After putting Paige to bed, she’d headed to the bathroom to get ready for her own bed, sans Derek. There was no way she was sleeping with him with Kieran spending the night. He would have to bunk out in the living room with his new best friend.
Wynne brushed her teeth, scowling at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, when Derek popped in unannounced. His hands settled on her waist and he pushed the door closed behind him. It was difficult to remain annoyed with him. She leaned back into his tall, sturdy frame. The man really was delicious. There was no other word for it.
He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck and caught her gaze in the mirror. His lips grazed the shell of her ear when he spoke. “Kieran’s taking the sofa.”
She stopped brushing. “Is he asleep?”
“Zonked.” Derek kissed her earlobe, tugging on it with his teeth. “It’s just you and me now.”
She made a face at him, brushing a few more times, and then spit into the sink. “Derek.” She rinsed her mouth with water and dabbed at the corners of her lips with a towel.
He flipped her around in his arms, pinning her between him and the counter, his arousal a hard ridge straining between them. She swallowed. “Derek, we can’t. Not with my brother here.”
His blue gaze darkened, his eyes growing heavy lidded and seductive. With his bruised face, he looked like a sexy barbarian. The smile curving his lips was pure sin. “Yes we can.”
“Derek.” She was already breathless and he hadn’t even given her a proper kiss yet.
He bent his head and fused their mouths together in a frank, hungry kiss. “Mmm. You taste like mint.”
“Most toothpastes taste like mint,” she pointed out, kissing him again. She couldn’t help herself when she was with him. Derek Shaw turned her into a quivering blob of rampant desire.
And she liked it.
He nipped the fullness of her lower lip, his hands sliding from her waist to her breasts. Her nipples hardened instantly, wanting him as fiercely as the rest of her body did.
“Make love with me right here,” he whispered coaxingly into her mouth.
Making love in the bathroom with Derek wasn’t exactly the best, or most practical, of ideas. First of all, Kieran was sleeping just outside in the living room. Second, Wynne’s bathroom was dinky, for lack of a better description. It wouldn’t provide much leeway for, well, movement.
But before she could mull the logistics any further, Derek’s hands slid under her shirt, dislodging both her bra and her capacity to think.
“Mmm.” She really did love the knowing way his hands cupped her breasts, caressing them until she couldn’t bear any more. They were oh so sensitive and the wicked man knew it.
Second thoughts effectively banished by the clever play of Derek’s mouth and hands, Wynne reached for his shirt and stripped it off him. She watched her fingers trail over the golden hardness of his chest, delighting in the way he sucked in his breath sharply and his muscles clenched. Feeling bold, she flicked her glance up to him.
“Have I ever told you how much I love your chest?”
She kissed first one pec, then the other, holding his smoky gaze all the while. Her hands ran down over the ridges of his abs, sinking to his waistband. His skin was hot and smooth beneath hers, exquisitely defined.
“Wynne.” He growled her name.
She licked his nipple.
His hands tightened on her breasts.
“Mmm.” She licked him again, enjoying the power she had over him.
“Wynne, if you don’t stop…”
“What?” Slanting him a heavy-lidded look, she raked her nails lightly up his torso. “What will you do if I don’t stop?”
“I…nothing. God.” His breathing was harsh, ragged. He yanked her to him for a fierce, heady kiss. “I want you so much.”
“How much?” She pulled down his fly.
“More than—”
His pants fell down around his ankles and she palmed his generous cock through his boxer briefs. Derek inhaled roughly, pressing his lips to hers and sliding his tongue deeply into her mouth.
She pulled back after what could have been minutes or seconds. “More than what?”
“More than I want to breathe.” He kissed her again, their tongues mating wildly. “Christ. Take off your shirt, sweetheart.”
Her hands released him long enough to pull her shirt over her head. She tossed it to the side, hoping it didn’t land in the toilet, but not bothering to look. Caring about anything other than the half naked, very hot and sexy man in front of her was utterly impossible. Without him asking, she flicked her bra neatly to the side as well.
