by Melody Grace
He wanted her.
The realization flooded through her, and Letitia felt like cheering out loud. There should be a fanfare. A heavenly chorus. She should call up the town events committee, and start planning a parade.
Chase Kinsella wanted her, just as much as she was panting for him. It was why he was trying his best to keep his distance from her, practically climbing the walls in this tiny space. It was why he was looking anywhere but directly at her; why his whole body was tense, coiled tight.
And just like that, her decision was simple. So, he’d decided she was off-limits and was trying his best to resist her?
Letitia learned a thing or two about negotiation in her time. She could work with that.
“The way I see it, we have two options,” she announced. The key to any business deal was laying out the facts. “Option one, we keep pretending. I pretend that I’m fine dating all these other guys instead of kissing you. And you can pretend you’re not jealous as hell.”
“I’m not jealous,” Chase mumbled, and she smiled. Step Two: Add a little urgency to the negotiation.
“So if I called up Seth right now, and told him that I changed my mind, and he should come over—”
“Don’t.” Chase didn’t even let her finish. “OK, so I’m jealous,” he admitted through a clenched jaw. He still didn’t look happy about it. Luckily, any good negotiation made it so both parties could see the benefits of the deal.
“Then I guess we know what we have to do,” Letitia said, beaming. She took a deep breath, and slipped her robe over her shoulders, letting it fall in a crumpled heap on the floor.
Silence.
Letitia stood there before him in sheer blue silk. For a terrible moment, she thought she’d made a mistake. That her high-stakes strategy had failed. Only this time, it wasn’t a business deal on the line, but the small, pesky matter of her pride—
And then Chase reached for her.
Letitia melted into him with relief and pure joy. His hands went around her waist, yanking her closer, and his mouth claimed hers in a wild, heart-stopping kiss.
Yes!
It was hot and fevered; all their passion finally unleashed. She opened her lips eagerly to him, reveling in the taste: like sunshine, and salt, and pure Chase. Her hands roved across his naked chest, wanting to feel every inch of the masterpiece she’d been admiring for weeks. God, he felt perfect, warm and taut beneath her fingertips.
Why had she resisted this for so long?
She was already light-headed, dizzy from the rush, an unfamiliar craving clawing in her bloodstream as Chase pulled her closer, and they—
“Oww!” Letitia blurted as her elbow hit the counter. She recoiled – knocking into Chase, and sending his hip bashing into the low cabinet.
“Dammit!” he cursed, wincing.
She burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “It’s just...”
It’s just that her head was spinning, and her body was about to combust, and all for a man who barely had enough space in his bedroom to kiss her, let alone do everything else Letitia was planning for them that night. “You have to admit, this place isn’t exactly built for two,” she said, maneuvering past his duffel bag. She paused. “Why isn’t it?”
“Hmmm?” Chase was busy kissing his way down her neck.
“Designed for company,” Letitia continued, looking around. “With all the women you entertain, I would have figured you’d build a better love shack. Padded walls, and built-in speakers to start playing Barry White.”
He lifted his head, looking exasperated. “I’m doing some of my best work here, and you’re thinking about appliances?”
Letitia grinned. “This is your best work?” she shot back, teasing, and he smirked.
“Give me five minutes. And also, for your information,” he said, sliding his hands over her waist. “I’m more of a Sinatra kind of guy.”
Chase turned his attention back to kissing her thoroughly, and Letitia gladly melted into his touch. Thank heavens she’d grabbed a sexy silk slip to sleep in, instead of her oversized nightshirt. But maybe Chase didn’t care either way: his hands roamed hungrily over every curve, teasing the straps aside and dropping kisses on the bare skin left behind until Letitia was as naked as him, and almost mindless.
They tumbled back onto the tiny fold-down bed. It made a creak of protest, but she didn’t care about the cramped quarters, not when Chase’s hands were sliding over her, and his mouth was sending her to heaven and back.
