by Anne Rainey
“What would you do if you had permission to be bad?”
“This,” he groaned. He dipped his head forward and fastened his mouth to hers, angling his head as if for a deeper taste. He opened his mouth and stroked his tongue against her bottom lip. Lucy trembled as if he were the only man who had ever kissed her.
He lifted up and stared down at her. Her lips still tingled from his touch. “Cherries.”
She blinked, unsure what he’d said. “Huh?”
“Your lip gloss,” he explained. “It’s cherry flavored.” His voice sounded rough and uneven. “I wondered.”
She touched a finger to her lips. “Oh.”
Lucy forgot all about a singing job at the bar and grill. Sarah’s dilemma got pushed to the side too. Even the drunken idiot took a backseat. Everything had vanished the moment Reilly’s lips met hers.
“I want to be alone with you. To get to know you better. Come home with me, Lucy.”
Oh boy. She so didn’t trust men. Her ex-husband David and his cheating, user ways had ensured that. But as Reilly smoothed a palm over her back, her defenses began to crumble. She’d gone too long; that was the problem. There’d been no one since David. The divorce had been final a year ago last month. Lucy had tried to act as if it hadn’t affected her when the end had come, but it had. She’d been left with plenty of emotional scars thanks to the whole debacle. Wasn’t she due for a little excitement? A little fun? To be treated to a night of decadence at the hands of a man who knew how to treat a woman?
On the other hand, even though she’d admired him from afar and he’d come to her rescue tonight, Reilly may as well be a stranger. Did she dare?
“I don’t know,” she said, afraid to take a chance. Lucy looked out at the dance floor and saw her friend engaged in a conversation with a well-dressed, dark-haired man. Reilly had a wilder edge about him, with his shaggy, dark brown hair and the dare in his gaze. The man holding Sarah’s attention had neat, close-cropped, midnight-black hair, a crisp white dress shirt and black slacks. Had Brodix finally shown up?
“He came in a few moments ago,” Reilly said, answering her unspoken question. “For a second, I thought there was going to be bloodshed.”
As Lucy watched, the man Sarah had been dancing with stepped back, allowing Brodix to take over. For a few minutes, Lucy couldn’t take her gaze off the pair of lovers. The way Brodix looked at Sarah turned Lucy’s heart to mush. When had a man ever looked at her with so much love and devotion? Easy—never. When Sarah turned and gave her the nod, indicating she’d be leaving with Brodix, Lucy turned her attention back to Reilly. “Should I worry about Sarah?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know Sarah well, but from what I’ve gathered, your friend is pretty strong-minded. She can hold her own with my brother, believe me.”
“Fine,” she said, knowing it was the truth. “But he better not hurt her.”
“Nah, Brodix cares about Sarah. He might not be happy about the article, but he’s fallen damn hard for her.” Before Lucy could reply, Reilly took her chin in his palm and murmured, “Why the indecision about coming home with me? I don’t have any expectations. There isn’t a more sinister plan, I promise. Just you and me alone with a glass of wine and each other’s company.”
Lucy’s mouth went dry at the intensity in Reilly’s eyes. He had the look of a tiger about to pounce. “I don’t even know you,” she explained. “We only just met.”
“I know, and it’s crazy,” he bit out. “This will sound like a line, but I want to get to know you.”
As his touch drifted over her cheek and the heat from his gaze burned her up, a crack formed in the wall around Lucy’s heart. “I don’t believe in things like instant attraction,” she blurted out, frustrated that she couldn’t make sense out of what was happening between them. “Two strangers meeting and falling for each other in a crowded room. That sort of thing is for romantic comedies and fairy tales.” Another thought struck her. “Besides, don’t you need to be here for the grand reopening?”
“It’s only a few hours until closing, and there are five of us, not including the staff. They can manage without me.”
“But—”
“Maybe another one of these will change your mind,” Reilly said, interrupting her protest with the brush of his lips to hers. Lucy sank against him, accepting the kiss. Hell, surrendering to it. She tasted the warm, heady flavor of the man, laced with just a touch of alcohol. She should end the kiss. Go home and get in her pajamas and enjoy the last half of the romantic suspense book she’d been reading lately. Yep, she should definitely end this.
