Three Wishes_A Second Chance at Love Contemporary Romance

by Mary J. Williams

  Andi looked at the condom and with a shrug, slipped it into the pocket of her loose-fitting linen pants. Better safe than sorry.

  "I need a shower, a long nap in my own bed, and a dozen or so of Mrs. F.'s chocolate chip cookies." Destry made a yum sound. "Guess I better stop by the kitchen on my way upstairs to put in my order. Want something?"

  "A couple of cookies—if you can spare them."

  "One thing about Mrs. F. Ask for a dozen, she makes six or seven." Destry smiled, rubbing her stomach. "I love that woman."

  "Say hello from me," Andi called after her sister. "I'll stop by to see her after I unpack and take a shower."

  "You look clean to me. Though I've never had a problem with a little dirt."

  Andi whipped her head around.

  "Noah," she gasped. He wasn't supposed to be here. But, goodness, he was a sight for sore eyes. "Hi."

  "Hi, yourself." Blue eyes crinkled at the corners, he sauntered toward her, his hands in the back pockets of his faded blue jeans. "Thought you were in Italy."

  "Destry and I decided to come back a few days early."

  Andi noticed everything. The way short sleeves of his t-shirt emphasized his strong, muscled arms. The way his dark hair, slightly damp with perspiration curled around his neck and ears. And most of all, the way he looked at her as if she were the most beautiful, desirable woman he'd ever known. Seemed only fair since she felt the same about him.

  "You're here."

  "I am." Noah smiled. "Mrs. Finch called with a legitimate problem. Stopped-up basement sink drain. After all the food she sent home with me, I didn't see how I could say no."

  Another thing Andi noticed was the way Noah smelled. Clean and sweaty all at once. Like the equivalent of catnip for the female race. She wanted to lick every inch of him, then start all over again.

  "Brave man. Does Billie know you're here?"

  "She's out of town. Denver."

  "Ah." Andi wasn't surprised. "Dougal Bryce to the rescue once again? About yesterday…"

  "You heard about my run-in with your mother?

  Andi nodded.

  "I'd apologize, but—"

  "Don't you dare. The man who put Billie Benedict in her place." Andi gestured with her hand as if the words were written in the sky, neon bright. "Destry's ready to erect a statue in your honor."

  "And you, Anderson?" Noah took a step closer. "What are you ready to do?"

  His voice was little more than a whisper, but the sound, the movement of his lips, mesmerized Andi. She knew exactly what she wanted. Here and now.

  "Come with me."

  Andi grabbed Noah's hand and tugged. He only hesitated for a second before he let her pull him across the foyer and down the far hallway toward the library. But books and reading were the last things on her mind. And damned if she would take a chance on someone interrupting. So, she strode past the large oak door to a small, barely noticeable, shadowed nook.

  Amused, puzzled, but with her all the way, Noah watched as she checked the hall. Not a sister or servant to be seen. Her heart racing, Andi opened a door.

  "What are you up to?"

  "Time for kiss number three," she declared. Eyes twinkling, she pushed Noah into the closet.

  "Why a dark closet?" Noah sniffed. "One that smells like…?"

  "Citrus sachets." Andi flipped on the light. Shelf after shelf of clean linens lined the narrow, u-shaped room. "Mrs. Finch is batty for citrus. My bed smells like a lemon grove."

  "Sounds nice."

  "I don't want to talk about fruit." Andi brushed her hand down his hard chest, a slow, deliberate caress.

  "You want a kiss." Noah slid his fingers through her hair, dislodging the clip.

  "Please."

  "Mm." A brush of his lips across hers made them both hum. "Since you asked so nicely."

  Kiss number three was nothing like one or two. The first took Andi by surprise. The second was sexy, a little sweet, but much too short. When Noah bit her lower lip with just enough sting to make goosebumps rise on her arms, she felt the world tilt on its axis.

  "Hold on, Anderson." He licked the corner of her mouth. "I've dreamed you were in my arms again. Time to make fantasy a reality."

