Her glasses got in the way and he took them off with one hand while he continued kissing every inch of freckled skin available to him. There wasn’t nearly enough of that. He dropped her glasses to the floor of the balcony and reached under the hem of her sweater.
His goal was the back clasp of her bra. He’d never had to take one off before—women generally came to him braless—but he thought he could handle it. Her skin was so soft, and the clasp was so…so damned hard to unfasten!
He groaned in frustration, and then the clasp seemed to magically come apart. Ah. Returning to kiss her mouth, he cupped one breast with the same pounding excitement he’d felt the first time he’d touched a woman. Brushing her tight nipple with his fingers seemed like a brand new experience.
She trembled and moaned, the sound muffled against his mouth as their kiss grew wetter and deeper. But she didn’t start ripping at his clothes. She didn’t fondle his crotch or back him up against the balcony railing and give him explicit instructions as to what she wanted him to do to her.
For the first time in his life he could savor the softness of a woman’s breasts without being pressured to get on with it. What a concept. Now the pressure was all on his side. He was the one who wanted more, wanted her sweater and her bra gone so he could map all her freckles with his tongue.
But when he stopped kissing her long enough to pull her sweater over her head, she backed up against the railing. “Whoa, big boy!”
Instinctively he moved toward her, and heard the sickening crunch as he stepped on her glasses. He closed his eyes. “Shit.”
“Oh.”
He opened his eyes. Amazingly, his eyesight had improved. He could see that she was still quivering and her pupils were dilated with lust. “Don’t worry. I’ll replace your glasses.” Intent on getting her back in his arms, he reached for her.
“Stop.” She put a hand on his chest.
“Stop?” He frowned. “What do you mean, stop?” He gazed longingly at her tender lips, the ones he’d just been caressing with his mouth and tongue. They were temptingly parted as she struggled for breath. He wanted to thrust his tongue into her mouth again.
And she wanted it, too. He could feel it. He could smell it.
She swallowed. “I mean halt, quit, cease and desist.”
“But you liked it.” He was thoroughly confused.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I admit that kiss and…everything…felt good, but—”
“Especially the and everything.”
She had the decency to blush a little at that. “Yes, okay, but—”
“Then why are you telling me to stop?”
“Because when you progressed to removing clothing, my brain kicked into gear and reminded me that I was here on business, not pleasure.”
“So I must have tried to remove it wrong.” Damn his inexperience at seduction, anyway.
“That’s not it.”
“Sure it is. Usually when I have sex with a woman, she takes everything off before I have a chance to. I never have to undress her. I never have to undress myself, either. I was clumsy, and that distracted you.”
She stared at him as if he’d stepped out of a space ship. “So when you get involved with a woman, she always takes over?”
“It probably sounds crazy.” It would to her, considering his altered appearance. But he felt stupid trying to explain his involvement with Dorcas and Ambrose. It was such a weird story that she might think he’d made it up.
“I have no reason to doubt you,” she said. “And after listening to the women in the Bob and Weave, it all makes sense. I don’t mean to insult you or anything, but are there…other single guys in town?”
Sean nodded. “Yeah. There’s Jeremy, who went to get the cups today. Bruce is single, and so is Jeff. Then there’s Hank, and Johnny.”
“Are these guys somewhat attractive?”
“Hey, I’m a man. I’m not the one to ask.” But he knew what she was getting at. “They date, if that’s what you mean. I’m not the only choice around here, but for some reason, I’m just—”
“Catnip.”
“I guess.” He paused. “Except for you.”
“Oh, I’m not immune, obviously. But I have other priorities.”
“That’s too bad.” He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. Once aroused, he’d never been denied. Not ever. This was new territory for him, and he didn’t like it.
She took a deep breath. “I can see you’re not used to having a woman call a halt.”
“Can’t say I am, not once we get to this point. You were moaning.”
Her freckled cheeks grew pink. “I suppose I was.”
“And kissing me back. Really kissing me back.”
“I…I know.”
“So I thought you’d want me to take off your sweater.” He had another thought. “Do you…is there some problem with your breasts?”
“No, there’s no problem with my breasts!”
“Because I like freckles. I like freckles a lot, and I was hoping—”
“My breasts are fine. I just don’t think going topless on this balcony is a good idea right now.” Her voice quivered the tiniest bit, as if she might be losing some of her self-control.
“Then let’s go inside.”
“Not in there, either. None of this is a good idea.”
“I think it’s a great idea.” He couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than go inside and get rid of her sweater. Oh, maybe one thing would be more fun than that, but he hadn’t brought condoms, and he was willing to bet she hadn’t, either. Every other woman he’d kissed had come packing, but this one wasn’t anything like the other women he’d kissed.
“Well, I have a reputation to protect, and you don’t. Then again, I suppose getting naked with me would keep your reputation going strong, wouldn’t it?”
“I don’t care about that. I’ve never cared about that.”
She gazed at him. “For whatever reason, I believe you.” Kneeling down, she picked up her crumpled glasses. The glass was shattered and the frames hopelessly bent. “This presents a problem, though.”
