His tongue stroked hers just right and she grabbed onto his shoulders. He turned and pressed her against the low back counter of her pretty kitchen and deftly lifted the skirt of her dress. His teeth grazed her neck as he murmured words she couldn’t make out. Moving his big body against her, he lifted her onto the counter and pressed between her legs.
“Oh!” She leaned her head back as he kissed her throat. “Derek.”
Her sweater was gone, she wasn’t sure how. With the thin straps of her dress pushed down off of her shoulders, he placed his mouth on one of her breasts. Her nipple tightened as her lacy bra grew wet. Her heart raced as she closed her eyes, loving what he was doing to her.
“Let go, Bree.” His hand was between her spread thighs now, stroking and rubbing as he ratcheted up the tension coiling inside of her. “Come, baby.” His voice was low and rough. “Come for me.”
He drew hard on her nipple as one finger moved past the crotch of her panties to slip inside of her. She clenched around him as her climax struck. She could hear herself crying her release, her body jerking as he kept up the pressure for several more blissful moments.
Her breath hitched and his was labored.
He dropped a sweet kiss on her breast and brought his brow to hers. “Are you okay?”
Drawing in a deep breath, she nodded. “More than okay.”
His laugh was a surprise. Opening her eyes, she saw his eyes twinkling even as his features were held tight. “Good.”
He removed his hand and pressed close against her damp center. “You feel more than okay, too.”
“You feel like you might need a little something.”
“I’m a big boy, Bree.” He stepped back, hissing out a breath as he adjusted his khakis. “I’ll have a lot to think about later.”
An image popped into her head, of him thinking about her as he stroked himself to release. Maybe in the luxurious bathroom she knew the rooms at the inn possessed. Another flash of heat danced over her.
Pushing at her skirt, she brought her still-trembling legs together and fixed the straps of her dress. Derek helped her down from the counter and crossed his arms.
“So tell me. What’s to stop us from seeing where this goes?”
“Where this goes?” She brushed her hair back from her face and shook her head. “It can’t go anywhere.”
He didn’t seem to take her seriously. His eyes were warm now and his sexy smirk was back. “Why not?”
“I’m not going to fall for the first hot guy to ring my bells.”
He gave her a cocky grin. “I rang your bells, did I?”
“You know you did.”
“True.”
His gaze ran over her and she stifled another shiver. “But we’re not starting this.”
“Evidence would show otherwise.”
“You’re not a trial attorney.”
“No, I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to win an argument.”
She had no answer to that. “Good night, Derek.”
He surprised her with a sweet kiss before straightening again. She watched him walk to the front door before he turned back to her. “I can keep a secret, Bree. I’ve had a lifetime of practice.”
With that confounding statement he left, shutting the door tight behind him.
“Whoa.” She grabbed a glass out of the closest cabinet and pressed it against the fridge to fill it with water. Downing it in gulps, she let the chill cool her from the inside.
What was she going to do? She didn’t want to start anything but he was right. He’d rung her bells, bells long silent or just weakly tinkling in the past. Loud, clanging bells that drove her crazy in the best way? That was what Derek had done tonight.
Closing her eyes, she recalled how good being in the moment had felt. With him. He’d said he could keep secrets. Did she want to find out if that was true? Yes. She did.
“I’m so screwed,” she whispered.
Chapter 8
Derek nodded as he looked over the signed paperwork. Jessie Brady had brought him the latest contract for his final review on this Wednesday morning, and stood fidgeting in front of his desk. He was given an office in the Sales Center next to Ben Chapman’s on his first day, but he wasn’t yet accustomed to people just walking in on him. Apparently Cypress had an open-door policy.
“This looks good,” he said.
She nodded. “Good. This family is very eager to move into the green neighborhood.”
“Into one of your husband’s houses, you mean?”
She blinked at him. Noah Brady was the builder there, working with Ben Chapman’s designs. “Of course.”
“I’m joking, Jessie.”
Her mouth gaped open. “I didn’t know you joked.”
That rankled, not that it should. He projected this chilly exterior, didn’t he?
“I’ve been known to.” He gave her a small smile. “Once in a great while.”
Jessie stared at him a second longer and then laughed. “You’re not the stick in the mud everybody says you are.” She winced. “Not that we’re talking about you.”
“Jessie, relax. I know I’m the new kid at school. I’m not worried about fitting in.”
“No? Because you won’t have a problem with it or because you don’t want to?”
He wasn’t certain on that count, so he shrugged a shoulder. “You can go forward with these contracts. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will.” She grabbed up the papers. “Thanks again, Derek.”
He watched as she hurried out the door, leaving it open. Resisting the urge to get up and close himself inside, he clicked through programs on his laptop until he found today’s schedule. Amazingly, Mr. Forbes didn’t have a meeting set for today.
