by Jamie Pope
She thought about it for a moment. He wasn’t that kind of man. The hot looks he had been giving her all night weren’t a figment of her imagination. “No woman likes to hear laughing when she takes off her clothes.”
“Point taken. I’m sorry, Ava.”
“Why were you laughing?”
“I just cannot believe any of this. Five weeks ago I couldn’t stand the sight of you, and now we’re here. It’s surreal. I can’t believe you actually did this for me.” He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her. “You’re sweet. You hide it under your perfect beauty, but you are very sweet. And very sensitive.”
“I’m a mess,” she whispered. “And you’re the only one I’m allowing to see that.”
“You’re the only one outside of my family who knows about my father. We’re even.” He took a deep breath. “It bothers me that you think I would hurt you like that.”
“You walked away from me the other day. You left me exposed and walked out of the room, telling me some crap about your bathroom. I wasn’t sure what to think.”
“You told me that you didn’t want to have sex, and I knew that if I was around you any longer, I would have broken.” He placed his lips on her ear and spoke into it. “I left you and went straight to my bedroom to take care of myself. I have never been so hard in my life. And every day since then, I think about the way you looked and sounded and tasted and I get hard all over again. I feel like a damn teenage boy again, touching myself as I think about you.”
He was arousing her with his words, but even if he had been completely silent in that moment, she still would have felt the rush and the throb between her legs. She liked the feel of his arms wrapped around her. She liked the way he had stroked down her bare back. She had never experienced this closeness with anyone before. It was intoxicating, and it was happening at the wrong time in her life.
She didn’t know what was going to between them, but she was feeling entirely too much for this man when she had been prepared to marry another just a short while ago. “Let me touch you,” she said to him.
“Not as a favor.”
“What?” She looked into his eyes.
“Touch me because you want to touch me, because it will make you feel good. That’s why I touched you. Don’t do it because you feel like you owe me something.”
“I want to.” She shifted herself in his lap and ran her hand down his thick erection that was covered by his jeans. “I wanted to that day. You should have stayed.”
“You’re going through a lot right now, and I don’t want you to look back on this and feel like I was taking advantage of you. That is the last thing I would ever do.”
“I know. You’re annoyingly noble. I won’t feel used. I am going through something right now, and I want to feel good. You make me feel good.”
He closed the distance between their mouths and gave her one of those long, slow kisses and made her feel like she was floating.
“Just because I let you kiss me like that doesn’t mean I like it or you.”
“Yeah.” He kissed her again. “I’m gross, and so are my kisses.”
“Uh-huh.” She unbuttoned his jeans and slid her hand inside of them. He was hard and hot and smooth, and a million dirty thoughts ran through her mind in that moment. There were so many ways she could please him. She could kiss him, lick him, suck him into her warm, wet mouth. Or she could rise over him and slid herself all the way down until he filled her up.
“Slow down, baby. You’re too good at that.” She had taken him from his pants and was stroking him. She hadn’t realized; she was that lost in her thoughts of him. “I want to touch you, too,” he groaned and rolled them on to the couch so that they were on their sides.
He placed his hands between her legs, finding her slick with desire. She was close to coming, and he hadn’t even touched her; touching him was enough.
He gave her a hot openmouthed kiss as he stroked her. She was a grown woman. She had been with men before. She wasn’t even having sex with Derek, but this was one of the most erotic experiences of her life. She was completely naked, he was fully dressed and the way the rough fabric of his clothing felt on her smooth skin was delicious. There may have been that barrier between him, but she felt so close to him.
Her climax was building quickly, and so she stroked him faster, squeezing her hand around him tighter. She loved the guttural noises he made. She loved that she was making him feel good. She knew it wasn’t going to be the last time she they were like this. Whatever was going on between them was addictive.
“I can’t hold on anymore, Ava. I need you to come now.” She wanted this to go on forever, but she knew he was losing control so she moved against his hand, taking herself over the edge. As soon as the waves started to overtake her, she heard him cry out and shudder against her. They lay there breathless for a moment, chests heaving, satisfaction snaking over them. He started to kiss her. Little kisses up the side of her face.
“Stay here.” He got up and walked toward the back of the house. He returned a few minutes later with a washcloth and her bathrobe. He gently cleaned her off and helped her into her robe before he took her into his arms again. He kissed her hair, and she found the moment so sweet, so thoughtful that she was growing emotional. She wanted to be with him again; she didn’t want this night to end.
It was too much. She could let herself feel good, but she couldn’t get attached. Not right now.
She softly kissed his mouth and stood up. “Go home, Mr. Mayor.”
“What?” He looked bewildered.
“Get out. Go home. I have things to do.”
“Like what? Retile your bathroom?”
“The backsplash in the kitchen. I’ll see you around.”
“You’re really kicking me out?”
“Yup.”
“Just like that?”
