“I can’t believe there’s more,” she commented as she took another slurp.
“You have a long list.” And if it were up to me, I’d spend the rest of my life fulfilling it. I kept that last part to myself.
“And you’re not going to give me even one hint?” She lifted her index finger in the air.
“Nope.” I shook my head.
She smiled before taking another slurp. Then, in an instant, her expression morphed from glee to torture. Her face contorted as she pressed her palm to her forehead. “Ahhh!”
“Press your thumb to the roof of your mouth,” I instructed calmly.
“What?” Her face was still scrunched up.
“Trust me.”
She did as I said and her perfect features relaxed. “Oh my gosh. I don’t know what happened.”
“Brain freeze,” I explained.
“Is that what that was?”
“Yep. I’m sure it wasn’t on your list but—”
Before I could finish my sentence, she’d pulled her paper out of her pocket.
“I’ve always wondered what that felt like,” she said as she scribbled something on the paper.
It was so refreshing, so enchanting, so intoxicating being with Bella. Her love, zest, and enthusiasm for life was contagious. I was beginning to think that even I, who prided himself in living in the moment and enjoying life, was learning something from this breath-of-fresh-air woman. She didn’t take anything for granted. And I realized I had been taking a lot for granted in my life.
But I promised myself, in that moment, that I would never take her for granted. And I sure as hell wouldn’t take one second that we got to spend together for granted.
As we drove along the coastline as the sun was setting, she sighed. “It’s so beautiful here. What was it like growing up seeing this every day?”
“It was good, I guess. I don’t really have much to compare it to.”
She nodded, thoughtfully.
“I know that Cheyenne was taken away when you were too little to remember, but did you like having brothers? I always wanted siblings.”
I could hear the emptiness, the sadness in her voice. It made me want to fill that void, to erase any loneliness she’d ever felt.
“It was good. My dad was useless. He was there but not there, if that makes sense. All he cared about was getting enough alcohol in his body to forget the pain that he was in.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up—”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t think it really affected me like it did Hank and Billy. I never knew anything else. Just like with Mama. I don’t really have any true memories of her. Most of what I think I remember is really just other people’s memories that I’ve heard so many times it tricked my brain into thinking they were mine.”
She sat beside me quietly.
“What about you? What was your childhood like?”
“Lonely,” she said without hesitation.
“I’m sorry.”
Out of my peripheral vision, I could see her head shaking. “No. Don’t be. I hate even saying that because I feel like I don’t have the right to.”
“What do you mean, you don’t have the right to?”
“I mean, I grew up privileged. Very privileged. Who wants to hear some little rich girl whining about being lonely?”
“I do. And you weren’t whining. I asked you a question and you answered it honestly.” I glanced over again and from her sour expression, it was obvious she wasn’t truly convinced of what I was saying. So I figured I’d have to take a different route to convince her. “I’ve been thinking about money a lot lately. Ya know, because of the inheritance. A lot more than I ever have before. And I just don’t see it comin’ in and changin’ my life much. I like my life. I’m happy. Money solves a lot of problems, but it can’t make someone happy.”
She nodded and I knew my second attempt was a crash and burn as well. The girl beside me was obviously very hard on herself and it was gonna take a lot more than one anecdote to crack that hard shell. My only hope was tryin’ to get to know everything about her so I could see where there might be a sliver of a crack, one that could give me some insight into the inner workings of the angel seated beside me.
“So, you lived with your mom until you were seven?”
“Yeah, in Savannah. My dad left when I was four, and it was just the two of us. Well, actually, the three of us. Mrs. B was there.”
“But she didn’t go with you to your father’s?”
“No. I had new nannies.”
“Plural?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if I was the one who was difficult or if it was my father, but none of my nannies lasted longer than a few months. Sometimes they were only there a few days. I never knew how long one would be there or why they would leave. They would never say goodbye. I’d just wake up or come home from school and a new person would be there.”
“That must’ve been really hard.”
I could see that emotion was building up behind her eyes. “I’m not going to sit here and complain because my nannies never lasted. There are kids in much worse situations.”
“Yeah, and there are also kids that come from homes with two parents that love them. And they never have to be afraid or lonely. They have brothers and sisters to keep them company and grow up with as best friends. They have a mom that takes them to ballet and…” I couldn’t think of what else a mom would do. “And teaches them about makeup. And a dad that shows them how to ride bikes and fish.”
My eyes cut to her to see if she was getting my point. The look on her face broke my heart. It was as if no one in her life had given her permission to feel the things she felt.
“I’m just sayin’. If you’re gonna make comparisons—it goes both ways.”
We were silent for the rest of the drive. I had no idea what she had going through her mind, but I could sense that she needed time to think.
As I pulled onto my buddy’s property and parked, Bella looked around the open dirt space.
“What is this place?”
“You’ll see. Come on.”
We got out and I guided her through a wooded area. When we came through the trees into the clearing, there was a race car parked in front of us.
