by Tatum Throne
“Yes. There is.”
Brine felt her heart start to hammer as their gazes locked. She was the first to look away.
He answered the rest of Daphne’s questions with that fall-in-love charm, wit, and intelligence but didn’t make any move to return her so blatant advances. The interview ended, but Daphne lingered like a virus. It took another twenty minutes for Thane to get her out the door with her crew.
“Now that is why I don’t do interviews.”
Brine shot him a look. “You looked like you handled yourself just fine, big guy.”
Thunder rumbled outside. The sun shining down upon the hardwood floors faded as clouds moved in. He stared at her a moment longer as though he was trying to figure something out. She drank in his hungry gaze as though she were starving for love. It was then that she realized that she was in a lot of ways. The last thing Thane would ever want in his life was a needy woman.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“I am.”
He headed for the kitchen and she followed. She leaned against the island as he opened the fridge. “So why did you grant Miss Tits Perfect an interview and not me?”
She shimmied her shoulders forward, making her breasts jiggle. Thane rolled a tomato, head of romaine lettuce, and carrots onto the counter.
“Her tits weren’t that great. I wouldn’t say they were perfect. Yours are better.”
She glowered and fumed inwardly. “I want to know. I chased you for weeks. You ignored all my calls. My e-mails. I want to know why?”
Thane came around the island and pulled her in close. He tilted up her chin with his palm. He gave her a light, brushing kiss. The tease was meant to diffuse her anger. To her chagrin, it was working. “I was busy. I meant to call you back, but I didn’t have time. I already made the interview with Miss Tits Perfect. It was business. Not personal. Then I met you.”
She believed him. Thane had honest eyes. Now things were personal between them, and she didn’t know where they were going. Where were they going? As of the moment, they were going back into the fridge. He took a bottle of white wine out and ran his gaze over the label. He screwed in a corkscrew, opening it with a quiet pop.
He put two wineglasses on the counter. “You pour the wine. I’ll start dinner.”
He put steak on the grill and then started chopping a salad. He added gluten-free vinaigrette salad dressing, after asking her approval. Fifteen minutes later, they sat down to dinner. Thane lit the two candles on the mahogany table. It was starting to feel more and more like a date.
Brine sipped her wine. Outside, the rain was hammering the patio furniture. Thunder and lightning crashed. She was never good at making dinner conversation. It always felt stilted and forced.
“How’s your filet?” he asked.
“Perfect.”
Thane drizzled olive oil over the appetizer plate and offered her the warm, soft bread. Brine stroked the bread through the oil and felt the heat of it melt over her tongue.
Everything was perfect. The man. The ambiance. The food. She wondered what would happen when it was time for her to go. Would he ask her to stay? Her heart hammered at the thought. Would she say yes?
No. She wouldn’t. She’d thank him for the dinner and head out into the pouring rain. Lightning snapped, shaking the windows. The lights flickered. On. Off.
“It’s wild out there tonight.”
“Mother Nature must not be too happy,” Thane said.
She sipped her wine and thought about sipping on the man. Will he ask me to stay? She had to stop thinking about it. “How so?”
“It’s like the butterfly effect,” Thane said.
“Ah, someone sneezed in Hawaii and we’re experiencing the weather pattern from it.” He laughed. She liked the sound of his deep chuckle and the way his eyes crinkled. “Or were you thinking more of the time-travel conundrum in fiction?”
“I was thinking atoms actually.” His gaze went to the floor to ceiling windows. A gray wash of rain was abusing the trees around the house. Wind whipped them, bending them at the tops. “Or fate.”
The lights flicked off. “Thane?”
“I’m here.” He scooted closer, brushing her hand with his in a soothing caress. “I keep thinking about the day we met.”
Brine licked her lips nervously. Candlelight flickered over the table, illuminating only so far. They were both in shadows. Thunderstorms always made her jumpy. She could sense the tension of his coiled, muscled body in the room. Brine could feel the thunderstorm brewing inside the house.
“Oh?”
“I wasn’t supposed to start work at that site for another week.”
She shivered. “I wasn’t alone. My friend Stephanie was with me until your guys showed that morning.”
He sighed, running the back of his fingers over her arm. “I hoped you had help.”
She tugged playfully on his hand. “You were really around the corner watching me for two hours?”
“Yep. I had my assistant bring our lunch over. For a while there, I expected you to get that bottle. I didn’t know the handcuff key was in the bottom.”
“I could’ve had it.”
“Such confidence.”
His thumb skimmed over the back of her hand, creating a friction of heat searing over her skin. He flipped over her palm and kissed it gently. Brine was too aware of what those hands could do to her most intimate parts of her body. Before she could stop him, he was pulling her onto his lap and she was falling into his arms.
“We shouldn’t. I should go.”
“Shut up, Brine, and let me kiss you. We both know you like it.”
She gasped at his hard tone as his lips connected passionately with hers. He was hot and hungry with his tongue, with his hands, with his domination of her body. Brine arched up into his touch as his hand caressed her breast. Thane’s thumb found her pebbled nipple that he tweaked and twisted through her shirt and bra. Brine felt his hard cock press up against her belly. He set her on her feet.
