by Fiona Lowe
Maggie-May whined at the door, pressing her nose to the glass where Mac now stood on the other side. “Want to go play with your friend?” I want to go play with mine.
She opened the sliding door and her dog shot out and the whirring scream of a drill came in. Luke had switched from hammering to drilling. She intended to distract him from that particular job and get him to focus on what they both wanted. Clicking on her mouse, she saved her most recent photo edits, plucked an apple from her fruit basket and stepped out into the lazy heat of the afternoon.
Wade kept the lawns in immaculate condition and she loved the feel of the thick, lush grass against the soles of her feet. It sure beat the hot concrete sidewalks in Minneapolis. She paused at the edge of the cottage, just out of sight, and adjusted her off-the-shoulder short T so it rested on the tops of her arms and skimmed over her cleavage. She’d chosen it because it finished at her midriff and her skirt started at her hips, leaving an expanse of skin complete with a jeweled belly ring.
Tossing the apple into the air, she caught it with a grin. She was ready and Luke Anderson didn’t stand a chance. She gave him less than ten minutes before he caved and they were both horizontal in her bed.
“Hi, Luke...” She stepped into view but the rest of the sentence stalled as her brain fried from visual overload.
His shirt lay on the ground and his burnished skin glowed with a sheen of sweat that highlighted every work-sculptured muscle on his torso. A tool belt was slung low on his hips—the icing on the beefcake that was Luke. It also screamed I’m good with my hands. The idea of his hands skimming over her skin made her sway.
He greeted her with a lazy smile. A smile that said baby you know you want me now and it spun through her, leaving her panting.
“Erin, I’m going to have to take off your—”
Yes, please. Everything.
“—door.”
Somehow the word managed to penetrate the roaring sound of her blood, which was thundering loudly in her ears as it pumped heady need into every nook, cranny and far-flung crevice of her body. She tried desperately to gather her scattered wits while at the same time trying to sound both coherent and sexy. “No problem.” The words came out on a squeak.
Luke’s lazy smile morphed into a wicked grin.
I’ll raise you. She slowly lifted the apple to her mouth and bit into it, flicking her tongue out to catch the juice that sprayed her.
His eyes instantly zeroed in on her mouth.
Won’t you walk into my parlor said the spider to the fly. It was all too easy and she was back on top. “My door? I guess that means you’ll need to come inside?”
His blue eyes sparkled like the lake in sunshine. “I guess it does.”
He expertly spun the hammer in his hand before depositing it neatly into the vacant slot on his tool belt. He stepped in close, dropped his head so his lips almost brushed her ear and his breath caressed her skin. “Lead the way.”
The deep timbre of the words sent an erotic shiver whooshing through her as his mingled scent of sweat, musk and something that was intrinsically Luke circled her. It cast invisible threads which hooked into her with tantalizing temptation that immediately drained her brain. He was so close. He smelled so masculine and amazing, and all she needed to do was move the smallest of distances and their bodies would be touching. He’d be hers.
No. It’s what he wants.
It’s what I want.
She stifled the scream of frustration that her throbbing body sent up, because letting him win when he expected to—as if it was his right—was just too much for her. With superhuman effort she spun away from him, knowing her resistance was barely holding and the time had come to ramp things up so he capitulated sooner rather than later.
Channeling her fledging inner seductress, she motioned him forward with her finger. “Follow me.”
* * *
Somehow Luke managed to remove, plane and restore the front door despite the fact his brain wasn’t fully soaked with oxygen-carrying blood and right now it was thinking more about what Erin was doing behind her closed bedroom door than concentrating on the job at hand. When she’d sashayed in there fifteen minutes earlier, moments after waggling her finger at him and saying in that throaty voice she used when she flirted, “follow me,” he’d fully expected her arm to reach out, grab his and pull him in after her.
Hell, that had been the whole point of him removing his shirt and risking a sunburn. Of risking the hypnotic pull of her amazing eyes when they’d widened into huge pools of green that shone with an arousal that matched his. It had been the whole point of risking his stake in the game by standing so close to her that he could almost taste her.
He opened and closed the front door, noting with some satisfaction that it now moved freely. One job done. The other job of Erin getting him into bed was taking a lot longer than he’d expected and hoped. He’d underestimated her stubbornness and as much as that excited him, and as much as he was enjoying this cat and mouse game between them, he was so wired for her he didn’t know how much longer he could hold out. He sure as hell probably shouldn’t be attempting to use power tools.
His mind roved over his next play—one that would bring all of this sexual tension to the delicious détente they both wanted. Desperately wanted. As he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, he heard Mac’s bark, the terrier’s yap and Erin’s laugh. He spun toward the sound and squinted into the sun. Erin was on the walking track heading toward the beach. Although he assumed she must be wearing a bikini, from this distance he could only see skin and two of the narrowest strings he’d ever seen—one across the middle of her back and one across her hips. Other than that, nothing else touched that glorious expanse of tanned, smooth skin. From this view, she was virtually naked.