“Is that yours?”
“I wish. Nah, it’s my buddy Pete’s. He races professionally.”
“And that’s his car?” She pointed.
“Yep. And this is his private racetrack.”
“Wow.”
She looked appropriately impressed as she scanned the area. There were large floodlights that shone onto a pro-practice track.
“You ready?” I asked.
“For what?”
“Number 152. You said you wanted to drive as fast as a car could go.”
“How did you remember that?”
“Because after you went to sleep last night I went out to the front room, picked up the list, and took pictures of it with my phone.”
“You did?” I couldn’t tell if she was horrified or thought it was romantic.
When her eyes started welling up and her bottom lip trembled, I figured it was the latter. Leaning down, I did something I’d wanted to do all day—kiss her. As she melted into my kiss, I almost forgot where we were, or what we were doing.
“Did you two want me to leave?” I heard Pete’s voice behind me.
I broke our kiss and Bella’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment. That happened a lot around me, and I liked it. I made introductions and then watched as Pete explained to Bella what she would be doing.
Just like when she’d been out for the girl’s night at Southern Comfort, I took the opportunity to just watch her. She’d lit up the bar then just like she was lighting up this racetrack now. From the moment I’d seen her on the dock, there’d been something so different about her. There was an intangible quality that she possessed.
She was fucking magic.
CHAPTER 35
Isabella
“Today was amazing.” I sighed as we pulled into Jimmy’s driveway. “Thank you so much.”
Jimmy cut the engine and his head fell back with a thud.
“I know you told me to stop saying that,” I rushed to qualify. “But I can’t, because today was…” Silence fell as I searched for the right words to express what I was feeling.
“Hold that thought.” Jimmy lifted his head and unlatched his seatbelt. “Sherlock can hear when the truck pulls up and if I’m not through that door in thirty seconds, I’m gonna have a puddle of his excitement to clean up.”
“Oh, right!” I hadn’t forgotten about Sherlock, but I’d never had a dog, so I hadn’t considered that he’d be waiting.
I followed Jimmy inside the house and was greeted just as enthusiastically tonight as I had been the night before. A bundle of fur and tongue jumped up on me.
“Hi, Sherlock!” I laughed as I tried my best to dodge his attempts to French kiss me.
“Hey!” Jimmy yelled as he pulled Sherlock down. “Where are your manners? You can’t treat a lady like that.”
Actually, if Jimmy wanted to jump on me and lick me, I’d be all good with it, I thought silently, wishing I had the confidence to say it out loud.
As much as I’d promised myself that things would be different and I’d say what was on my mind, I hadn’t really lived up to that one quite yet. But I’d definitely asked for what I’d wanted, and that had worked out for me.
“I’m gonna put him out.” Jimmy walked toward the back of the house with Sherlock beside him.
I’d heard the phrase, that man looks just as good going as he does coming, but I’d never fully appreciated its meaning until I met Jimmy. His wide shoulders, strong back, and sexy butt made it a pleasure to watch him go.
My body had been operating on a pretty high level of endorphins, emotions, and hormones all day, and I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, so I should’ve been exhausted. But the truth was, I was wide awake. I was buzzing with all the possibilities of how tonight would play out.
Would we have sex against the wall? Would we go to his bedroom? Would he throw me down on the couch?
For the record I was perfectly fine with any or all of those possibilities.
When Jimmy came back in the room, the look in his golden eyes had my temperature spiking. His long strides were measured and commanding. He was stalking toward me, a man on a mission, and I was pretty sure the mission was to make one of the multiple X-rated scenarios that had been running through my mind a reality.
As much as I would’ve loved to be the prey to his hunter, there was something I needed to do first. “Um,” I said when he was a few feet away. “Would I possibly be able to take a shower?”
It had been a long, jam-packed day and I had layers of it clinging to my skin.
“That depends.” His face didn’t give anything away.
Up until this moment, Jimmy had been the consummate gentleman. It never even occurred to me that he wouldn’t want me taking a shower at his house. “On what?”
“On whether or not I can join you.”
“Oh!” My eyes widened. This was another example of how my inexperience revealed itself. Most people would’ve probably understood what he was inferring without him having to spell it out. Oh well, there was nothing I could do about my novice status except keep working to become an expert. And Jimmy joining me in the shower sounded exactly like the way I could do that.
“Yes, but I can’t get my hair wet.” Miss Shaw had been very adamant about that.
“Don’t worry, darlin’. Your hair isn’t what I plan on gettin’ wet.”
In one swift movement, he’d swept me off my feet. One second I was standing in front of him, the next I was being cradled in his arms. I squealed and wrapped my arms around his neck as he carried me into the master bathroom.
He set me down and instructed, “Strip.”
I kicked off my shoes as he turned the water on in the shower. When my feet hit the cold tile floor a shiver ran through me. I wasn’t sure if it was a reaction to the frigid tile or if it was a byproduct of the excitement bubbling up inside of me.
