Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  But when Linc made eye contact with Vanessa, then pulled Cindy into his arms, she was struck dumb and helpless to do anything but watch the scene unfold in front of her while her body behaved badly.

  Very badly.

  Chapter Ten

  As Vanessa stared, Linc noticed her, his mouth covering Cindy’s in a heated kiss. What the fuck was he doing? Watching her while he kissed his girlfriend? And then Cindy reacted, pressing herself into his body, and Linc deepened the kiss, opening his mouth. Vanessa got a glimpse of tongue and her own body reacted to what she saw.

  Vanessa’s breasts got heavy and her nipples puckered into tingling peaks as Linc’s massive hands clasped Cindy’s waist, pulling her against his hard, lean body. A pulsing sensation started up in Vanessa’s core as Linc slipped a hand under Cindy’s top, his rough fingers tracing her spine. Vanessa could hear Cindy moaning into Linc’s mouth as he kissed the fuck out of her, right here on the sidewalk, while he watched Vanessa the entire time.

  He seemed to get a grip on reality and loosened his grip, attempting to push Cindy away. A frustrated moan came from Cindy, and her efforts intensified. Vanessa was reminded of a spider monkey trying to crack open a coconut.

  Awk-ward.

  Not that it stopped her staring. Vanessa’s mouth went dry and her insides heated. She could feel herself blushing as Linc’s crystal-blue gaze sharpened its focus on her. Cindy was wrapped around him, and one of his arms had come around to lift her skirt and clutch her backside, revealing corded forearms and strongly veined hands. Hands that Vanessa had already imagined doing a lot to her.

  Cindy was moaning and writhing against his crotch, her mouth open and tongue plunging in and around Linc’s mouth. Vanessa was helpless to do anything but stare, her own limbs frozen. She knew this was weird, realizing how odd it was for them to be doing something so intimate on the street, and for her to be staring like this, but she couldn’t help it. A pang of jealousy wracked her body, and she wished like hell he would kiss her like that. But he wasn’t kissing her. He was kissing Cindy. In public.

  So she stood there, while his heated gaze raked over her body, frozen to the sidewalk. Vanessa swallowed hard as the muscles in his forearms bunched when he gripped the woman’s backside, as if to stop her dry-humping him on the sidewalk.

  Cindy moved her head and started sucking on Linc’s neck, and Vanessa could admit a bit of jealousy from her actions, too. She’d never felt that way with someone, especially not in public, on a street. Ian had certainly never done anything to make her lose control like that. Linc was making Cindy lose it, even if he didn’t look like he wanted to, even if he was looking at Vanessa, his head leaning against the wall behind him, his eyes ripping Vanessa’s clothing off.

  Readily admitting she would like to lose control with anyone who could make her feel the way this woman was obviously feeling, she shook herself as Linc gave one last squeeze to the woman’s ass and slapped it, eliciting a high-pitched squealing giggle.

  She stood there, watching like a voyeur, pressing her thighs together to relieve the ache there, as moisture pooled in her panties. Linc’s blue eyes were sharp on her, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to her body. A gasp left her throat, and the noise brought her back to reality. She spun on her heel and walked as quickly as she could for the sanctity of her car.

  Vanessa trembled the entire way home, probably too turned on to drive, but she had to get away from downtown Mystic, where Linc was making out with his girlfriend, who was decidedly not her. She hadn’t even realized he was there. He was supposed to be working on her plumbing.

  Oh God, how she wanted him to be working on her plumbing.

  Creepy note at the museum forgotten, Vanessa drove up to her house, now looking less like a haunted, decrepit building and more like a work in progress. Her panties had disintegrated as she’d replayed the memory of Linc and Cindy over and over again. Why had he been watching her? Still shaking, she made her way to her front door. Her clit was swollen and kept rubbing against her wet panties, and Vanessa wanted nothing more than to pull out a toy and get herself off, but what if Linc came back and caught her?

  Sure enough, his truck came bouncing up her driveway right behind her car, going faster than it needed to, kicking up a plume of dust.

