by Taryn Quinn
“Is that judgement? It’s a party, you know. Everyone is having some.” I waved my hand toward the couple at the table near us. “Okay, maybe not her. Another baby on board,” I sang out. “Congrats.”
The woman laughed. “Thanks.”
He steered me over to one of the covered tables full of food. “Let’s get some of this into you.”
“No fun.”
“Better than you not having any fun because you pass out in the corner.”
I sighed. “Fair point. I really didn’t eat today. I was too busy sewing things. I love to sew, did you know that?”
“Is that a fact?”
I narrowed my gaze at him as another flood of people came out of the restaurant. I had no choice but to crowd into him. “Sarcasm isn’t a good color on you. Green is though. Really nice.” I flipped the end of his tie up.
He gave me a half smile, then went back to building me a plate heavy on the carbs. Really heavy. How much did he think I could pack away? Then again, all I wanted to do was eat when I had alcohol in me. Did he know that?
Probably did. Ivy was always blathering about everyone’s secrets. At least the secrets she knew about me anyway.
He reached back and took my hand, leading me to the quieter part of the sidewalk and across the pavement between the buildings to the café. He held out a chair for me. “Here you go.”
I looked down at our joined hands and gently twisted out of his hold. “Thanks. You don’t have to take care of me though. I’m a big girl.” I dug into the pile of stuff and found pepperoni and cheese bread. “So good.”
“I know. I like it.”
He kicked out a chair next to me and and dropped into it with a groan. “I swear I haven’t sat down since noon.”
“I hear you.” I held out a spinach roll. “Want?”
He leaned in and took it from my fingers with his teeth.
I slowed my chewing, my gaze locked on the way he licked his lips.
He sat back and laced his fingers over his rock hard, very flat belly. Dear goddess, why did he have to be so damn delicious? It was usually way easier for me to ignore such things.
But I knew firsthand just how tight that middle was. And how amazing that lower lip tasted. I still dreamed about it some nights. He had the perfect level of wet and dry in his kisses. Was there anything worse than a guy who used too much tongue?
Not as far as I was concerned.
Not that I had a huge number in that knowledge category, but I’d kissed my fair share of nope-never-again guys in my life. August was definitely in the repeat offender column. At least in my dreams. Repeat again and again with oh, yes, please, one more time.
“Do I have something on my mouth?” He flicked his thumb over the corner of his lip.
I shook my head and looked back down at my plate. “Nope. All good.”
He reached for my plate, and I moved it to the right. “Get your own.”
“You are a hard woman. And after I made that whole plate for you.”
I sighed and slid it back. “Not fair.”
“Who said I have to be fair?” He leaned forward and unearthed a breadstick. He glanced at me and sighed, handing it to me. Then took another spinach roll.
I smiled and broke it apart to nibble on one end. “You’re always fair. That’s who you are. The good guy, can’t change that.”
“Is that so?”
I flicked away a tempura-covered pepper to get to another piece of the pepperoni bread. “Yep. You, Becks, are super kind and safe.” I handed him the pepper. He must like them if he picked it. Ick.
He wrapped his long fingers around my wrist and lifted it to his mouth to chomp off the end.
I swallowed. “You can take it, you know.”
He finished it and took the other half, licking the tip of my finger. “No napkins.” He sat back. “Go on, keep telling me how much of a nice guy I am.”
I tapped my finger against the side of the plate and frowned down at it. That wasn’t an insult. “Your whole family is. Your mom keeps trying to fix me up with some guy named Brent. I mean, why? Do I look like a girl who’s going to go out with a Brent?”
Been there, done that. I didn’t need any more Brents in my tool chest, thanks.
“Brent Spielman?”
I popped the last bit of pepperoni in my mouth. “Yes.” I shuddered. “No thanks.”
“Definitely not.”
I pushed the near empty plate away. “Oh?” The hurt made me pull my hands together under the table. Of course I wouldn’t be good enough.
“Brent is a douche. He’s slick and talks a good game around people like my mom. In reality, he’s been banging his receptionist for the last three months and is always trolling at the Spinning Wheel.” He jerked my chair by the arm and twisted it toward him. “Don’t go fucking near him.”
I balanced myself with a hand to his knee. “Why do you care?”
“How blind are you, Kin?”
Four
Her blue eyes widened.
She couldn’t really be that fucking surprised, could she? I hadn’t been alone with that kiss in the fall. At least I didn’t think so.
I eased back and she grabbed my hand. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.” I propped my elbows on my thighs until our gazes were even. I licked my lips and stared at her mouth.
She sucked in her bottom lip, her teeth denting the pale skin. Her lipstick had rubbed off, thanks to her drinks and food. Would she taste like tequila? Or maybe the sharper spice of her food?
Would I find out? That was the real question.
Gideon’s words rang in my head.
You have good chemistry, and suddenly, a lot of objections fly out the window.
Okay, there had been a bit more than that to it for him and Macy, but maybe I needed to actually take the plunge. The kiss by the truck had been weird. Hot, but weird. She’d been right there, with her eyes closed, practically begging me to lean in.
I didn’t even think about it.
Now?
