All Worked Up

by Cathryn Fox

  After exchanging pleasantries, Anna turned her concentration back to negotiating the walkway. Fortunately for her, Pamina and Lindsay returned to their conversation, forgetting all about Anna’s opinion. Deciding to pay a little more attention, she half listened to them discuss Lindsay’s BDSM room, but Mr. Sexy proved too much of a distraction, and Anna stole another glance as they closed the distance between them.

  As though unaware of their presence as they approached his van, Mr. Sexy ripped off his professional polo shirt, the company name embroidered on the back, and proceeded to change into his work wear. Good Lord! His sun-kissed skin was bronzed, smooth and glistening under the morning rays. Firm shoulders tapered to a trim waist and the delectable sight had her feeling all warm and wicked inside. A fine tingle worked its way down her body and loitered around that hungry little spot between her legs. If the mere sight of his backside had the ability to rattle her like dice in a Yahtzee cup, she could just imagine what a full frontal would do to her.

  Truthfully, only one other guy had ever made her feel so edgy, so sexually aroused, and she hadn’t set eyes on him since high school. Nor did she have any desire to. Not after what he’d done to her. Which suddenly reminded her why she’d agreed to the pact and sworn off men in the first place. She frowned, then quickly buried those thoughts in favor of more pleasant ones.

  No, it certainly wasn’t the time to dredge up old painful memories of Daniel Long, the cute boy next door and Mason Creek High School sports hero who’d been coveted by all. It was time to take pleasure in the fit man before her and commit every striated muscle to memory. At least then when she was lying in bed later that night, it would give her something to fantasize about while she took the edge off. And take the edge off she would. Just because she’d sworn off men and had given up on finding her very own Prince Charming, didn’t mean she couldn’t dream about delicious, orgasmic sex, did it?

  She absently toyed with the gold chain around her neck, bit back a chuckle and shook her head. To think that just a short while ago, she’d been both shocked and embarrassed as she stood on the sidewalk outside Toys4Gals and examined the array of sexual devices through the curbside window. Never had she thought she’d purchase such a toy, let alone use one. Now, here she was gathering quite the collection in her bedside table. Working solo wasn’t normally her style. But lack of action had forced her to think outside the box—or inside the box—or… Oh hell, she didn’t know what she was thinking anymore. All she knew was that she was hurting. Anna gave a quick shake of her head to clear her salacious musings and wondered if a quick shake of her hips would help push back the lust that gathered there.

  As she tried to marshal her thoughts and focus on the job at hand, Pamina stepped forward and spoke to the man at the rear of the truck. Mr. Sex in a Pair of Jeans turned to face the woman who’d hired him. With his work shirt dangling in his left hand, he reached out with his right. As they exchanged greetings, Anna shot him a glance. Catching his profile, she began a leisurely inspection of his perfect physique. So much for her efforts to redirect her concentration.

  Beginning with his rock-hard thighs, she let her glance wander upward, stopping to linger around that impressive bulge just below his waistband. A tremble worked its way through her body and her mind went on an erotic journey as her gaze climbed higher, to take in his handsome face and chiseled features. When her eyes met his, he angled his body, giving her a full-frontal view. As Anna took in the Grade A specimen at the back of the truck, her brain practically shut down and her jaw gaped open. It couldn’t be.

  Oh God, it just couldn’t be.

  She attempted to speak, but couldn’t seem to formulate any words as the sight of the man standing before her left her speechless.

  Totally and utterly speechless.

  Not because of those long hewn legs of his, or how she envisioned them wrapped around her body. Not because her fingers itched to touch those tight sculpted abdominals, now damp with early-morning perspiration. And definitely not because those mesmerizing hazel eyes seemed to be staring into her soul, unearthing feelings best left buried.

  Oh no, not at all. It was because the man behind those eyes was none other than Daniel Long, the high-school stud who’d destroyed her belief in Prince Charming and happily-ever-after.

  He gave her a wolfish grin, flashing his perfect white teeth, as he took one measured step closer, closing the small gap between them. He dipped his head and put his mouth close to hers, and his warm breath felt more intimate than a kiss. As her body absorbed the heat radiating off his bare chest, her nipples tightened beneath her cotton sundress, and she crossed her arms over her chest, fearing he could see her ill-favored arousal.

  He gave her a warm smile and a moment of silence ensued as she took a brief second to peruse the features of the man before her. Gone was the young handsome boy from high school and in his place existed a man. A real man. Tall, broad and oozing sensuality in a way the young Daniel never had. The years had definitely done him well, she decided.

  “Hi, Anna.” His sensuous tone curled through her body like an aphrodisiac as his familiar scent thickened her blood. Not only did that provocative aroma take her back in time, it aroused her senses and made her feel downright hot.

  Edgy and distracted, her every nerve ending burned with unfettered desire. Her legs went a little rubbery and she locked her knees to keep herself upright. Once again silence hung heavy, and the tortured sound of her swallowing down the lump that had taken up residency in her throat cut through the air.

