by Bella Andre
She leaned back, gripping the counter behind her. Her legs seemed so weak that she was barely able to stay upright as he bent his head until his lips were only a breath away.
“I intend to kiss you so slowly, so thoroughly, that you’ll be begging me to never, ever stop.”
Didn’t he know every inch of her already burned for him, inside and out? He was a master of the slow, agonizing caress, and everything inside seemed to be melting, every part of her burning up.
She felt the moistness of his breath along the shell of her ear. He inhaled slowly, scenting her, his chest rising, but he didn’t press against her, didn’t let her feel the rest of his body, which somehow made it all the more sensual and erotic.
“And I intend for you to have your taste of me, too.” Those wicked hands of his skimmed down her sides, barely touching but laying down fiery tracks of heat nonetheless. “As much of me as you want, Harper. As much of me as you need.”
She almost whimpered, almost said yes.
Yes, please.
She had to hold onto the breakfast bar behind her for dear life...otherwise she was in danger of leaping on him and begging for everything he promised.
She wanted him now. Needed him now. Was crazy for him now. And all she had to do was take—put her hands on him and take.
But right then, he stepped back, giving her room to breathe again.
Barely.
“Now you know my intentions for both of you.” His voice was low, intense. He backed up two more steps, then added, “As for Jeremy, I’m guessing he might learn some new skills. It could be good for him to have a man around. I should have the first shipment of parts a week from Saturday.”
When he put it that way, she felt churlish for saying no. Especially when she knew he was right, that working on the kit car together could be good for Jeremy. Her brother had blossomed around Will, even if it was only chatting on Skype in the evenings. Did she have the right to deny him this opportunity? She wanted to watch out for him, but she didn’t mean to stifle him, too.
Harper took a deep breath, one that didn’t give her nearly enough oxygen to make up for all that Will’s hot words had just stolen from her. “Okay, I’ll let you work with Jeremy on the car. I know he’ll be ecstatic when you tell him. But as for you and me...” She licked her lips and, despite the desperate need racing through her, forced herself to tell him, “I know I might have given you some mixed signals the other night—” And again today when I all but dared you to kiss me. “—and I regret doing that, but I still can’t date you.”
“Can’t?” He raised an eyebrow, the dark heat still in his eyes. “Or won’t?”
She raised an eyebrow right back at him, even though she wasn’t doing a good job tamping down the heat glowing inside her. “Is there a difference?”
“Can’t means you’re already with another guy and aren’t available to date me. Won’t means you still don’t trust me enough to let me take you out again.”
“We had a nice dinner, and you’ve been very sweet to my brother, but I don’t know you, Will. All I know are your intentions.” Very wicked ones, at that. Deliciously wicked, some might say.
“I’m not asking you to decide about us today, but I am asking you to give me another chance before you make up your mind about whether to shut me down or not.”
He held her gaze for another long moment, letting her see his desire—and something more. Something she couldn’t quite define, but that touched her all the same. Maybe because it mirrored the longing for him she couldn’t figure out how to stop feeling.
“I like you, Harper. I like how straightforward you are. I like how smart you are. I like how you care so deeply for your brother.”
She was nearly speechless from all the wonderful things he’d just said about her. Had any other man ever noticed—or appreciated—so much about her? Or thrown her quite so far off her game all at the same time?
“And I sure as hell like kissing you and holding you in my arms.” With that, he pushed away from the kitchen counter and said, “I’d like to tell Jeremy about the Maserati kit when he calls tonight, if that’s all right with you.”
Even if she knew that she needed to say no on her own account, she couldn’t say no for her brother. “That’s fine with me.”
“And will you be able to bring him over the Saturday after next to start the work?”
“Yes.”
But she honestly wasn’t sure whether she was saying yes for Jeremy.
Or for herself.
* * *
Will punched the gas and veered around a slow car in the fast lane as he headed away from Harper’s house and to his office. The Lamborghini shot ahead, and the burst of speed was a rush.
But it wasn’t anywhere close to the rush he’d felt with Harper.
She’d had every right to call him on his intentions with Jeremy. But he still wasn’t sure she understood that the cost of the Maserati kit was nothing compared to what Will would get out of it. Jeremy made him feel like he had a second chance to make up for the worst of the things he’d done when he was a kid.
And Harper simply made him feel.
He’d been charmed by the animal mugs, and her endearingly messy house, so in contrast with the professional façade she wore. On the surface, she was polite and polished, but after seeing her at home, he now believed more than ever that there was a wild—and delightfully unruly—woman inside of her dying to break out.
She was so strong as she’d peppered him with her questions—and so sexy that he’d been this close to pushing for everything he wanted, right there in her kitchen. But he’d only let himself push a little bit. Only let himself tease her with words and brief touches until they were both panting with need.
Sweet Lord, had she ever been heaven against him. The leggings had revealed every gorgeous contour of her legs, while the sweater had made him desperate to uncover the rest of her sweetness. Even the striped toe socks had kicked his heart into high gear. She’d smelled delicious, like fruity shampoo and shower gel and lotion, and without makeup, her skin had been peaches-and-cream smooth.