All I’d been doing was thinking about it. And I knew I’d screwed up after we kissed. I’d been just as surprised how incredible it had been. I should have dragged her back in and gone for part two.
But then she’d bailed on me. That wasn’t happening a second time.
I cupped the back of her neck. The realization lit her depthless blue eyes. They always told me exactly what was going on in her brain. She’d probably hate that I knew it.
I knew when she was pissed, when she was tired, when she was hurting.
This Kinleigh was new.
Sexy.
Aware.
Wary.
I leaned in. Maybe I could get rid of the wariness. Our eyes were still open as I closed the gap, and then she was mine. Those long lashes fluttered down and she breathed into me. And I took.
No holding back.
This wasn’t a game for me. She never had been, but maybe I’d have to convince her of that.
I brushed my lips with hers, lightly tasting the corner of her mouth, the fullest part of her lower lip, then the sharp divot along the top of her bow-like shape. I was rewarded with spice.
I loved spice.
Her fingers twisted around my tie, and the little groan nearly brought me out of my seat. I wanted to hear more of that. Taste it on my tongue.
The sounds of the crowd around us invaded my lust brain.
I pulled back, looking around. No one was paying us any mind. People were moving inside, probably for speeches or something. Someone bumped my chair, and Kinleigh jerked back.
Nope. Not this time.
I stood and took her hand, drawing her with me as I wound my way around the chairs and to the back gate of the fenced-in area of the café.
“What are you doing?”
I looked down at her. “Finding somewhere a little less conspicuous.”
Her gaze narrowed before she looked over her shoulder.
I dragged her down t
he alleyway beside the café and the stretch of pavement that led to the parking lot.
“August, this is—”
I swung around and hauled her up against me. The flare of her skirt gave me enough room to get my knee between her legs. “You really going to say this isn’t what you want?”
She swallowed and wouldn’t look above my mouth. “I don’t know.”
My need to protect her, to make sure she was okay, warred with the instinct to not let her think right now. I didn’t want to be a mistake, but I didn’t want her to slot our kiss—kisses, plural now—as a regret before she saw how good we were together either.
One taste and I knew. Maybe I’d always known, even if I didn’t want to own up to it.
I crowded her into the brick wall beside the side door. I lowered my mouth to hers. I didn’t hesitate. I dived in to show her exactly what I meant.
Her arm went up around my neck, and she flattened her chest against mine. Her heart was hammering, and God, she tasted like everything I’d ever wanted.
I didn’t put myself out there very much. I preferred the quiet of my shop and the wood that I understood. I could touch a stack of lumber and know exactly what it needed to be.
Women weren’t as easy to figure out.
But this woman, I knew. Years of having her around had taught me a few things about Kinleigh Scott. And I needed to tap into that wild girl who sang with her music upstairs. The one who laughed with her whole body. The one who was more excited for a truck bed full of junk than the sparkliest gemstones.
I drew her up onto her tiptoes. Even her heeled boots weren’t quite enough to line us up. But I’d help with that. I cupped my hands around her firm ass and set her tighter against me to let her feel just how serious I was.
She moaned into my mouth as I went deeper. Sought more of those sweet sounds. I rocked her tighter against my leg and groaned at the heat of her blasting through the filmy dress into my shirt and jeans.
Her coat shrouded us from any prying eyes, so I was a bit bolder than I usually would’ve been. I inched up the skirt of her dress while I got very acquainted with her mouth. Jesus, she could kiss.
I thought I’d had the steering wheel firmly in hand, but I was drowning in her taste. Instead of hose or tights or whatever women usually had under these things, I only found a scrap of silk.
“Fuck, Kin,” I muttered against her lips.
“Don’t stop now, dammit.”
I laughed into her mouth. My fingers curved around her soft, slightly chilled skin. I lifted her thigh up to hook over my hip to get closer to her. A barely there thong was the only thing keeping me from her sweet softness.
I hoped the friction was enough for now because I needed a minute to get my head around this. The logistics of it. I was not going to take this woman against the side of a building with people tromping through.
As much as I wanted her and for her to see just how awesome we could be together, I couldn’t disrespect her like that.
My elbow rapped the doorknob and I swore, the pain giving me a second for my brain to engage.
Upstairs.
I knew the code to get into the apartments since I’d helped with some of the work up there. Gideon and his crew were forever rehabbing one of the apartments and where Gideon went, I was usually dragged in to help.
I let her dress fall and cursed.
“What?” She was undulating against me so sweetly. Those big blue eyes were hooded with desire and a bit of hazy confusion.
I lifted her off of me. I didn’t realize just how much she’d crawled up on me. “I want you all over me, in like three seconds. Okay, maybe three minutes.”
“What?” She moved back, her heels clicking on the pavement.
I grabbed her hand. “Nope. Inside.”
“Where? There?” She glanced over her shoulder, her expression frantic. “We can’t go in there.”
I wiggled my fingers to get the blood flowing. Okay, brain bring back that code. It was in my head somewhere. Too bad most of my brain cells were located in my very unhappy dick, currently banging on my zipper to come out and play.
“Shit.”
She crowded into my back. “What?” She was looking around. “Do you know the code or not?”
