by Marie Harte
Lou groaned.
“Yep, everyone.” She held up her phone. “Even Sam, while you were outside with Javier.”
“J.,” the boy corrected.
Stella ignored him. “Sam and I are friends, and I thought he’d want to know how to help you if you suddenly blew it with Joey. He thanked me for being concerned.”
Lou covered his eyes and wished for the ground to swallow him. “Hell.”
* * *
“My life is not in a good place right now,” Lou admitted to Joey Thursday night after she settled on his couch and made herself comfortable.
“Oh? What’s wrong?”
“The guys are giving me a lot of grief about you. The flower chick.”
“The flower chick? I have a title?”
“Yeah. If you hadn’t spent so much time blowing me off for months before Del’s wedding, I wouldn’t be in this predicament and… Are you laughing at me?”
Joey’s wide grin reflected the mirth in her big brown eyes. She didn’t even try to hide it. Such a different person than the shy, contained woman who’d hidden behind the flower counter two and a half weeks ago. “Sorry. That’s terrible.”
He sat next to her and grabbed a deck of cards from the coffee table. “You sound distinctly insincere.”
She laughed. His heart did somersaults. The sight of those bright-white teeth and those full lips curled in a smile hitting him harder than a right hook to the jaw.
“Poor Lou.”
“You know, the more smack talk before the game, the harder I trounce you after.” He saw her pulse jump in her throat and knew a sense of satisfaction that he wasn’t the only one affected by being together.
“You be nice, Lou Cortez,” she warned and took the cards from him, shuffling like a professional dealer. “I’m just a poor flower girl trying to get by. And that’s not easy dealing with your type.” She pointed right at him. “You have no idea how difficult it was for me to walk into the garage and deal with Del for her wedding. And having to go by you guys was scary.”
“So you’ve said before.” He smiled.
“Don’t look so smug.”
“Well, you deserve it. You had me doubting myself, and one thing I’m good at it is being me. Lou Cortez, The Man.” He pounded his chest.
“You’re so deluded.”
“You’re so fuckin’ sexy,” he said right back and leaned close to steal a kiss. The warmth the kiss generated drove him crazy, because the sparks trailed from his mouth, down his chest, and centered in his cock. “Man, I always just want you closer. Under me.”
She blushed. “Lou.” Yet the hand that pressed against his chest curled to keep him close. “I thought we were going to play gin, then dinner, then fun?”
“Well, there’s no real order to it. We can do whatever we want.” And right now, he wanted her spread open while he sampled from his own perfect appetizer. “You have to be in at eight tomorrow, right?”
She sucked in a breath when he trailed a finger over her collarbone. “Um, nine. But I can’t stay too late. I need to be back home by eleven.”
He frowned. “Eleven? Why?” She stiffened, so he relented. His questions could keep for now. “Fine, fine. Relax. I’ll let you go by ten-thirty. That’s another three hours away though. Time for us to reschedule a few things.” He felt uncomfortably hard. “You hungry?”
As if she’d read his mind, she glanced down and stared at his groin. “For what, exactly?”
He groaned. “I think we need to talk.”
* * *
Joey’s gaze flashed back up to Lou’s face, and she felt her cheeks heat. “Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I hinted…that.”
He grinned. Oh wow, he was too handsome for words. His eyes seemed almost to glow when he looked at her. Such a strong jaw, those lips, those darkly lashed eyes. He was like a model, complete with a bodybuilder’s frame. So what was he doing with her again?
She couldn’t help glancing back at his prominent erection, remembering how big he could get. Goodness, but she felt way too hot sitting so close to the man.
“Oh yeah. Definitely past time we had The Talk.”
“The Talk?”
He nodded. “The one we should have had at the very beginning of all this. So here it is. I haven’t been with a woman in months. I always practice safe sex, and my last doctor’s visit, back in February, was good to go. A clean bill of health. I want to be with you again, and I’m fine wearing condoms. Now you.”
He waited, and she wondered that in all her years, she’d never had such a frank conversation about sex before. Or that, for once, she hadn’t had to instigate the embarrassing discussion. Yet it bothered her that she hadn’t brought it up before now. What was wrong with her? One look into Lou’s big brown eyes and she lost her sense?
He cleared his throat.
“Oh. Right. The Talk.” She blew out a breath. “Well, I also practice safe sex.” No question about that—now. “I haven’t had a boyfriend in over a year, and my last physical checked out okay.”
Lou frowned. “A year?”
She shrugged, uncomfortable that she probably now appeared as pathetic as she’d felt for so long. Lou had made her forget for a while that she wasn’t exactly a diamond in the rough. More like a shiny pebble in a fast-moving stream, brushing by and over her. “I’ve been really busy with work and trying to get enough funds to move out of my house. It takes a lot of time and money. And I paid for myself to go through school, you know.”
He watched her, his eyes wide.
“What?”
“Well, one, we can take shy off the table. Because you’re no longer shy with me, more like confrontational—and I love it.” He grinned. “And two, I wasn’t aware I was dealing with a self-made woman. You don’t talk about yourself much.”