  Noah didn't fool around with light little nibbles. He took the kiss to the next level. Greedy and simultaneously generous, he explored her mouth, tasting, taking, and giving her more than he could know.

  While his lips made her burn, his hands sent Andi soaring. For the first time, she flew with her feet planted firmly on the ground. His touch was magic. No, she realized, gasping as his mouth found the side of her neck. The magic came from them. A rare combination of chemistry and the undefinable.

  Andi didn't care about why. All she wanted was more.

  "We should stop." Noah panted the words as he pushed the silky material of her blouse aside to explore the slope of her shoulder.

  "We absolutely should not."

  "Our first time shouldn't be in a closet. You deserve a bed covered in satin sheets. Besides, I don't have protection with me."

  Bless Destry. Andi reached into her pocket, her fingers touching pay dirt.

  "Satin sheets are overrated. Too much slipping and sliding. Ever had sex in a linen closet?"

  "Can't say I have."

  "A first for me, too."

  Noah looked game. But as he ran his hands over her hips, he hesitated.

  "About protection."

  Triumphantly, Andi handed Noah the packet.

  "Do you always carry a condom in your pocket?"

  Andi almost laughed at the comically disconcerted look on his face.

  "I'm a modern woman, Mr. Brennan."

  For a moment, she wondered if Noah would ruin the moment with ridiculous, outdated male outrage. Instead, he ripped the packet open with his teeth and grinned.

  "Thank God for modern women."

  Again, the urge to laugh bubbled up inside of Andi like a burst of warm sunshine. Since when was sex funny? No, not funny, she realized. Fun. Passion, want, and need didn't have to be deadly serious. Noah grunted, then cursed as he fumbled with the button on his jeans, but his frustration was offset by the twinkle in his bright blue eyes and the grin on his lips.

  Andi chuckled. Instead of worries about where to put her hands, or if she should moan even if she didn't feel the least bit like making noise just to salve her inexpert partner's ego, her mind was free of everything and anything outside of the moment. Tension flowed through her body but in the best possible way. A build up, not of worry or awkwardness, but need and anticipation.

  "Finally," Noah let out a sigh of relief. "Hard to open a pair of jeans with only one hand."

  "Should have let me hold the condom."

  "Now you tell me." Noah slapped his forehead. "I was so focused on getting the damn thing in place, logic flew out the window. If the room had a window."

  "All the blood is in your dick. At this point, nature doesn't expect a man to think, simply do."

  Noah pushed his jeans past his knees. "I've never lost control, or my ability to think, before or during sex. You, not nature, scramble my freaking brain."

  Flattered, Andi's smile widened. She planned to say something. A witty rejoinder in keeping with the theme of their banter. However, the second her eyes landed on Noah's erection, all she could do was think, oh, my—and swallow before the pool of drool dripped from her mouth.

  Admittedly, Andi didn't have a vast catalog of penises to draw comparisons. Internet pictures didn't count. The men she and her sisters used to giggle over were often cartoonishly big. Like a freak show none of them could imagine wanting to take on, or in, as the case may be.

  In person, she could count the number of men she'd seen naked on one hand. Average was the best word she could think of to describe them. Honestly, neither the men nor their appendages made much of a lasting impression.

  "Take off your t-shirt," Andi commanded.

  The
side of Noah's mouth tipped upward as the twinkle in his eyes intensified. He held out the condom and once more, she had to laugh. Such a good feeling.

  With a flourish, he whipped off his shirt.

  Breathless, Andi touched Noah's sculpted chest. Smooth and hot, his skin felt like burnished silk against her palm.

  "So beautiful."

  Shaking his head, Noah captured her wayward hand, pinning it to the flat ridges of his stomach before she could explore any lower.

  "Touch me there, and this rodeo will be over before you get to ride the bronco."

  The colorful turn of phrase made Andi smile.

  "No control, cowboy?" She stayed with the theme he'd established.

  "Plenty—most of the time. But not today. Not with you."

  "You could close your eyes and think of—"

  "England?"

  The man was indeed one of a kind, Andi thought, biting her lip. What the hell. She let go a burst of laughter and was rewarded when he answered with one of his own.

