the fragrant casserole.

“You don’t have to impress me, Sig. I’m fine with the kitchen.” She stacked a few of the books and moved them to a vacant spot on the counter. “Now, where are the plates?”

With a wry grin, he set the dish down on the work table. “That cupboard.” He tapped one on his way back to the stove. This time he pulled out a loaf of homemade bread. Her mouth watered at the aroma and her stomach rumbled. He placed the bread on a cutting board while she set out plates and salad bowls. “Wine, beer, or soda?”

“A little wine, if you have it.” She checked the table again to be sure they had everything then took her seat while he poured from a fresh bottle of something pink.

He sat across from her and lifted his glass. “To beginnings.”

“And to friendship,” she added, reminding him of their arrangement. It wouldn’t do to get too used to this, no matter how right it felt sharing a meal with him at the kitchen table.

“There’s all kinds of friendship. My parents were best friends until the day my dad died. That was only one of the ways they loved each other.” He sipped his wine. “Now, eat. I had to call and beg my sister for her ratatouille recipe, so here’s hoping I got it right.”

She tried a bite and closed her eyes in bliss. “You did. This is amazing.” So was the salad, and even the bread. “Everything else and you cook, too. Anyone ever tell you you’re an overachiever?”

He shrugged. “I look at you and think the same thing. Your touch with the animals is exceptional. You’ve built a successful business in a place where a lot of non-locals are looked on with suspicion. You’ve won over nearly everyone in town. On top of that, you’re one of the most effortlessly beautiful women I’ve ever met.”

“Thanks.” The way he said it, not with flattery, but as a simple statement of fact convinced her that he meant it. She blinked and sucked in a ragged breath. He honestly did find her girl-next-door looks attractive.

“Anyway, here’s my proposition for tonight. We trade questions. I ask one, you answer. If you don’t, you have to pay a forfeit.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a comic leer. “Then it’s your turn to ask me anything you want.”

She peered at him over the rim of her wineglass. “What kind of forfeit are we talking about?”

“We’ll start with kisses. How’s that?” He kept eating while he talked. It had to take a lot of fuel to keep all that muscle mass going.

Of course, sex had given her an appetite, too. “I can live with that, but I’m going first. How did you get the name Sigmund? It isn’t very common in our generation.”

He wrinkled his nose. “My great-grandfather. When I was little, my folks would tell me they named me after a sea monster on a Saturday morning kids’ show.”

“Ow. That was mean.” He’d probably realized they were joking.

“Yeah, well.” He shrugged. “How about you? Elsie isn’t very common either, unless you’re a cow.”

She stuck her tongue out. “Gee, I haven’t heard that joke since grade school. Actually, my name is Elsbeth. Also after an ancestor. I went by Beth when I was younger, to avoid the cow jokes. When I moved here, I wanted a new start, so I began using Elsie.” Now what to ask, before he dug any further into that subject. “How old were you when your dad died?”

“Sixteen. He was a trucker, killed by a drunk driver when he swerved to avoid her on an icy road.” Memories flickered in his eyes, but she could tell he’d come to terms with his loss.

“I’m sorry, Sig.”

He smiled. “Thanks. Now, tell me about your family. You’ve never mentioned any of them, not once. Where are your parents?”

She sucked in a deep breath. “I never met my dad. My mom never told me who he was. She passed away when I was in college. No siblings.” She added that last answer for free.

“I’m sorry for your loss, too.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Your turn.”

“Why did you buy your parents’ house and restore it instead of buying something new?”

“That’s an easy one.” He cut a slice of bread. “I love this place. The lines, the workmanship, the layout. I like living close to downtown. My whole life, I thought the house would be perfect if
this
was fixed and
that
was modernized. It’s a challenge, but it was also an anchor when I first got home and my head wasn’t in a very good place. So why did you pick Haven?”