  Striving for normalcy, Anna blinked her eyes tight and opened them again, convinced that she was hallucinating. Surely lack of sex had her mind conjuring up images of the guy she’d lusted after for years, because no way could her high school crush—captain of the football team and every girl’s dream—be standing before her. Years previous Daniel had gone off to the city for college, and the last place she expected to see him was here in Mason Creek, Connecticut, standing behind a masonry truck, no less. As she sorted through matters, one question remained. Why had he come back after all these years?

  He gave a sexy tilt of his head, his eyes assessing her. “It’s nice to see you again.” His voice was dark and warm, his tone husky and sensual just like she’d remembered, and despite herself, she leaned into him, momentarily forgetting past hurts.

  But the ever-protective Lindsay hadn’t forgotten. Not even for a minute. She cupped Anna’s arm and hauled her back. Her eyes shot daggers at Daniel when she said, “I think you should leave.”

  Daniel continued to stare at Anna, but with her brain currently on overdrive, trying to process this unexpected turn of events, she could barely vocalize a response.

  Deep smoldering eyes skated over her. “Do you want me to leave, Anna?” She didn’t miss the invitation or the odd ache of longing in his voice. Nor did she miss the strange way he was looking at her.

  “Do you?” he asked again.

  As her brains screamed yes, her body, especially the moist juncture between her legs, screamed no. No with a capital N.

  “Daniel—” she croaked out, not really knowing what she was about to say.

  Discretion aside and ignoring those around them, he touched her hair and that intimate gestures spread warmth through her body. “It’s been a long time.”

  “Yeah, a long time,” she agreed, shocked that she could actually speak, let alone formulate a sentence.

  “Too long.” Something in his voice hitched and Anna had the distinct feeling that he wasn’t at all surprised to see her, and that, unlike her, he was completely prepared for this encounter.

  Was it possible that it was she who’d inspired him to come home?

  She quickly dismissed that ridiculous notion as soon as it hit, and resisted the urge to slap her forehead. Good God, she’d spent years trying to get over him, and it irked her that all it took was one second in his presence to have her fantasizing about Prince Charming and happily-ever-after again. With him. Him! The guy wh
o only thought of her as a conquest, one of a handful of high school girls he’d yet to nail. Perhaps he’d come back to try again. At that thought, Anna squared her shoulders and pulled herself together. Well he could forget it. He couldn’t get into her panties back then and he certainly wasn’t about to now.

  “Of course she wants you to leave,” Lindsay interjected and jerked her thumb out toward the road.

  Feeling much more in control than she had seconds before, Anna touched Lindsay on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ve got this.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. Just give us a minute.” With that both Lindsay and Pamina stepped aside, but not far enough that they couldn’t hear their conversation, or Lindsay couldn’t intervene if she felt Anna needed her assistance.

  Anna turned to Daniel. He’d only been a boy when he’d given her a hard cold dose of reality, a boy who cared about his own needs. Thankfully she’d found out what he was all about before she’d handed her heart over to him. Because once she had, she was sure there’d have been no coming back from that. In fact, maybe she should be thanking him for opening her eyes to the real world, where Prince Charming existed only in Disney movies and romance novels.

  “Why are you here, Daniel?”

  He gestured with a nod toward the two women hovering nearby. “I was hired by Pamina to install marble around the Jacuzzi tub and to lay brick around the fireplace.”

  Anna gave a quick shake of her head. “No, what I mean is why are you here? In Mason Creek. I thought you’d moved away for good.”

  He grew quiet for a moment, as if weighing his words carefully, then stated the obvious, “I’m back.”

  “I can see that.” She tapped a restless foot. “What I want to know is why?”

  Warm heat passed over his eyes. “Because I—” He opened his mouth to tell her, then seemed to change his mind. He gave a casual shrug and in a low, controlled voice said, “I thought it was time.”

  “Last I heard you hated Mason Creek, and everything about it. And when you went off to college, you had no intentions of ever coming back.”

  He drew back looking a little hurt, like her words had triggered some dark memory. “I’m helping my brothers with their business.”

  Anna nodded. She’d completely forgotten that his older brothers had started the town’s only masonry business, very much needed now, thanks to the growth in the housing market and the boom in new home construction. But hadn’t Daniel gone to State college to get a business degree? Not that she was keeping tabs on him. Because she wasn’t. Not really.

  “It’s crazy how much they’ve expanded,” he added.

  As she listened, she wondered what a guy with a business degree knew about masonry work.

  “I take care of the office end of things,” he said, answering her unasked question. Then he grinned and laughed fondly under his breath. “Mike and John have made a mess of the paperwork. Good thing I came back when I did.”

  Anna crossed her arms. “If you run the business end, then what do you know about laying marble and bricking around a fireplace?”

  “I’m not without my own skills.” He paused, then pitched his voice low. “I can do a good job for you, Anna. I promise. I’ll make it good. Real good.”

  She swallowed hard and wondered if he was talking about laying marble or something else entirely.

  Lindsay stepped in, probably catching his sexual undertones as well. “I don’t think you’re the man for the job.”

  He shrugged. “I’m all you’ve got.” He gestured toward the house. “We’re the only game in town, so if you want the work done…”

  “Send someone else from the company.”