Without stopping to close the door he ripped off his tool belt and jumped off the porch. It took everything he had not to break into a run.
* * *
The moment Erin walked into the privacy of the grove of trees and she knew Luke could no longer see her, she pulled a pair of board shorts out of her bag and stepped into them, instantly covering the bikini thong. She immediately relaxed. Although she was fairly certain all the B and B guests were with Wade on the farm visit, part of her had been worried she might meet someone on the beach. Being virtually naked for Luke was one thing but she didn’t want to scar any young children or give any other man the wrong idea.
She’d never worn this bikini before—it was really more like three miniature triangles of material—and she felt ridiculously exposed. It had been an impulse online buy last summer on an evening home alone when she’d drunk too much wine. Since its arrival in her mailbox, it had lain in her drawer reminding her of her folly until a few days ago when she’d gone home to pack for her few weeks in Whitetail. Impulse once again had made her pack it. If she could hold on to her resolve for a little bit longer, the bikini might just earn its keep.
The dogs tore off along the small but pretty beach where the trees came right down to the waterline. A small wooden shed and a picnic table rested in a grassy clearing just above the sandy beach. She wondered if the sand was natural or if it had been brought in. Either way, it was warm against her skin, unlike the water which was chilly. As she dived under and the cold sucked the air from her lungs, she hoped Luke wouldn’t take long to arrive on the beach. She broke the surface and flipped onto her back, sculling through the water and using the warmth of the sunshine to try and even up the temperature disparity.
“Erin!”
Luke stood on the beach with one adoring dog gazing up at him and a cautious Maggie-May hunkered down and ready to respond, as if she expected the worst. Couldn’t her dog see Luke was a golden-haired god, glinting and sparkling in the sunshine?
Her body ached for him so badly she struggled to stay afloat. Flicking her wrist in a ro
yal-like wave, she tried to look so much more sophisticated than she felt. “Come on in. The water’s as warm as a bath.”
He laughed, the rich, melodic sound booming around the cove. “Sweetheart, this far north the water’s always cold. I promise that you’ll be a lot warmer if you swim back to me.”
With goose bumps lining her flesh, she knew this to be true but being in the water was all about winning. “You’ve come this far to find me, Luke. Just think, another few feet and I’m all yours.”
His nostrils flared with the same unmet need that vibrated between them and the movement raced across his shoulders and down his bare chest before disappearing under the band of his work shorts. Yet still he didn’t enter the water. Instead, he sat down on the sand and took off his boots before rolling onto his side and resting his weight on one arm so that every muscle bulged. “It’s pretty nice here on the sand. Hot even. I’ll wait for you here.”
Her body both leaped and wept at the sight of him. She plunged her feet onto the bottom of the lake and stood up with the water lapping at her waist, knowing full well the now-wet material was see-through. “That’s disappointing.”
His strangled moan floated across the air and his hands pulled at his hair. “That’s dirty pool, Erin.”
“Oh, and you shirtless and in a tool belt isn’t?”
“I got hot.”
“I imagine you did.” She threw her head back, knowing the movement would lift her breasts and she was filled with the sexual power of her body—an intoxicating power she’d never been fully aware of until she’d met Luke.
An expletive hit the air and he rolled to his feet, shucking his work shorts.
Suddenly she was staring at black, low-rise trunks, fully extended forward by his erection. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For days the throb of desire had been part of her, intensifying hourly until it consumed her and was all she could think about. She hadn’t thought it possible for it to gain any more momentum but sweet wonder, it expanded again, only this time it held an edge of pleasurable pain and it beat out soon, please God, soon.
“Mac. Stay!” His voice commanded absolute obedience and then his strong legs were plowing through the water, creating mini waves that washed up against her. As he made his way to her, she fantasized about what he might do when he reached her. Would he pick her up and throw her over his shoulder, claiming her, and then stalk back to the beach with his prize, or would he just haul her against hard his chest and kiss her right here in the lake? Her legs wobbled. Both scenarios sounded fantastic to her.
He halted just short of her, his chest heaving and his blue eyes simmering with equal parts desire and frustration. She was intimate with those feelings—they’d been driving her quietly crazy for days. Now he stood in front of her, so near and yet so far.
“Um, Luke, just a teensy bit farther.”
“For you to move, I know.” The guttural edge to his voice hinted at fraying control but his wicked smile sizzled, promising everything she’d dreamed about and more.
Her breathing hitched up and she stretched her arm out toward him, letting it rest on the surface of the water in the few feet between them. “I thought men got off on the thrill of the chase.”
He stretched out his arm, his third finger a nanometer away from touching hers, and his eyes darkened. “There’s nothing hotter than a woman who takes what she wants.”
And at that moment winning became semantics. He’d come into the water, virtually to her, and if making that tiny move was his fantasy, she’d gladly oblige so she could have hers. Her fingertip touched his and flames engulfed her. His large, strong hand closed around her wrist. She lunged toward him as his arms lifted her at the hips, and then her legs were wrapped around his waist, and she was burying herself against his chest. She was home. Her body, so taut with ragged need for so long, stilled for a heartbeat, suspended in bliss, and then primal energy thundered through her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she lowered her mouth to his and kissed him.