Reilly’s lips were soft as they coasted back and forth, barely touching hers. As his tongue darted out, a shiver of excitement raced the length of her body. When he pulled back and stared down at her, Lucy could see the raw hunger in his pale green eyes. She well understood how he felt. Her entire body was screaming for more of his flavor.
She was done denying herself. Lucy pushed Sarah and Brodix out of her mind and turned all her attention on Reilly. That quickly, a blazing heat in Reilly’s eyes matched her own rising temperature. They would both experience something exciting tonight; she knew it in her bones. Honesty forced her to admit that Reilly scared her a little. No, that wasn’t right. It was the way he affected her. He so easily turned her body to fire, and all he had to do was smile. That kind of power was frightening to a woman who had already been burned by love.
Still, she wasn’t the backward wallflower she had been in high school. And she wasn’t the starry-eyed girl she’d been when she’d fallen for David. She was a confident woman now. She, and no one else, was in control of her own emotions.
Lucy took her cell phone out of her purse and tapped out a message to Sarah, then stood and looked down at Reilly. “I’m ready if you are.”
His grin destroyed the last vestiges of her resistance. The juncture between Lucy’s thighs dampened as his gaze went on a heated journey over her body.
“Give me a sec,” he said, then strode across the room and whispered something to his brother Sam. When both men turned and looked at her, Lucy’s face flamed. What had Reilly told him?
When he came back to her and took her by the hand, he said, “I let Sam know I was taking you home so Sarah and Brodix could have time to talk.” He winked. “What’d you think I told him?”
She slumped in relief. “Suffice it to say I feel sort of stupid now.”
He squeezed her hand in reassurance. “We’re just going to have a drink and get to know each other, Lucy,” he said. “No pressure, okay?”
She nodded and let him lead the way out of the restaurant. Once they were in the dark, close confines of his car, Lucy swore a feral smile skated over his face. Her stomach went all jumpy. Please don’t let me live to regret this.
Chapter Two
When they arrived at a ranch-style, taupe house at the end of a cul-de-sac, Reilly opened the front door and flipped on the light. He looked over at her. “So, this is home, sweet home.”
Lucy placed her purse on the entryway table and looked around the room. “Your house is lovely.”
Reilly smiled. “I like it.”
Lucy was suitably impressed. The décor was simple and uncluttered, the colors warm and inviting. The light oak end tables and coffee table were lovely works of art with intricate designs carved into them. The comfortable-looking couch and loveseat in hunter green and beige stripes appeared perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was welcoming and cozy, two things Lucy didn’t know much about with her cold, boring apartment. When she spied the large entertainment cabinet with the same patterns as the tables etched into the smooth wood, Lucy turned to Reilly and asked, “The artistry in the tables and cabinet is beautiful. Did you build them yourself?” She knew the Jennings brothers were good with their hands. Rumor in Blackwater had spread quickly about how the five of them had done the remodeling of the restaurant themselves.
“No, that’s my brother Vance’s handiwork. He and his cons
truction crew did much of the work at the bar too.” He took her by the hand and led her into the kitchen. “What would you like to drink? I have wine, beer, or I can make coffee.”
The kitchen was no less impressive with the beige granite counter tops, pinewood cabinets and a giant steel refrigerator. The spacious room had all the latest gadgets. “I’m not a terrific cook, but I could sure have fun in here.”
“I like to putter around.” He winked at her and grinned. Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. “Not sure how great I am, but I do okay.”
Lucy strolled around, touching the smooth, shiny surfaces, and hummed her approval. She spotted the coffeemaker and remembered his question. “Coffee sounds nice, if you don’t mind.”
Reilly moved to the coffeemaker, grabbed the glass carafe and went about making a fresh pot of coffee. “Have a seat,” he said, motioning toward the table. “This won’t take but a minute.”
