Sugar Shack
Page 6
She pouted. “But you’re so much more fun when you’re naughty.”
A deep, sexy groan resonated from his throat. “Damn, Cat. The temperature out here is below zero, but just a few simple words from you and I’m hard.”
She stood and sashayed over to him. “Are you complaining?” she asked, her voice throaty with need.
Luke’s lids closed over his smoldering brown eyes. “Please,” he said, his jaw clenching. “Just meet me in the barn.”
Cat watched him hurry back into the blizzard outside. It took her a minute to drag her eyes away from him and put on her coat and boots.
Blowing flakes clung to her lashes and tried to hide in her hair, but she pulled the coat’s hood down as she walked outside. Her feet sank in the deep drifts concealing the driveway. Instinctively, she headed for the barn.
The smell of hay hit her as soon as she closed the big door behind her. A smile spread across her face as she again remembered the peasant/soldier game they had played one warm afternoon, years ago. She walked farther into the barn, lowering her hood. As she did, straws of hay floated down and landed in her hair. She looked up and saw Luke grinning from the loft.
“Hello, fräulein,” he said.
She laughed. “Ouch. Your German accent is atrocious, sweetie.”
He chuckled. “Good, because I’m supposed to be an American soldier.”
“Am I supposed to be German?”
“Austrian.” He waggled his brows. “Always had a thing for the cute gals in The Sound of Music.”
She hurried up the ladder to the loft where Luke had spread a flannel blanket across the loose hay. The electric heater whirred above them. Cat had always loved this barn, which was kept cool in the summer and warm in winter.
“Have a seat, sexy Austrian peasant.”
She chuckled. “Ya. I vill. Ya.”
Luke’s expression soured. “Wow, you suck at that accent, too.”
Cat shrugged out of her coat and threw it at him. “Fine. Let’s pretend that we’re really speaking in our native tongue. Maybe we have subtitles running below us.”
He knocked away the jacket and faked a gasp. “Are you implying we’re making a porn movie?”
Laughing, she fell on top of him. “Vun can only hope, ya?”
Their lips met in a frantic kiss. Luke slid his hands beneath her sweater and yanked upward, breaking the kiss briefly to pull it over her head. His fingers nimbly slipped between them, unlatching the front hook of her lace bra. With a flick of his finger, her bra released, spilling her breasts. The cold caressed her naked skin, the icy fingers of winter playing with her nipples until they were painfully erect.
Luke reached down and unsnapped her jeans, rolling her onto her back as he pulled off her boots first, followed quickly by the denim. He took his time with her lacy pink panties, hooking his thumbs into the waistband and slowly urging them down her thighs, over her knees, past her ankles.
The chill licked at her exposed skin, exciting her more with each shiver that ran up her spine. Luke pulled a picnic basket from behind him. He lifted a can of whipped cream out and slowly parted her legs at the knees.
“Oh, sir! Vat are you going to do vis dat?” she asked in mock dismay, her accent even worse than before.
He knelt between her open legs and grinned as he shook the can, popping the top off. Aiming it at her bare pussy, he sprayed enough fluffy cream to cover the entire shaved area. “The better to eat you with, my sweet,” he murmured, and dove in.
As his tongue lapped through the whipped cream covering her mound, he lifted her thighs and rested them over his shoulders. The position exposed her pussy fully to his mouth and he took full advantage, eating through the sweet cream until he found her sensitive clit.
She moaned, her hands clenching in his thick blond hair. “Mmmm.” She bit her bottom lip as he lavished delightful attention on her cunt.
He grabbed her legs behind her knees and pushed them further apart as he rocked her hips up to give him better access. When his tongue delved and flicked deep inside her, she trembled. “Jesus, Luke. Yesssss.” Her head thrashed from side to side as his tongue dipped into her again, lapping and thrusting. Her fingers tightened in his hair, pushing his face down until she could feel his entire lower jaw working as he ate her out. It was the sexiest thing she’d experienced in a very long time.
