The trembling in his hands, the tightening in his chest, the excitement zipping up and down his spine…It was nothing but pure lust.
All the more reason for him to give her a load of BS and get rid of her.
That’s what he meant to do. But with her eyes so wide, so desperate and imploring, he couldn’t quite bring himself to lie. “It happens every once in a while,” he heard himself say. “Usually without warning.”
“Really?” Excitement fueled her expression as he nodded and a strange warmth shot through him. “Maybe it’s something you’re eating. Or drinking.” She seemed to think. “Maybe it’s the shampoo or conditioner that you’re using. Or maybe a combination of everything. I’m sure we can figure it out—”
“And this matters to you because?” he cut in.
“Are you kidding me? Figuring this out would be my dream come true. I could feature it in my column first, then offer exclusives at my salon.”
“The newspaper?” When she nodded, he added, “I knew I’d seen your name somewhere before.” He stared deep into her eyes and an image flashed. Shay, her hands full of spaghetti and meatballs, and a lowly sonofabitch trying to dodge a pretty impressive right arm. “Wait a second. Are you—”
“—the one featured on kissmyasscupid.com? Unfortunately. Trust me, he had it coming.” A strange glimmer lit her eyes for a split-second. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that Shay Briggs wanted to cry.
She wouldn’t. He saw that as clearly as he saw her determination fire to life. She wasn’t going to let some low-life player ruin her life. She was taking back her power and doing something.
A rush of admiration went through him and his damned dick throbbed even harder. “I don’t know about the Internet, but I’ve seen you before. Outside of the Piggly Wiggly.”
“That was you?” She tried to play it cool, but he knew she remembered. He could see it in the sudden darkening of her eyes, realizing then that she’d been fantasizing about him, too. “No wonder you look familiar. So what about it?” She pulled back her shoulders and tried to shift the conversation back to the matter at hand. “You up for a little business arrangement?”
Boy, was he ever. His groin gave an answering throb and he stiffened. “That depends.”
She’d been fantasizing about him.
The realization made him want to touch her that much more.
“I’m willing to give you full credit and compensation,” she added. Her gaze met his and determination sparked in the translucent aqua depths. “Five percent of every treatment I do.”
But Matt Keller had something different in mind.
Something much more intimate.
Not that he was going to suggest such a thing. Hell, no. He didn’t proposition women for sex. He’d never had to. Even more, he didn’t want to. He’d given up gratuitous sex when he’d vowed to find his mate. No. “I really like my privacy,” he heard himself say instead. “That’s why I moved out here.”
“Ten percent.”
“You write the beauty column in the local paper, right?” he asked, desperate to distract himself from the idea taking shape in his head.
“That’s just a hobby. My business is my bread and butter. Fifteen percent,” she added. When he shook his head, she added, “Look, I’ll do anything. Just tell me what you want.”
He didn’t usually proposition women for sex. At the same time, this wasn’t the usual situation. He was in a bad way. And it wasn’t as if he was taking advantage of her. He fully intended to share a few secrets with her in return for a little relief. Not the secret—that he was a bonafide, howl-at-the-moon werewolf—but he had several others he’d picked up over the years, particularly in high school.
Puberty for a male werewolf had been tough and uncontrollable. From the random sprouting of hair to the sudden appearance of his fangs, he’d endured it all before he’d come of age and managed to get his inner beast under control. Thanks to the Internet, he’d come up with several explanations to keep his true identity a secret.
Like the time he’d explained a sudden patch of hair on his right forearm by telling the school nurse he’d spilled a bottle of castor oil—the stuff had long been a home remedy for baldness. Or the time he’d convinced his gym teacher that a square of hair in the middle of his back was the result of his mom using lavender oil in the laundry to get the smell out of his gym shirt.
If she wanted hair-growth secrets, he knew at least a dozen different home remedies that he could share with her.
And what about your promise? No sex until you find The One?
At the rate he was going, he would die from sexual deprivation long before he found his mate. No, he needed to blow off some steam, to ease the hard-on wreaking havoc on his judgment.
That was the only reason he’d felt the instantaneous attraction to Shay Briggs when he’d first spotted her in town. The only reason he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head since. It was lust, pure and simple. Once he burned off a little of that, he would stop thinking about her. Fantasizing. Wanting.
He focused on her sparkling eyes and her full, kissable mouth, and the heat spiking in his groin. “I want you,” he murmured, and then he kissed her.
HE HAD STRONG LIPS.
That was the first thought that rushed through Shay’s head when Matt Keller pressed his mouth against hers. The second? No way in heaven, hell or the in-between, was she going to kiss him back.
Even if he did sweep his tongue across her bottom lip, back and forth, in a mesmerizing stroke that turned her knees to jelly. She fought the urge to slide her arms around his neck and tried not to think about how good he tasted. Like mint toothpaste and pure, raw sensuality.
His fingers dove beneath her hair and his hand cupped the base of her skull. He tilted her head just so and deepened the kiss. He held her as if she were the most precious thing in the world and she had the insane thought that despite his bad boy persona, Matt Keller was interested in more than sex. That, maybe, he wanted to hold her as much as he wanted to plunge deep inside her.
