The Heat is On (5 page)

As he headed for the counter, he tried not to question his actions. This need to spend time with Savannah outside the bedroom was disconcerting enough already. He was living the dream, after al .

Hooking up with a woman who wanted nothing more than some fun between the sheets? Normal y his idea of heaven. The fact that he wanted more was too perplexing to examine deeper at the moment.

“Hey,” Savannah said absently as he approached.

“I don’t have time to get jiggy right now, Superman. I’m going over this list Annabel e emailed me about the wedding.”

He grinned at the nickname she used, which she’d come up with after he’d described some of the rescue missions he’d been involved in. He couldn’t discuss most assignments, or offer many details, but Savannah had been curious about the life of a Navy SEAL. Since she hadn’t been displaying much interest in him aside from the sexual kind, he’d jumped on the opportunity to bond. And now his heart did a dumb little flip each time she cal ed him Superman.

“I’m not here to get jiggy,” he replied cheerful y. “I’m here to take you to lunch.”

She lifted her head from the notepad, pale yel ow tresses fal ing into her eyes. “I can’t. I’m busy.”

“Tough.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You need to eat. And you can bring your work with you if you want. I can help you come up with ideas for the centerpieces.”

She gave a throaty laugh. “Oh, real y? You’re going to talk centerpieces with me?”

“Why not? Every female in the O’Connor family has a green thumb. It’s in my genes.”

Although she looked dubious, she stil pushed back her stool and hopped off. Pleasure jolted through him as he realized she’d accepted the invite. As much as he enjoyed seeing her naked, the thought of having lunch with her—with both of them ful y clothed—held a huge amount of appeal.

Again, the reaction troubled him. What the hel was going on? Normal y he wholeheartedly agreed with Savannah’s views on relationships—who needed

’em? Yet here he was, nearly coming in his pants because this sassy woman was going to eat lunch with him.

“We need to go somewhere nearby,” Savannah said as she grabbed an oversized green canvas purse and slung it over her shoulder. “I want to come back and finalize the orders for the centerpieces.”

“No problem,” he said easily.

He waited for Savannah to summon Chad from the back and ask him to watch the store, then walked ahead to hold the door open for her, admiring the way her filmy floral-print skirt swirled around her knees as she walked. He’d scouted the area on the way over and noticed a smal pizza café with an outdoor patio, which he now suggested. Savannah nodded in agreement, and they made their way down the sidewalk. Ten minutes later, they were seated on the cobblestone patio. After ordering beers and a pizza to share, Savannah pul ed her notepad from her purse and said, “Okay, let’s see your flower expertise.”

“Hit me,” he said, leaning back in the wrought-iron chair.

“The bride wants, and I quote, ‘something blue and white and sparkly, but natural looking’.” Matt burst out laughing, getting a frown from Savannah as a reward.

“Do you see why I’m so frazzled?” she said with a sigh. “I mean, can you get any
less
articulate than that?”

Sensing her frustration, he went serious and asked,

“So what are you thinking?”

Her straight white teeth sank into her bottom lip, an action that sent a rush of heat straight down to his cock. The memory of those teeth nibbling on his own lips was stil fresh in his mind. Quickly, he forced the thought aside.

“Blue orchids,” she final y said. “Natural birch branches, crystal bowtie vases, and something white… Cal a lilies?”

He shook his head. “No way. Too fancy. Lilies wil draw the attention away from the orchids. Go with white hydrangea.”

Surprise fil ed her eyes. Then she started to laugh.

“Jeez, you real y do know flowers.”

He smirked. “Told you.”

“That’s a good idea,” she admitted. “I didn’t think of hydrangea.” She paused in thought. “Yeah, it’s real y good actual y. I’l get started on that today.”

“See how easy that was?” He flashed a charming grin. “Centerpieces, done. What’s next?”

“Backdrops for the head table. The bride wants blue and white again, feminine and elegant.”

“Easy,” he replied. “Blue and white silk panels with floral accents.”