“I said I’d replace them.” He was discovering something else. Lack of food made her slightly grumpy. Lack of sexual satisfaction, once he’d felt the urge to merge, made him extremely grumpy.
“No, you won’t.”
“I dropped them on the deck and then proceeded to step on them, so that makes me responsible. I’ll replace them.” He looked at the crushed glasses which could very well be designer frames for all he knew. “But it will take some doing. We don’t have any place that sells glasses in Big Knob, except those magnifiers for reading.”
“I was afraid of that, which brings me to the next problem. I can’t drive without glasses.”
So she was at his mercy, which did him absolutely no good at all, because she didn’t want to cozy up with him. Well, she did, but she wouldn’t let herself. He still couldn’t get used to the idea of rejection.
“I’ll take you wherever you need to go,” he said.
She sighed. “That’s nice, but it doesn’t solve my other problems, like any reading I have to do to finalize this deal.”
“I can’t promise to help you with that.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.” She glanced at her watch and then muttered a swear word. “I can’t even see what time it is.”
He looked at his watch. “Two-thirty.”
“Wait a minute. You’re not wearing your glasses, either. How can you read your watch?”
“I guess my eyes have improved.”
“In the past hour?” She shook her head. “Let me see your watch. I’ll bet the numbers are bigger.” She grabbed his wrist and peered at the face of his watch. “Not that much.”
He couldn’t help himself. He reached up and trailed a finger along the line of her chin. After all, she’d touched him first.
Her breath caught. “Don’t do that.”
“How about this?” He leaned
down and ran his tongue around the edge of her ear. He was acting on pure instinct, because he’d never needed moves before.
“Don’t do that, either.” But her voice was soft and yielding, and she hadn’t let go of his wrist even though she’d admitted she couldn’t see the numbers on his watch any better than hers.
“Then maybe this.” He drew the neck of her sweater aside and nuzzled the curve of her shoulder.
“Sean.” His name came out as a sigh as she turned her face up to his. “You’re making me crazy.”
“Good.” Amazed at the effect such small caresses had on her, he cupped her chin and ran his thumb lightly over her cheek. “Let me make you even crazier.”
She held his gaze. “I shouldn’t.”
That didn’t sound like a definite no, so he kissed her. The minute he did, he knew that there hadn’t been a bit of no in her answer, but there was a hell of a lot of yes.
He might not have experience in engineering these moments, but he was a quick study. Out on the balcony was not the place to continue. Other women might not have cared about appearances, but this one did.
Reaching behind his back, he found the doorknob. Without breaking the kiss, he opened the door, drew her inside, and closed the door again. He couldn’t have done that if she’d resisted him, but incredibly, she went along with the whole maneuver.
He must be doing something right, because she was kissing him like there was no tomorrow, opening her mouth and angling her head so they could turn this into a very French experience. She released his wrist so she could bury both hands in his hair.
He backed her up against the wall and pressed his aching body against hers. She pressed back with a groan. He had the despairing thought that if he’d been smart enough to bring condoms, he could have her right here, right up against the wall.
Reaching between them, he found the button on her jeans. He expected her to stop him, but she didn’t, so he unfastened it and pulled down the zipper. Still no protest, just heavy breathing and little whimpers of need.
Okay, then. He slid his hand inside her panties and nearly came himself from the discovery that she was drenched. Somehow he’d found the override switch on her self-control. He couldn’t believe a gentle touch on the cheek could result in this level of excitement, but there it was.
If she stopped him now, then he didn’t understand the first thing about a woman. She didn’t stop him. She kept on kissing him fiercely as he thrust two fingers deep inside her. Her orgasm didn’t take long to show up. She must have been wound tighter than a spring-loaded tape measure, because she snapped in seconds.
Wrenching her mouth away from his, she cried out as she arched against the wall. He’d long ago lost count of the number of climaxes he’d given women over the years. Not a single one had affected him with this kind of rush—part tenderness, part triumph, and part incredible joy.
Suddenly he was jealous of every man who had ever made her come. From now on he wanted to be the only guy with that privilege, which was insane. He’d never wanted exclusive rights to a woman, especially one he’d known a matter of hours.
Slowly he eased his fingers free and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her gently, he dropped kisses on her eyelids, her nose, her parted lips. Gradually the tension left her body and she slumped forward, resting her forehead on his chest.
He couldn’t believe how happy he felt, considering his dick was still in his pants and was going to stay there. Ordinarily he also cared about his own satisfaction. Self-sacrifice hadn’t been much a part of his sex life.
But at this moment, even though he ached and would love to get some relief, he was more than willing to give up on it for now. If only one of them could know the melting pleasure of gratification, let it be her. He loved knowing he’d given her that gift.
She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. He waited, expecting her to smile and thank him for what he’d done.
Instead she sighed and shook her head. “My God, that was such a mistake.”
“It was not!” No woman was going to call her orgasm a mistake, not when he was the instigator of said orgasm. “Your body was crying out for that, and you know it.”
