by Jackie Braun
“Very,” she repeated. She wasn’t talking about the chicken, and the heat glowing in his eyes confirmed that he wasn’t either. Thank heavens! “Can I sample a little?”
“Sure. Want me to warm it up?”
Lara shook her head as she came around the island. “That’s all right.”
He opened the bowl, but that was as far as he got before they reached for each other. Distantly, she was aware of the scents of ginger, cilantro and sriracha sauce. But what filled her senses was Finn. His scent. His touch. His taste.
She couldn’t get enough of him. Nor could she get close enough, even though she was plastered against him from thigh to lips. He was warm, firm, welcoming. A sigh escaped. He answered with a moan.
“I’ve been...thinking about...you and me and...this...for a while.” As he spoke he nipped his way down to her collarbone.
“Since Spanky’s?” she asked, fighting a shiver.
“Before then.”
Lara did tremble now as she admitted, “Me, too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Like since hello.”
He laughed. “Great minds. What else have you been thinking?”
Finn was letting her set the parameters. Even though she’d already made it pretty clear what she wanted, he was leaving her an out, giving her a chance to change her mind. She could pull back and put on the brakes. No harm. No foul. Or she could plow full steam ahead.
Lara didn’t feel reckless when she chose the latter. Rather, she felt right.
“Your shirt. I’ve been wondering what you would look like without it.”
Deep laughter rumbled again. With his body still pressed against hers, she felt his mirth as much as she heard it. The sensation was oddly erotic, but what had the breath backing up in her lungs was his reply.
“I’ve been wondering the same thing. What do you say we both satisfy our curiosity?”
It sounded like a good idea to her. She reached for the top button on her blouse only to have him push her hands away.
“Let me do that.”
“Okay, but only if I get to do the same,” she replied boldly.
Hunger of a different kind gnawed inside her when Finn got to work unfastening her top. Two buttons in, he stopped to pull the hem from the waistband of her skirt. Fingers skimmed briefly over her waist, a featherlight touch that had her moaning and wanting to demand more. His eyes remained on hers, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly when she trembled. With the last button freed from its hole, he parted the fabric and gave a low whistle.
When he would have pushed the fabric down her sleeves, she stopped him. Lara wasn’t overly modest, but some things were best done in private.
“Um, the windows.” She gave a nod in their direction. “I kind of feel on display. Would you mind?”
“Be right back.”
He left her to yank the gauzy material closed. He also flicked off the lamp, leaving only the under-counter lighting on. The effect made the place feel cocoonlike.
“Where were we?” he asked, even though his smile said he knew.
“Right...about...here.” She pushed the fabric apart and over her shoulders, letting it slide down her arms.
He groaned in appreciation, even as Lara grinned.
“And now it’s my turn.”
ELEVEN
Whisk
It was nearly midnight when something roused Finn from sleep. Not something, he realized, coming fully awake. Someone. Lara was up. He could just make out her shadowy form stumbling around in his dark apartment.
Levering up on one elbow, he said, “You can turn on the light, you know.”
“That’s okay. I’m good.”
Her claim was followed by a thud and muted oath. He was pretty sure she’d just banged her kneecap on his makeshift end table. Since Finn had to grab the lamp to keep it from crashing to the floor, he also turned it on.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine.”
That made one of them. Finn’s heart thunked out an extra beat at the sight of her carelessly wrapped in the throw she’d pulled off the back of his couch. The undergarments he’d helped her remove were clutched in one hand. Her other was holding the blanket in place. His gaze took in the pair of toned legs that had wrapped tightly around his waist at the moment of climax, and the silky hair that was a sexy mess thanks to the hands he’d fisted there, holding tight when passion took him over the edge.
“Sorry. I was trying not to wake you.”
“That’s all right. And I’m the one who should be apologizing. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
One of the last things Finn remembered before drifting off was collapsing beside her on the sofa bed after some of the most vigorous and inventive lovemaking of his life. If sex were a competitive sport, he was pretty sure they would have brought home the gold.
She chuckled. “I know what you mean. I’m shocked we didn’t put each other in a coma.”
“Are you...leaving?”
He was surprised to find he didn’t want her to go. Since his divorce, the few times he’d invited a woman into his apartment, he’d not had a problem watching them go home afterward. But Lara? He blamed the amazing sex. Surely it was too soon for it to be anything else.
“Yes. I called a cab to come get me. I was just looking for my clothes. I found...a couple of things.”
She held up one hand, shook the contents pom-pom style. In it were the two articles of clothing Finn had removed last. He bit back a groan and felt himself grow hard recalling the care he’d taken unhooking her bra and then working the panties down her toned thighs. The unhurried pace of their foreplay had seemed excruciating at the time, but there was no arguing with the end results.
“I’ll never get out of here if you keep looking at me like that,” she told him.
“Like what?” But he grinned, because he had a pretty good idea what she meant.
