Feel the Heat

by Lorie O'Clare

  “Oh no, he just felt he needed to do some things at the Sea Breeze. And he wanted to give me some privacy.”

  “Privacy! That’s the last thing you need, young lady. In fact, we’ve been discussing just that while we enjoyed our cocktails this evening. And we have come up with a plan. Be ready bright and early tomorrow morning.”

  26

  Late the following morning, Summer exited Miss Laura’s car on wobbly legs. She leaned down to peer into the interior through the open driver’s side window. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you home? It’s no trouble at all.” Plus, she vaguely remembered Laura had lost her driver’s license several years ago.

  After riding to and from the downtown shopping district with the women, Summer understood why the octogenarian was forbidden to drive. Summer’s life had flashed before her eyes a couple of times during her morning trip. But the old ladies meant well. They’d bought her breakfast and taken her for a makeover at the local department store.

  “Oh, we’re not going that far, dear.” Miss Laura’s voice brought Summer back to the present. From the backseat, the sisters nodded. “We offered our services to your young man.”

  “Excuse me? What did you say?” The mental picture was enough to shock anyone.

  “I said we’re going to help Thorne refurbish the motel. We’ll be staying there for at least the next week.”

  How the eighty-plus-year-olds planned to help was a mystery, but Summer smiled and nodded politely.

  “I still wish you’d let me drive you to the motel. Thorne can give me a ride back.”

  “Oh, Thorne’s not there at the moment, dear. He went surfing today.”

  Surfing. The thought clutched her heart. Sure, she’d seen his board on the roof of his truck. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce he surfed. Yet, in typical head-in-the-sand fashion, she’d toppled right into his arms. Despite her previous experience with a husband who’d rather surf than work. Who would rather surf than do just about anything else. Including being with her. Didn’t she learn anything from her time with Cory Wadsworth?

  “I see.” And she did. Now if she could just convince her foolish heart to stop fluttering at the thought of the hunky firefighter. Stupid. It was just stupid.

  They’d just met.

  They’d just had incredibly hot sex.

  Conflicted, she returned Miss Laura’s wave and watched the big fins of the old Cadillac Coupe de Ville as it made its way to the beach access road, throwing up plumes of sand in its wake.

  A squeal of tires on asphalt announced the car’s successful trek through the sand. Horns blared as Miss Laura navigated the big car up the hill, bobbing and weaving across the lane markers.

  “Try not to think about it,” Summer murmured as she made her way up the steps to Thorne’s beach house. She would let Lola out, then play with the new cosmetics. The saleslady had promised a newer, sexier look while Miss Laura and her sisters urged Summer on.

  “It’s worth a shot, I guess.”

  Summer applied the quick-drying top coat onto her new pedicure and wiggled her numb lips. The stinging had abated about half an hour after she applied her new, lip-plumping gloss, thank goodness. Now, her lips just felt slightly swollen and numb. She couldn’t wait to see how she looked. The rest of the new makeup looked pretty good, in her opinion.

  Lola snored softly from the other end of the couch and didn’t so much as twitch when someone pounded on the door.

  Was it Thorne, already? Maybe she’d misjudged him. Gingerly walking on her heels, she threw open the door.

  “Cory. What are you doing here?” While she’d love nothing better than to shut the door on his smiling face, she was brought up better.

  Shirtless, he stood smiling at her, unmindful or uncaring of the picture he made with his broad tanned chest, low-slung board shorts, and rubber flip-flops that had seen better days. His teeth shone white, his baby blue eyes hidden behind wrapstyle sunglasses. Bright green goop covered his nose.

  “Babe, that’s not much of a greeting after all the time and effort I put out to find you.”

  “So sue me.” Hand on her chest, she feigned surprise. “Oh, wait, you already did. Go away. We’re divorced. We have nothing to say to each other.”

  “Babe, don’t be like that! I was your husband—”

  “Don’t remind me!”

  His hand prevented her from slamming the door. “At least let me come in for a drink of water. Then I’ll leave. Promise. Please?”