He pulled back and blew across her pussy. His hot breath combined with the chilly air raised her excitement to a level she’d never reached. Before she had a chance to comprehend it, Luke dove back in and licked her deep, then drew her clit into his mouth and gently sucked.
Cat couldn’t breathe. She was transported to another place. Heat drizzled through her veins like warm molasses. The more he suckled, the more her body flowed to this ethereal place of his making. However, when he pulled her into his mouth and hummed softly, the vibrations he created against her clit sent her senses reeling. Liquid heat rushed to her pussy. She cried out, arching against his provocative mouth. “Yeah, suck it, baby. Lick that sweet cunt. God, yes. Yessssssss.”
She jerked, pumping against him until release came. Like a tidal wave it crashed over her, and she swam with it all the way to heaven. With every shiver, he sucked her, making it that much more enjoyable. She was whimpering by the time the spasms subsided.
Chapter Nine
Later that afternoon, after they’d both caught their breath and the world righted itself again, they went back inside the house. The flurries had started in earnest again and Luke went to check the generator in the basement as Cat took a shower. He grinned. She was a sticky, sweet mess, and he loved every second of pleasuring her.
He added a little more gas to the generator and headed out of the cellar. On the floor was a typewriter-shaped spot where the Remington had sat for so many years, holding the door ajar. He grabbed a box and set it on the spot to keep the door from closing and sticking. Stupid door. They should have had it replaced years ago.
Bounding up the stairs, he thought about the workout the old typewriter had gotten this afternoon. And by a real live reporter, no less. He smiled as he closed the door to the stairwell and wandered to the kitchen. On the table lay various papers. One stack had writing on them, another had partial paragraphs, and a few papers lay crumpled to one side. He found one still in the typewriter. Leaning over, he read what Cat had written.
The smile on his face melted into a frown as he read, and finally he yanked it out of the roller entirely. He scanned it once more before he sat down at the table, a decade’s worth of insecurities coming back to haunt him. He’d wanted so badly to believe she had changed, but reading this...Luke looked down at the paper.
It trembled in his hand.
****
Catherine dried off, feeling delightfully satisfied from Luke’s afternoon picnic. Goosebumps skittered across her flesh as she imagined his head between her thighs. She moaned and closed her eyes. God, what that man did to her was positively sinful. She shivered with excitement.
Throwing on her clothes, she rushed to be with him again. Funny how she looked forward to laughing, kissing, talking—everything with him. The years apart seemed to dissolve into seconds when they were together. Maybe if they gave it a shot, they could actually make it work between them. Maybe Luke had finally forgiven the impetuous, immature girl that had flown off so long ago. She kept telling him she’d changed...maybe he was finished doubting her. Smiling, she walked into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him from behind, feeling closer to him than ever before. “Hey, Sexy,” she said, kissing his temple.
He didn’t respond. Didn’t try to pull her into an embrace or even return the simple hug. Didn’t even say a word of greeting. She stepped back. “What’s wrong?”
He uncurled his fingers from around the now-crumpled paper and handed it to her. “I read some of the article you’re working on.”
“Okay...” she drawled, still not seeing the problem.
He turned toward her, his eyes
the shade of smoldering wood. “Do you find all this funny, Catherine?”
Uh oh, he was calling her Catherine. Not a good sign. “What are you talking about, Luke?”
He stood and waved the paper in front of her. “This. You paint us as country bumpkins who are lucky to know what the hell indoor plumbing is. You make it sound like we’re an inbred bunch who stick to our farms and don’t mingle well with outsiders.” The wadded paper flew across the room. “Damn it, you even had to make fun of our lack of Internet. If we’re so ass-backwards, what did you ever see in me? Am I a joke to you?” His lips curled into a snarl. “Some kind of pity fuck?”
What was going on? “I don’t understand—”
“Seriously, Cat. I wanted to believe you had changed. That you weren’t just after something before you moved on.” He shook his head. “But you’re still the same conniving woman you were in college, aren’t you?”
That pissed her off. “No. I’m not that person, Luke. Why are you flinging these accusations at me? You don’t even know me anymore.”