“Oh. Not much to tell, really.”
“I disagree.” Lou looked her over and smiled. “Beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious. So you put yourself through school?”
“Yes. I had to balance work and family and a full-time job. It wasn’t easy.” Especially when said family had been undergoing potty training at the same time. “I did it on my own with a little help from my parents. But not much.”
That first year, her parents had done their best to distance themselves, forcing her to do everything on her own. Except her mother would sneak in to her room to handle the baby. More for her grandson than to help Joey. A not-so-subtle form of punishment Joey would never forget. Sure, her parents had been there to help her, but on their terms and without much sympathy for a young girl who’d made a mistake. She would never treat Brandon that way. Not ever.
“Hey, you okay?” Lou asked and reached for her hand. “You looked pretty sad there, cariña. What’s the matter?”
She shook off feelings that didn’t belong here. Lou had never treated her like she didn’t matter or know her own mind. “Just family stuff. Sometimes I can’t help thinking about it.”
He rubbed his fingers over her knuckles. “I know what you mean.” He paused. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Your parents. They helped you, but not a lot, you said?”
“No, they helped a lot, I guess. But on their terms. I know I should be grateful they never kicked me out onto the street.” Yet she still felt so much anger when it came to them. “It sounds like you’re pretty close to your family.” At his nod, she continued. “We were a tight group when I was growing up. Or rather, my mom and I were. Dad was always working. Still is, to be honest. But he loves me.” I think. “Then, well, some stuff happened. I did something I shouldn’t have, but it all worked out in the end.” She loved Brandon. Period. “But for a long time, they never let me forget it. Punishing me for something that, yeah, was my fault. But I was so young when it happened.”
He snorted. “You’re young now,
so I can’t imagine how old you were when you messed up. How old are you, anyway?”
“Twenty-four. Almost twenty-five.”
He blinked. “Yeah? I mean, you look it. But you seem so much older.”
“How old are you?” She’d put him at late twenties.
“Thirty-five.”
She stared. “Seriously? You’re an old man.”
He grimaced, and she laughed, feeling lighter having unburdened herself. She hadn’t told him about Brandon yet. Her baby boy belonged to her and her alone. Though she liked Lou, a lot, she didn’t know if she could trust him with her most precious joy.
“I feel old sometimes,” he admitted, still holding her hand. She’d scooted closer so he wasn’t stretching her arm so much. When he grinned, she realized he’d intended to get her nearer.
“Nice move.”
“I’ve got more.” He waggled his brows but didn’t let her go. The connection felt more than physical as he spoke, as if by holding her and sharing himself, he was entwining a ribbon of trust around them. “I pretty much grew up taking care of my sisters. And my mama kept adding to the family, not always with the same man.” He sighed. “I love her, my mama. She’s a beautiful woman. Just like all my sisters.”
“Just like you.”
To her delight, a tinge of red lit his cheeks. “Yeah, well, we’re a handsome family. Makes it a real pain in the ass to keep everyone together and out of the hands of men who should know better. My mama, she’s got such a big heart, so much kindness inside.” He looked at Joey. “Not to be all weird about it, but you remind me of her in a lot of ways.”
“That’s nice.”
He shrugged. “It’s true. But my mama, she’s too nice. She has five girls by three men. My father was an asshole. Good for nothing but taking advantage of a sweet woman.” He shook his head. “Mama is pretty, and men like her. A little flattery, and she’d give them whatever they wanted.”
Joey wanted to duck her head. She had a lot more in common with Lou’s mom than he might think. But I learned from it, she told herself.
“I don’t want you to think my mom’s bad or anything, she’s just too kind-hearted. Which explains why a lot of the discipline in our family comes from me. I was five when Lucia was born. Carla came three years after that, Maria a year later. Then Stella and Rosie. Rosie’s eight.” He groaned. “If my mama would just go gray and start wrinkling up, lose some teeth, get a walker, I’d be spared more stress.”
She laughed with him. “So all girls. Didn’t you have any male relatives to help out?”
“I learned a lot from my abuelo, my grandfather. But he died when I was little, and my uncles were never that much interested in our family. They had too much to take care of with their own. So I pretty much helped raise all my sisters. I love them, but they’re a handful.”
“I’ll bet.” She could see Lou as a family man, a decent soul overcoming heartache, doling out love and a sense of home. “You’ll be a great father someday.” A man like that would understand her having a son. She saw the empathy, the care, and wanted to trust him. He’d offered himself, opening up like that. She wanted to do the same. Yet something held her back.
“Yeah, well, I don’t plan to have any kids. I’m done raising them,” he said bluntly, his hold on her hand tight before he realized he’d gripped her too hard. He let her go. “I just want to be the happy uncle with a great ride, a woman by my side, and fun in the future. Nothing heavy, nothing too serious.”
The way he looked at her told her he meant the warning for her.
She chuckled to ease the hurt. And why should she feel any pain because of what he said? Not like she’d imagined them as a couple or anything long-term. Just friends who make each other feel good, right?