He pulled away, gazing down at her with fire in his eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted you?”
She shook her head, already lost for words. He was framed above her in the moonlight, his body pressing her into the mattress with a delicious weight.
“It feels like forever,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss a slow, blazing trail down her neck. “Every time I saw you. Every time you so much as looked at me…”
His hand skimmed over her breast, teasing her nipple until she was aching. Letitia bit back a moan. “I’ve thought about you too,” she admitted, her voice sounding breathless and far away. “I had these dreams...”
Chase licked across her chest. “Tell me about them.”
She blushed. “I can’t.”
“No?”
His tongue slowly circled one taut peak. “Was I doing this?” he asked, the words vibrating against her bare skin.
Letitia gasped.
“Or maybe this…”
Chase slid a hand up her bare thigh, tracing patterns on her bare skin that made her dizzy with lust. He turned his attention to her other breast, licking and teasing with whisper-light touch.
“Tell me,” he said again, easing her thighs apart. “What did you fantasize about, up there in your bedroom?”
Oh God. Letitia writhed beneath him. Every nerve ending in her body was strung taut, vibrating with pure anticipation, but still, she couldn’t find the words – or the courage – to tell him how she’d come apart, imagining just this night.
“Because I thought about you,” Chase said, almost conversationally. “I would go crazy, picturing you. Naked and spread for me. Just like this.”
His words shuddered through her, hot and filthy.
“I felt like I was losing my mind,” he continued, breath hot on her skin. “Imagining kissing you…”
He dipped his head and brushed his lips over her stomach, heading lower.
“Touching you…” His fingertips skimmed over her, right there, and Letitia had to clutch the sheets to keep from crying out.
“Tasting you.”
When he finally dipped his head and licked against her, Letitia lost her mind – and all self-control. She gasped his name, and then she moaned it, so loud, she would have blushed, if she wasn’t busy learning new ways to tell him, ‘more’. But as the waves of pleasure took her over, leaving her shaken and gasping on the shore, she wondered if she’d just thrown a massive wrench in her plan to find her forever.
Because something told her, that list of requirements had a new entry: making her feel this bliss.
And she didn’t know if anyone else could measure up.
12
Letitia woke with a cramp in her leg and something hard digging into her shoulder. She yawned. What had happened to her comfy, soft bed? She tried to roll over – and slammed straight into the wall.
“Owww!”
Her eyes flew open. She was crammed on a tiny fold-down bed in the back of the Airstream, fighting for mattress space with six foot two inches of tanned, sprawling muscles.
Hello.
In an instant, it all came rushing back to her. The kiss on her porch, the furious confrontation.
The hot slide of their bodies, taking her to heaven and back.
Letitia blushed. Laying there asleep beside her, Chase looked peaceful, almost angelic – nothing like the man who’d murmured such filthy promises in her ear, and then shown her exactly how good they fel
t in action. Not that she’d minded, Letitia thought, already breathless at the memories. In fact...
She stretched, feeling a pleasant ache in her body. Every limb was tender, in all the best ways. She felt like she’d run an invigorating ten miles, and then finished up with the most soothing massage of her life.
She should have wild, crazy sex more often.
Chase let out a muffled noise beside her, still dead to the world. His hair fell messy in his eyes, and his three-day stubble reminded her she would have a rash on her thighs pretty soon, but still, she could have looked at him all day.
Except...
“Chase?” she whispered, feeling nature call. He let out a snuffling noise, slung an arm around her waist, and settled back to sleep.
“Chase!” she tried again, louder now, but there was no response. This guy could have slept through a hurricane.
Letitia heaved his arm aside, and slid out from under him. It was barely two steps to the tiny bathroom, but when she opened the door, she caught a whiff of the chemicals wafting from the basic excuse for a toilet.
Nope. No way. Absolutely not. She may have been reluctant to leave this warm, morning-after haze, but all the cuddling in the world didn’t outweigh the need for hot running water.
