by Kim Law
“I won’t get hurt,” was all she replied.
Nick gave a single nod. “So, sex only? That’s all it can be for you?”
“Yes,” she said. “Sex. Friends. Nothing personal.”
“And if I can’t promise that?” he asked. “If I can’t promise to keep my heart out of it?”
Damn, maybe just this once she would have been okay without total honesty. She couldn’t make herself not want him, yet she wanted desperately to believe that neither one of them would make it more than it was.
“Then you’ll know going into it that I will keep my emotions out of it. If you don’t, you’ll get hurt.”
He studied her again, just as intently as before, and she found herself wishing she hadn’t turned the light on. He was making her nervous again.
“Okay,” he said, giving a little nod. “Sex only. But if I decide to care, you can’t run away. It’ll be my choice if I get hurt. Deal?”
She nodded. She wasn’t sure she had a choice in the matter.
He nudged his chin toward the pillow. “Put that down and come here.”
“You come get it.”
He shook his head.
What was wrong with this man? She had already caved and admitted she’d been jealous. Did she have to go crawling over to him, too? She shook her head in return.
A shadow passed over his features. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll meet in the middle.”
He took a step toward her.
She loosened her grip a little.
He took another step and angled his head, giving her a steady look, letting her know she had to do more than turn loose of the death grip she had on the pillow.
“Are you sorry you took her out?” Joanie asked, knowing she didn’t have to say Gina’s name.
He nodded. “Very.”
“At least you didn’t kiss the floozy,” she mumbled and lowered the pillow a fraction.
His eyes narrowed. “But you obviously did kiss Marshall.”
She smirked. “He’s a friend.”
“He’s a guy.”
“Well, yes.” She remembered Brian’s offer before she’d gotten out of the car. She wouldn’t take Brian up on it, of course. Even if she wasn’t about to sleep with Nick.
At the thought of what she was about to do, parts of her began to stir to life.
“I didn’t like it,” Nick grunted out.
She smiled at his emphatic statement. “I didn’t really either.”
“Joanie.” His tone suggested she back off the teasing.
“Okay.” Frustration bounced between them. He wanted her to meet him halfway, and she wanted… She concentrated on the man in front of her and gave a mental shrug. She wanted Nick. She just wanted him.
Tossing the pillow behind her, she mentally crossed her fingers that she was doing the right thing and waited.
He didn’t move.
She clamped her lips together and stuck her nose in the air. “It’s your turn to take a step forward.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You can be so annoying.”
“It’s my number one talent.”
When he didn’t move any farther, she threw up her hands. “Fine.” She stomped the remaining foot to stand directly in front of him. “Here I am. Joanie Bigbee, cupcake baker extraordinaire. Either take me to bed or get the hell out of my house because I can’t take any more tonight.”
The corners of his mouth quirked. She wanted to kick him in the shin. But more importantly, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold on until morning.
He lifted a finger and traced her lips, the roughness of his skin from working in construction pinging sparks throughout her body. “Hello, Joanie Bigbee. I’m Nicholas William Dalton. House remodeler and general Mr. Fix-it.”
She wanted him to fix her.
He trailed his fingers down her throat, stopping at the base of her neck. She could feel her own pulse thumping against his skin.
“Thank you for coming to me,” he whispered.
Her heart raced. He was already making this more than it was. “Will you take me to bed now?” she asked.
If she hadn’t been staring at him so intently, she would have missed the tiny flash of disappointment in his eyes. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch. “How about we stay out here for a bit? Take it slow.”
She groaned. “What is it with you? Do you not get this whole sex thing?”
Nick settled them on the cushions and pulled her to his side. The hand he curved around her shoulder slipped just inside the opening of her shirt and his fingers feathered over her neck. Heat bounced from her shoulder to her nipples and then straight between her legs.
On the other side of her, Nick touched his mouth to the side of her neck. Goose bumps lit over her body. He was trying to seduce her. That wasn’t needed.
She turned her face to his, determined to find his lips. “You’re a romantic, Nick. Quit trying to make this more. It’s chemistry. Sex.”
Without giving him a chance to argue, she flipped herself over and straddled him. His arms came up to grip her hips, knocking a plastic grocery bag off the couch in the process. She leaned in for a kiss but missed as he looked toward the sound.
“Dang, Joanie. What’s with the clutter?”
She shrugged. “I sometimes don’t put stuff away immediately. It’s no big deal. Can we get back to kissing now?”
“We weren’t kiss—”
He shut up when she put her mouth to his.
Heat flared between them and both of them groaned. He brought his hands up to grip her head, and plundered her mouth with his tongue, reminding her very quickly how much she’d enjoyed this the last time, and making her very thankful that Gina had not gotten to experience this heaven for herself.
She slipped her hands lower, shoving them under the untucked tail of his shirt until she reached hard, hot, male flesh. His abs were off the charts.
“Oh, Mama,” she whispered. She wanted to lick every inch of him.