  “My brothers are on other jobs. Completely buried.” When he turned his mesmerizing hazel eyes on her, it felt like she’d been sucker-punched. “I’m your man, Anna.”

  The way he’d said those four simple words caused the blood in her veins to boil. Years ago, she’d really thought he was her man. So sweet, kind, respectful and genuine. Confident, yet always a little shy around her. A real-life Prince Charming. But it was all an act to get her into his bed. She’d learned long ago that beneath that perfect package, Daniel Long was nothing but a bad apple.

  And no matter how much he charmed her she would never, ever sleep with him.

  She didn’t think.

  * * *

  Daniel watched her—watched the way her telltale opaque blue eyes had raked over his body with heated interest, her flesh moistening from want—only to turn around and see lust give way to anger when their glances collided and recognition hit like a wrecking ball.

  What had he ever done to make her hate him?

  That question that had plagued him for years. A question that had finally forced him to leave his high-paying job in the city and return home to Mason Creek. With the help of his brothers, he’d kept close tabs on Anna and her family over the years. After all, as teens they’d all been neighbors, and to this day, their parents still shared a backyard.

  Truthfully, it was fate that he’d come back when he had. Shortly after arriving, Pamina had contracted their company for a job, which meant Daniel had to learn how to do masonry work and learn how to do it fast. A crash course later, here he was, standing face to face with the woman who’d tormented his soul since he’d moved in next to her during his senior year of high school.

  In all the years that he’s been gone, he’d yet to get her out of his mind. And no matter how many women he’d bedded, he couldn’t help but imagine he was holding the sweet girl from next door. The same girl who’d always reduced him to a bumbling idiot whenever she was near.

  Many years ago, the first sight of her face had pretty much ruined him for any other woman. Lord knows he’d tried for the distraction. After skipping town he’d slept with anything in a skirt, but all that proved was that his heart belonged at home, with Anna. She was smart, modest and romantic, so unlike the other girls he knew. He grinned, thinking about how many times he’d spied on her from his bedroom window, watching her indulge in one of her romance novels, or put together designs in her sketch book while she lounged on her back deck.

  Back in high school, the girls had thrown themselves at him. Daniel had been captain of the football team, and everyone had wanted a piece of him. He could have had any girl he wanted, but the one girl he really longed for, the one who lived next door, was the one girl he couldn’t have.

  Now he was back, no longer that nervous young boy he once was, ever determined to prove how good they could be together. She might hate him, for reasons he vowed to unveil, but he’d be damned if she didn’t want him. The desire in her eyes reflected his own and spoke volumes. They both had it bad for each other, and he was hell-bent on doing something about it.

  As she stood there staring up at him, her blue eyes glistening beneath the early-morning rays, his heart did a little flip. The warmth in her gaze had never failed to affect him and just being this close to her had his brain swirling with need.

  She felt that need every bit as much as he did. It was written all over her face; her eyes were full of want, her body full of unrequited longing. But she continued to turn a blind eye to it, ignoring the powerful chemistry between them, just like she had in high school, when she’d suddenly stopped speaking to him.

  Sure he’d tried to speak with her, to figure out what had gone wrong, but every time he’d made an attempt, her protective friend Lindsay came between the two. Anna had stopped coming to the backyard fence to chat with him, and had distanced herself by staggering the time she left for school. Daniel had wanted to set things straight, but he was so young and insecure with her, and things had gotten so awkward he’d had no idea how to close the ever-expanding gap.

  As he sorted through matters, he reflected on the emotions she brought out in him, the emotions he brought out in her. Oh yeah, it was well past the time to set the wheels into motion and go after what he wanted. He was no longer that shy boy and had every intention of peeling away her
layers and discovering the truth, and in the process teaching her how right they were for each other, because he didn’t just want her in his bed, he wanted her in his life.

  When he was done with her, not only would she acknowledge the heat between them, she’d willingly act on it, giving herself over to him completely and utterly, body and soul, begging him to fulfill her every need, her every aching desire. Then he’d prove once and for all that they were meant to be together, and they could start making up for lost time.

  He stepped closer, close enough that he could feel a tremble move through her body, and dipped his head.

  He cleared his throat and lowered his voice for her ears and her ears only. “So what do you say, Anna?”

  Simmering blue eyes flitted over him and he could see the torment on her face, the need, the want, the uncertainty. He fisted his hands and resisted the urge to haul her body against his and press his lips to hers, anxious to explore her mouth, her breasts, between her legs, anxious to finally introduce himself to every inch of her body the way he’d longed to do for years.

  “Do you want me or not?”

  Dark lashes blinked over smoldering blue eyes. “I…want you.”

  He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and his heart settled back into a steady rhythm. He took in her watchful eyes and said, “Then lead the way.”

  About Cathryn

  About Cathryn Fox

  * * *

  New York Times and USA today Bestselling author, Cathryn is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. She has two teenagers who keep her busy with their never ending activities, and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. Cathryn can never find balance in her life, is always trying to find time to go to the gym, can never keep up with emails, Facebook or Twitter and tries to write page-turning books that her readers will love.