  Good thing she hadn’t masturbated. As turned on as she was, she wouldn’t be able to stop even with him watching her. And that thought turned her on even more. Her skin was so damned sensitive, if she rubbed against the wall the right way, she’d probably come all over herself.

  Unable to move, she watched Linc’s long legs eat up the way between her and his truck, each step bringing him closer. He had a frighteningly determined look on his face and Vanessa was honestly too turned on to care. She had to be careful here, or she was going to do something she regretted. So she bit her lip to keep herself from talking and sat on the rocking chair of her porch, crossing her legs, which only made the ache worse.

  He stood on the bottom step, watching her, his gaze crawling over her, still heated. “I’m sorry,” he finally said, stating it with an earnestness that took her breath away.

  “For what?”

  “For making you uncomfortable.”

  That was one word for it. Judging by the bulge in his jeans, he was rather uncomfortable, too. But if she thought too much about the cause of his obvious discomfort, she’d only remember he’d just been climbed by his girlfriend. “What just happened?” Vanessa didn’t trust herself to stand up. She probably had a damp spot on the back of her skirt, or else it would start dripping down her thighs.

  “I just broke up with Cindy.” He sighed as he said it, and Vanessa wondered if he was as distraught as he sounded, because part of her wanted him to break up with her, too, if that’s the way he did things.

  “I’m sorry.” That wasn’t a break-up kiss. Well, maybe the part where he was staring at another woman while kissing Cindy. But that would mean he was interested in her, and he hadn’t really shown any interest. He’d been pushing her away since he got here. It didn’t make any sense.

  “Don’t be.” He still stood on the bottom step of the porch, making no move to come up. “I had to go into town to pick up the glass for your windows and ran into her. It was time.”

  She wanted to ask why he’d been staring at her. Or why he’d been so into the kiss. Or could he please make her come so she’d be put out of her misery? But she couldn’t speak. She was too busy throbbing.

  He rubbed the back of his neck while he looked down at his worn boots. “Anyway, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that in front of you. It was unprofessional.”

  Vanessa managed to squeak out, “It’s okay.” It was anything but okay. She was a horny mess with no relief in sight. And thank God he was worried about being professional.

  “Okay, well, I’ll start fitting the glass for your windows, then.” He backed away while Vanessa squirmed, still wondering what in the hell had just happened. There was a pull between them, but he seemed hell-bent on denying it, and Vanessa didn’t even know if she could.

  Standing on still-quaking legs, Vanessa went inside to smell cornbread again. What the hell? Where did that come from? She remembered Melanie talking about the ghosts and how they could sometimes make you smell things, and she wondered if this was her ghost? Really? Cornbread?

  Vanessa shrugged and walked over to her bed, sorely tempted to pull out a toy and writhe around on the sheets, just to spite Linc. It would serve him right to see her in the state he’d put her in, but she refrained. No sense in making things any more awkward between them.

  Chapter Eleven

  Linc had no idea which way was up anymore. He’d broken up with Cindy at lunch, and she’d asked for a goodbye kiss just as Vanessa came into view. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Cindy no, but something else had taken over entirely, and he’d kissed Cindy like he wanted to kiss Vanessa.

  And she’d seen the whole thing. And he hadn’t stopped it. And they’d all been tur
ned on by it.

  The precision and patience for glass-cutting was not going to happen until he got himself under control. His eyes went to the rickety porch steps he’d just been standing on, and a wry grin crossed his face. He needed to tear something down.

  Besides his own self-worth.

  Going to his truck for the crow bar, Linc started in on the old, rotten steps. As he worked, a cool hand rubbed his forehead and patted his back. Vanessa’s ghost was clearly a nurturer. As her arms went around his torso, he felt like he was doing something good, something somebody wanted. This ghost was so unlike Nick’s ghost. Margot was always copping a feel, and as stupid as it sounded, she made him feel cheap. But Vanessa’s ghost was aces at making him feel good about fixing up this old house, and made him want to know her story. Was she tied here, somehow? It was like getting a hug from his grandma, and that always made him feel better.