He kissed the corner of her mouth, her neck, her collarbone. She felt him smile against her skin as her fingers sifted through his thick, golden hair. He looked up at her. “My turn.”
She meant to protest that she wasn’t done with him yet, but when his hot lips tugged at her nipple, all she could manage was a sigh and a one-word response. “Okay.”
His tongue played over the tightened bud lazily, his hands skimming up and down her back in a masterful rhythm of seduction. “I’ve been waiting to do this for two days.”
“Mmm. Me too.” She bent down and kissed the top of his head. God, she just couldn’t get enough of him. She didn’t think she would ever be able to kiss him, touch him, make love with him enough.
His hands swept down over her hips, taking her blue jeans and underwear with them. Then he moved to her other breast, laving the pink tip with his tongue. With each subtle abrasion against her highly sensitized flesh, Wynne felt herself slipping closer and closer to the edge of sanity. One more push and she’d go flying off the imaginary ledge and straight into his arms.
The man was turning her into a sex maniac. Not that she cared at the moment, even though she knew she should probably be exercising more caution. Her heart was in imminent danger, after all. But she couldn’t think about any of that, not when his lips closed over her nipple again, sucking her into his mouth.
Then his hand migrated to rest just over her clit and she almost jumped out of her skin at the contact.
“Derek.” She moaned his name, hungry.
His fingers probed her, teasing with exquisite precision. Her head fell back, sending her ponytail cascading down over her bare shoulders. When he slipped a finger inside her, she arched into him, gasping for breath. Her tenuous grip on her control vanished. She was no longer the one in command. Now, it was Derek. Derek who knew her body better than she did, Derek who knew exactly how to touch her, where to touch her.
Abruptly, he cupped her buttocks in his hands and lifted her so she sat on the countertop. He raised his head and kissed her. Their mouths met and sealed in explosive passion. Wynne didn’t think she’d ever tasted a kiss so sweet. He whipped down his briefs, and she became aware of the heady pressure of his arousal swelling against her.
She tore her lips from his and reached blindly for the medicine cabinet behind her. “Wait. Condoms.”
“You’re right.” He kissed her again, as hungry for her as she was for him.
Her fingers found the edge of the cabinet door and she managed to pull it open without breaking their kiss. She swept her hand through the bottom shelf, feeling for the small box she’d put there. Several items clattered into the sink. She turned her head to the side and saw two lipstick tubes, a makeup brush, the condom box and hair products rolling around the porcelain basin. Feeling triumphant, she snatched up the box and tore it open.
“Here.” She handed Derek the first condom she fished out. Monosyllabic words were all she could manage.
He tore the packet open with his teeth and rolled the condom on in a fluid motion. “I want to go slow, but I can’t.” He kissed the corner of her mouth.
“I want to go fast,” she whispered back.
“Good.” He ran his tongue along her bottom lip. “Wrap your legs around my waist, sweetheart.”
She did without hesitation. He slid inside her immediately, filling he
r with his hard length. A gasp slipped from her lips and Derek’s mouth was on hers, his tongue filling her. His fingers came between them to play with her clit, applying just enough pressure to make her splinter. A series of deep, penetrating thrusts and she was gone, collapsing against him, screaming into his mouth. He reached his climax almost simultaneously, leaning heavily into her, his forehead pressed against hers as he pumped again and again, his hips going wild.
“Mmm.” She kissed him lingeringly, enjoying the afterglow before her conscience set in and reminded her about her brother and daughter on the other side of the thin door. “Why do you always do this to me?”
“What?” He kissed her again, his mouth a smiling curve she could feel on her lips. “Make love to you? I think that should be obvious.”
“No.” Wynne shook her head. “Why do you always make me feel so…so…”
“You’re speechless? Unbelievable. We have to record this moment.”