  Shoulders slumped, she stepped back to allow him entrance. “Fine. But then you’re out of here.”

  He planted a smacking kiss on her forehead as he walked past her. “Babe, careful, you’re apt to hurt my feelings.”

  “I’d like to hurt more than that,” she grumbled, shutting the door.

  “Whoa!” Cory stopped a few feet into the living room and looked around. “Babe, you’ve outdone yourself this time. This is a mess, even by your standards.” He removed his sunglasses and narrowed his eyes at her. “What the hell happened to your mouth?”

  “What?” Racing down the hall, she skidded to a stop on the marble bathroom floor, grabbing the edge of the sink to halt her progress. The image staring back from the mirror looked hideous. Lips swollen to purple-pink bubbles of flesh that looked ready to burst, she looked as though she were one step from a severe allergic reaction.

  “Oh no!” Cool water did nothing for her condition. In fact, she soon realized she couldn’t feel the water on her swollen lips.

  “Babe.” Cory leaned against the door of the bathroom. “You okay?”

  Tears stung her eyes. Blinking furiously to avoid smearing her new eye makeup, she glared at him. “No, I’m not okay! Look at my lips!”

  “No offense, babe, but I can’t help looking at your lips. I mean, dude, they’re all over your face.” White teeth pulled on his lower lip.

  “Do not laugh at me! I mean it, Cory. If you ever had any feelings for me, you wouldn’t laugh. You’d help me!”

  With a sigh he stepped into the bathroom. “What can I do? Did you eat something you were allergic to, maybe?”

  “No,” she whined. “It has to be the new lip-plumping gloss I just bought this morning.”

  “Well, it sure did its job. Ouch! No need to hit.”

  “You’re not helping!”

  “Okay, how about antihistamines? Do you have any?” He opened the medicine cabinet and took down a small white bottle. “Here. Take a couple of these. Drink a whole glass of water with them. That’s my girl.”

  Summer paused from drinking to shoot him what she hoped was a drop-dead look. “I’m not your girl. I haven’t been for a long time now.”

  He trailed the tip of his finger down her arm, brushing the side of her breast. “That could change, babe. Your mother would like that.”

  Water sloshed when she jerked away from his touch. “Well, I wouldn’t. And my vote is the only one that counts.”

  Obviously ignoring her body language as well as her actual language, Cory closed the gap between them, sliding his arms around her waist to pull her closer. His hips swayed suggestively, his hardness rubbing against her abdomen. “We were good together, babe. Remember our honeymoon? We set the sheets on fire.”

  “So what? You did that with everyone. Too bad I didn’t discover it until after we were married.” Hands on his chest, she shoved until he stepped back.

  “Aw, come on, babe,” he said, following her back to the living room. “I’ve changed.”

  She whirled, hands on hips, wishing Lola would wake up and attack. “Really? What were you doing today?”

  “You mean besides looking for you?” She nodded. “Surfing. Why?”

  “Exactly my point.”

  “Oh, come on!” Yelling now, he paced the open area in the living room. “What do you have against me surfing? I surfed when we were dating. It’s not like you didn’t know I loved surfing.”

  “That’s the problem, Cory. I was always second.�
�� She gave a watery laugh. “Or even less, if you count your girlfriends.”

  “I told you, I changed.”

  An accidental glance at the noticeable bulge in his shorts caused her to recoil. After being with Thorne, she was nauseated to think she’d ever had sex with Cory. And that’s all it had been. Was that all it had been with Thorne? Truthfully, probably. But she sensed something else with Thorne. Something she’d never had with anyone else. A possibility of sex turning into something more. She was tired of playing it safe. She wanted to explore whatever might happen with Thorne. Or anyone else, for that matter, if things didn’t work out with Thorne. Anyone except her ex-husband. “It’s time for you to leave.”

  “Let me take you to dinner. We both have to eat. I could zip home and be back in less than an hour.”

  “I have plans. And even if I didn’t, I don’t want to go out with you, Cory. Not tonight, not ever. I don’t know how much clearer I can make it.”