His lips met hers—blistering hot—and she took his heat and transferred her own. His mouth was both familiar yet different and she flicked her tongue around it, stealing his flavor so it ran through her veins, branding her and driving her onward. His hands roved her spine—one splayed across her back and the other at the base of her head, clamping her against him as if he couldn’t get enough of her body touching his. She understood exactly.
Her tongue met his and she took her time exploring it. She wasn’t quite done when he groaned and a moment later, his tongue was lashing hers in delicious strokes. She yielded to him, taking control of the kiss, surrendering to his wickedly divine ministrations and thankful he was holding her up. While his expert mouth stripped her of everything except her burning desire for him, she explored his shoulders and back with her hands, pressing and rubbing the muscles and bone and committing to memory the moments her touch made him moan in pleasure against her mouth.
His hands moved to her buttocks and with ragged breathing to match her own, he released her mouth. “You thought this was a good idea?”
Her mind was incapable of constructing a thought other than she was exactly where she needed to be—wrapped around Luke. “What do you mean?”
His dark and enticing eyes gazed down at her. “You’re shivering so hard you’re vibrating and in case you didn’t know it, water at this temperature isn’t complimentary to a guy.”
He looked gorgeous to her and she didn’t quite understand. “How isn’t it complimentary?”
He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe she didn’t comprehend. “Let me put it this way. Cold water means shrinkage.”
She blinked, understanding dawning. “In that case we need to go back to shore. Now.”
He laughed, his face creasing in joyous lines. “We finally found something to agree on.”
She traced a finger down his sternum. “Carry me in.”
He stared down at her. “Isn’t that a little too caveman or man knows best for a modern woman like yourself?”
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I know, right, but...”
One brow quirked up and lust flared bright in his eyes. “But?”
Her embarrassment vanished. He wanted her so why not let him know what turned her on. “When you were striding toward me all powerful and determined, I got excited thinking you were about to throw me over your shoulder and carry me off.”
“Like this?”
The next minute she was upside down with her head resting halfway down his back. She squealed with delight. “Totally like this, only don’t drop me.”
Suddenly she was back upright with disappointment slugging her.
Blue eyes, which held the tiniest hint of being pissed, hooked hers. “If you want me to give you a caveman fantasy, you can’t tell me what to do.”
She tried her best to look contrite. “You’re right. Sorry. Cavemen don’t take orders. They give them.”
He grinned. “Damn straight. Now we’re on the same page.”
A skitter of unease ran through her that with all this outrageous flirting she’d perhaps given him the wrong idea about what she liked. “I won’t need a safe word, will I, because I really—”
He brushed the gentlest kiss across her mouth. “I’ll never intentionally hurt you, Erin, and if you ever feel at all uncomfortable just tell me.”
Her heart, which up until now had been totally separate from her lust-fest, fluttered for a second. She instantly steadied it by kissing him, thankful for the rush of euphoria that numbed her to anything else.
Luke swung Erin over his shoulder for the second time in two minutes and grinned. Erin totally surprised him. Not only was she sensationally sexy, she wanted to role play, which meant he had permission to channel his inner caveman. As he walked toward the shore, his free hand paddled her gently on the butt. “An
d what’s with the board shorts? Last time I saw you there were two naked buttocks calling out to me.”
“I panicked there might be people on the beach.”
His chest expanded at the thought she’d done all of this just for him. “You do realize there’s going to be a consequence for you teasing me like that. I’m going to have to strip them off you.”
He waited for her compliant, Yes, Master, response although the thought struck him that he might be mixing up the fantasy with that of stealing a slave girl.
“I see. Well, I think it’s only fair then that I...” Her hands slipped under the waistband of his boxers and her palms curved around his buttocks.
His glutes tensed and every part of his body strained to stay in control. “Erin,” he managed to grind out, “if you don’t want me to drop you, you might want to wait until we get to shore before you do that.”
Her hands shot to his back but her heat lingered, promising things to come.
Her dog started barking, unhappy that her mistress was on his shoulder and he feared for his ankles. “I’ve got bare legs, Erin. Tell your dog to stay.”
“Maggie-May, it’s okay,” she called out. “Sit. Good dog.”
The terrier didn’t look happy but stayed next to Mac who’d joined in the barking.
When he reached the beach he lowered her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her. “Dizzy?”
She rested her head on his chest. “Just a bit.”
The dogs went berserk, wanting both of their attention but he held her close until her eyes cleared. As she picked up her bag, he grabbed his shorts and dug out his keys. Catching her hand, he ran them to the boat shed with the dogs in hot pursuit. “This is the best I can do for a cave at short notice.”
She shivered in the shadow cast by the boat shed and her teeth chattered. “The beach is sunnier.”