“Funny.” She prodded his ribs sharply, making him squirm. “I’ve never felt this way. I want you to know that.”
“That sounds like the prelude to a breakup speech.” His tone was light, but there was an edge in his voice.
Wynne searched his face, taking in every gorgeous plane. She had sometimes forgotten in the weeks they’d spent together that he was a famous actor. That he had lived a life she couldn’t imagine with money, fame, women. He was a man she couldn’t contain, couldn’t own. For now, he was hers. For the moment. But she’d seen his face when he’d been recognized at the airport today. Soon, his old life would call him again, and he wouldn’t be able to resist.
“No,” she said softly, locking gazes with him. “It’s just an I-want-you-to-know-how-I-feel speech.”
“Feelings.” He sent her a wry grin. “I’m not that great with those.”
“It doesn’t matter.” But as Wynne said the words, she wasn’t so sure she believed them. She had to admit, at least to herself, that she wanted more from Derek than mind-blowing sex. Their chemistry was through the roof, but with each second in his company, the press for more settled its weight on her heart. She could picture the life they would have as a family. She could picture buying a real house out in the country, baking pies with Paige, walking barefoot in the front yard, making more children with Derek.
It would never happen.
Acutely aware of her naked butt uncomfortably stuck to the veneered surface of her bathroom countertop and her legs wrapped around the waist of a man who was technically still married, Wynne abruptly disentangled herself from Derek. She needed to put some space and distance between them. Her mother’s suggestion she fly to Dallas and help pack up Kieran’s old life there suddenly seemed more appealing.
“What’s wrong?” Derek caught her chin in his fingertips, forcing her to look at him again.
She made herself see Derek Shaw instead of the Derek she’d begun falling in love with. Dear God. Love? Where had that come from?
About to hyperventilate, Wynne pulled herself from his grasp. She hopped down from the countertop with an unappealing squeak. The last time she’d heard that noise, she’d been in third grade, wearing a skirt that flipped up the back on her way down the sliding board.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she managed as she started hastily gathering her discarded clothing. “I just remembered that my brother’s right out there, that’s all.” Damn it, if she could just find her underwear.
Derek dangled a lacy red scrap of fabric in front of her nose. “Looking for these?”
“Yes.” She snatched them from his grasp and pulled them on, though it proved an awkward task given the relative dinkiness of the bathroom and the proximity of Derek. He was throwing off hot, sexy male pheromones again and every pore in her body was screaming at her to ditch the panties and jump back on top of him.
But she didn’t.
“You’re still going to have to sleep in the living room tonight,” she told him as she shrugged into her shirt.
“What?” Derek shot an incredulous look her way. He was still naked, damn him, and unbelievably beautiful.
She swallowed and turned her attention to tugging on her blue jeans. “Put some clothes on, damn you.”
“Why should I when we’re going to bed?” He crossed his arms over his chest and she couldn’t help but note the play of muscles in his arms and chest.
“Because I don’t think Kieran would really appreciate it if you strolled around buck-naked tomorrow morning,” she snapped.
“Wynne, you’re being ridiculous. Your brother knows we’re sleeping together.”
She shot him a look. “How? I didn’t tell him.”
“Men know these things. So you making me sleep in the living room is idiotic, especially since we didn’t have sex at all yesterday.”
Her insecurities kicked in then, harsh and damning. She would never be enough for him. He’d never stay. What would a man like him want with her for the long run, anyway? She thought again of him at the airport, signing his autograph, and blurted the first thing that came to her mind. “Is sex all you care about? What’s the matter, didn’t get any in rehab?”
The moment the words left her lips, Wynne regretted them. They were mean-spirited and cruel. She didn’t want to hurt him. It wasn’t fair of her to bring up his past, even if it did partially fuel her feelings of vulnerability.
Derek actually flinched. “If that’s what you think of me, then maybe I should sleep in the living room,” he murmured tightly.