Letitia pulled her nightdress back over her head, and looked around for something to leave a note with. She found an envelope, and scribbled on the back with a stub of pencil.
‘Gone to shower, feel free to come join me.’
She paused. Too forward? But then again, she had been moaning loud enough to be heard halfway around the bay. The time for modesty was long gone. Letitia left the note on the pillow beside him, and practically skipped back across her yard towards the beach house. It was a gorgeous morning, crisp and bright, and the waves were crashing against the shore; the beach deserted save an early-morning dog walker in the distance. She’d left the back door open in her haste last night, and she stepped inside, already planning an epic breakfast to get her strength back. An omelet, maybe, with some of those crispy potatoes they served at the diner…
Something told her, she’d need her stamina with Chase around.
“Good morning.”
Letitia jumped out of her skin. There was a strange woman in her kitchen, dressed in cargo pants and a T-shirt, with a tool-belt around her waist. “What—I mean, who—?” Letitia blurted. She was suddenly painfully aware that she was barely dressed in her sheer silk nightgown, with her hair in a tangle, and no shoes on.
She might as well have walked in naked, wearing a billboard that said, ‘I got laid last night’.
The woman smiled. “I’m sorry, I’m Stella. The plumber,” she explained, nodding to the toolbox on the kitchen counter. “Your landlord called me about your faucet. I left you a message I was coming by this morning, but I didn’t hear back, so I figured I’d just let myself in.”
“Oh,” Letitia exhaled. “Sorry, I haven’t checked my phone in a while.”
Because she was too busy having the greatest sex of her life.
Letitia spied her robe on the back of a chair, and quickly pulled it on. “Thanks for coming over,” she said, still blushing. “I was, umm… Just taking an early-morning walk. On the beach.”
Thankfully, Stella didn’t comment on her lame explanation. She was already ducking back under the sink with her spanner, re-emerging a few moments later with a satisfied look on her face. “That should do it, for now at least,” she said, rinsing off her hands. “You’ll need a replacement part, but it should hold until I can get back in there and do a proper fix.”
“What was the problem?” Letitia asked.
“Old pipes, long winter,” Stella gave a shrug, packing her tools away. “I keep telling my clients not to let them freeze up, but… What are you going to do?”
Letitia watched her, curious. She looked to be a little older than Letitia, in her mid-thirties, maybe, with brown hair pulled up in a knot on the top of her head, and a friendly, natural look.
Stella caught her staring, and Letitia winced at her rudeness. “Sorry, I’ve never met a female plumber before,” Letitia admitted.
Stella smiled. “I know, I’m not exactly who people expect when I show up on their doorsteps. But I needed a job with some security. Whatever’s happening in the world, people always need their water running, and their drains unclogged.”
“That’s very true,” Letitia agreed. “When my sewer backed up last year, I would have paid anything to get it fixed.”
Stella wrinkled her nose. “Sewers are extra,” she said, and they both laughed.
“Anyway, thanks for coming by.” Letitia said. “How much do I owe you?”
“It’s OK, the landlord has an account.” Stella replied.
“Well, take a cookie, at least.” Letitia offered her the bag she’d picked up from the bakery the other day.
“I won’t argue with that.” Stella took one, and headed out, leaving Letitia with all the hot running water she desired.
She went upstairs and took a leisurely shower, lathering up her hair well and good. She was half-hoping Chase had found her note in time to come join her, but by the time she’d rinsed, buffed, and moisturized every inch, there was still no sign of him.
That man really could make sleeping in an Olympic sport.
She’d just dressed in a pair of chic linen shorts and a tank top, when she heard a buzzing noise, coming from her purse. Her phone! Letitia scooped it up, and found she had a dozen messages waiting. There was Stella, calling about the faucet; her assistant from work, and three of her old sorority friends, saying they couldn’t wait to see her again.
Wait, what?
