by Candis Terry
“Oh?” She loved the playfulness in his tone. “Pray tell, what am I supposed to say?”
“That you’re wearing nothing but a pair of lace panties and high heels, and that you were thinking about me and just about to get down to business.”
Laughter bubbled up from her throat. “Is that right? And what, may I ask, are you wearing?”
He paused and her curiosity spiked.
“Socks.”
“Just socks?”
“Nope. Now I’m wearing nothing.”
“Seriously?” She’d seen him naked and it was a glorious sight. That tall, lean body, and all those tightly rippled muscles. Mmmm.
“Want to come check?” he asked.
“What if I said yes?”
“I’d tell you to hurry the hell up.”
She liked this playful banter and she hated for it to end.
“I’m supposed to put on my pajamas and go downstairs for a slumber party with Nicole and her friends to watch chick flicks.”
“Sweetheart, if you’re looking for romance, I can do better than watching a movie.”
“Is that right?”
“Mmm-hmm. But for now, I just wanted to say that I’m behind you and your dream one hundred percent. You inspire me. And I admire you for the courage it took to kick a boring job aside and go for it.”
“I never really found my job with you boring. In fact, you taught me how to stay on my toes.”
“All the better for you to kiss me.”
“Now how am I supposed to go downstairs and watch chick flicks with that on my mind?”
“You’ll think of something.” He sighed. “And now I’m going to go to bed, think of you, and . . .”
“And?” Why did all kinds of dirty thoughts race through her head?
“And figure out exactly where I can fit into that amazing dream of yours.”
Way before morning came, Dec gave up trying to sleep. All night he’d been haunted with a list of things out of his control and a list of things he’d screwed up. Both had grown quite extensive, which verified that it was definitely time for a change.
He kicked back the covers and strode to the window in his favorite gray sweatpants—the only article of clothing he owned that showed any real sign of wear and tear. Everything else in his closet had been pressed and starched to within an inch of its life. Everything in his dresser drawers had been folded neatly and color-coded. True, not by him, but that didn’t make him any less pathetically organized to the point of dreary.
Through the window he noticed dawn had not yet peeked above the mountains and a light drizzle soaked the ground. He went out into the kitchen and began to make a pot of coffee before he realized he was already fully awake. Right now caffeine wasn’t what he needed.
He needed Brooke.
Last night had been too quiet without her and Moochie in the house. His bed had been cold. His arms and his heart had been empty. He’d told her he needed to figure out where he could fit into her future and he’d meant it. While the clock ticked toward morning, he’d taken a careful overview of his life.
His days were a staid routine, altered only by how many times Brooke came into his office and flashed her dimples. His nights had been a string of lifeless conversations with women he appreciated but didn’t really care about.
He wanted to care about someone.
He wanted to need someone. He didn’t want his gravestone to just say He made a lot of money for people. Brooke breathed life into everything she did. Somehow she’d taken herself out of the hell she’d been living in and found a way to be free in heart and soul. Without her, everything seemed meaningless.
Instead of consuming caffeine for an adrenaline rush, he decided to go for a run. Exercise always made him feel better. And if he couldn’t feel good by making love to Brooke right now, at least a run would clear his head and give him a little more clarity about his future.
As soon as he stepped out onto the path through the grapevines, his shoes squished in the mud. Running might not be such a good idea in these conditions. The drizzle had become heavier and the last thing he needed to do was break a leg. But a walk would do.
Realizing it wouldn’t really do much to keep him dry, he pulled the hoodie up over his head anyway. Dawn had barely begun to touch the sky with shades of pink and gold, but around him he could see the grapevines coming into full bloom. The air smelled sweet and earthy. And as he turned at the corner of the pinot gris, he saw Brooke in the distance.
Wearing the floral dress she’d been wearing the night they’d first made love, she danced in the rain beside her little dog. The fabric clung to her wet body like a second skin. When she lifted her face to the sky, held out her arms, and twirled in a circle, Moochie danced at her feet and barked.
The sound of Brooke’s laughter tickled the center of his chest and made him smile. An overwhelming need to hold her quickly moved his feet in her direction.
He snuck up from behind and pulled her into his arms. She squeaked with surprise before realizing it was him. Then her surprise turned to laughter.
“What are you doing out here?”
He captured her face in his hands. “Watching the most beautiful creature on earth dance like a fairy princess among the magical vines.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. As the rain fell around them she curled her arms around his neck, lifted to the toes of her red rain boots, and leaned into his body.
The air was cool, but he shivered for an entirely different reason when she opened up to him and answered his kiss with the sweet slide of her tongue and a sigh.
God, he could kiss this woman all day.
All night.
He tipped his head back, stroked her cheekbones with his thumbs, and looked deep into her eyes. “Teach me,” he said, his voice rough from the spiraling passion.
Confusion moved across her face. “Teach you what?”
“How to dance in the rain. How to separate life from work. How to be the man you want and need me to be.”
“Oh Dec.”