  He worked steadily, putting his energy and aggressions into the timeworn wood, pulling out old nails and putting them in his pocket. When the steps were gone, he went back to his truck to get new wood, a lightness to his steps.

  Returning to the porch, he set everything down and noticed an old box just under where the steps were. It looked as old as the steps, and Linc wondered how long it had been there.

  “Vanessa?” he called out. When she came outside, she’d changed out of the skirt she’d been wearing and now wore what was left of a pair of cut-off jeans. She honestly had no idea what the sight of her did to him. “I found something under here,” he croaked out through a suddenly dry throat.

  “I thought you were going to work on windows?” she asked, clearly confused as to why he was climbing under the porch.

  “Yeah, well I didn’t trust myself to not break every piece of glass I touch today. You want this?” He heaved the box out and opened the lid, exposing a bunch of old books.

  “Yeah!” Her face lit up with a smile Linc didn’t think he’d ever see again after his actions today. He’d redeemed himself. Without thought, he ducked back under the porch to see if he could find more, make her happier, but there weren’t any. When he came back up, he saw Vanessa had opened one and was reading whatever was inside. “It’s an old diary, Linc.” Her voice was breathless, and the way his name rolled off her lips was like honey.

  “Is that cool?”

  “Yeah, very.” She put it down and picked up another one. “There are four of them.” She looked like she wanted to throw herself into his arms, and Linc took a step back. He knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself if she did and was still wondering what the hell he’d gotten into with her. “Thank you.” Her voice was soft, and she was obviously very happy.

  Linc smiled at her, thankful he’d done something right today. “You’re welcome.” He didn’t want to overstep and fuck up, so he pulled out his measuring tape and started measuring the new wood for steps.

  He needed to give some thought to what his next step would be. In Vanessa Lovelace’s book, Cole had pushed Katy away. Linc thought he’d probably done enough of that shit. He was tired of it, anyway. He wanted to see her smile more like she just had. So the next thing that had happened, was Katy had gotten all bothered by stuff Cole did, like taking off his shirt and ‘accidentally’ grazing up against her, and then he’d rescued her from her stalker ex-boyfriend. Linc didn’t want Vanessa in danger, so he wasn’t planning a rescue, but he could take off his shirt and graze. Those were two totally doable things.

  After Vanessa had taken her books inside the house, he shed his t-shirt, saying goodbye to Aerosmith for the afternoon. It was still hot. He could do this.

  He’d never been a fan of games, not that he knew how to play them, but this seemed different somehow. Fuck all if he knew how to actually talk to Vanessa. All he could do was get her to make a move. And finish that book. He hadn’t read it in a few days, and he needed to know if all this shit he was planning was actually going to get the girl.

  Chapter Twelve

  In the next week, Vanessa learned Linc was a quiet man, working mostly in a comfortable silence. When he had a question, he asked and then actually listened to her answer, offering suggestions when needed. She figured out he drank his coffee with milk when she had it, but would drink it black if she didn’t. He ate healthy, and had someone cooking for him at home, because he always brought leftovers to eat for lunch. She didn’t ask, and he didn’t volunteer the information, but she thought the grilled chicken and veggies that smelled so good were probably made by a new girlfriend or something.

  And now that he’d started working shirtless, she was going to combust.

  Between the work being done on the house, and the distracting man doing the lion’s share of it, Vanessa didn’t have much time to read the diary, but she thought about it constantly. It was an old diary from the 1860s, when the house was new—a corn farm run by women whose men had gone off to fight in the Civil War. It was exactly what Kristie had been talking about needing for her museum, evidence that Union soldiers had been here. They had been on their way home after the war, from a disastrous battle in west Texas, when they’d stopped here. At this very farm. Vanessa had a hard time wrapping her head around it herself.