Continuing to straddle him, she sent her hands on an exploration of his chest as he nibbled down her throat and turned his own hands loose over her back. He was hard everywhere she could find. She wiggled closer on his lap and confirmed that, yes, he was hard there, too.
Large hands headed under her skirt as they’d done when the two of them had first come into the house, and she whimpered when he got a good, firm hold. From what she could tell, her butt fit perfectly in his palms.
She shivered when his lips dipped below her collarbone. It took barely more than a touch and she was a drooling fool for this man.
“Can we go upstairs now?” she whispered. Straddling him on the couch was one thing, but she wanted them prone. She wanted to see what she was touching. And she wanted to watch him do the same. “If we don’t go now, I’m not sure my legs will hold me to climb the stairs later.”
He brought her face back to his, his hand holding her chin captive. Brown eyes focused on hers. “Then I’ll carry you.”
He kissed her, and she once again lost her breath.
His grip didn’t allow her to turn away—not that she wanted to—and the hand on her butt started a rhythmic squeezing thing, making her thrust into him in time to his pumps.
Oh God, she was riding the seam of his jeans and she could feel herself already nearing an orgasm.
“Please, Nick,” she whispered against his mouth. “Take me upstairs.”
He didn’t change course. One hand kept her face held in place, and the other kept her grinding into him. It didn’t seem right—her getting all the attention—but she was helpless to stop it. Widening her legs, she bore down on him and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
“Oh God, Nick. I’m going to come.”
“I know.” His voice was low and rough. “That’s my plan, sweetness.”
She couldn’t help it. She ground down on him with one last push and threw her head back, fighting for breath as the orgasm engulfed her. Circling her hips over and over, she
worked to get it all out, but it kept coming, it kept rolling through her, and she wasn’t certain she would keep breathing long enough to finish.
When her body finally calmed, thankfully without her passing out, she sat panting, her elbows locked and her shaking fists gripping his shoulders. Her hips were thrust as tight into him as she could get. She slowly came to the realization that she was staring at the ceiling and forced herself to ease the stiffness of her spine and return to a more natural, upright position.
The smugness covering Nick’s face was almost as hot as what he’d just done to her.
“That was pretty good,” she said, her breath still not quite back to normal.
The corners of his mouth inched up. “Wait till you see what I can do with my clothes off.”
“Upstairs,” she said. “I want you on my bed.”
His eyes went dark again and his arms clamped around her. He stood. “Tell me where.”
Before she could point him to the stairs leading up from the back corner of the room, the bag he’d knocked off the couch earlier crinkled at her feet. The strange thing was, neither of them was touching it.
“What in the world?” she asked, staring down at the floor. The bag was moving as if something were inside it.
At her question, he followed her gaze. They stood there, her wrapped around him, high up in his arms, and watched as something inside the bag continued to move. Finally, he let out a little laugh.
“I forgot,” he said. He put her down and she practically whimpered at the loss of connection. “I brought you a present.”
“You brought me a present? And what? You put it in the bag I’d left on the couch?”
“No.” He stooped down and reached a hand inside and pulled out something black. “I brought you a cat. I’d put him in the kitchen.”
Joanie took a fast step back, her hands up as if to ward both Nick and the cat off. “Why would you bring me a cat?”
“Because you needed one.” He held the small animal up and she felt her heart give a little tug. “His name is Bobcat.”
The small black cat watched her from Nick’s palm, its ears twitching, its tail missing.
“I got him from the clinic. Cody said a basket of them were dropped off a couple days ago. Bobcat, here, looked like he’d be able to keep up with you.”
Cute as he was, she did not want a cat. She shook her head as if to clear the picture, then shifted her gaze to the man.
“I don’t do animals, Nick.”
Animals were kind of like men who wanted to settle down. They were step one in getting too attached.
“It’s just a little cat. You like mine; I’ve seen you play with him. I thought you’d like your own.”
“You thought wrong.” She took another step back as if getting too close would make her catch something she couldn’t give back. “Take him home with you. I don’t want him.”
“Come on, Jo. Look at this thing. How can you not want him?”
A tiny black paw reached out toward her as if asking her to take him. She shook her head.
“You keep him.”
A look of disappointment settled over Nick, making her feel as if she’d done something wrong, but she wasn’t the one who’d brought a cat to someone without knowing if it was a good idea or not.
“Not everyone wants pets, Nick. Sorry. I don’t want one.” She shook her head again and moved to the door. “You take him.”
She felt the tiniest bit bad that she’d had a chance to get off tonight and he hadn’t, but she blamed this one on him. She couldn’t continue enjoying herself knowing there was a cat down here making himself at home.
Nick stepped into the adjoining kitchen and picked up a carrier she hadn’t noticed, then came back with the cat in one hand and the carrier in another. “I’ll take him for now, but he’s still yours. Whenever you get ready for him.”
“I don’t want him,” she repeated. She opened the door, keeping her eyes on the cat and not on Nick. “I’ll see you tomorrow night at the house.”
After Nick was gone, she leaned back against the door and let out a heavy breath. Who brought someone a cat?