In the end, though it had nearly killed him to push away from her and walk out of that kitchen knowing he wouldn’t see her again for nearly a week and half, the big tease had been perfect. Because they’d been riding the edge together. Soon, he’d push them both over.
Until then? Will knew he’d be going crazy with anticipation.
And if he’d played his cards right in her kitchen, hopefully Harper would be going more than a little crazy, too.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
As the Saturday of their next visit to Will’s garage finally dawned and Jeremy’s enthusiasm knew no bounds, Harper tried to keep her anticipation at seeing Will again at bay.
Jeremy had been so excited when Will told him about the Maserati kit and had asked her to take him out to purchase a new notebook in which he’d written furiously and also pasted numerous pictures. Making notes, he’d said, but they were a secret. Just for Will and him. Still, even if she couldn’t help but worry about Jeremy, she also couldn’t bring herself to crush his enjoyment.
As for herself...she shook her head as she put on the brakes for a stoplight in the thick Saturday traffic. She’d never been the kind of woman to go all gooey just from thinking about a guy. But every time she thought about Will, both her brain and her body went topsy-turvy.
“I like Will,” Jeremy said from the passenger seat with his usual big-hearted cheerfulness.
Harper couldn’t deny the truth. “I like him, too.”
And it wasn’t just Will’s sex appeal that drew her to him like moth to flame. It was all the little things that added up—his patience with Jeremy, the tin of caviar he’d given Mama Cannelli, and the genuine empathy on his face and in his touch when she’d told him about the car crash, the rich teen getting away with near murder, and then their parents’ passing.
“I brought drinks and sandwiches for when we get hungry.” She didn’t w
ant to assume that Will would feed them. “Your favorite, PB and J.”
“I can’t wait to get there!” Jeremy said. “This is going to be the best day ever.”
Jeremy had clearly been swept away by Will. And the problem was, no matter how much she’d tried to deny it over the past ten days, Harper kept secretly fantasizing about being swept away by him, too. Will had an irresistible magnetism, much as she’d been reminding herself that she had to resist.
The way he’d turned her inside out in her kitchen with nothing but words was something her body couldn’t forget. Not when deep inside, she knew how good—how amazing—it would feel to be taken by him.
I intend to kiss you so slowly, so thoroughly, that you’ll be begging me to never, ever stop.
All of his sexy, crazy, wild intentions came back to her deep in the middle of the night when she couldn’t sleep. They were why she couldn’t sleep. Because she wanted so badly everything he was offering.
But again and again over the past few days, she’d wondered—what if she took her eye off the ball in her quest for even a small, but heady, taste of wildness, and something happened to her brother? What if she went in for a few perfect gulps of the thrills that Will was offering her and ended up putting the safe little life she’d created for herself and Jeremy at risk? Especially when, despite how kind Will had been to both of them so far, she didn’t know very much about him at all. He hadn’t shared anything about who he was or where he’d come from. In fact, he’d skillfully avoided revealing himself.
They pulled up at the top of the driveway, and as she came to a stop, Jeremy all but threw himself out of the car when Will appeared in one of the open roll-up doors. Harper opted for a more reasonable pace, yet her heart was beating wildly. God only knew why, since Will was covered in the long white overalls she’d seen hanging in the garage.
How can a man look that sexy in overalls?
“Where is it, Will?” Jeremy asked in an excited voice.
“Up in the barn.” Will pointed to the hill beyond the garages. “That’s my workshop for major projects.” He gestured to the two garage buildings where they were standing. “This place is just for tune-ups, oil changes, and regular maintenance.”
Stepping back into the garage, he reached for a pair of blue overalls. “Better put these on, Jeremy, or your sister will have my head for creating more laundry.” From the curve of his lips as he said it, she knew he was remembering the baskets of unfolded clothing in the family room.
She blushed as he tossed the overalls to Jeremy. Who missed.
Her brother scrambled to grab them up off the concrete. “Do I have to take my clothes off?”
Will shook his head. “Nope. The legs should be wide enough to fit over your sneakers and jeans.”
Harper liked that he didn’t make a big deal out of Jeremy not knowing what to do.
“Okay. I have to sit down.” Jeremy sat on the concrete and tried stuffing his feet into the legs.
Will didn’t help him, and Harper liked that, too, since she tried not to let herself help Jeremy unless he asked for it.
Still fighting the overalls onto his legs, rolling onto his back and pulling at them, her brother called, “Doesn’t Harper need these, too?”
Will eyed her, giving her a long, slow look—which Jeremy was too involved with his overalls to notice. The heat in Will’s gaze told her he’d taken in her tank top and capris. And liked what he saw. “Oh no. I want Harper just the way she is.”
Even if he couldn’t possibly mean that the way it sounded, it still managed to be the sweetest thing any man had ever said to her.
Jeremy finally got the blue overalls on his legs, then scooched his bottom to pull them over his hips. Rolling to his hands and knees, he pushed himself up. While her brother put on the overalls, Will had reduced the distance between himself and Harper to two steps.
He was close enough to touch her now, but he didn’t. That in itself was another tease, something that Will was just too good at.