“Undress.”
Lightning spiraled across the sky illuminating the room for the briefest of seconds. Molten heat simmered between them. Brine longed to taste the salty-sweet texture of his skin on her tongue.
She undressed slowly, taking every inch of clothing off in a seductive dance that she timed flawlessly with each strike of lightning. Thane growled and groaned at each erotic note that she hit with staccato perfection. He sat in the chair with his legs spread wide. His right hand stroked himself through the fabric of his pants.
“Touch your breasts.”
Brine shivered as she cupped the heavy masses in her palms. She pinched her nipples with her thumb and fingers. “Like this?”
He pulled her hips so she stood between his legs, running his hands over her curves. “Oh, that’s good, baby.”
Thane pulled his shirt over his head in one jerk. Brine sensed and heard his pants being shucked off and tossed across the hardwood floors. Without being able to see his face, Brine had to trust her other senses. She heard the back of the chair hit the table with a crack. Thane grabbed her by the hips and spun her around, scooting her back to straddle his wide legs. The large head of his cock pressed between her wet pussy lips. He eased her down on to his sex, bolting her in place.
“Move.”
The command sent a ripple of desire through her needy pussy. She felt her hungry body milk his cock. “Make me.”
He rutted up, grabbing her ass and then her thighs, spreading her wide. She rocked in response. He filled her completely, in a way no man had ever. His fingers reached around and thrummed her clit. An orgasm shuddered through her body. She felt easy and out of control when she was with him. He made her forget the rational side of her brain. He made her lose all sense of balance. He pushed her up off his cock and spun her around to the table. He shoved the chair out of the way and it landed with a crack on the floor.
Brine heard the sound of the dishes hitting together as Thane shoved them back from the edge of the
table. He lifted her bottom onto the edge of the table, his fingers caressing her sex. Brine’s legs instinctively went to hug his hips. His searing cock slipped on the honey coating her pussy. His thumb snapped over her clit sending erotic shudders down her pussy.
Thane reached over her shoulder. Apprehension spun through her belly as she thought of the candle he was probably reaching for. Instead, he had the little clear decanter of olive oil in his hand. He held it over the candle to heat it. He fisted his hand in her hair as he positioned his cock on the edge of her swollen vulva. He pushed in slowly and pulled her head back, exposing the long line of her neck. Brine’s pussy contracted on his swollen cock.
She dug her nails into his ass, trying to pull him deeper, but he resisted her urging with his muscled thighs braced on the edge of the table. Hot oil ran in a rivulet down her breast and over her nipple. The heat of the oil made her flesh sing in the most erotic way. Thane rocked his thick cock to the hilt as his tongue licked over her nipple. He tugged the slick nub into his mouth and sucked eagerly. Brine groaned and threaded her fingers into his hair.
She whimpered in disappointment as he pulled away. Hot oil made the long, curvy slide down her other breast to jump off the end of her nipple. Thane leaned down and caught the stream before it could slide away. He lapped at her breast until she was coming again.
She arched back onto the table and he swirled the oil over her belly. His hands were hot and seductive as they moved down and back up to cup her breast. His tongue licked over her nipple and swirled around it. His fingers slipped over her nipple, pinching her hard. All the while, he held his cock stiff deep inside her pussy. Brine swirled her hand through the oil and reached around her thigh to caress Thane’s balls.
He groaned. His thighs shoved the table into the wall, sending glass shattering to the floor. Deep inside his cock kicked out hard. She rubbed and petted his balls as she bucked off and on. Thane lost control and pounded her pussy. Her breasts bounced up and down with each thrust of his cock. The table rocked hard into the wall. Thane’s hands gripped the sides of the table. Brine lost control, and her pussy shattered again.
Thane jerked out his cock. Brine grabbed his shaft and pumped him with both hands. His cock erupted, sending his hot lava over her belly. They were both breathing heavily as she held his huge, satisfied cock in her hands.
Outside, thunder rumbled in the distance. Thane leaned over the table and blew the candles out. He lifted her up to her feet and gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Come upstairs with me.”
A part of her was frightened to accept his offer of staying the night. “Okay.”
Thane went to the shower and started it. She got a nice view of his ass and his rippling muscles as he leaned forward. He stepped in and started singing Puccini. His deep baritone echoed off walls. Handsome and he could sing. He stopped singing.
“Are you coming in?” he asked.
They showered together, washing each other in a slow intimacy that came with lovers. He washed the soap over her belly and she giggled.
“You’re ticklish.”
“Stop that!”
He backed her up against the shower wall and kissed her senseless. “No way, woman.”
She laughed hard and squirmed until they fell silent kissing each other. She pulled away and looked up into his face. Part of her always wanted the fairy tale, the happily ever after, but she knew she wasn’t marriage material. What man would want to have babies with a damaged woman? Thane wasn’t the settling type either.
“Thane, what are we doing?”
He shut off the water. “We’re going to bed. It’s late. It’s been a long day.”
“I should go.” She took the towel he handed her.
He tucked a towel around his hips. “You’re staying.”