Her blue eyes grew stormy. “B.S. I’m in charge of that body, and I can muzzle any crying out that’s going on. I allowed myself to get worked up. I have to take responsibility for behaving like a complete idiot.”
“I don’t see it that way.”
“Of course not. You’re the one with the piece of property to protect. Anything you can do to distract me from my plan is—”
“No, damn it.” His grip tightened. “That was not about me trying to distract you.”
“No? Then what was it about?”
She had him, there. His original goal had been to get friendly and persuade her to lay off the property. He’d made obvious progress in the getting friendly department, so why wasn’t he pushing his advantage?
“Sean, I concede that you’re attracted to me, although why that is I don’t know.”
“You don’t?” He stared at her in astonishment.
“No, I don’t.” She moved away from him and buttoned her jeans. “I’m not the kind of woman who incites men to lust.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“At least have the decency to be honest with me.” She zipped her jeans. “I figured out that you wanted to seduce me to get some leverage, and then you started enjoying the seduction for its own sake, I suppose because you’re oversexed.”
She was starting to make him mad. “If I’m so oversexed, why haven’t I slept with anyone in almost a year?”
“Oh, that’s easy. You’ve been through all the women in town, and you’re bored. I’m a novelty.”
“That’s not true, Maggie.” God, he hoped it wasn’t true. That wouldn’t say much for his character.
“Besides that, I’m a challenge. I don’t fall at your feet like all the women in this town. I think the challenge excites you.”
He wouldn’t accept that. He couldn’t be that shallow. “I wanted you the first time I saw you, before I knew you’d be a challenge.”
“Because I was new in town.”
“No, damn it! It was your hair, and your freckles, and your mouth.”
“Arranged in a particular combo that you hadn’t seen on the women you’ve dated in Big Knob. And it was convenient to be attracted to me, because then you could use sex to get what you want.”
There was some truth to that, but his gut told him it wasn’t the whole truth. He remembered how happy he’d been to make her come and how little he’d cared for his own satisfaction. That had never happened to him before and he thought it was significant. Something more than sex might be going on.
But he wasn’t about to discuss that now, with her standing there looking so righteous. She wouldn’t believe him, anyway. She’d only think he was trying to justify his behavior.
Her expression softened. “I’m not judging you for what’s happened. If anything, I’m judging myself for falling in with your plan. My boss said I have to be tougher if I plan to make it in this business. I’m embarrassed to discover that he has a point.”
“What do you mean, tougher?” He’d thought she was plenty tough, coming here by herself to negotiate this deal.
“I have yet to close the sale on any property I’ve tried to buy for SaveALot.” She reached under her sweater and arched her back so that she could fasten her bra.
The motion stirred him up again, but he clamped down on his reaction. He had bigger fish to fry. “What happens if you don’t get the property this time?”
“Simple.” She leaned down to pick up her coat. “I lose my job.”
Sean felt like punching something. He didn’t want her to lose her job, but he didn’t want her buying this property to put up a big-box store, either. If Denise didn’t hate him right now, he could ask her to hunt for some other piece of property that would work for Maggie. There had to be something. But Denise wasn’t in
a mood to help him.
Well, he’d have to fix that. His eyesight had improved, so maybe the effect of the nerd herbs was wearing off a little. He didn’t want to go to bed with Denise, though. Maggie was the only person who fit that description. This had become so damned complicated.
Maggie leaned down toward the wicker chest. “We might as well blow these out.”
“No, wait!”
She glanced up. “Why?”
“These are special candles. You don’t just blow them out.”
“What do you do, squirt them with water? Dunk them in wine?”
“You do this.” Sean licked his thumb and forefinger and pinched the candle wicks, extinguishing the flame.
“Ouch. Didn’t that hurt?”
It had, a little, but he wouldn’t say so. “Nah.”
“What kind of candle has to be put out like that? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“I haven’t, either. I borrowed these from Dorcas and Ambrose, and they told me not to blow them out. You can use a snuffer, but I don’t have one.”
“I’d like to take a look at them. But without my glasses, I might as well not bother. Couldn’t see anything unusual even if it was there.”
“You could try mine.” He picked up the black-framed glasses from the top of the wicker basket where he’d laid them earlier.
“I doubt they’ll work, but thanks.” She took them and put them on.
He caught his lower lip between his teeth to keep from laughing. Her delicate features, the freckles sprinkled on her nose, and those oversized glasses made quite a combination.
She popped a candle out of its silver holder. The holders were also borrowed. Ambrose had brought over the wine late this morning, and then he’d handed Sean the candlesticks and candles, along with instructions on how to put them out.
Sean had been in too much of a hurry to ask him why the special instructions. He figured they were some kind of California candles that needed more TLC. Many things about Dorcas and Ambrose were strange. Added to everything else was Maggie’s suspicion that they were fugitives. He and the Lowells needed to have another conversation.
Over Hexed (The Hex Series Book 1) Page 11