  “But Victoria said you’d had second thoughts—”

  “Yeah, well, that’s wishful thinking on my mother’s part.”

  “She’s still hoping for Wadsworth babies.”

  “She’s going to have to get over it.” Long strides took Summer to the kitchen. “All I have is tap water. Warm tap water because I can’t get to the freezer for ice. Take it or leave it.”

  “I’m not all that thirsty now,” he said as he opened the door.

  She walked back to make sure she locked the door when he left.

  He was still standing on the deck, just over the threshold.

  “It’s really over between us, isn’t it, Sum?” The pathetic look on his face gave her pause. “I guess,” he continued, “I always thought we were just on a break and everything would work out. What a headbanger, right?”

  Summer sighed and stepped onto the deck. “If I led you to believe there was ever a chance of us reconciling, I’m sorry.”

  “Was I that bad for you?”

  “We were bad for each other. Now we need to get on with our lives. Separately. Good-bye, Cory.”

  “Bye, Sum.” He pulled her into his arms for a quick hug. “Have a good life.”

  Thorne shook water droplets from his head and face as he walked up the beach toward his house. Toward Summer.

  It had been a stupid thing to do, leaving her after making love, but in some way he was glad it happened. Having last night to think about things and clear his head without the red haze of lust had been helpful. Now he could pursue her without sex getting in the way. Not that he didn’t intend to get horizontal with her at each and every opportunity. Now he had at least a semi–game plan. A plan that included being a part of her life from here on out.

  The couple embracing on his deck stopped him in his tracks.

  “What the fuck?” Thorne increased his pace, bare toes digging into the warm sand with each angry stride.

  As he rounded the corner, the shiny black Lincoln Navigator with the boards strapped to its top snagged his attention.

  Know your enemies. It could work.

  27

  Summer stopped splashing her mouth with cold water and listened. The rumbling continued.

  A quick dab with the towel and glance in the mirror confirmed she still looked like someone had hit her in the mouth, but it couldn’t be helped.

  If Thorne was outside, why hadn’t he come in or at least knocked? And if it was Thorne’s voice she heard, who was he talking to?

  She stepped out onto the deck just in time to see Thorne help her ex-husband secure his surfboard to his truck, give Cory an attaboy slap on the back, and head toward the deck.

  By the time Thorne reached the top of the stairs, she was practically vibrating with anxiety. Of course, it was anxiousness. Why would she be angry? Wait a minute. He’d obviously been with her ex-husband for the last—she glanced down at her watch—hour and a half. Dang right, she was angry. They had no business having anything to do with each other. Crap! Were they comparing notes about her? It was pretty much common knowledge that Cory was capable of just about anything. What about Thorne? Had she been horribly mistaken about him, too?

  He paused at the edge of the deck, the muscles in his throat working, jaw set.

  “What have you been doing?” she blurted out.

  His eyes narrowed. “I could ask you the same question.”

  Two long strides brought him in front of her, close enough for her to see the hardness in his eyes, feel the anger radiating from his fit body.

  Anger? Why the heck would he be angry? She hadn’t done anything.

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “This!” He tapped her lips.

  A gasp escaped at the needle-sharp pain his action caused on her swollen lips. “Cut it out! That hurt!”

  “Maybe lover boy Cory will kiss it and make it all better. Then again, we both know that’s how it happened in the first place.”

  “What are you talking about?” She grabbed the back of his waistband as he started into the house. “I haven’t kissed Cory in over a year, not that it’s any of your business.”

  He spun on her. “I’m not stupid, Summer. I know kiss-swollen lips when I see them.”

  She released his shorts, letting the elastic snap. “Well, you’re wrong, bucko. You absolutely are stupid if you think that’s what happened.” Shoving him aside, she walked into the house, willing away the impending tears, and plopped down on the couch beside a still-sleeping Lola.

  Thorne towered over her, hands on his hips.

  Their gazes locked.

  “I bought new makeup today,” she finally said. “The lip gloss was supposed to plump up my lips.”