How could she refuse? Part of her didn’t want to refuse what he had to offer. Not tonight. Tonight she was tired of fighting the sexual desires she had for him. She climbed naked into bed next to him and he pulled her in close. They were out within seconds.
Brine awoke in the middle of the night and slipped out of bed. She couldn’t stay. The truth was she lost everything that mattered to her when she met Thane. It was only a matter of time before Thane found out about her losing her job. He’d know as soon as he picked up the paper. She didn’t want him to feel responsible for her mistakes.
Shadow whimpered and followed her around the dining room as she found her clothes. Well, found almost all of her clothes. She couldn’t find her panties anywhere and the electricity was still out. She dressed without her silk panties and hunkered down to pet Shadow.
“Go back to sleep, boy. It’s late.”
He followed her back to his spot in the foyer. She slipped out the front door and shut the door quietly behind. The rain had settled into a fine mist that coated the air like fog. There were so many reasons why they couldn’t be together. Brine couldn’t have sex without letting her heart get involved. Thane wasn’t offering her more and she didn’t want that. The problem was Brine didn’t know what she wanted. She had to get her life back on track with a job before she could even figure this thing out with Thane.
Chapter Twelve
Brine was craving chocolate chip cookies. Being home made temptation possible. She had her first batch in the oven when the knock sounded on her front door. She wiped her hands on the hand towel as she went to the door. She opened it to see Thane with his hands pressed against the frame. That predatory stare was locked onto her in the most possessive way. She could see that he wasn’t happy with her for leaving in the middle of the night.
“When were you going to tell me you lost your job?”
“Well hello yourself. Would you like to come in?” She couldn’t keep the sass from her voice.
Thane’s gaze dipped to her T-shirt and it was then that she remembered that she was letting her girls hang out unrestricted. Thane’s quick and subtle eye adjustment had her wondering if he was no longer interested. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“Yes. I would,” he said.
Thane followed her through the short hall back into the kitchen. She knew by his silence that he was taking in her minimalist style of decorating. She wasn’t a girl that had the best and latest. In fact, she didn’t even have a television or watch the idiot box as her grandfather used to call it. Most of her furniture was given to her by her grandparents, too.
“How did you find out?” she asked.
“I stopped by to see you, and your friend Stephanie gave me the update. So what happened?” he asked.
Brine went back to work putting cookie dough on the pan. “Fred fired me. There wasn’t anything I could do to change his mind. I think it was coming from higher up.”
“You should’ve told me.”
She put the pan in the oven. “I didn’t want you to worry about it. I’ve got a lead on a job. I’ve got some savings. I’ll be okay.”
Thane picked up her cookie spoon and took a bite. She leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. She didn’t want him to know that the lead was for a gentlemen’s club she used to work at when she was in college. He probably wouldn’t approve of the late nights and alcohol slinging she would be doing.
“I have a position open at our new office. It’s temporary.”
She liked how he emphasized the temporary. “No way.”
“Take the job, Brine. Just until you find something better.”
She hated how sensible he could be when he was arguing with her. Pride kept her from saying yes. She pinched her lips closed and tilted her head off to the side. She didn’t want to work for someone she was sleeping with. “Would you be my boss?”
“Yeah. You got a problem with that?”
She took note of the way Thane was dressed in his uniform of work jeans and button-up dress shirt. Rugged. Controlled. She knew she could make the right moves to make him lose all control in less than a heartbeat. A shiver vibrated through her belly and fluttered over her sex at the th
ought of weakening him into submission. Maybe it was time she took control of their relationship. She had some thinking to do.
“Yeah, I do,” she said.
“Then we can set up some ground rules, okay?”
The cookies beeped and Brine pulled the pan from the oven. “I’m listening.”
“We’ll keep it professional on the job.”
And off? She wondered but he didn’t go on to say. “What would I be doing?”
“It’s mostly organizing. We’re moving into our new office at the end of the month. Things are being trucked over every day. I don’t have the manpower to take someone away from their job.”
This could work, but she knew it wouldn’t. Thane would be out at the jobsites and she could put things away. She broke off a hot cookie and handed Thane half of it. “I can’t. I don’t work with men I’ve been with.”
“I won’t take no for an answer.” He raised one of his dark brows in a seductive way. He came around the island and snatched another cookie from the cooling rack.
He was pushy when he wanted something. “Sorry. Won’t work for you. Ever.”
“What if we were no longer sleeping together?”
“Still won’t take the job.”
Thane stared at her for several seconds before he changed tactics. “What’s this new job?”
She half shrugged. “A job.”
“You’re not planning on telling me, are you?”
His voice was a quiet whisper of seduction. It was as though he was testing her on this issue, but she didn’t understand why. Brine felt her heart flutter in a peculiar way and it made her jumpy. “I’ll let you know when it’s a done deal. Right now, I’m just waiting on getting the call from the owner.”
He came back to grab two more cookies. “You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
“I think that’s what you like about me.”
He chuckled. “I suppose you’re right. I guess fighting is our foreplay.”
He turned and headed for the door. Brine wasn’t sure what she expected. No, she knew what she expected. She had wanted a kiss or some sign of his affection, but it didn’t happen. He was at the door when she called, “I poisoned the cookies!”