Entice Me

by Kelly Elliott

  “Huh, with you too?”

  “She hasn’t talked about them to you either?”

  I shook my head. “Not a whole lot.”

  Morgan shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal to her. “That doesn’t mean anything. She’s just a private person.”

  Nodding, I agreed. “Anything else you needed? I have to be taking off soon.”

  She smiled. “I’m glad you’re getting out there again, Nash. I hope you are finally realizing that Lily wasn’t the one.”

  I grunted.

  “She wasn’t. You deserve someone who loves you the way you love them. Someone who is honest and caring.”

  Grabbing my keys and wallet, I faced my sister. “And what if Kaelynn isn’t so honest.”

  Her mouth opened slightly, as if she was too stunned to say anything. Then she closed her eyes and shook her head. “Kaelynn? She’s probably one of the most honest people I’ve ever met. Her heart is pure gold, and there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for anyone. Nash, you can’t let what one woman did to you pave the way for all other women. Lily cheated on you. She lied to your face and slept with another man and got pregnant. Do we all have secrets? Yes. I’m sure Kaelynn does as well, but she isn’t Lily.”

  I swallowed hard but forced myself to smile. Walking up to Morgan, I kissed her on the cheek. “I know. I do. Thanks, Morgan. I really do need to get going.”

  “Let’s walk out together. Wait, do you have condoms?”

  My entire body sagged. “I’m not even going there with you.”

  “Why not? It’s a real question that all responsible adults need to think about in this day and age,” Morgan said, walking out the door and toward the elevator.

  “I have no intention of sleeping with her tonight; it’s our second date.”

  Morgan wiggled her eyebrows. “Don’t underestimate a woman who hasn’t had sex in a while. Trust me. I know.”

  Plugging my ears, I started singing while Morgan laughed and pushed the button for the lobby.

  Thirty minutes later I stood outside of Kaelynn’s apartment. Knocking on the door, I drew in a deep breath.

  “Coming!”

  When Kaelynn opened the door, I let my eyes roam over her. She had on a white sweater, jeans, and no socks or shoes. Sweeping my eyes back up her body, I smiled. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun. Long curls hung down randomly, and she had what looked like flour on the tip of her nose. She was the most adorable thing I’d ever laid eyes on.

  Then she smiled even bigger when our eyes met. “You look handsome,” she said while motioning for me to come into her place. Her condo wasn’t anything huge. It had a decent-sized kitchen with a bar that held four stools. The living room was big enough for a sectional. A square coffee table sat in the middle of the living room. A large TV sat on top of a console, but I saw the box for the equipment to hang it on the wall.

  “So, this is my place. If you go in through here, you’ll find the bathroom.”

  I followed her. “It cuts through to the bedroom.”

  Sitting in the middle of the bedroom was a queen-sized, four-poster, white iron bed. It was all made up with a simple light green comforter and a few decorative pillows. There was no TV and no dresser. Just the bed and a chair next to the window that had a throw blanket the same color as her comforter on it.

  “That looks cozy,” I stated, pointing to the chair.

  “It is the best place to read a book. I love looking out and seeing the park. It has a perfect view of the top of the Zilker tree as well.”

  “Cute place,” I said as we made our way back into the living room. “There is a small bedroom on the other side of the living room. It’s my office and has a futon in there if I ever have . . . guests.” She shrugged, then laughed. “Not that I really know anyone here.”

  I took in a deep breath. “Smells delicious. That is not hot dogs.”

  Kaelynn took the six-pack of beer out of my hands. “No, it’s not. It is, however, my mother’s secret lasagna recipe.”

  “How did you know lasagna was my favorite?”

  Glancing over her shoulder, she winked. “A little birdy told me. Make yourself at home. I’m not sure what’s on TV. I don’t watch it very much, but I do have satellite if you want to watch anything.”

  “Nah, I’m good. Are you going to be hanging it up on the wall?”

  Kaelynn walked back in and handed me a beer. “Yeah, I opened up the box and read the first three steps and got lost.”

  Laughing, I set the beer on a coaster and opened the box.

  “Nash, you don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to,” I replied. “I like putting things together.”

  Kaelynn dropped onto the floor next to me. “Need any help?”

  “Nope. I got it.”

  Pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them, she watched me. I liked that we could be together in comfortable silence. That not every second had to be filled with conversation. Lily was the opposite of Kaelynn. She always wanted to talk, no matter what it was about. You couldn’t have a moment of peace . . . ever.

  “Morgan said you have two degrees. One in business management and one in architecture.”

  “Yep.”

  “Do you do very much with your architecture degree?”

  “Not yet, but I’m hoping that changes soon. I’ve designed a few things.”

  She tilted her head and regarded me. I wanted to reach out and wipe the white off her nose, but I decided she looked too damn cute with it.

  “Like what?”

  “Tucker and Charlie’s house, for one.”

  She gasped. “You designed their house and built it? It’s stunning.”

  “Yes, I did. It’s really what I’m hoping to offer more of, if I can just get my father on board. He thinks I need to be on the job sites every day micromanaging and . . .”

  With a laugh, I shook my head and reached for the beer. “I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is talk about work.”