  "Whatever works for you."

  "You work for me." He retrieved the condom. "Your eyes. Your smile. Your wickedly quick brain."

  "I just want to touch you." Andi's fingers twitched. "Please."

  "Bet you don't beg very often." Noah rolled on the condom with a few efficient motions. He stepped closer, and Andi held her breath. "I won't make you beg—this time."

  "Works both ways, fella," Andi warned.

  "Seems fair." Noah grabbed the hem of her shirt. "Raise your arms."

  The shirt hit the floor. Next, he dispatched her bra with the kind of skill Andi would have admired if Noah gave her the chance. But when his hand covered her breast, her head fell back, and all she could do was sigh and feel.

  "Perfect fit," Noah marveled as he squeezed ever so gently. "Like your breast was made for my hand."

  A new element entered their play. Something deeper than fun and desire. Something Andi wasn't ready to define. All she knew was the look in Noah's eyes made her feel a rush of emotion deeper and stronger than she'd felt before.

  "I need you." Need she could handle. She shimmied out of her pants until she stood before him naked. "Now, Noah. Now."

  One of his hands snaked around her waist, the other gripped the shelves behind her. Noah kissed Andi's lips, slowly joining their bodies. And his blue eyes locked with the green of hers.

  Andi expected the sex to be hot and intense. The fun while they teased and played had been a wonderful bonus. But what she couldn't anticipate was what happened next.

  As if they'd danced the dance a million times, they moved as one. Andi knew the moment Noah changed rhythm and adjusted hers to match. He swayed, she swayed. He thrust, she thrust back. Everything was at once familiar, yet startlingly new.

  "How?" Noah rasped. "Why?"

  Andi understood his questions, but she had no answers. She closed her eyes, unable to bear the feeling he could see into her soul. She didn't want to think. All she wanted was to feel.

  Again, Noah seemed to understand. He kissed her again and lifted them to the peak, held on for as long as possible, then plunged them over the edge in a glorious freefall.

  Unsure what had just happened, they clung to each other, breathing hard.

  Inexplicably, Andi wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. Neither seemed appropriate. So, she concentrated, breathing in and out, trying to control the beats of her still-racing heart.

  Noah wore a frown between his brows as he pulled on his clothes. Now and then, he glanced at Andi, and his frown deepened. Because she understood, she dressed in silence.

  "I need to go." Noah ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry. I don't mean to run after we just…"

  "Don't worry. Go." Please, she wanted to urge. Go!

  "Do you want to see if the coast is clear, or should I?"

  "Right." Andi moved to the door. The last thing she wanted was someone to catch them after the fact. If she did run into a maid, she could bluff her way through. But one of her sisters? Or, God forbid, Mrs. Finch. They knew her too well. Besides, innocent was hard to pull off when seconds earlier you were naked, with a man, in the linen closet.

  Andi breathed a sigh of relief when she found the hall empty.

  "We're good."

  "I'll find my way out alone." Noah gave Andi's cheek an awkward peck. "Thank you, Anderson."

  "Sure." Andi almost added an automatic, anytime. But between her riotous emotions and Noah's hasty exit, she didn't want to give him the idea she expected a return engagement.

  How had everything gone so wrong so fast? Slowly, Andi took the back staircase to her room. She automatically undressed, turning her shower on full blast. She closed her eyes and let the hot water wash over her face and down her body. She could still feel Noah's hands. She could still feel his lips on hers.

  Lightly, she ran her finger over her bottom lip, hoarding the memory. How, she wondered as the tears fell, had the best sex of her life turned into the biggest mistake of her life?

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ~~~~

  "STOP MOPING AND call the woman."

  Noah, tapping the keypad with enough intensity to make his fingers ache, kept his eyes on the glowing screen. He spent more time at the St. Thomas Community College computer lab than he did at home. An hour here, two hours there. He'd lost track of how many long nights he sat in the same chair at the same desk—when he could wheedle access.

  "Who said anything about a woman?"