“Ready?” Will directed the question to Jeremy, who’d finally zipped up his overalls.
“Yes!” her brother yelled.
Then Will finally did what she’d been secretly dying for. He put his hand on her bare back between the straps of her tank top, guiding her toward the garage, making her acutely aware of him with the caress of his fingers above the line of the tank.
And, even if she shouldn’t, she couldn’t help but love every second of it.
* * *
Harper had pulled her hair up into a sexy, messy knot held by a butterfly clip. Loose tendrils flirted with her seductively bare shoulders. But it was the silver toe ring on the middle toe of her right foot that really got Will going.
It should have been unexpected. To anyone else, it might even seem out of character. But not to him. Because he already knew about the secret wildness inside her that was practically bursting to come out. Even if she clearly thought she needed to keep it firmly tamped down.
“Pile in.” He pointed to the golf cart parked just inside the roll-up door.
“Cool, I can’t believe we’re going to ride in that!” Everything excited Jeremy, from overalls to golf carts.
“Makes it easier to come back down the hill if I need something here.” Although Will had outfitted the barn with everything he could possibly need when he was building the Cobra, the golf cart and the path he’d built made it easier to travel back and forth.
“I almost forgot.” Harper backed off so that his hand fell away from the heat of her skin. “I brought lunch. And drinks. I hope you like peanut butter and jelly.”
He’d planned on having his housekeeper, Mrs. Taylor, bring up a tray around noon, but it was sweet that Harper had planned ahead. “My favorite,” he told her. He hadn’t eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since Susan made them for lunch every day when she’d sent them all off to school, but back then it really had been his favorite. At least, when he hadn’t been getting into too much trouble to eat lunch.
“Climb into the backseat,” he told Jeremy, then jetted the golf cart out to Harper, swinging it around so that she could climb in beside him.
She carried a six-pack of water bottles and an insulated lunch bag. As soon as she was seated, he couldn’t resist reaching out to brush away a lock of hair from her gorgeous mouth. Once the strand was gone, however, he let his hand linger on her soft skin, appreciating the way her eyes dilated slightly with an awareness she couldn’t hide.
“Thank you for taking care of us, Harper. Guys working on cars don’t think to stop and eat. But we’re going to need our sustenance.” Then he added over his shoulder, “Isn’t that right, Jeremy?”
“Right, Will.”
He moved his hand from her cheek to rest lightly over hers as he whisked them up the hill, feeling Harper’s gaze on him.
“Stop teasing,” she said softly.
“Teasing?” He lifted one eyebrow. “I’m perfectly serious.”
And he was. He intended to make her crazy. As crazy for him as he already was for her. The prospect already had his blood rushing.
She tried to look stern. “You know what I mean.”
He knew exactly what she meant. And he had a lot more planned for her. Touching, teasing, flirting—anything that would remind her of every single wicked intention he’d whispered against her skin in her kitchen a week and a half ago.
He wanted the woman who’d grabbed his shirt and dragged his mouth down to hers out by the old aqueduct. And since something told him she was secretly dying for that, too, he’d do whatever he could to bring out that thrill-seeking side of her again.
* * *
With each zing of Will’s fingers on her arm and her shoulder and her back, Harper felt a little crazier. Resisting him was the rational choice—the safe choice—but staying rational around Will was one of the hardest things she’d ever tried to do.
“You’ve got quite a setup here,” she said, attempting to divert her focus away from how m
uch she wanted him.
“I converted the barn when I was building the Cobra.”
The barn floor had been filled in with concrete and covered with black and white checkerboard squares. A car lift was central to the huge workspace, and above was a suspension system that Will explained could be used to lower the engine block and transmission into place, and even the fiberglass car body. Ringing the floor space were rolling tool chests, workbenches, an air compressor, a welding machine, bins of rivets, pins, nuts, bolts, and screws, along with racks of drills, electric screwdrivers, and other tools, all in pristine condition.
The second they stepped inside, Jeremy ran around asking Will what everything was. Will not only patiently answered Jeremy’s questions, but he actually seemed to enjoy explaining. It was another big point for him in the plus column, at least where her brother was concerned.
Will turned to the covered item centered over the lift. “And here is the object of our desire.”
He stood so close that their arms brushed. Thrill bumps rose along with the fine, nearly invisible hairs on her forearms, like a static shock from too much friction. His mouth curved as he glanced down at her, knowing full well what he was doing with his double entendres. No question about it, he enjoyed teasing her way too much. But the secret truth was that she enjoyed it, too, even if she shouldn’t.
When she was with Will, Harper felt young and sexy and giddy for the first time in a very, very long time.
Will whipped away the tarp, and Jeremy said, “Wow,” on a soft note of awe.
“That’s exactly what I said when I first saw it,” Will said with equal reverence.
“What is it?” Harper asked as she stared at the contraption.
It looked like a twisted metal cage. Or a complicated set of monkey bars on a playground. Rods were stuck together seemingly every which way, but also with a synergistic sense of purpose she couldn’t fathom.
“It’s the frame of the car,” Will explained.
“How could you have had this made in less than two weeks?” Suddenly, she felt the awe. For Will and what he could accomplish.