That got him another laugh. “Wil you marry me?” He knew she meant it as a joke, but something inside him shifted. If any other woman said that to him, joking or otherwise, he’d be running out the door right about now. Marriage was not something you kidded about, not in his life. As much as he loved his family, he couldn’t stand the constant smothering. Not just toward him, but to their partners. His mother and father’s marriage had been so overly loving it made him uncomfortable, and al four of his sisters were happily married, constantly gushing about their husbands. Ever since he was a kid, he’d felt uneasy around the constant shows of affection. Couldn’t real y explain it, or put his finger on it, but he’d known even back then that he didn’t want that much love in his life.

Having another person know him inside and out, digging into his psyche, finishing his sentences?

It was too damn intimate, and his intimacy ended with sex.

So why didn’t Savannah’s off-hand remark scare him to death, the way it should?

The waitress arrived with their pizza before he could analyze the strange reaction. He and Savannah quickly dug in, polishing off the entire pie in no time.

Afterwards, they both leaned back in their chairs, quietly sipping on their respective beers. He didn’t feel the need to fil the silence, and she didn’t seem to either. It was nice.

When she final y spoke, she caught him off guard.

“Why are you single?” she asked curiously.

He shrugged. “Why are you?”

“I asked first.”

Setting down his beer bottle, he clasped his hands together on the table. “Relationships seem like too much trouble,” he admitted.

“How so?”

“I don’t like the idea of sharing my entire being with another person.”

She cast him a mischievous grin. “Commitment-phobic. I get it.”

“And you’re not scared of commitment?” he shot back.

“Nope. It just bores me.” Her gray eyes took on a faraway glint. “You know that feeling you get when you kiss someone, when you sleep with them, for the first time? That…
thrill
.”

“Yeah…”

“I think I’m addicted to it,” she confessed. “I’m addicted to firsts.”

“Seconds can be just a good,” he pointed out.

“Sure, but eventual y the thril goes away. So that’s when I go away.”

Matt opened his mouth to ask her if that’s what would happen with them—would she simply go away?

But before he could speak, a male voice interrupted their discussion.

“Savannah?”

A thirty-something guy with messy blond hair had stopped by the railing separating the patio from the sidewalk. He wore a pair of long orange shorts and a white muscle shirt, and he was staring at Savannah as if she were his long-lost love.

“Hank,” she said in surprise. “It’s good to see you again.”

At her casual, impersonal words, Hank’s entire face fel . “Where’ve you been?” he asked, a plaintive note entering his voice. “I haven’t seen you in months.” She shrugged. “I told you, I’m busy with the store.” Hank’s dark eyes shifted to Matt, and a suspicious cloud floated across his face. “You don’t look busy.” Savannah held up her legal pad. “This is a working lunch.”

“Oh.” The guy seemed to brighten slightly. “Do you have time for dinner this week?”

“Sorry, I can’t. I’m doing the flowers for a huge wedding and wil be working non-stop until then.” That got her another “Oh”. Hank fidgeted with his hands. “Okay, then. Give me a cal when you’re done with the job?”

“Sure.”

The noncommittal tone of her voice was unmistakable. Despite himself, Matt felt a pang of sympathy for the dude. He also experienced a wave of unease, watching the expression on Hank’s face.

Was that how
he
looked when he was around Savannah? Al lovelorn and pathetic?

Jeez, who was this woman? It was like a scene out o f
There’s Something About Mary.
Did every man who met her fal head over heels for her?

“Wel …I gotta go,” Hank mumbled. With an awkward wave, he strode off.

Matt fixed a rueful look at Savannah. “You could have let him down more gently.”

Irritation flickered in her gray eyes. “I did let him down gently. Four months ago. We went out a few times, and sure, he’s cute, but he’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Holding a conversation with the guy was painful.”

“Did you sleep with him?” Matt couldn’t help but ask, then cringed at the possessive twinge to his voice.

“Yeah, I did.” She studied his face. “Oh brother.

You’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” he protested instantly.