The phone rang again, and Letitia answered. “Where are you?” Kiki’s voice echoed. There was laughter and chatter in the background. “They won’t seat us until the whole party is here.”
“Where?” she asked, still confused.
“At Sage, silly. Brunch, with the girls? It only took a month to get everyone’s schedules on the same page.”
Letitia stifled a groan. Of course! It had been forever since she’d gotten together with all her old girlfriends, but the emails had been whizzing back and forth for so long, she’d forgotten about the date. And with all her plans, and distractions…
A tall, surfer-shaped distraction.
“I’m so sorry, I’m running five minutes behind,” Letitia said, already reaching for her sandals. “I’ll be right there!”
Thankfully, Sweetbriar Cove was so small, it really did only take her five minutes to drive over to the restaurant, and she didn’t even have to break the speed limit on the winding back roads to get there. She parked in a hurry, and rushed inside, out of breath.
“There she is!” Kiki’s voice echoed through the room. She was parked by the hostess stand, hands on her hips. “See? Now please, can we get some menus? And keep the mimosas coming.”
Letitia hurried over. “I’m so sorry,” she said, as much to the hostess, as to her old sorority friends. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
“Well, look at you.” Kiki air-kissed her on both cheeks. “I know you said you were planning to unwind on vacation, but you look so… relaxed.”
“Thank you,” Letitia said, even though she was pretty sure it wasn’t a compliment. Kiki was looking flawless in white capri pants and gold jewelry, and all her other friends were equally stylish. She’d been in such a rush that she’d forgotten what a fashion show these brunches could be. “I like to keep things casual on the Cape,” she added, feeling self-conscious.
“That’s so cute.”
They were all seated, and while the others quizzed the waitress on whether this dish had carbs, and that dish could be gluten-free, Letitia finally was able to take a breath and collect herself again. She may have lost her mind in Chase’s arms last night, but she knew she needed to find it again – and fast – if she was going to keep up with the rest of the group.
“…And then George surprised me with the most g
orgeous necklace,” Kiki was saying. “Isn’t he so sweet?”
“The sweetest,” another friend, Rachel, said. “Matty did the same thing just last week.”
“Enjoy the honeymoon phase while it lasts,” Darla advised them, already emptying her first mimosa. “Soon enough, you’ll only be getting gifts when he’s screwed up.”
“Just as long as they’re three-carat screw-ups,” Kiki quipped, and they all laughed. “What about you, Tish?” Kiki turned to her expectantly. “How is your big summer going? I want to hear all the dirty details. Letitia is dating like crazy,” she added, explaining to the rest of the group.
“Poor thing,” one of them widened her eyes. “Is it terrible out there? I couldn’t imagine still dating at our age.”
“Me either. You’re so brave.”
Letitia forced a smile. She was the only one left single in the group. Everyone was married and settled, and Darla was even on husband No. 2. She knew they meant well, but sometimes she wished they wouldn’t be quite so sympathetic about her poor, single plight.
“I’m having a great time,” she said brightly, as their food arrived. “I’ve been meeting so many interesting men.”
And one straight-up mind-blowing one.
“I heard you hit it off with Peter,” Rachel said, smiling. “How did that go?”
Peter?
Letitia stared back blankly for a second before remembering: bee sting guy. “Oh! Fine…” she said tactfully. “But I’m not sure he’s looking for anything serious right now.”
Considering he was in love with his best friend and all.
“Oh, what a shame,” Rachel said. “I thought you two would be perfect together.”
“Mmmhmm,” Letitia murmured, hiding her smile in a sip of her juice. Perfectly mis-matched. “But what’s going on with you? How are the twins?”
The conversation moved on, to pre-schools and music classes; Letitia smiled and nodded along, but she felt oddly out of place. She was used to effortlessly switching between the different parts of her life: going from the office, to society galas, to a relaxed night with friends, but today, it felt like more of a chore. Her mind was still miles away, tangled up back in bed with Chase as the waves crashed outside the windows.