He cocked his head to one side. “No shit. And from the looks of it, I don’t want to get reacquainted.”
“This is ridiculous. You read part of my article and just arbitrarily decide we’re not compatible any longer. Pardon me for pointing out that between the sheets, we’re über-compatible.” She shook her head before he could speak. “And no, it was never a pity fuck, as you so eloquently put it.”
“Bullshit.”
“What? What exactly is bullshit, Luke? My article? My feelings for you? What?”
Hands clasped behind his back, he began to pace. “I don’t know, Cat. All I know is this smells an awful lot like a set-up. I haven’t figured out what the catch is yet, but I’m working on it.”
Tears stung her eyes. “You’re looking for something that isn’t there. I promise you, there is no catch.”
“Oh, you promise?” He looked at her over his shoulder. “And I’m supposed to believe you because you’ve been so honest with me in the past, right?”
Sighing, she stared at the ceiling for a full minute, then glanced back at him. “All I can keep saying is I’m sorry for running off ten years ago. When will you believe me?” She thought for a second, then frowned. “Are you looking for an excuse not to forgive me? Would that be too easy?”
“That’s insane. Besides, I’m not the one writing nonsense about the friendly folks in Vermont and making them look like idiots.”
Folding her arms over her chest, she stood firm and looked him in the eye. “For your information, Sherlock, that piece you read was about the simple charms of the area. If you’d taken a moment to read the tidy stack of typed papers on the table, you’d have seen the actual article. I wasn’t finished. I was going to incorporate the piece you read with the rest, to show the reader how tranquil Vermont is and how it’s a dream destination to get away from the hustle-bustle of the big city.”
He had the courtesy to look confused. “No Internet access is a perk?” he asked sarcastically. “It shows how far out in the boonies we are.”
“It’s a huge perk. No phones, no computers, nothing but clean air and nature. It’s what a lot of city dwellers want to escape to.”
“Why did you make us out to seem like we don’t take to strangers?”
“God, Luke. I can’t believe you jumped to that conclusion. I simply encouraged people to visit because no one would bother them on their vacation. I didn’t mean Vermonters don’t like outsiders, just that they respect others’ privacy.”
He dropped into the chair again, holding his face in his palms. “I don’t know what to believe,” he groaned.
Catherine knelt beside the chair and put her hands on his knee. “I sure did a number on you, didn’t I, Luke?”
Wiping his hands down his jaw, he looked at her, his eyes devoid of emotion. “Don’t pity me.”
Ugh. He was so stubborn. “I’m not. I’m just trying, once again, to undo what a mess I made years ago. Your inability to trust is mostly my doing, I think.”
His grin was mirthless. “You’re kinda full of yourself, aren’t you, Cat?”
He was really playing hardball tonight. “Luke. Please. Let’s be reasonable. I’m sorry. For everything I ever did to you. There. It’s all out there. I apologize to the nth degree and I swear I’ve changed. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to make fun of you. I just want to be part of your life again.” Her voice shook. “I want to try one more time, Luke. It’s so good between us—we can’t just walk away from this. We can’t.”
“I’m…well, I’m sort of engaged, Cat.”
The words stabbed her straight through the heart and she fell backward on the floor at his feet. She grabbed her throat, trying to catch her breath but unable to make her lungs work. The room began to spin and for the first time in her life, Catherine felt the world slipping out of control.
Immediately Luke was on his knees beside her, shaking her shoulders. “Cat? Cat! Are you okay? Cat!”
A great gasp of air filled her lungs and she coughed. “Wha—? You’re sort of engaged?” She coughed again. “You’re the liar, Luke,” she rasped. “Not me.”
He sighed and sat back with her on the floor. “You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were having a seizure or something.”
Catherine crawled on her haunches away from him a few feet. “Why didn’t you just tell me you were engaged the first night I arrived? I gave you every opportunity.” Her tongue suddenly caught in her teeth as she felt her smile turn facetious. “Oh, I get it. You think I wouldn’t have slept with you if I’d known you had a fiancé. Is that it?” Her eyes narrowed. “Scared your sure thing might get away without letting you sample the goods?”