A nester. That was who. Not someone who did casual sex.
A knock sounded on the door.
“What?” she yelled without opening it.
“Lock your door, sweetness.”
Crap. Did the man never ease up?
She locked the door and sank to the ground. She’d just had the hottest orgasm of her life, only to find out the man who’d given it to her thought she would want a cat.
No.
No, she did not want a cat.
She didn’t want anything from him.
Chapter Ten
Cat raised his head from where he lay in the patch of sunlight in the second-floor bedroom, looking around as if he’d heard a noise. It had to be Joanie. Nick’s heart thumped hard inside his chest. She was bringing dinner. And hopefully an amiable mood.
Two nights ago he’d been at her place, had her coming apart in his hands. Since then, he’d had forty-eight long hours to think about what he was doing and if he really wanted to do it. He’d come to a decision.
When he’d agreed to a sex-only relationship with her, he’d known there was no way he could stick to it, not completely. It was Joanie. She was sweet. Fun. Sexy. And she brightened a room just by walking into it. How was he not supposed to fall for that?
Plus, in the back of his mind he’d told himself she couldn’t stick to not caring for him either. She was too open and honest to be able to keep such a distance.
But at her blatant rejection of Bobcat, he’d had to question his initial thoughts. The way she’d backed away from them, one would think he’d been holding out a snake instead of an eight-week-old kitten. What had she said?
She didn’t do pets?
That was bull. She’d played with Cat every time she’d been over here. There had been evidence she’d done the same the night before while he’d been out, too. He’d left before she’d arrived, heading to the Bungalow for dinner to try to figure out how he wanted to proceed. When he’d returned, he’d found the feather toy he’d picked up for Bob lying on the floor as if she’d been sitting there playing with him.
But the way she’d backed away from the two of them at her place had indicated that whether she liked animals or not, she had no intention of getting attached to one. Fine. He liked cats. He could always use another. He wasn’t afraid of getting attached to them at all.
It had just been a small gift, for heaven’s sake. Cats weren’t even hard to take care of. It had seemed the thing to do, both as an apology for his behavior with Gina, and as a… well, just as a gift. He liked giving people things. Especially people he cared about.
He caught sight of her climbing from her small car and his breath hitched in his throat. She was dressed in all yellow today. It was Thursday, cupcake van day, and apparently she’d decided not to change before coming over. He smiled, appreciating the thought, and hurried down the stairs. He opened the front door before she hit the porch.
“I’m guessing you smell like lemons today.” God, she looked good.
She stopped, glanced down at herself and then back up at him, and gave him a slow, appreciative smile. “You noticed.”
He’d noticed everything about her.
“You always smell like your theme. What’s the flavor of the week? Lemon pie?”
“Lemon tart.” She grinned and held the bakery box up, and began climbing the steps toward him. “I brought you some.”
“I see that.” He hoped she’d brought him some more of what he’d gotten a taste of the other night, too. Even if she was able to keep her emotions out of it, he couldn’t say no if the offer was still on the table. He guessed he was an idiot like that.
He took the bag of food from her when she passed in front of him, and he breathed in her scent. It was so intoxicating it almost made him dizzy. “Too big a hurry to change before coming over?” he teased.
/> Not that he was complaining. She could wear those go-go outfits every day of the week and he’d be a happy man. Except for knowing that the rest of the town’s population of men would be just as happy.
That dimmed his ardor.
He closed the door and followed her in, watching her walk in front of him and smiling when Bob and Cat both came over and wound themselves welcomingly through her ankles. She squatted in the middle of the room and scratched each of them behind the ears until they purred. She was so a pet person. He’d known he hadn’t imagined that.
“I have a change of clothes in the car,” she said. “You didn’t come to the shop today.”
Laughter burst from him. He loved her lack of subtlety. “You wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the show? Not that I’m saying you should have changed, mind you. I’m quite enjoying the view.”
She peered up at him over her shoulder, her lids heavy, and flicked her gaze quickly over his body before returning her attention to the animals. “Maybe I’m just making sure you see what you missed.”
He crossed to stand behind her, purposely getting into her space. “Does that mean I’ve missed my chance?”
Getting entangled with her was not a good idea. He knew he couldn’t keep it light. Just as he knew she had every intention of making it nothing but.
She finally finished with the cats and stood facing him, not bothering to put distance between them. Though she was still a good six inches shorter in her boots, it felt as if she was right in his face. He wanted her closer.
“I guess that depends on you.” Her tone was telling. She moved away before he could either say anything or reach out and grab her, and set the box of cupcakes down on the seat of the recliner. Then she peeled off yellow gloves he hadn’t even noticed. It was darned near the sexiest move he’d ever seen. He was in way too deep with this woman, but he was fine with it. He wanted to drown in her.
Once she had the gloves off, he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the front windows toward the kitchen. He was tired of the dance. He wanted her. Now.
“What are you doing?” she asked when he set the food down on the table and continued pulling her across the room. “I thought we were going to eat.”