“Finn,” she said in exasperation. “Make yourself useful.”
“Happy to.” And certain parts of his anatomy were happier than others to oblige.
“I mean help me look for my clothes,” she replied, her tone dry.
“Okay. On one condition.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “What might that be?”
“That I get to help you put them back on.”
“That’s a first,” she replied. “I’ve never had a man offer to dress me before.”
“It’s a first for me, too. I’ve never offered.”
He wasn’t sure why he had now. In fact, watching her stand there clutching the ends of his brown chenille throw together between her breasts to conceal her amazing body, Finn was beginning to think he needed to have his head examined.
Still, dressing her seemed improbably appealing. Foreplay, but in reverse. Which meant it was going to lead to a lot of frustration, but also ratchet up the tension for the next time they were together.
There would be another time. He would make certain of that.
He tossed back the sheet and stood. The fact he was naked didn’t make him uncomfortable. And as far as he was concerned, it was a bonus that Lara’s gaze detoured south and she began to nibble her bottom lip. While he grabbed his shorts from atop the lampshade where they’d landed earlier, he was aware of her watching him.
“Second thoughts about staying a little longer?” he inquired, slowly pulling the boxers up his legs.
“And third and fourth,” she admitted. “But my cab will be here any minute, and I do need to get home.”
He nearly asked her why. What was so important that she needed to rush home at this hour? She was unattached, over the age of consent. Like him, she’d been married and was now divorced. She had him on being disowned. Finn had come to accept there was nothing h
e could do to make his family cut the cord.
Family.
With an inaudible groan he remembered the text he’d received from his younger sister Kristy as he and Lara had left Spanky’s. As predicted, the grapevine was in full swing. Kristy had already known all about his date, which meant that his other sister did as well, and probably his mother and an assortment of aunts and cousins.
I’ll be in the city tomorrow. Kate, too, the message read, referencing their other sister. We want to talk about Mom’s party. Make something spectacular for brunch, please.
He wasn’t fooled. They might start with their mother’s birthday, but the conversation would drift to his social life soon after. And, even though they’d invited themselves for brunch, they could arrive anytime after dawn. That was just how they operated. His sisters could be obnoxiously nosy and overbearing, but in an endearing way, since they always had his best interests at heart.
Still, Finn didn’t want Lara there when they arrived. If his cousin Joanna was on her game, she’d already filled them in on the fact that Lara was a chef and Finn had met her on Executive Chef Challenge. And if Lara were still in his apartment... Well, it would be awkward on multiple levels.
He headed to the kitchen.
“I think your top is on the floor in front of the fridge.”
Sure enough, it was in a heap next to his shirt, her skirt and his pants. After shedding those articles of clothing, he and Lara had worked their way to the other side of his apartment, where the surfaces were softer and more accommodating to horizontal activity. He picked up the top and, before holding it out, gave it a good shake. Finn kept a tidy kitchen. Organization and neatness were the marks of a good chef. As a result, the countertops were generally free of spills, crumbs and clutter. But he couldn’t say the same for his floors.
When Lara tried to take it, he slanted her a look. “Remember our deal. And it applies to your undergarments, too.” He was the one who held out a hand this time.
She may have rolled her eyes, but he caught the gleam of excitement in them. She was game, every bit as eager and interested as he was.
“I never actually agreed to let you dress me,” she said. But she placed the items in his hand anyway.
“The blanket.” He motioned to it with his chin. “It’s in the way.”
“So it is.”
Very slowly, in a move reminiscent of the way he’d stripped her mere hours earlier, she opened the sides, exposing the soft, gently mounded flesh beneath.
Finn swallowed. It was like Christmas and she was a gift.
“Are you sure you can handle it?” she asked in a husky whisper. “It’s harder than it looks.”
“How would you know?” he challenged with a meaningful glance south. His boxers were getting tighter by the second.
She chuckled. “I’m talking about putting on a bra. It’s an acquired skill, and not as easy as taking one off.”
“I think I can manage.”
He dropped her top on the counter and stepped closer. Taking the bra from her hand, he used both of his to hold it out chest high in front of her.
“Slip your arms through the straps. That’s it,” he murmured, stepping forward and regrettably closing the gap between silk and what he considered perfection.
“Well?” she prodded when he just stood there. “Are you going to fasten it or what?”
The or what was an enticing proposition. On a groan he finished the task, silently congratulating himself until he realized that her panties would be next. He’d made it over one hurdle only to be confronted by another, much higher one.
He hooked their waistband over the tip of his index finger and gave them a twirl while he contemplated a strategy. Every scenario he could think of required bending and would bring him into close proximity with temptation.
Finn liked to think of himself as a man who possessed a lot of self-control, but one itty-bitty item of clothing in and his willpower already was toast.
“You’d better do it.”
“As much as I’d like to argue, I think I’d better, too.”