Over the past week and a half that he’d been here he’d had to sit through sales meetings nearly every day. In two meetings so far this week he’d had to sit across the table from Bree and not think about how he’d driven her crazy after their date. After leaving her on Saturday night he’d let his mind play back what it had been like to touch her. To taste her. He’d come so hard he’d had to hold himself up against the marble walls of his shower at the inn.
He suspected Bree was hiding something, but who was he to push for disclosure? He was hiding any number of things himself, wasn’t he? His cell phone vibrated on the desk top and he glanced over at it. It was his sister, whom he hadn’t heard from since coming down here despite repeated texts and voicemails. His belly tightened and any thoughts of Bree and finding out what she was hiding flew out of his head. Grabbing the phone, he swiped and answered the call.
“Abby, what’s up?”
She whistled in his ear. “Calm down, bro. You sound a little intense.”
She didn’t, which put him on his guard. “Sorry, but I messaged you days ago. So I’ll ask again. What’s up?”
“Okay, I’ve been putting off calling you about this.”
“Is mom all right?”
“Yes! She’s fine, and looking forward to coming down there in a few weeks.”
“Did Eddie find out about our plans?”
Abby’s silence answered his question. “I didn’t tell him, Derek. I swear.”
He knew in an instant what she meant. “Fuck.”
“Exactly.”
“Mom has been talking to Eddie.” It wasn’t a question. “Fuck.”
“So you said. What are we going to do about it?”
“I’ll just have to move her down here sooner,” he said.
“Yeah, about that.”
Derek closed his eyes, rubbing at a spot in the center of his forehead. “What, or do I even want to know?”
“I’m sure you don’t want to know, but I wanted to ask you a favor.”
His eyes popped open. “A favor? For you?”
She sighed, long and loud. “I want to come down with her.”
“I thought you were sticking with the vet clinic?”
“I was.”
“Wasn’t the vet going to give you a chance to come on full-time?”
“He was.”
His mind worked. “He’s not now, is he?”
“No. The guy’s girlfriend just finished veterinarian school in Grenada and wants the job.”
“Grenada? You went to MIT, for God’s sake.”
“For my undergrad, big brother. Their veterinary program was out of reach for this girl.”
“You’re ridiculously smart, Abby.”
“And you’re a good brother. Seriously, competition is too steep.”
“You sound like you’re giving up.”
“For now, yeah.”
Derek took a second to form his next words. “I’ll keep my opinion on your career decisions to myself.”
“That would be a first.” Humor laced her voice. “I’ll come down with Mom and see this Cypress place for myself.”
“You’re coming down with her?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. I’ll let you know when I close on the house.”
“Wait, what? You found a place for Mom already?”
“No. The Active Adult community is just getting underway. I bought a house.”
“You. Bought a house.”
“Yes.”
“You?”
“All right.”
“Sorry bro, but I’ve never known you to have anything more than a place to flop. Not that your apartments aren’t always very fancy and in the best parts of the city.”
“Again, I’ll let you know when you two can come down. Promise me you won’t talk to Eddie about the house.”
“I don’t talk to that son-of-a-bitch, Derek.”
“Good. It’s better that way.”
“Mom, on the other hand, met him for coffee yesterday.”
His heart thudded. “Seriously?”
“Just coffee. She texted me when she was going and I kept an eye on the coffee shop. He left without her but he looked really pissed.”
Derek thought for a second before making a decision. It hinged on a few conditions, which he had to straighten out right away.
“How long do you have at the vet clinic?”
“How did you know I gave my notice?”
“Because it’s what I would do and you’re smarter than I am.”
“A compliment, too? I think I like Cypress Derek.”
“Cypress Derek? You make me sound like an action figure.”
She laughed, the full sound he knew and loved. “Two weeks, then.”
“Okay, good. Keep an eye on Mom for me and let me know if she has any more contact with Eddie. Otherwise I’ll see you both down here after I close on the house.”
“Will do. And Derek?”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
His throat tight, he just nodded even though she couldn’t see it. Abby ended the call and Derek set his phone back down on the desk. What the fuck was his mother thinking, meeting with Eddie? And what did that bastard hope to accomplish? Damn it, he should have insisted his mother file that restraining order he’d drafted. Did Eddie think that Derek was too far away to convince his mother to see it through? He had better think again.
“That’s not a happy face,” Bree said from the doorway.
***
Derek looked up at her, his brows drawn together. “It’s nothing.”
It sure didn’t look like nothing. “If you say so.”
Derek scowled in her direction. “Did you need something?”
She stared at him, choosing to ignore the dismissal in his tone. Something was clearly bothering him, but they didn’t have any kind of relationship let alone one that would lend itself to disclosure.
“I was just going to tell you that the closing date is set.”
He gave a curt nod. “When?”
“On the twenty-eighth.”
“So, next week.”
She nodded. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
He seemed to soften a little as he brushed his hair back from his brow. “Just busy, Bree.”
Biting her lip, she took a chance and shut his office door. “Is it something else?”