  "No other explanation," Calvin Brightman snorted. "Been there, my brother. Only a woman can bring a man to new lows. Or raise him up to untold heights. Over two weeks now, you've been a bigger royal pain in my ass than usual. Can't be anything but lady troubles."

  Calvin worked as a teacher at the college. Once upon a time, they ran the same streets together. Both were lucky enough to get out. A year ago, Noah shamelessly used the connection forged in dirt, blood, and youthful stupidity to gain access to St. Thomas' excellent computer lab. Turned out, they had more in common than where they grew up.

  To both men's surprise, a strong friendship formed. Strong enough for Calvin to give Noah grief about his personal life without worry Noah would punch him in the mouth for his trouble.

  "Maybe my dog died," Noah muttered.

  "You don't have a dog."

  Noah punched the keys harder.

  A big man who liked to dress as if he belonged in a disco-era crime drama with sideburns to his chin and bellbottom pants, Calvin poured himself the last dregs from a pot of coffee Noah made before dawn. After one sip, he grimaced and tossed the thick liquid down the sink.

  "Wanna talk?"

  "No!"

  "Thank God." Calvin grabbed his keys. "The second we disagree on the tiniest thing, my wife insists we talk things out. The last thing I need is to hear your sob story."

  Noah glanced up from his work long enough to give Calvin a disgruntled look.

  "Then why'd you ask, asshole?"

  "The words popped out before I realized. Guess Marta has me trained."

  "Speaking of dogs. Guess Marta doesn't need one since she has you."

  "Yup." Calvin walked away as if Noah wasn't worth another look. "Definitely woman trouble."

  Alone, Noah rolled his head, grimacing when bone and cartilage popped with alarming frequency. Too many hours hunched over the computer with little or no breaks added up to a literal pain in his neck.

  Damn it. Until Calvin disturbed the zone he'd worked so hard to find, Noah was fine. Or as fine as a man could be who for the past two weeks subsisted on caffeine, fast food, and a couple of hours of sleep.

  He rose to his feet, arms stretched over his head. Fashion sense aside, Calvin was an astute judge of other people's problems. As usual, his friend hit the nail on the head with one difference. Yes, a woman was involved, but the problem lay firmly at Noah's feet.

  The truth would be laughable if Noah didn't lose his sense of humor alon
g with his peace of mind. Sex, the best of his life, had completely freaked him out. Or rather, the emotions sex with Andi stirred inside him.

  Where women were concerned, Noah lived by a simple philosophy. Fun and done. He knew Andi would be different and accepted the fact she would be a part of his life longer than the average woman. But he didn't expect her to open something inside him he would have sworn didn't exist other than to pump blood to his vital organs.

  How many times had he been told he didn't have a heart? More than one woman declared the fact right to his face.

  Men occasionally called him heartless. He had little sympathy for someone who bet every dime he had on a hand of cards. The one exception to gambling Noah made was poker because, for him, there was no gamble. He didn't play often, but when he did, he took the game seriously, and he expected every person at the table to do the same.

  Did lack of emotion for a man with no card sense make him heartless? Noah never worried one way or the other. Too many people let their so-called hearts rule their heads. He'd rather go through life on the cold side than perpetually hot and bothered.

  If only he could blame Andi for his newfound affliction. How could he when the last time he saw her she looked as stunned as he felt? They were quite the pair. Mind-blowing sex turned around and blew up in their faces.

  Noah's laugh sounded hollow to his ears. On top of everything else, the relief he saw in Andi's eyes when he rushed off rankled. He would have hated a scene, but a little regret on her part would have been nice.

  "What has happened to you?" Noah paced the neatly lined rows of desks. "Do you think Andi has pined for you? Hardly. Get over yourself, dickhead. Better yet, get over her."

  Noah looked at his watch. If he got himself in gear, he could get in another two hours of solid work on his computer program before he had to head over to the Bronx. The new fence he'd agreed to put up was almost finished. The pre-fabricated material guaranteed to look exactly like real wood, made the job a piece of cake. All he needed was a strong back and his trusty electric drill.