“Before you walked out the door the other night, you said you were perfect for me. You were right.” He pressed his mouth to her cool, damp forehead. “Please teach me how to be perfect for you.”
Tears blurred the beautiful chocolate of her eyes.
“You don’t have to change for me.”
“I know.” Gently he kissed the rain from her lips. “I want to change. For us.”
Chapter 18
A majority of women longed to hear three little words from the person they loved. Brooke’s heart soared with the sound of one.
Us.
“You know what’s on my bucket list?” Rain dripped from his hair as he touched his forehead to hers.
“Mud wrestling?”
He laughed. “No.”
“Then what?”
“This.” He scooped her up into his arms and took long strides through the mud. After a rain-spraying body shake, Moochie trotted behind them.
“Exactly what is this?” Brooke laughed at the sound of his shoes squishing with each step.
“Carrying you off to make love to you all day with the rain beating down on the roof.”
“All day?” Oh how she liked the sound of that.
He kissed her lips. “And then some.”
“What about food?” she teased. “If we’re going to make love all day, we’ll need nourishment.”
“You can have anything you want as long as you stay naked and in my arms.”
“It could get messy,” she said, tightening her arms around his neck.
“It will get messy.”
“Awesome. You’re off to a good start, Mr. Kincade.”
“I plan to finish well too.”
When they reached his grandfather’s cabin, he kicked off his muddy shoes, opened the door, and carried her across the threshold.
Once Moochie shook off beneath the awning and the door closed behind them, Dec set Brooke’s feet on the ground. Then
he backed her up against the door, leaned into her, and kissed the breath from her lungs. Beneath his sweatpants, his erection was thick and hard. His greedy hands and fingers caressed her through the wet fabric of her dress. They touched, teased, caressed. His mouth left her lips and with impatient hunger he kissed his way down her neck.
Smooth and sure, his hands slipped beneath the dress and pulled it over her head. It landed with a soggy plop on the floor. Dec wasted no time in returning his hands to her body. His touch made her hot and the friction warmed her up even more. When his lips covered her nipple and he sucked it inside his mouth where it was warm and wet, the sizzle took a cliff dive right down between her legs.
“All day starts right now.” His teeth gently tugged her erect nipple while he pushed his pants off his lean hips. “I need to be inside you.”
“Yes.” To her own ears her voice sounded strangled. “Take me right here. Right now.”
His big hands gripped her bottom and he lifted her. “Wrap your legs around me.”
Without hesitation, she locked her legs and the red rain boots around him. He plunged inside her slick heat with such pleasure-minded commitment they both moaned with gratification.
“God.” He exhaled and dropped his forehead to hers. “I definitely want this to last all day.”
“Me too.” The way he moved inside her was as if his body knew exactly where to touch.
“But it’s not going to this time.” He kissed her. “I just want you too damn bad.”
Smooth, steady strokes and passionate kisses set the pace, as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. As if the world were about to end and they only had moments to love each other. He whispered naughty things in her ear and she whispered back.
“Wrap your arms around me,” he said, his hands clasping her rear end tighter. “I need more.” Buried deep inside her, and with her arms and legs securely wrapped around him, he carried her into the bedroom. Creatively he managed to get them horizontal without breaking their bond. After a few slow thrusts, he left her body to slide down and put his mouth between her legs.
The magical things he did with his tongue sent a shock wave through her nerves and the tingles that began at her toes slowly moved upward.
“Dec? Please come back inside me. Now!”
He raised his body over hers, pushed inside, and filled her completely. The tingles spiraled into the hottest, most powerful orgasm of her life. She knew God didn’t exactly have anything to do with it, but she couldn’t stop praising him over and over and over.
Dec’s powerful body stilled and a low, satisfied groan rumbled from deep within his chest. Their hearts pounded together, separated only by flesh and bone. He pushed inside her several more times until his orgasm stopped pulsating.
And then they laughed. Because the power of the release for both of them was like lighting a firework and dancing naked beneath the fiery sparkling shower.
Dec rolled to his back and took her with him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. And all she could think was she’d found the place she wanted to be forever.
Sex was supposed to be satisfying. Otherwise you were either doing it wrong or wasting your time. But Dec knew the kind of satisfaction that now curled around his heart wasn’t like anything he’d known before. All at once he felt the need to protect, to please, to adore, to hang on to this woman forever and never let her go.
He settled his hand at the back of her head and brought her face down so he could kiss her. “Have I won you over yet?”
“Your body has.” She chuckled. “The rest of you I’m not so sure about.”
“I guess that means I’m going to have to prove I can cook breakfast.”
“Forget breakfast. I guess that means you’re going to have to prove you’re not wearing running shoes anymore.”
“My feet are bare.” He wiggled his toes against her leg.
“You know what I mean.”
He rolled to his side and tucked her against him before he pulled the comforter over both of them. He wasn’t a spooning kind of guy, but with Brooke he was more than willing to become one.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here . . .” He dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder. “Snuggled up with you.”
She giggled.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’ve never heard you say snuggle before.”