He folded his hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Now my door is closed.”
“What?”
He laughed without any apparent humor. “Nothing. I was on a phone call earlier.”
“And you’re door was open.”
“Yes.”
“And…that bothers you?”
“It’s just a lot to get used to.” He pinned her with those gorgeous eyes of his. “You know. People just popping in.”
She couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “Not a big fan of the pop-in?”
A flash of a smile crossed his face. “Not particularly.”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping, you know.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Bree, you’ve avoided me since Saturday night. I don’t think you would sneak around listening to my conversations.”
“That’s something, then.”
“Was there something you wanted other than giving me the closing date?”
“No.”
“Really?” He stood, slowing coming around his desk. “Because you could have texted me the information.”
She stood her ground but was quickly regretting closing that door. “I could have.”
Heat flared in his eyes for a second. “Then why didn’t you?”
She tried to remain indifferent but even her masking skills were nothing compared to this guy’s. “I wanted to see you.”
That earned her a wide smile that changed his entire expression. “I won’t gloat.”
She laughed lightly. “That’s refreshing.”
He splayed a hand over his chest before stroking it down his burgundy tie. His shirt was several shades lighter, almost tan in color, and the sleeves were rolled up to expose those forearms she so enjoyed seeing.
“Are you saying I gloated Saturday night?”
Ooh, Saturday night. If he’d wanted her to blush, mission accomplished. “You were a gentleman,” she admitted.
“A gentleman who made you come, Bree,” he said, his voice low. “Hard, if I recall correctly.”
She tucked some hair behind one ear. “Okay, fine.”
“You saw me at meetings yesterday. And Monday, for that matter.”
“I’ll admit I wanted to talk to you.” She ran her hands briskly over her linen skirt. “I felt like there was a lot left unsaid on Saturday night.”
He crossed his arms, his biceps stretching his sleeves very nicely. “Such as?”
“Secrets, Derek. Just what did you mean?”
“You have your life, Bree. Your new life, I believe you called it.”
“I do.”
“And I’m making my own new life here in Cypress.” He smiled crookedly. “Cypress Derek.”
“Cypress Derek?”
“Never mind. So, separate lives.”
He was close to her now, and she couldn’t for the life of her remember why she was keeping him at arms-length. “Yes.”
He took her hands in his. “We can keep this separate from our work lives, Bree.”
“Keep what?”
He brought his face close to hers. “This…whatever this is.”
“You’re offering me, what? A secret affair?”
“Not an affair, since there’s nobody to hurt in this agreement. Unless you’re seeing someone?”
“I’m not.”
“I stand firm.”
“Always the lawyer.”
“Yes.”
“And let me guess. You’ve done your due diligence?
“No real mystery there, baby. I know what drives you crazy and that gives me all kinds of advantages in this arrangement.”
“What if someone finds out?”
He touched her cheek, brushing the backs of his knuckles gently over her skin. “It’s no big deal to me. I’ll give you complete power if that h
appens, Bree.”
She was tempted. “Complete power?”
“Your call going forward. I promise.”
“No promises, please. You have a reputation, Derek. It preceded you. You’re known as a relentless negotiator.”
“I am. But I’m also smart enough to know when an argument isn’t worth having.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re going to make up your own mind. I’m confident that you’ll choose the chance to see where we can go. Completely on your terms.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. The afternoon’s scruff tickled her fingertips. “Okay. I’m in.”
He sucked in a breath and then took her hand again. “Thank God.”
His mask slipped a little again.
“Were you worried, counselor?”
He answered her by kissing her. Slow and deep and very arousing. His tongue in her mouth, his hands on her butt, she gave in for several toe-curling minutes.
Pulling back, he ran his hands over her hair. “Mmm, you’re surprisingly soft under that prickly proper exterior.”
She felt out of her element, which ticked her off a little but after that kiss? She’d give him this one.
“I’m home around six thirty tonight.”
He leaned away from her, his upper body at least, and gave a nod. “I’ll see you at six forty-five.”
At his retreat, she opened the door and watched him return to stand behind his desk.
“Then we’re all set for the twenty-eighth.”
She hadn’t been eavesdropping on Derek’s phone call but she wouldn’t put it past Oliver or Jessie. Stating the actual business she had with Derek couldn’t hurt.
He licked his lips, his eyes flashing. “Yes, thank you.”
Stepping out into the corridor, she made her way back to her desk in the large space the sales staff shared. What was she doing, starting an affair with a guy like Derek? He was cold. Stern. Yet she’d seen warmth there. Humor, even. And there was the little matter of the best kisses she’d ever received.
“I have the power,” she murmured.
“What’s that?” Oliver asked from his desk. His eyes were bright. “Power?”
She just grinned. “Nothing, Ollie.”
She’d told Derek from the beginning that she wasn’t a secret-keeper. This secret, though?
This one she’d keep for as long as she wanted.
Kissing Bree Page 7