  A timer went off and Kaelynn jumped up.

  “Excuse me, I have to finish the lasagna up; I’ll be right back.”

  My eyes followed her into the kitchen. The ache in my body for this woman was growing stronger the more I was around her.

  Focusing back on the task at hand, I cursed at myself for not putting at least one condom in my wallet.

  “Live and learn, Barrett. Live and learn,” I whispered with a soft chuckle.

  I PULLED THE lasagna out of the oven and set it on the stove. It smelled heavenly. I cut up the fresh loaf of bread and took the salad I had made out and set it on the bar.

  Nash whistled while he worked on putting the TV mount together. I couldn’t help but smile. This felt so . . . right. So good. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew I wanted more evenings like this. Like last night. I wanted more days with Nash.

  I wanted Nash.

  “Want me to put some Christmas music on?” I finally asked when I snapped out of my daze.

  “Sure!”

  “I like Amy Grant. Is that okay?” I said, connecting my phone to the Bose speaker.

  “Yeah, sounds good.”

  The sounds of Christmas music filled the air, and I wasn’t surprised when Nash started singing along to the songs.

  “Do you need any help?” he asked, walking up to the island.

  “If you want to put some salad in the bowls, I’ll get the lasagna on the plates.”

  He washed his hands and got to work putting the salad in the bowls. “Dressing?”

  “I’ve got ranch, Italian, and vinaigrette. I’ll take the vinaigrette.”

  Searching in the refrigerator, Nash replied, “That sounds good to me.”

  We were soon seated on the sofa, dinner trays in front of us, talking like we hadn’t seen each other in days. I loved that about Nash. We could talk for hours, and then not talk at all.

  “Do you want another beer?” I asked, standing up to get one.

  “Sure, I’ll take
one more. I drove here, so I’ll keep it to just two.”

  “Well, I do have a guest room and a super-comfy futon to crash on if you wanted more.”

  Nash didn’t respond to my invite and shifted a bit, so I let it go. As much as I wanted this man, I was not jumping into bed with him on our second date. He didn’t seem as if he wanted that either.

  “Damn, Kaelynn, that was some good food. Italian in the family?”

  I smiled. “Yep. On my mother’s side. Her mother, my grandmother, was full-on Italian. My grandfather met her in Italy and fell in love. They got married, and she moved back to the US with him.”

  “Have all of your family’s generations lived in Utah?” Nash asked, taking a drink. He watched me intently, as if waiting to see if I would talk about my family. If I was going to come clean, this was the time to do it.

  “No. My mother’s family is from New York, well, on my grandfather’s side. Obviously, grandma’s family was from Italy. My grandfather on my dad’s side lived in Boston. His father’s father, my great-great-grandfather,” I said, trying to count. “He was big in the railroad.”

  Nash nodded his head, seeming interested in the story I was about to tell.

  “He did very well for himself in it, and when things were progressing West, he progressed with it. My great-great-grandmother wasn’t interested in leaving Boston, though. She stayed behind and raised their two sons and three daughters.”

  “Did your great-great-grandfather ever return to Boston?”

  “No,” I answered. “He stayed in Colorado where his mistress was.”

  Nash raised his brows.

  “Yeah. I know. Supposedly, his wife knew about this other woman, and she got to work on her payback. She started making her own investments and taught her sons and daughters the business world that she had learned from dear old great-great-great-grandaddy. The way my father tells the story, his great-great-grandmother was wealthier than her husband. Once he heard about it, he sent for her to meet him in Salt Lake City, where he had moved to after leaving the mistress in Colorado. Promised her a new life and chance to start over.”

  “Did she do it?”

  Nodding, I took a sip of my beer. “Yes, she moved out West. The children all followed except for one daughter who had fallen in love and refused to leave her fiancé.”

  “So you still have family in the Boston area?”

  “No, she got yellow fever soon after her marriage and died, so they didn’t have any kids. Then the other sister died when the horse she was riding threw her off. One of the sons died after being attacked by a bear.”

  “Holy shit. Your family may have had good luck with business, but they sure as hell didn’t have very good luck with fate, did they?”

  “My great-grandfather was the only living child. He got married and had my grandfather along with a daughter.”

  “Is your grandfather still alive?”

  Glancing down at my lap, I shook my head. “No. He died a few years back. He was a good man. Had a heart of gold and a good head on his shoulders. He was smart and grew the business his father had started to an even greater success. My father runs it now, with my sister at his side.”

  My eyes lifted and I met Nash’s gaze. He was watching me, as if waiting for me to give him more. I lost all my nerve to tell him the truth. I didn’t want this moment to end, and I knew the moment I told him, he would be angry I kept it from him.

  “What about you? Is your family all from Texas?”

  His mouth twitched and he tipped his beer back and drained it. “Yep. At least for the last few generations. Morgan’s done the whole family tree thing, but I was never interested in it. I think we’re pretty much mutts.”

  Laughing, I replied, “Aren’t we all?”

  “Pretty much. Let me finish putting this mount on the wall so we can hang up your TV.”

  My smile faded some as I watched Nash get back to working on the mount. Standing, I took a deep breath and spoke. “Nash, there’s something I need to tell you.”