Yeah, right.
Any man that kissed this good…this fast…Trouble. Big, big trouble.
She stiffened and jerked away. Her gaze collided with his. There was no mistaking the hot desire simmering in his eyes. Her heart stalled.
He wanted sex, all right.
A zing of excitement went through her, followed by a wave of disappointment.
Because Shay Briggs had sworn off men like Matt Keller.
“Let me get this straight, you’ll give me your secret formula if I sleep with you?”
“We won’t be doing much sleeping.” His grin made her tummy tingle. She swallowed.
“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who has trouble getting a date.”
“I don’t want a date.” His gaze locked with hers. “I want you.” He said the words with such conviction that if she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn he was talking about more than sex.
From this day forward, forever and ever, ’til death do us part.
Just as the notion struck, she stiffened. The man was propositioning her for sex, not a relationship. Proof in and of itself that he was exactly the sort she’d sworn off of when she’d nailed what’s his name with a handful of meatballs.
Girl, please. It’s not like you want to spend forever with this guy. This is a business agreement. You want something from him and he wants something from you. It’s a win/win.
It was, she realized. She didn’t have to worry about him possibly taking a hike after she disappointed him in the sack. After all, she knew he was going to take a hike regardless. And besides, it didn’t matter. She didn’t have any time or energy invested in him. Other than a few erotic thoughts since she’d spotted him in town, she had no preconceived notions when it came to Matt Keller. No visions of the two of them falling madly in love or walking down the aisle.
Okay, so maybe she’d had one itty bitty vision. Last night. But that had been her revenge f
antasy. She and Matt had said yes and pledged their undying devotion with the entire town, including What’s his name and Miss Pumpkin, looking on. They’d embraced and kissed and ahhhh…
Shay shook away the crazy warmth that stole through her. This wasn’t about falling in love. It was business.
“Let me make sure I’m clear on this. We have sex and then you tell me your secret?” He nodded and her hormones gave an excited hell, yeah, followed by a tiny niggle of disappointment.
Not because she wanted more than one night. Hardly. She was bummed about having to wait an entire half-hour or so to learn the secret that would save her business.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s get to it.”
4
“CAN YOU TURN OFF THE LIGHT?” Shay asked, once she’d followed him inside the cabin. “I like it dark.”
“Suit yourself.”
She caught a glimpse of an overstuffed leather couch and a rustic pine table before he hit the light switch and plunged them into complete darkness. Drapes covered the windows and shut out the faint sliver of moonlight.
She blinked and tried to adjust her eyes to the sudden change. Her gaze focused and she made out his large shape standing only inches away. The in and out of her own breaths echoed in her head.
He reached for her, but she inched backward.
“I think we should forego the preliminaries and just get right to it. This is business, after all.”
The last thing she needed was a slow warm-up. Time to focus on the frantic beat of her heart and the anticipation bubbling inside her. And the warmth…A strange sensation that spread through her chest when he murmured, “You smell really good. Like warm peaches and sugar.”
“Peach Pie Perfection—it’s this new facial I’m working on. It tightens the face and smoothes wrinkles.”
“You don’t have any wrinkles.”
“You haven’t seen me in a three-way mirror with floodlights.” And he never would. Because a man only interested in sex wouldn’t be the least bit turned on by the Stubborn Seventeen.
She’d learned her lesson once before. No getting naked in front of the wrong man. From here on out, she was saving the slow striptease for her future accountant.
“Take off your clothes,” he said as if reading her thoughts.
“You might want to stand back,” she told him, fighting down a wave of self-consciousness as she gripped the edge of her T-shirt. “This could get ugly.”
“How’s that?”
“I’m wearing a girdle.”
He grinned, a slash of white in the thick darkness that stalled her heart for several beats. “Don’t worry about me, sugar. I like to live on the edge.” He stepped closer and Shay forced herself not to turn and bolt for the door.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She kicked off her shoes and shed her jeans. Fingering one strap of the black undergarment, she wiggled one finger beneath and worked the elastic down one arm and then the other. Grabbing the edge just under her arms, she shoved the top portion down and freed her breasts. She ignored the cool rush of air over her bare skin and nipples and started to push the rest of the material down. She pulled and tugged and made about an inch or progress.
“Let me—”
“I’ve got this. Really.” She twisted away. While he couldn’t see her in the blasted thing, feeling her in it would be just as bad.
And it matters because?
It didn’t. Tomorrow, Matt Keller would be history. She had absolutely no reason to care one way or the other what he thought about her body.
She did.
Not because she liked him, she reminded herself for the countless time. Or because he made her feel warm inside when he smiled. Or because he liked the way that she smelled when no other man had ever even noticed. It was pure vanity. What straight, single, flesh-and-blood woman wouldn’t want the resident hottie to find her wildly irresistible?
She squirmed and shimmied, ignoring the strange sensation that he was actually watching her. Matt Keller might be staring into the darkness, hoping his eyes adjusted enough for a glimpse, but no way could he actually see anything.