“Give me a second.”
“This isn’t a good idea. Someone is going to come down—”
“2-3-1-8. Got it.” The panel turned green and the locks disengaged. I swung the door open and dragged her inside. “Up the stairs.”
I stopped at the huge stack of lumber left in the stairwell. Well, that was a fire hazard. Whatever, a problem for tomorrow. I vaulted over the stack and held my hands out for her.
“August, this is crazy.” But she reached for me.
I lifted her up against me and slowly let her slide down my body. “It is crazy, but I like it.”
She stared into my eyes, her gaze uncertain and yet there was a spark of the wild there. Exactly what I’d been looking for all night.
“Don’t think. Let me show you just how amazing we can be together.”
She opened her mouth. I could see the questions and the second-guesses behind her eyes, but I covered her mouth again and kissed her until she was sagging against me, the little purr in her throat back.
I locked my fingers with hers and headed up the stairs, dragging her behind me. The second floor was a hot mess, but the third floor was almost done.
A woman with more money than sense had decided she liked having a whole floor to herself. Gideon had been rehabbing it to make the space into a huge loft apartment. I’d just delivered one of my bed frames last week.
“I’m not built for sprinting, Aug.”
“Just a few more steps.” I shouldered my way into the half finished door. It was just a frame, but the door hadn’t been plumbed yet so it was just a piece of particle board closing it off. The nails creaked under the weight of my body and finally let free. I stepped over the threshold and caught her around the waist, dragging her inside.
“Holy Goddess.” She twirled around, her heels clicking on the endless stretch of beachy gray hardwood. There was light coming in from the street. No blinds were up on the windows yet.
But thank God there were actual windows in so we wouldn’t freeze. A huge bay window slashed moonlight and lamplight over the room. It hit on the gorgeous island countertop and L-shaped kitchen. The living room was wide open and her steps echoed in the space.
I followed her slowly, watching the wonder and curiosity chase across her face. Then she slowly let her coat slide down her arms and she tossed it on a stack of flooring that needed to be finished.
She turned and her curls glowed in the moonlight. Her pale skin was gilded in silver and one of the crystal necklaces she always wore glinted between her breasts.
I hadn’t gotten a look at her without her jacket before. Her dress was a floaty bunch of layers that draped along her willowy form. The edges of it floated around her knees and hung a little lower in the back. The neckline curved along the gentle swell of her breasts in some complicated layer of material.
So many layers. And I wanted to strip her out of each one of them.
I crossed to her, my soft-soled shoes silent in comparison to the quiet click of her stilts. I steered her gently to the right and sure enough, there was my large four poster bed made out of ash.
We weren’t in my bed this first time we were together, but at least I’d be able to spread her out on something I made.
Our fingers twisted together and her chest rose and fell with…excitement, I hoped.
I couldn’t read her eyes in the dim light, but maybe the darkness was best for now. Maybe she wouldn’t see how nervous I was. How much I wanted her.
I reached up to the little ties between her breasts and tugged one free. The layer of dark material slipped open, showing her milky skin. I lowered my mouth to her chest, teasing my tongue around the chain of her heavy pendant and up to her neck.
I buried my face in th
e sultry scent of her. Crisp winter with a layer of lemons. Not the summery fresh kind though. Something darker, spicier layered over it. And the scent of wood and sawdust swirled around us.
The walls were framed out, but they hadn’t put drywall up yet for the bedroom. I inched her back, her heels making tracks in the dust to the bed. A plastic-wrapped mattress was tucked into the frame.
Not exactly the Hilton.
Hell, not exactly my own four poster bed either, but it would do for now. I tossed my jacket on the bed as I dragged her closer and covered her mouth again, thirsting for that little sound she made.
There it was.
I chased it, my rough fingers catching on the flowy material, but then she was helping me. She stripped off a layer to leave her in a slip of dark material. Her breasts beaded up at the tips and I lowered my mouth to take one through the fabric.
Her fingers slid into my hair as she arched her back. I curled my arms around her, pressing her tighter against my jeans. I nosed my way into the layers of her dress to find the lacy thing she called a bra.
It was see-through.
“Christ, you’re beautiful.”
I twirled my tongue around the little pink tip until it was taut and the tiny moans she gave me heightened into groans. Her nails scraped along my scalp, holding me there against her.
There was no doubt she was with me.
Thank fuck.
I lifted her up and wrapped her legs around me, dragging her skirt up so I could fill my hands with her perfect ass. She held on tight, her arms around my shoulders as I positioned her to get to those breasts again. Her curls curtained around me, drowning me in her scent.
I dragged my teeth up over her chest to nip at her throat. She arched against me, her breath catching and her heart racing. I backed up until my thighs hit the mattress before turning and rolling her under me.
I didn’t quite hit my jacket, but considering the way she was arching up under me, I didn’t think she cared. I settled her across the middle of the bed, her hair fanning out as she reached up for me.
Her knee hooked around my hip as she dragged me down by my tie. “Can we get rid of this?”
“Yes, please. I hate ties.” I leaned back enough so I could jerk the tail through the knot. She made a gimme fingers gesture as I got it off.