Lucy pulled out a chair and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m here.”
Reilly didn’t reply, and Lucy thought maybe he hadn’t heard her. She was only too glad. She felt like a nervous schoolgirl, and that wasn’t at all the way she wanted Reilly to view her. Alluring, sophisticated and even a little mysterious, but definitely not immature.
Lucy watched as Reilly hit the power button and started the coffee brewing. When he stepped away from the counter, moving closer to her, and cupped her chin in his palm, forcing her to look at him, Lucy’s heart nearly stopped.
“Already regretting it, huh?”
Lucy couldn’t lie to him. She didn’t know why, but she needed him to know that she wasn’t having regrets. Not exactly. “I’m just a little out of my depth here. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent time with a man.”
Lucy stared into a pair of the greenest eyes she’d ever seen. She wondered if maybe Reilly wore colored contacts. The shade seemed a little too unreal. But that didn’t fit with the man she was coming to know. Every part of Reilly Jennings appeared to be the real deal. There didn’t seem to be a single thing phony about him.
Reilly pulled out the chair adjacent to her and sat down. “A beautiful woman like you? I find that hard to believe.”
Lucy laughed, feeling a little less nervous. “Thank you, but it’s true.” David’s image sprang to her mind, and Lucy looked down at the table. “I was married,” she admitted. “It was short and…not so sweet. Since the divorce last year, I haven’t much felt like dating.”
“Do you still love him?”
She snorted. “God, no.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he murmured, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “I’d have a problem with that.”
“What about you? Anyone ever get a ring on your finger?”
Reilly shook his head. “Nope. There have been a few…close calls, but for one reason or another, it never seemed right.”
Lucy fiddled with the round black placemat in front of her and asked, “All the Jennings men are single, though, right?”
“Actually, Sammy is about halfway down the aisle. He’s been all smiles ever since he met Julie. She used to waitress at the restaurant, but now she’s more like a business manager. And Vance recently got back together with his high school sweetheart.” He shrugged. “You’ve seen the way Brodix looks at Sarah. I don’t think he’s too far behind the other two.”
“Hmm, I guess that leaves you and your twin.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “The last two single Jennings brothers. I bet you don’t have any problem finding a date.”
“Honestly, I’ve been too busy with the restaurant lately. Between that and my day job, there really hasn’t been much room for fun.”
Curious to learn more about the man who had captured every last drop of her attention, Lucy asked, “What is your day job, exactly?”
“That’s a little hard to explain.” The coffeemaker dinged, and he stood to pour them each a cup. “Do you take anything in yours?” he asked.
“Nope. I prefer mine black, thanks.” He handed her a mug that had a picture of a zombie on the front and boldly stated: Bite Me. Lucy chuckled. “A fan of that popular zombie show, are you?”
Reilly winked as he picked up his own steaming cup, brought it back to the table and sat down. “What can I say? I’m hooked.”
“Me too,” she said, pleased they had something in common. “It grosses me out, and yet I can’t stop watching it.”
“I know what you mean.” They both fell silent for a moment as Reilly blew on his coffee. “You asked what my day job is.” He paused before saying, “I’m sort of a jack-of-all-trades. Mainly I sell baseball cards, but I also work the occasional remodeling job, and in the winter I plow snow.”
“Baseball cards? Really? You make enough to keep a roof over your head with that sort of thing?”
“You’d be surprised. Collectors will pay a pretty penny.”
Lucy couldn’t imagine it, but she’d never been a big fan of the sport, so what did she know? “I’ll have to take your word on that one. Baseball isn’t really my thing.”
He chuckled. “To be honest, I tried the nine-to-five work routine, but I tend to get bored too easily, so I went from one job to another before I realized I needed to make a change. This way, I get to set my own hours, and it never gets dull. River tells me I have the attention span of a gnat.”
Lucy took a sip of her coffee and hummed her approval. It was strong, just the way she liked it. “You love your brothers very much, don’t you?”