She held up a peace sign, which caused him to grin. It was one of those devastating, wickedly sexy smiles that made her insides go all gooey. It was the exact reason he needed to go. She couldn’t bear to tell him to leave again, so she walked out of the room, knowing that she was going to spend the rest of her night thinking about him.
Chapter 9
Derek turned the knob on Ava’s front door and let himself into her house the next morning. Their wineglasses were still on the table from the night before and he suspected that she had gone directly to bed when she had sent him away.
He didn’t like being sent away. He didn’t know what the hell was going on between them. Friends with benefits seemed too seedy, too disrespectful even though that’s how he would characterize most of his relationships over the past ten years or so. He liked Ava. He could talk to Ava. He wanted to be near Ava and a big part of him wanted to protect her. It was an odd feeling, one he had never had before, but he wanted to keep her safe. She had been hurt and was still so certain that someone was going to hurt her again. It was the next morning, and he was still bothered by the fact that she thought he would hurt her, humiliate her for his pleasure.
But that’s what it must have been like when she learned that Max had a mistress and three children that surely others must have known about. It had to have been a brutal blow, but not all men were like that. He wanted to show her that some could be trusted.
He walked into her bedroom, finding her asleep and looking nearly angelic with the blankets wrapped around her. He climbed into bed next to her, internally sighing when her curvy, warm body inched closer to his.
“If your dirty shoes are in my bed, I’m going to punch you,” she said without opening her eyes or moving.
He sat up, took them off and returned to her. She hadn’t kicked him out or screamed. She had automatically known it was him.
“You should have locked your door. I could have been some stranger here to do bad things to you.”
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br /> She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s 7:02 a.m. Anyone who comes to your house before eight without coffee is clearly up to no good. What do you want, Derek?”
He ran his lips across the skin of her neck. She smelled amazing, some sort of indescribable combination of woodsy and citrus that turned him on. He wanted to roll her over and make love to her until they were both limp and incoherent, but that really wasn’t the reason he’d come by this morning. “Are you busy today?”
“Yes, incredibly busy. I have three court shows to watch and then my stories come on at one and I’m pretty much slammed till four.”
“I need your help. I have to ship about a dozen pieces out today, and run a bunch of mayor-related errands. And you’re the most organized person I know.”
“You don’t even know me that well.”
“You organized my orders by type of piece, price and date of order. I’ve never seen anything so efficient. I need that in my life.”
She gifted him with a beautiful, sleepy smile. “No one appreciates my skills. Elias says he finds my constant need to organize very annoying.”
“I appreciate it. Come help me today.”
“What’s in it for me? You want me to spend the whole day working? I thought you thought I was a fairly useless woman, and my only purpose was to look good on the arm of a man.”
“No. You’re good at cleaning. More women should be like that.”
Her face went outraged and she punched his upper arm.
“You hit hard.”
“You’re a jerk.”
“I was joking.” He bent to kiss her cheek. “Help me today, princess. It will make you feel good to know that you are helping out a friend.”
“But this bed is so warm.” She moaned and rolled onto her back. “And my eyes are so heavy. I’m not sure I have the energy to get up.”
She was going to get up and help him. He knew that she was just busting his chops, and now she was teasing him. She was braless and her nightie was dangerously low-cut. The tops of her breasts looked lovely in the morning light. They were distracting the hell out of him. He ran his knuckles over her cleavage. Her skin was buttery soft, and the touch brought him back to last night when he’d held her naked body in his arms.
“Oh, Derek. Don’t start with me this morning.”
“What are you talking about?” He tugged at the bodice of her nightgown a little, just enough to reveal one of her breasts. “We’re just talking.” He blew on her nipple, causing it to pebble immediately. “I heard the weather is going to be nice today.” He lowered his mouth and flicked his tongue across her.
She made the best little noise from her throat. He wanted to hear more of that. He loved the little noises she made, how responsive she was. He ran his tongue around her areola before he took it completely into his mouth. He knew he was arousing her and in turn arousing himself. If he allowed himself, he could be here all day.
But he really hadn’t come here to do this. Still, he couldn’t leave until he knew she was satisfied. He hiked up her nightgown only to find that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. He had to bite his lip to keep himself from groaning.
Moisture had already formed between her legs, and he wanted to tease her, see how wild he could make her before he touched her, but he didn’t play around today. He covered her mouth with his lips and kissed her as he rubbed her in slow, firm circles. Her orgasm was quick and hot and intense.
“Get dressed and meet me at my house in fifteen minutes,” he said after she recovered.
“And if I don’t?”
“I’m coming back here and we’re going to repeat this process all over again.”
“And how is that supposed to motivate me to get out of this bed?”
“Ava...” He shook his head and dropped a kiss on the side of her neck. “You drive me absolutely crazy.”
“And yet you haven’t tried to sleep with me yet.”
“I want to. But you’re not ready yet.”