She laughed. “Oh yes you are.” Her irritation returned, only this time, it was directed at him. “Don’t go al crazy on me, Matt. I’m sure you’ve slept with dozens of women, and I’m not the least bit jealous about it.”

Which bothered him almost as much as
his
sudden encounter with the green-eyed monster. He got the feeling Savannah wouldn’t even bat an eyelash if he ended things between them right here and now. He wasn’t sure if her borderline-scary casual attitude was legit, or simply a cover for serious commitment issues she refused to admit to. He decided to believe the latter—only way to preserve his ego, after al .

Stil , the jealousy coursing through his blood at the appearance of Hank only grew stronger as he imagined Savannah in bed with the guy. Damn it.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said gruffly, reaching into his back pocket for his wal et.

Savannah must have seen the look in his eyes, because her eyes widened slightly, and then a slow smile curved her mouth. Matt dropped a few bil s on the table, reached for her hand, and practical y dragged her back to the flower shop. At the sight of her scrawny assistant behind the counter, he hooked a thumb at the door and barked, “Take a break, Chad.”

The kid gulped, nodded and took off.

“I’m thinking I might like jealous Matt,” Savannah laughed as he flipped the sign on the door from

“open” to “closed”, locked up and moved toward her with predatory strides.

He took her hand again and pul ed her behind the curtain into the back room. Before she could say another word, he covered her mouth with his and kissed the hel out of her.

Savannah gasped against his lips, her hands reaching up to twine around his neck. Matt had no idea what had come over him. Something hot and primal spiraled down his body and grabbed hold of his cock, hardening it to a level he hadn’t thought possible. It was almost painful, the throbbing erection straining against his zipper.

Coming up for air, Savannah bent close to his ear and murmured, “He real y didn’t mean anything to me.

You don’t need to go al caveman, Superman.”

“Let’s not talk about Hank,” he ordered, his hand seeking the hem of her skirt and bunching it between his fingers.

He shoved the material up to her hips, tore off her bikini panties, and placed his palm on her pussy, rubbing it slowly.

Savannah let out a little sigh. “God, that’s good.” He kept stroking, running his finger up and down her damp slit, then dipping into her opening and plunging deep. She sagged against his chest, moaning, moving her hips to meet each lazy thrust of his finger. Matt’s entire body went taut with lust. Fuck, he wanted this woman. He could probably come just from the feel of her slick wetness coating his finger.

As a red haze of desire fogged his vision, he hurriedly undid his jeans, covered his dick with the condom he’d tucked in his pocket, and angled himself between Savannah’s firm thighs.

“You sure it doesn’t make you jealous?” he found himself taunting. “The thought of me doing this to someone else.” He teased her clit with the tip of his cock.

Her gray eyes went glazed. “Nope,” she murmured.

“Doesn’t make me jealous at al .”

“You sure about that?” He slid one hand underneath her shirt, shoved it under the left cup of her lacy bra and squeezed her breast.

She gasped.

“It real y doesn’t drive you crazy, knowing I’ve done this to countless other women?” He found her nipple and pinched it between his fingers.

Savannah let out a soft moan. “How many is countless?”

“
Countless,
” he emphasized in a cocky tone.

He could have sworn he saw a flash of something in her eyes—actual jealousy?—but it disappeared quickly.

“No, doesn’t bother me,” she muttered.

She tried to reach down to encircle his shaft, but he sidestepped, letting his hand drop from her breast.

Taking a step back, he fought a grin at the sight of Savannah’s flushed cheeks, parted lips and lust-fil ed eyes. Oh yeah. No matter how unaffected she tried to act, she was total y into him. She fucking craved him.

“Okay,” he said with a shrug. “Then I guess I’ve got nothing to prove.”

Her face flooded with shocked disappointment as he removed the condom and tucked his cock back into his boxers. “What the hel are you doing?” she complained.

“Not being childish.” He smothered a laugh. “You’re right, seeing one of your exes got me a little crazy. I figured if I brought you back here and had my way with you, I’d prove to myself I don’t give a damn about that loser you slept with because he could never fuck you the way I do. But you’ve shown me the light.”