Reilly sobered instantly. “Yes. For a long time, we only had each other. Our biological mother was a drug addict. Never knew our real father. We ended up bouncing around in foster care until Wanda and Chet took us in. Everything changed for us after that, for the better. They gave us something we’d never had—love and family.”
Her thoughts turned inward as she imagined a young Reilly, no loving mom to tuck him in at night. No dad to toss a ball around with. She understood that sort of abandonment all too well. “I have a sister,” she said in a quiet voice. “She’s three years younger and pretty much means the world to me too.”
Reilly cocked his head to the side and leaned a little closer, as if riveted to her every word. “Yeah?”
He didn’t push her into talking about herself, but Lucy had his full attention nonetheless. She appreciated that in a man. David had only ever wanted to talk about himself. Selfish to the core. “My sister and I are all we have in the world. It’s pretty much always been that way. My mom died in a car accident when we were both very young. Dad raised us. He wasn’t…” Lucy’s words trailed off as she struggled to describe the way she’d grown up. “Dad had issues.”
Reilly reached across the table and took her hand in his. “What’s your sister’s name?” he prompted her.
“Annabelle. Well, Beatrice is her first name, but if you call her that, she’s liable to black your eye. Annabelle is her middle name.”
He grinned. “Feisty like you, no doubt.”
She tugged her hand from beneath his and sat back. She missed his warmth at once. “Eh, she’s nothing like me. She’s beautiful. Like, breathtaking, to be honest. When we were little, I used to tell her she was an angel who came down from heaven. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and she’s loyal to the core. She looked a lot like our mom, a fact that often sent Dad into a rage.”
“Was he abusive?”
She nodded. How had they gotten into such an emotional topic? Lucy wasn’t sure, but she was in too deep to turn back now. “He drank. Dad wasn’t a happy drunk either. I tried to shield Annabelle, and we did our best to stay out of his way.” She shook her head. “I suppose I’m a little protective of Annabelle.” Her face heated as she realized she was pouring out her heart to him. “Sorry, I’m not sure how I got into all that.”
“It’s okay. And I can understand being protective, believe me. When we were in foster care, they split me and River up. I went to the Snyders. They were okay, not bad people, just in over their heads, I think. River went
to a real dirtbag. Scum-of-the-earth type. I didn’t know what River went through at the time, but later, when I learned the truth, it messed with my head a little. I hated that I hadn’t protected him,” he groused, his voice rough with emotion. “That I hadn’t been there for him.”
This time, Lucy reached out to him, and a familiar warmth seeped into her. What was it about Reilly that made her feel as if she’d known him her entire life? “Annabelle was too young to go through what she did. The older I got, the angrier I became. At first I was mad at my mom for dying on us and leaving us with Dad. Irrational, I know.”
“I think it’s a natural reaction, given the circumstances.” A beat of silence filled the air before he asked, “Where is your dad now?”
Reilly’s calm, gentle voice and feather-light touches over her fingers relaxed her the way nothing else ever had. She couldn’t remember a time when she and David had talked like this. Why was it so easy with Reilly? It scared her that she was opening herself to him so quickly.
Lucy thought of his question and cringed. “We don’t really speak. After Annabelle joined the army and I went off to college, Dad pretty much washed his hands of us. I tried to reach out at first, but you can’t make someone love you. They either do or they don’t.”
Reilly frowned. “His loss, if you ask me.”
“That’s pretty much the way I look at it.” Her voice trembled. The emotional topic or Reilly’s nearness? She had a sneaking suspicion it was a little of both.
He leaned closer and murmured, “I’m glad you came to the restaurant tonight.”
“Me too,” she whispered as her breathing increased and her temperature spiked.
Reilly angled his head and touched his lips to hers. It was a barely there caress that had Lucy craving so much more. She moaned and pressed more firmly against his mouth. A growl emanated from his chest; then his tongue teased at hers. Lucy closed her eyes and drifted into the kiss, tasting the delicious flavor of Reilly. She cupped his lean jaw in her hand, relishing the roughness of his five o’clock shadow against her palm.