“I think we both know that whenever you touch me I become ready ridiculously fast. I don’t think I could turn you away.”
“I’m not going to seduce you. You’ll come to me when you’re ready.”
“How long will you wait?”
“As long as it takes.” He got up and put his shoes back on. “My house. Fifteen minutes. I’ll have coffee for you.”
* * *
A few hours later Ava was sitting cross-legged on the floor of Derek’s living room turned workshop. She was sanding a side table. And while she never thought she would be sanding anything, she was actually enjoying herself. They had gotten a lot done that morning. They packed up all the pieces that needed to be shipped out. She organized his computer files and showed him an easier way to keep his books. They worked surprisingly well together, despite the fact that every time he looked at her a whole herd of butterflies went wild in her stomach. She had to stop letting him touch her. She had gone to bed that night promising herself that she was going to put some distance between them, just so she could clear her head and figure out what the hell she was going to do with her life. She still had no idea, and Derek was further complicating things.
His visit this morning had been unexpected but welcome. She could have stopped him from taking her nipple into his mouth. She could have stopped him from slipping his hand between her legs and bringing her a quick and intense orgasm, but she didn’t. Because she had wanted it to happen.
She wished it could be just sex, that she could be one of those women who could have just a physical relationship with a man, but Derek was really becoming her friend, probably the best friend she’d had in a long time. She loved her sister-in-law, but Virginia was family. She could just talk to Derek. She couldn’t talk to anyone else like that.
“You’re doing good work.” He took the sandpaper from her and pulled her to her feet. “I’m surprised you haven’t gone screaming from the house.”
“I’ve gotten used to your ugly face by now. Why would I do that?”
“Your nails.” He studied her fingers. “You seem like one of those women who would faint if her manicure got messed up.”
“I wonder how the people of Hideaway Island would react if they knew how you really were?”
“They’ll never know.” He swiftly kissed her mouth. “You’re the only one who brings it out in me. Come with me, I have to do some mayor stuff in town today.”
“Okay. Let me change.”
“Why?” He frowned at her before leading her to his truck. “You’re gorgeous. I think you wore that dress to drive to me to distraction.”
She was wearing a peach-colored knit dress that she had gotten off the clearance rack in town. She wore no makeup and cheap earrings. A few months ago, she would never have gone to her mailbox without eyeliner; now she was going out into the world with a bare face. She felt a little naked, but it was freeing. She had always been so scared of what the world thought of her. For the past few years she had been so wrapped up in being Max’s perfect fiancée, she had forgotten to be herself; she had forgotten who she really was.
Derek squeezed her hand, causing her to look up at him. They were holding hands. She hadn’t noticed. It shouldn’t seem like such a natural thing to do and yet it was.
“What are you thinking about?”
“About how my life and how things went terribly wrong.”
“Terribly wrong? You’re about to ride around the most beautiful island in the world with me. I would think that you must have done something in a past life that let you earn this moment.”
“Yes, I’m about to get in a pickup truck that was probably built the year my great-grandmother was born, with a man who insults me, instead of traveling on a private jet and shopping in Europe with my billionaire husband. Lucky me.”
“I already told you. Find me another rich man,” she blurted out because he was still holding her hand and looking at her in that concerned way that made her chest feel funny. She didn’t want to be serious with him right now. They told each other things they had never spoken aloud to anyone else, and it was bringing them closer. Each time they were together they got closer, and it made her uncomfortable because she didn’t want to get used to this. Hideaway Island couldn’t be permanent for her. Eventually she would move on, she would move away from here, she would leave him.
He should just be a pleasant memory. Nothing more.
“I have money. You planning on sinking your hooks into me?”
“It depends...how rich are you?”
“Rich enough to buy you all the takeout you want for the rest of your life. I’m talking all the pizza, tacos and fried seafood your heart desires. Stick with me, baby, and I’ll show you how to live.”
He made her laugh. It was why she was with him here now. It was why she was going to have a hard time keeping herself closed off to him.
“The more meals I eat with you, the bigger my behind gets.”
“My evil little plan is working. Get in the truck. I’m still deciding what I’m going to feed you next.”
Derek took her the scenic route around the island, driving with his windows down so that the warm ocean air could come in. He stopped every so often like he was on his rounds. The local bakery, a coffee shop, a little stationery store. He stopped in just to say hello to the owners and invite them to the city hall meetings to voice any concerns. He asked them all to take part in the founder’s day celebrations. He shook hands with everyone and seemed genuinely interested in what they had to say. This was the side of him she had first encountered, that ultra-good, squeaky-clean side of him that she had found a little annoying at first.
She knew everyone had to have a dark side, some sort of secret gain they were after, and Derek did have a darker side, but he wasn’t mayor because he wanted the power. He just really wanted the best for everyone, which seemed so opposite of how he should have turned out, according to his upbringing.