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’m not into hearts and flowers—well, flowers maybe.” He grinned with her. “I like being independent. And I have too much to do with my life to settle down now.”
So why did her confession feel like a fat big lie? Why had she rested even the tiniest hope that she and Lou might blossom into something fuller? Because he respected family, cared for those needing help, and had been the first man ever to see to her pleasure before his own? Yes, she’d allowed their sexual intimacy to create a false sense of emotional intimacy. That had to be it.
“Man, that brain is going and going. I can tell.” He tugged her closer. “So why do you have to leave at eleven?”
The question came out of nowhere, no segue or anything. She just blinked at him, having no other excuse than a need to get her little boy from Becky, her sitter for the night.
Lou frowned. “Joey, is there someone else?”
Not like you mean. “No.”
He clearly didn’t buy her denial, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he cupped her face and kissed her.
The kiss cleared all the cobwebs from her mind and stirred the fires she’d barely banked. Desire rose swift and sure, and she found herself clinging to his broad shoulders as he drew her into his arms. So much larger than her, Lou surrounded her with muscle and with a firmness growing solidly larger under her as they kissed.
He muttered words she didn’t understand, gripped her hair, and held her in place while he kissed the sense out of her. His lips, his tongue and teeth, he used every part of his mouth to force her body to surrender. And she loved it.
With one kiss, he’d turned her into a shivery mass of need.
“Tell me what you want, amor,” he murmured against her throat. “Are you hungry, baby? You want something to eat right now? I got dinner waiting for you. Something sweet for dessert too.” He ground her against him and groaned. “Or did you want something else?”
She wanted to explore her carnality, the desire to make him feel what she had the last time they’d been together. She’d fantasized about it, because she’d heard and seen the act but had never actually done it. It seemed to give the woman power, pleasing her man.
Lou pulled back and stared into her eyes, his dark and full of need.
“I’m hungry, Lou.” She ran a finger over his lips. “For something special. Something only you can give me.”
The flare of desire made his eyes darker, and she knew what she wanted.
“I want to kiss you the way you kissed me before.”
“Where?” he growled. “Tell me.”
Instead she showed him by reaching between them and grazing the bulge between his legs. “Here. I want to kiss you here.”
Chapter 14
She didn’t think she’d ever seen Lou move so fast. One minute she’d been on his lap, the next he had her hurrying toward his back bedroom. He slammed the door shut and locked it. “Sorry, habit.”
Before she could ask what that meant, he had his shirt off and his pants unzipped.
“Take me out.”
She shook her head, surprising herself at her temerity. “I want to… Can you take off all your clothes?”
His slow smile answered for him. He stripped, completely bare. “Now you.” But before she could take off her clothes, Lou was there doing it for her.
“First, the shirt.” He dragged it up and off her, then tossed it to a chair in his bedroom. She’d only been back here the one time before, and it had been mostly dark then. Now she made out a thick leather chair in the corner, a large king-size bed in the center, and an armoire to the side. Nothing else in the room save the nightstands on either side of the bed.
Where he kept his condoms.
She tingled, especially when Lou watched her as he unfastened her bra and tugged it off her. He had a thing for her breasts, because he spent a lot of time touching and kissing them. She’d never realized how much she liked it. He was about to show her again.
He picked her up as if she weighed nothing and sucked her nipple into his mouth. He groaned as he tongued and teethed, then tre
ated the other side to the same attention. Panting with lust, she could barely think as he set her down. Then his clever hands had her pants unfastened, her jeans pushed down to her ankles.
Lou bent down to remove the rest of her clothes, then stood and studied her. “I need to draw you. To paint you.” He licked his lips. “You are so beautiful, Joey.”
She blushed with pleasure. “So are you.” She loved the chance to see those tattoos, the subtle artwork crossing his broad chest, tracing the cut of muscle on his darker skin and trailing it downward, to the long, thick cock made hard because of her.
It thrilled her to know she could get a man like Lou, older and sexier, to want her so much.
“You still hungry, baby?” He gripped himself, holding himself out to her. “I’ll show you what I like. Stand here. Spread your legs.”
“What?”
He was on his knees in front of her in seconds, his mouth plastered to her sex as he licked and stroked her nearly to orgasm. Had he not stopped when he did, she’d have come.
“You see? Hunger. I want to taste that cream you make for me. So soft, silky.” He slid a finger inside her, holding her still by the hip when she jerked.
“Lou,” she moaned. “I was going to—”
“After. You suck me down after I taste you. So fuckin’ good.” He kissed her again, toying with her clit while he moved his thick finger in and out, rubbing against her in all the places that mattered. She held tightly to his shoulders, her body spiraling out of control.
“Lou, I’m going to… I need to…”
He sucked her harder and continued to thrust in and out of her. Then he stroked a finger between her buttocks, rubbing her cleft while he drew on her clit with a love bite.
Joey couldn’t stop the rush of ecstasy as she came over his tongue, moaning while pleasure became her world. Dimly aware of Lou petting her through it, she found herself in his arms being hugged and kissed and tasted herself on his lips.
When he pulled back, she gazed at him in wonder. “I taste me.”