  “It worked.” Thorne’s lips quivered.

  “They looked worse earlier.”

  “Have you looked in the mirror?”

  “Thorne, you’re not helping.”

  “What was wrong with your lips before you bought that goop?”

  One shoulder lifted. “I guess I wanted to be more attractive. Since I didn’t have any makeup with me, I decided to try a new look.”

  “Well, it’s definitely different. Whatever look you were shooting for, you missed.” He scooped her off the couch and sat down with her on his lap. “Don’t cry. I was just teasing. I think you look pretty.” He ran his fingertip along the edge of her strapless sundress, tickling her exposed cleavage. “I like your new dress.” He frowned. “You aren’t planning on wearing it to work, are you? I mean, it’s nice, but kind of revealing. I guess what I’m saying,” he stammered on, “is I would rather be the only one seeing you in something this sexy.”

  “Oh?” She did an experimental wiggle and was immediately rewarded by a returning thrust of his cloth-clad erection.

  “Mm-hmm,” he said against her neck, trailing nibbling kisses up to her ear. “But I’d rather see you out of it.”

  Heat from his hand streaked up her leg as his fingers stroked higher and higher until they reached her weeping flesh.

  Pausing, his breath coming faster, he whispered gruffly in her ear, “You entertained your ex without any panties on?”

  “Keep feeling,” she said on a giggle, then gasped when his fingers tugged at the strap of her thong and slipped beneath the strip of fabric.

  His left hand, which had been kneading her breast, shoved her bodice down to her waist.

  He lowered his head, his breath hot against her erect nipple. “No bra. I’m liking this dress more by the second. Easy access.”

  All talk stopped when his mouth covered her nipple, tugging and sucking it deep into his wet heat.

  Beneath her skirt, his fingers were busy, stroking up and down her slick folds.

  Just as she thought she could take no more teasing and was about to grab his hand to show him what she needed, his finger found its mark, sliding deep, causing her to arch in his embrace, a guttural groan sounding deep in her throat.

  Frantic for release, she bucked against his hand, squirming to gain access to his shorts.
Shaking, she pushed her hand beneath the wide elastic until she found the hot hardness she craved. Awkwardly, due to her position, she squeezed and stroked his length, smiling when his hips rose to follow her hand.

  It wasn’t difficult to expose his penis. A little more effort was required to pull up her skirt enough to turn and straddle his lap. All the while, his fingers worked their magic, plunging into her receptive body, flicking and tugging on her clitoris until her climax threatened.

  She paused, watching in fascination, the contrast of his tanned hand against her pale exfoliated lips ratcheting up her excitement. The need to feel his erect flesh deep inside her had her breath coming in shallow huffs while her pulse pounded in her ears. Yet she couldn’t force herself to stop his hand or move from the exquisite torture.

  Her muscles tightened. Every nerve ending began to tingle.

  In voyeuristic fascination, she watched as her climax rushed from her body, soaking Thorne’s hand and shorts. A full body shiver washed over her. Still he continued to stroke her, smoothing her wetness over her heated skin, exciting her all over again.

  “No,” she managed to whisper, the sound rasping through her dry throat. “Not without you. I want you.” Her thighs flexed, pushing her to her knees. Deep inside, his fingers fluttered, causing her to gasp in pleasure.

  Thorne took advantage of her stillness to suck her breast deep into his mouth again, rolling the turgid nipple with his tongue. Fluttering its tip while he fluttered her labia with his fingers, he sent her into sensory overload. At that moment, she knew he could do anything and everything to her and she would welcome it. Revel in it, even.

  But she’d meant what she’d said.

  Before another orgasm could take her breath, she pushed his hand away and mounted him, rocking her hips against his until he was deeply seated, the head of his penis kissing the opening to her womb, tickling her deep in her core.

  Thanks to her height, he was able to continue pleasuring her breast while he moved his hips in leisurely thrusts.

  It was beyond pleasurable, beyond nice. But she wanted more. Much more.