“That’s not it at all,” he mumbled.
“Men. I swear you are all the same.” She shook her head. “But here’s a newsflash for you, Casanova. Regardless if it’s right or wrong morally, I would have slept with you because we have history together and I was curious to see if there was still chemistry between us. And guess what? There was. There is.” She raised a brow. “Or are you going to argue that point?”
A deep sigh rumbled from his chest. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”
“I’m just throwing this out there,” she said, crossing her arms. “But you could start off with a teeny tiny apology for being such a hypocrite.”
His eyes snapped like sun glinting off gold. “What? You want me to apologize after what you did to me? To us?” His jaw worked for a second, but no more words came out.
Cat nodded. “You want to blame everything on me, yet you weren’t Mister Perfect either. Remember, I never left you for another man.”
“And I didn’t leave you for another woman,” he defended.
“True. But you lied when you said it wasn’t a big deal between you and the woman you’re seeing.” She shrugged. “Now…presto! She’s your fiancée. So you, sir, are a liar, liar, pants on fire.”
Still on the floor, Luke leaned back on his elbows and looked at her. “We’re both liars with flammable asses. So how do you propose we fix it?”
She rolled forward and lay on her stomach, suddenly weary. “I don’t know, honestly. I’ve tried to prove to you I’m not the same person I was, yet you still try to pigeonhole me as that girl.”
He reached out and stroked her hair. “You’re right. That’s unfair. I’m sorry for that.”
Cat grinned. “Well, that’s a start.”
He pulled her up to lie more comfortably against his chest. “I’ll try to see you for the person you are now and quit judging you by a memory I’ve held against you for ten years.”
“Well, gee, how cavalier when you put it like that,” she grumbled, wondering if she would ever be able to truly convince him. She felt his lungs expand beneath her chin as she gazed up at him.
“Sorry again. I just haven’t had a chance to work through a lot of the old baggage.” His lips thinned. “I thought maybe new baggage would he
lp me sort it out.”
Cat frowned. “Unless we’re talking about a set of Louis Vuitton matching luggage, I’d advise you never to use baggage to describe a woman.”
“Point taken.”
She sighed and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “So now what?”
“I honestly don’t know, Cat.” He pulled her closer, his heavy exhale ruffling her hair.
“I’m open to suggestions.”
A long pause lingered between them before he broke the silence. “I guess we need to know how serious this is.”
“I think we still have something strong between us, Luke. But I can tell you this, I’m not the kind of person to try and break up an engagement. I said before I’d still have slept with you, regardless of you having a girlfriend, and that is the truth. But that was before all these lingering feelings came back and settled in my heart. I’d like to give us another try, but not if you’re with someone who you’re committed to and plan to marry. As much as I want you, I won’t do that to you or to her.” Cat rolled to her feet, looking down at him. “I need to pack. I’ll leave first thing in the morning when Frank plows the roads. The storm should be clearing up tonight.”
Turning, she walked out of the room.
****
Luke closed his eyes and leaned his head against the hardwood floor. What was he supposed to do? His life had been rocking along just fine without Catherine Bennett, and all of a sudden she’d blown in with a blizzard on her tail and his world had fallen to pieces.
His mind conjured Hannah’s face. Blond, blue-eyed, and everything anyone could ever want in a wife. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. But she wasn’t Cat. She didn’t make his heart race whenever he saw her; his cock didn’t harden at the mere thought of her.
He sat up, resting his arms on his knees. Face it, Mackenzie, he told himself. Hannah’s always been a rebound and she’s never excited you like Cat. Hell, he’d only gotten engaged because…? His mind wandered. Why had they gotten engaged? He searched his memory and tried to pinpoint the exact moment. It had been Valentine’s Day, and Hannah helped repair a broken line in the sugar bush. He was so exhausted and so happy to get it fixed before dark, he put his arm around her and told her how much he had appreciated her help. He frowned as the memory cleared. He’d simply thanked her and it had been Hannah who came back with, “You can thank me with a ring.”