  His cell phone rang with the most obnoxious ringtone I’d ever heard at that very moment. Is that a dog barking?

  “Blake, what’s up?”

  I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Blake’s ringtone was of a dog barking?

  “Um, no, we finished eating and I was just putting together something for Kaelynn. Now? Is it something that can wait until tomorrow, dude? I mean, I’m at Kaelynn’s and . . .”

  Nash stopped talking, then smiled. It was so big and bright and full of hope. It made my chest pull with a tightness that had me longing to walk up and wrap my arms around him.

  “You’re kidding me? Tell me you’re not fucking around with me.”

  I headed into the kitchen to start loading the dishes in the dishwasher.

  “Give me fifteen to finish this, and then I’ll meet you there.”

  He hung up his phone and looked my way. The look on his face said he was about to leave and he was as upset about that as I was.

  “Kaelynn, I’m sorry to run out. Blake informed me Tucker had planned a surprise bachelor party for Jim.”

  My heart felt like it dropped to my stomach. “I completely understand. Please, don’t worry about it.”

  He finished what he was doing, then hung up my TV. By the time he was done, I had gotten everything in the kitchen loaded up in the dishwasher and put away all of the leftovers and had cut him a piece of Black Forest cake to take with him. Nash stopped and stared down at it in the Tupperware container.

  “You made this?” he asked, his eyes piercing mine.

  With a small shrug, I replied, “Same little birdy told me it was your favorite dessert.”

  His entire body language changed as he put the cake down on the island. His eyes turned dark, and he stalked toward me, causing me to back up, only to be stopped by the counter. My breathing picked up and my body trembled with anticipation. Nash cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. It was the most intense kiss I’d ever experienced. I felt every bit of his passion and need for me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and whimpered slightly.

  “Kaelynn,” he whispered against my lips. “I don’t want to leave.”

  I moaned, feeling his body against mine. I’d never in my life wanted a man like I wanted Nash. My body physically ached to be near him. To feel his skin against mine.

  “You can . . . make it up . . . to me . . . tomorrow.”

  My words were heavy and spoken between kisses. Nash picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. He arched himself into me, allowing me to feel how much he wanted me too. I returned the favor by pulling him in closer with my legs, letting him know he was most definitely hitting me in all the right spots.

  “Damn it, we need to slow down.” he said, nipping at my lips, grinding his hard length between my thighs.

  “Don’t. Stop!”

  I sounded desperate, and I was. He was winding me up so tight that if he walked away now I wasn’t sure how I would make it until seeing him again.

  “Fucking hell. Baby, what are you doing to me?”

  “Nash, oh God. Oh . . .”

  He pushed in harder, the friction of his jeans and hard dick was the perfect amount of pressure I needed. My fingers dug into his hair, gripping him and pulling his mouth to mine as my moans mixed with his. I came so hard and fast I swore I saw stars.

  Both of us stilled when my body relaxed. I had never in my life let myself do that with a man. How desperate was I that I could orgasm from a man rubbing his hard-on over me. Dry-humping each other like we were teenagers.

  I buried my face into his neck. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  He held me tighter. “Why? That was fucking hot as hell.”

  Smiling, I kept my face hidden. “That is not me . . . I mean . . . I don’t know what you are doing to me.”

  Nash slowly set me down, his face bent down so that our eyes met. “Did I not just utter the same words to you only moments ago?”

  My lips pressed together
before I whispered, “You did.”

  “I hope you know I wasn’t planning on, well, I didn’t think anything would happen between us. At least not tonight.”

  He smiled and my already weak legs wobbled. “Let me rephrase that for you. I wasn’t planning on sleeping with you, but I sure as hell like hearing you come.”

  My entire face heated and I looked away. Nash placed his finger on my chin, drawing my gaze back to his.

  “There is nothing wrong with being attracted to each other. I want you, Kaelynn, but I also want to get to know you before we take that step. Just so you know, I’m a pretty creative man, so I’m sure I can come up with ways to make you come without actually being inside of you.”

  I was positive my jaw had fallen to the ground.

  “But what if I want you inside of me?”

  The words came out before my brain could catch up. It was true; I wanted him. I wanted Nash’s hands all over me. I wanted him to do things to me that no man had ever done before.

  I wanted him.

  And in order to have him, he needed the truth.

  “Nash, I . . .”

  His phone started ringing with Blake’s ringtone again and we laughed.

  “I’ve got to go. I’m sorry. I’ll call you later?”

  For a moment, my mind started to panic. Nash had to be worked up, and he was headed to a bachelor party. What if he met someone there? Based on his call with that permitting floozy the other day on our way to Houston, he was obviously okay with one-night stands.

  He kissed me on the forehead. “Stop thinking what you’re thinking.”

  “How did you know what I was thinking?”

  “It’s all over your face, Kaelynn. I have no interest in hooking up with anyone.”

  I glanced down to see he was still aroused. “But what about . . .”

  Nash’s mouth was on mine, kissing me until I felt dizzy. “I’m fine. I’ll call you later.”

  Nodding, I replied, “Okay, don’t forget your cake.”