“Derek, I didn’t mean that.”
“I think you actually did.”
“No—”
“Just go to bed. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Derek.” She touched his arm, but he shrugged away from her touch.
“Just get out, Wynne.” He held open the door.
Left with no choice, she rushed out the door, wincing when it slammed behind her. Alone in her bedroom, she peeled off her clothing and slipped into her pajamas, listening to the sound of Derek’s shower. She wanted to apologize to him, but part of her was afraid that what she’d accused him of was true. What if their relationship was just about convenient sex for him?
More importantly, what if their relationship was about far, far more for her? That troubling question on her mind, Wynne sank into her bed. Sleep remained elusive.
When Wynne woke up it was almost noon, and it was the latest she’d slept since becoming a mom. Had Paige had breakfast? More importantly, where was she? Frantic now that she was firmly in mother mode, she shot out of bed and threw on the nearest available clothing. As it turned out, she needn’t have worried. Derek and Paige were in the kitchen, baking cookies. They smelled heavenly.
She smiled as she padded into the kitchen, her heart warming at the sight of Derek and Paige working together amidst oven mitts and cookie sheets. He looked up at her entrance, giving her a guarded look she couldn’t quite read.
“It looks like you’re getting better at this,” she said quietly, aware there was more meaning to her words than mere cookie baking. Derek had fallen into the role of father so easily, wearing it more naturally each day. Imagining her life, Paige’s life, without him seemed impossible.
“I’ve got the world’s best helper,” Derek replied, winking at Paige, who giggled up at him.
“Where’s Kieran?” she asked, trying to distract herself from how perfectly right this kitchen scene looked and felt.
Derek shrugged. “He mysteriously disappeared before I got up this morning. His bag’s still here, so I’m assuming he’ll be back.”
“That’s odd. Maybe he went down to the hotel for breakfast.” Wynne frowned.
As if on cue, the buzzer to the front door sounded. Feeling a bit like an intruder in her kitchen, Wynne volunteered to go down and let her brother in. He looked rather disheveled when he stepped into the shop. His black hair—which was too long if you asked Wynne, classic hockey hair—stood on end, and he appeared to have lipstick smudges on his lips.
She
was instantly suspicious. “Okay, what were you doing?”
Kieran eyed her sullenly and shrugged. The edges of his coat fell apart and she caught a glimpse of his bare chest.
“You’re not wearing a shirt, Kieran.”
“Didn’t need one.”
Wynne shook her head. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How did you possibly have enough time to find a woman between last night and this morning?”
“What is this, twenty goddamn questions?”
He was really reminding her of all the reasons why she couldn’t stand him. “You’ll never grow up, will you?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re one to talk. You make your boyfriend sleep on the living room floor so you can pretend you’re not sleeping together.”
Derek’s words rose in her mind again. She glared at her brother. “We had an argument, not that it’s any of your business. I didn’t wake up this morning and wander off for a quickie.”
“Now you’re acting like I walked around the block and picked up a hooker. Jesus, Wynne. It’s not my fault that she showed up here looking for Derek.”
“She?” Wynne attempted to search her brother’s gaze, but he was suddenly incredibly intrigued by the floral arrangement by the cash register. There was only one “she” he could be talking about. “You slept with Trina Wade? Tell me you didn’t, Kieran. Tell me you have a shred of morals.”
He remained silent and she swore she could see the slightest evidence of a flush staining his cheekbones.
“Great.” She threw up her hands in abject disgust. “I give up on you.”
“You already gave up on me a long time ago.” Kieran’s voice was bitter. “Mom always said you’re so much like Jerry, and it’s true.”
That struck a raw nerve ending. “I am not like our father. He walked out on Mom.”
“And you didn’t walk out on me? When was the last time you called me, Wynne? The only reason you let me spend the night was because Mom was pissed and wouldn’t take me to her place.”
Win My Love (Love's Second Chance Book 3) Page 14