Thankfully.
Finally, the black material sagged at her ankles. She shoved the tight thing off to the side and faced him.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
“No, you’re not.” His voice came from behind and she whirled.
“If you were ready,” he continued, his voice hitting her from the left this time, “you wouldn’t be nervous. You’d be wet.”
“How do you know I’m not?” she challenged.
“Because I smell fear, darlin’. Not desire.”
She summoned a laugh. “Sorry to bust your bubble, but I’m not afraid of you.”
“No.” The word was little more than a sigh that slid into her right ear and stirred her nerve endings. “You’re afraid of you.” The words hung between them for a long moment and she barely resisted the urge to forget the entire thing.
She was trading sex for a great big maybe—maybe he had a bonafide secret and maybe it was some crazy hair technique combined with his DNA, which meant that it wouldn’t work on anyone else. Talk about a longshot.
At the same time, she was out of options and incredibly turned on despite her self-consciousness. The air between them crackled with electricity and she could feel the heat rolling off his body, wrapping around her.
“I think you’re beautiful,” his deep voice slid into her ears.
A rush of warmth went through her, a feeling that had nothing to do with the chemistry sizzling between them and everything to do with the sincerity in his voice.
As if he really and truly meant it.
As if it mattered one way or another even if he did.
She stiffened. This wasn’t about falling into like with him. It wasn’t about falling, period. It was a one-night stand. Sex.
“You’re obviously horny as hell and can’t see a thing,” she blurted, eager to kill the strange flicker of hope in the pit of her stomach. “I could be Big Foot for all you care.”
“Maybe.” His warm breath teased the back of her neck. “Maybe not.”
She turned and caught the dark shape of his shadow directly behind her. She had a split-second of confusion because just a heartbeat before he’d been directly in front of her.
But then his fingertip touched her shoulder blade and desire sliced hot and potent through her. She caught a gasp and barely resisted the sudden urge to flip on the light so that she could see him.
The fierce gleam in his eyes.
His sensuous lips.
His determined expression.
But if she could see him, he could see her. And that would put a stop to things before they could get really interesting.
“Do you?” his deep voice sizzled across her nerve endings.
“Do I what?”
“Have big feet?”
Actually, her feet were the only part of her that hadn’t been affected by the Stubborn Seventeen, but she wasn’t about to enlighten him on that. “I’d say they’re average.”
“Sugar, nothing about you is average.” Conviction fueled the words and her chest hitched before she could remind herself that she was undoubtedly reading more into his words than he meant.
Wishful thinking got her every time, but not now. No, now she knew full well what to expect—nothing.
No expectations. No disappointments.
She held tight to the last thought; her breath paused, as he stepped up behind her.
She felt the tickle of his chest hair against her shoulder blades as he slid his hands around her rib cage and cupped the underside of her breasts. His thumbs flicked her nipples and she caught her bottom lip.
“Nice,” he murmured and desire spiraled through her.
He rolled the tender peaks until they were hard and throbbing. His hands fell to her thighs, burning into her flesh as his fingers slid up the inside until he touched her sex. His fingers parted the silky folds to tease and ex
plore.
Her breath caught as he slid one finger deep inside. Instinctively, she tightened around him and he groaned.
“You’re not afraid anymore.” His lips moved against her ear, his tongue tracing the outline to dip inside. “That’s good. Really good.”
“I was never afraid—” Her breath caught as he slid another finger into her.
“You’re wet now,” he continued, the words little more than a satisfied groan. “And tight.”
His body trembled, as if the realization shook his control. He worked her then, moving inside her, stroking and plunging. She half-expected him to shove her up against the nearest wall and get to it. That’s what any other man would have done.
Matt pushed his fingers deep until the air lodged in her throat and her senses flooded with sensation. Just when she didn’t think she could take anymore, he withdrew, just enough to let her catch her breath, and then the delicious act started all over again.
He pleasured her over and over, bringing her to the brink only to prolong the sensation. As if they had all the time in the world. As if he was more concerned with giving her pleasure than taking his own.
As if.
“Please…” The word was a ragged gasp of air as her hands clawed at his forearms. As delicious as the feelings were, she wanted more.
Another deft movement of his fingers and she came apart. Shudders vibrated through her body and skimmed her ragged senses in wave after wave of sweet sensation. She slumped back against him, weak and damp, her breath raspy, her heartbeat a frenzied rhythm in her ears.
He caught a drop of perspiration at her temple with the seductive glide of his tongue. But it wasn’t the contact that stalled the air in her lungs. It was his voice.
“You’re so beautiful, Shay.”
A rush of pleasure sparked deep inside her and before she could remind herself that he couldn’t see her period, much less tell whether or not she was beautiful, she grabbed his hand and touched his palm to her lips.
Matt felt the sensuous press of her full mouth and his heart stalled. He felt her gratitude and joy, and a burst of anger went through him because he knew he was the only one who’d ever told her such a thing and truly meant it.
Love at First Bite Bundle Page 57