  The men were dying, and the women here nursed them back to health, and one of the women had fallen in love with one of the soldiers. Forbidden love. So stinking romantic. Vanessa was totally hooked. Kristie was pretty excited, too. When Vanessa called to tell her about it, she’d come straight over, bringing her a pair of gloves to wear to protect the pages while she read. When she was finished reading them, she’d promised Kristie she could have them for the museum. Kristie had almost peed her pants with excitement.

  Still getting the vague feelings of cobwebs at random times, and cool hands stroking her, not to mention the odd smell of cornbread she wasn’t cooking, she knew at least one of the women were still here. Especially after all the talking her new friends had done about the ghosts in town.

  Vanessa decided to get another viewpoint one day at lunch with Linc. He had just pulled an amazing-looking salad with grilled chicken out of a plastic grocery bag, looking at her canned spaghetti askance.

  “So… something sort of weird happened at Samantha’s house last week, and I need to get someone else’s take on it,” she hedged. Vanessa was afraid Linc would think she was stupid for believing Samantha, even though she wasn’t sure she did.

  He stiffened in his seat, his fork halfway to his mouth before he slowed the movement and eventually froze, ready for a bite. “Like, weird how?”

  “She said it was a ghost,” she said hesitantly. Vanessa felt stupid even bringing it up, and out loud, the words sounded ridiculous.

  He took the bite of his salad and chewed slowly, nodding as he did before speaking around his mouthful. “Addison? She still picking on Kristie?” His eyes twinkled, and his mouth curved into a slow smile.

  “Seriously? You believe it, too?” She stirred her slimy spaghetti in her bowl, trying vainly to twirl some around her fork.

  “Sure. I’ve seen it my whole life. We’ve got ghosts here, and yeah, it’s odd, but I don’t know what else to say about it.” He shrugged, going back to his salad.

  She chewed her mouthful before asking him about his ghost. “Do you have one?”

  He chuckled good-naturedly. “Yeah, I do. I call him Harold, and he watches me cook.”

  “How do you know?”

  Shrugging again, Linc answered. “Because he smells like pipe tobacco and gun oil. Every time I go into the kitchen, he’s there.” He took another bite of his salad. “Although, lately, he’s been smelling more like roses, which is weird…”

  “I like roses. My mom used to grow them.” Wait, he’d said he cooked. Did that mean there wasn’t a girlfriend who made him all these healthy lunches?

  “She doesn’t grow them anymore?” Linc was bringing her back to reality, like dumping a bucket of water all over her.

  Vanessa stirred the disgusting spaghetti while examining it closel
y. “No, she died and Dad let them go. They’re still planted in front of their house, but they don’t look like they used to.”

  He dropped his fork, and his hand stretched out on the table, twitching. “I’m sorry, Vanessa. I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.” Linc clenched his hand into a fist, and Vanessa looked up at him. Her heart broke a little more at the sight of his face. “Mine died, too, a while back. I know it’s hard.”

  The air was suddenly oppressive, and Vanessa tried to lighten the mood somewhat by turning it back to her original question. “Um… Do you think I have one? A ghost?” If she had a ghost, she would want it to be her mom, but the likelihood of that seemed slim, even if Tiffany said hers had come from someplace else, attached to her things.

  His eyes widened, and Vanessa momentarily got lost in the blue depths. “You haven’t felt her? She’s very motherly, always hugging on me and stuff.” The sadness in his eyes dissipated somewhat but was still there. Did the ghost remind him of his mom, too?

  Vanessa snorted a laugh. “I’m not sure that’s motherly, Linc. Have you looked in a mirror?” The words left her mouth before she could stop them, and Linc had the grace to actually blush. “I’m sorry. Unprofessional of me.” And embarrassing. She dove back into her spaghetti, stabbing a meatball. Truth was, she’d felt it—the hugs and caresses—but hadn’t believed it. She thought she was imagining it.

  “Hey, I know it’s overwhelming to newcomers. We don’t advertise it, or else the town would be overrun with ghost hunters or something. But they’re here, and we just co-exist.” Another shrug and he went back to his salad.

  Linc finished his lunch in record time, leaving her with her canned spaghetti and her thoughts. Dirty thoughts of him.