She made fast work of it. The addition of her skirt and top was anticlimactic. He donned his pants. Shirtless and shoeless, he walked her to the door, where she slipped into her heels. From outside came the distant, if distinctive honk of a car horn.
“I think that’s for me.”
“Let me grab my shirt and I’ll walk you down.”
While they waited for the elevator to arrive, they eyed one another in silence as the first bit of awkwardness settled in.
Finn had gone on several dates since his divorce, including a few that had ended up back at his place, where the activities that followed were clothing optional. None of those had left him tongue-tied. Of course, none of the sex had been quite as spectacular, the act quite as meaningful or the women quite as important.
The elevator arrived and he pulled the doors apart for her. They were nearly to the ground level when he blurted out, “When will I see you again? I mean, I really think I should make you dinner since I never got around to it.”
She turned and smiled. “When do you want to see me again? It doesn’t have to be for dinner, although I will hold you to that since you lured me to your apartment under false pretenses.” She leaned in then and kissed Finn’s cheek. “Thank you, by the way.”
“For?”
“Luring me here under false pretenses.”
“That was entirely my pleasure.” And he took a moment to thank the heavens she wasn’t the sort of female to play hard to get. “How about tomorrow...today, I guess, since it’s nearly three in the morning.”
“Okay. Want to meet at Isadora’s?” she asked. “I’ll even let you sleep in. We can meet at nine o’clock. Ten even. I’m flexible.”
“Very flexible, as I recall.” He grinned and so did she. It was with a great deal of regret that he said, “Unfortunately, my sisters are coming over. That was the text I received earlier. Kristy claims they want to talk about Mom’s birthday party, but I figure I’m in for the third degree.”
“Ah. That was fast.” They arrived at street level and Finn hoisted the door for her. “Joanna was busy while she was tending bar.”
“Yeah. Technology has made busybodies’ lives a lot simpler,” he replied as they started down the hall to the exit. “Before texts and tweets and instant messaging, it would have taken at least a couple of days before they were all brought up to speed on my social life.”
“I’m free in the afternoon. Evening, too,” she told him. “What about you?”
“Same.”
Like Lara, Finn had cleared his schedule for the competition, so he had a lot of free time this week, unless he chose to take on any jobs at the last minute. And he had no intention of taking a job now if it meant he wouldn’t be able to spend time with Lara.
That was a sobering thought. It must have showed on his face, because she asked, “Is something wrong?”
“No...” He let the reality settle in and smiled. “Not a thing.”
* * *
“So, when do we get to meet her?” Kate demanded before she had even cleared the threshold to Finn’s apartment. She was twenty-four and, as the baby of the family, used to getting her way.
Kristy, who was hot on her heels, said, “You’re bringing her to Mom’s party, right?”
“I—I’m not sure,” he told them, surprised to find the answer so ambiguous when “No” was his standard reply when it came to having dates meet his family.
But then, Lara was different, special in a way he had only just begun to fathom. And their “sextracurricular” activities of the night before had his brain as foggy as his body was relaxed.
“Really? So, maybe?” Kate asked. She was already grinning like a Cheshire cat.
He decided to ig
nore her. “Speaking of Mom’s party, what do you think of my gift?”
He’d shot them an email about it the day before in response to their pestering.
“Tap shoes and lessons?” Kristy settled her hands on her hips. “Do you really expect us to believe that you came up with that all on your own?”
“I...could have,” he protested.
Kristy blew out a breath and glanced skyward. “Right. And I could come up with the theory of relativity if Einstein hadn’t beaten me to it. Come on, Finn. You would have sent a bouquet of flowers or some lame gift certificate for a department store. This has thoughtful stamped all over it. And that means you had help from a woman.”
“Forget about how he came up with the idea.” Kate waved a hand, as if clearing away smoke. Before he could be grateful for her interference, however, she added, “The point is, he’s dating again.”
“I’ve had a few dates since my divorce.”
“With easy women you wanted to sleep with but not necessarily ever see again,” Kristy put in. She held her hands out, palms up, and added, “I’m not making a judgment. I’m just stating a fact.”
“I’m offended.”
“You’re a guy,” she replied blithely.
“Kristy’s right,” Kate said.
He should have known he couldn’t count on her to take his side. His sisters might fight like cats between themselves, but they were a united front when it came to their only brother.
Levering onto one of the tall stools at the island, Kate continued. “I think we should meet her before Mom’s party.”
“Me, too.”
“I don’t know,” he said slowly.
But Kristy was shaking her head. “You don’t get a vote in this.”
“If we don’t meet her before the party, we’ll have to grill her at the party, which will make it no fun for her at all.”
“I haven’t said for sure that I’m going to bring her.”
Kate studied him with eyes so much like their mother’s it took an effort not to squirm. Finally, her mouth curved with a grin. “You want to.”
Finn gave up. How could he not. She was right. He did want Lara to meet his family and vice versa. Instead of making him nervous, however, admitting it left him feeling settled.