“I plan to get very good at it.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
Just as he was about to doze off, she whispered, “Dec?”
“Hmmm?”
“If I wake up and you’re not here, I will hunt you down and squash you like a bug.”
He kissed her shoulder. “Nowhere to go when the only place I want to be is with you.”
The rain cleared by late afternoon and the stillness of the weather brought a certain peacefulness and contentment inside the cabin. Brooke had woken up first and nearly cried with relief when she found herself still wrapped in Dec’s arms. For a long time she lay there watching him sleep. His nearly black hair was mussed, his thick dark lashes fanned over his cheeks, his beard scruff was sexy as hell, and a satisfied smile had settled on his lips. He was a gorgeous man. But there was so much more that was special beneath the surface of all that tan, smooth skin.
She’d never imagined he’d had so many troubles growing up. He should be proud of the man he’d become—she knew she was. It was easier, now that he’d explained, to see how the dyslexia had controlled everything he’d done. Or hadn’t done, for that matter. Now he wanted to learn to have fun. To be free. To enjoy life.
She was only too happy to help him along that path.
Lifting a lock of her now dry hair, she tickled his nose. In response, he wrapped his long arm around her and rolled her beneath him.
“Were you faking?” she asked.
“Faking isn’t worth my time.” He bent his head and would have kissed the pants off her if she’d had any on. “From now on, everything you get with me is the real deal.”
“I can’t wait.”
He nudged his erection against her mound and grinned. “Neither can I.”
Sometime after dark they finally took a shower and rummaged through the cupboards for something to eat. When they came up empty, Brooke fed and walked Moochie while Dec got dressed so they could grab some dinner. To her amazement, not a single restaurant in Sunshine delivered. In Brooke’s mind that classified the town as quaint. Dec—who lived in the middle of Southern California’s to-go paradise—called it inconvenient.
A few minutes later as they walked out to his car, a blond-haired woman went into the cabin next door.
“Shit.”
Brooke looked up. “What’s wrong?”
“I totally forgot about her.”
“Her?”
“Lili MacKay.”
“That’s your maybe sister?”
He nodded. “Ethan invited her to stay here until we find out if she’s for real or not.”
“She’s gorgeous.”
“In case you didn’t notice, she’s also blond and fair skinned. You see anyone else like that in our family?”
“No, but . . .” Okay, the man, and most likely the rest of the Kincades, were clearly in denial. “Genetics don’t always follow a pattern. Yes, all of you have very dominant dark hair and blue eyes, but I have married friends who have one daughter that looks exactly like the dad—light curly hair, fair skinned, and green eyes, while the other daughter looks exactly like the mom, who’s Hispanic.”
With his hand on the car door, he turned to look at her. “Is that true?”
“Yes.” She glanced over at the cabin. “Maybe we should invite her to grab something to eat with us.”
Uncertainty tightened the muscles in his jaw.
“Come on.” She rubbed her hand down his arm. “Now’s a great time for starting to let go of the old ways. Have a little fun. Step out onto that ledge and jump.”
“You wouldn’t
mind?”
“Of course not. I’ve had you to myself all day.”
He hooked his arm around her and brought her up against his solid body. “You’ll have me all night too.”
“I like the sound of that.” She gave him a quick kiss. “Go on over there and ask her. All she can do is say no, right?”
Little Shop of Pizza sat at the end of Main Street near the river, and featured vintage décor in black and white with upside-down galvanized buckets as lightshades. You could choose to sit at the counter on stools or at small wooden tables with bright red chairs. An obligatory drawing on the kitchen door revealed a man-eating plant with the face of a pizza in case anyone didn’t get the reference to The Little Shop of Horrors. The place was perfect for a casual sit-down meal with someone you weren’t quite sure you were related to or not.
“I’m so glad you could join us,” Brooke told Dec’s maybe sister while he pulled out chairs for both of them.
There were no sunglasses now to cover her blue eyes and just looking at her brought a new level of unease to Dec’s soul.
He could hardly blame her for who might or might not have been her parents, but the reality that his father could have cheated on his mother pinched a nerve at the back of his neck and made his head ache. In the past he may not have had marriage on his own mind, but one thing he did believe, and that was that if you chose to say I do, you didn’t fool around with others.
The possible deceit weighed heavy on his mind. But nothing could be done until they had proof one way or the other.
“Thanks for inviting me.” Lili slid into a chair and set her purse down on the floor next to her. “Other than playing the intimidation game the other day at the vineyard office I haven’t really had anyone to talk to since I got here.”
“Lili’s from Philadelphia,” Dec said, mentioning one of the few things he knew about her.
“What do you do in Philly?” Brooke asked.
“I started out as a florist. A skill I learned from my mother. She owned her own shop until she got too sick to work. We needed the money for the medical bills so she had to sell it. By then I’d kind of moved on to being an event planner.” Lili shrugged. “When you’re a florist and make deliveries, you learn where all the main party venues are. You meet the caterers. It just kind of naturally evolved.”