Once he had the water to a temperature of his liking he reached behind his head and tugged his shirt up and off.
I sucked in a sharp breath when confronted with Jimmy’s naked torso. I’d seen it before, of course, but there was just something so…powerful, so masculine about the structure of his upper body. It was strength personified.
My fingers itched to touch the perfection that was Jimmy’s body. So, I reached out my hand, but before I made contact with the ripples of his abs, he playfully swatted my hand away.
“Get naked and then you can touch me.” He smiled as he pushed his shorts and boxers down.
I wasn’t going to argue with that. I tugged my shirt off over my head and unbuttoned my white denim shorts.
“Turn around.”
The growl in his tone and the look in his eyes had my body heating up faster than the water that was steaming.
“Bossy, much?” I teased.
“You love it.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I could feel myself blushing as I did what he said. When my back was facing him, he unclipped my bra and slid the straps down my arms. I watched as the undergarment fell to the floor.
The next thing I felt was my hair being swept up. Then the light press of Jimmy’s lips against the nape of my neck.
“Oh…” I sighed as my sex clenched.
No one had ever kissed that particular area on my body and apparently it had a direct line to my lady parts, which were now singing with arousal.
“Take off your shorts,” he whispered between feather-light kisses.
My hands were clumsy as I unzipped my shorts and pulled them down my legs, making sure to take my panties with them. Once I stepped out of them Jimmy pulled all my hair up and twisted it into a bun, which he secured with a hairband.
I lifted my hand to my neck and then over the hair that was sitting on top of my head. I knew he was capable, but I never would’ve guessed he could style women’s hair.
I turned around to face him. “How did you learn to do that? And so fast?”
As soon as I asked the question, I wished that I could take it back. I didn’t need to hear about Jimmy’s many conquests, still I was curious.
“I went through a long-hair phase in high school. But I couldn’t play sports with it down.”
“Soooo, you put it up in a man bun?” I couldn’t help the smile that tilted my lips as I pictured Jimmy Comfort with man bun.
“No.” It was the first time I’d seen any sort of embarrassment or uneasiness from Jimmy. “It wasn’t a man bun.”
I leaned to the side so that I could see my reflection in the mirror that he was blocking. “Did it look like this? And was it on your head?”
“Smartass.” He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, swatting my backside as he walked into the shower. I giggled as I squirmed against his muscled shoulder and returned the favor, slapping his rear.
The energy between us shifted from playful to sincere as he lowered me down with care and gentleness, making sure to keep my hair away from the stream of water. I watched as he lathered up his hands with soap and began to wash my body.
He lowered down to his knees in front of me and started with my right foot, then my left. He moved up my left calf, then my right. His fingers slid up my right thigh then my left. His movements were slow, deliberate. He wasn’t rushing. It was as if he was making a mental topography map of my body.
The higher he got to the apex between my legs, the tinglier that space got. By the time his rope-worn fingertips brushed the top of my inner thigh, I was so high on sheer anticipation that I almost came right then.
But instead of touching, or even teasing, me in my neediest place, he avoided it altogether. His hands skimmed over my thighs, gliding easily with the water and soap. They brushed along my belly and around and over my butt.
He’d stop and apply soap to his hands every once in a while, only adding to the delayed seduction. By the time he made it to my breasts, my nipples were standing at full attention, begging for just that.
They wanted his attention. And thankfully, he didn’t disappoint. He massaged my breasts in his hands, spreading soap all over them before rinsing his hands and wiping the suds off, just like he had with every other body part.
But this time was different. Instead of moving on, his hands stayed where they were. He pushed my breasts together in the center of my chest, so that my nipples were almost touching, and he lowered his head taking them into his mouth, sucking, licking, and biting them at the same time.
“Ahh!” I cried out as a sharp lightning bolt of pleasure traveled from my head to my toes.
He continued teasing them, pressing them together then separating them and showing each an equal amount of care and attentiveness.
As much as I was truly enjoying the feeling of being worshipped by Jimmy, I wanted to participate in this seduction. I didn’t want to be the only one being taken to the brink of ecstasy over and over again. I wanted to inflict the same delicious torture that I was suffering back on him.
So, I took matters into my own hands. Literally.
I grabbed the steel-hard erection jutting out from his body and stroked my hand up and down its length. I was hoping that it felt good and was about to ask when I got my answer.
A guttural groan ripped from deep inside his chest.
Mission accomplished.
CHAPTER 36
Jimmy
“Baby, if you keep stroking me like that it’s going to be game over,” I gritted out, resting my forehead on hers, my hands still filled with her perfect breasts.
She released her grip and I instantly missed her touch. It was just one more thing that was magic about her. Hand jobs had never really been my thing. I could do that myself and do a better job because I knew exactly what felt good. Most of the time when girls started pulling my pork I quickly, but charmingly, redirected them.
Which I guess I’d done to Bella, too, but for a completely different reason.
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