“Please, Lily.” The silent longing in his voice whispered to the dormant longing in her soul. He lowered his face and her breath rushed out.
“What are you doing?” she murmured as his warm mouth skimmed her jaw. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Then don’t think.” His warm breath spread across her skin. “I know I have a hard time thinking when I’m near you.” He kissed her just beneath her ear.
“Don’t say that.”
“Why?”
“You don’t know me.”
“Let’s change that.” He opened his mouth on her sensitive skin. “Around you, I have a hard time doing anything but getting hard.”
“Too soon. That’s crude.” Her head fell to one side.
“That’s the truth. Do you want me to lie?”
Too fast. No. She sometimes liked crude but she knew she shouldn’t. She knew she shouldn’t let him kiss her throat. She should make him stop, but she couldn’t.
“Put your hands on me,” he said against her throat and she opened her fingers and slid her hands up to his chest and shoulders. At the touch of her palms on his bare neck, a shudder ran up his spine. “That’s good.” His mouth slid across her cheek to her lips.
Was this happening? Was she going to let this happen? Right there in her kitchen? Where she cooked breakfast for her son. One of his hands moved to the nape of her neck and tilted her head back with his strong fingers, coaxing her mouth with the promise of a kiss. A warm shiver ran up her spine and he lifted his head. His lips teased her, and she raised onto the balls of her feet and followed his mouth. Evidently she was going to let it happen. Right there in her kitchen where she cooked Eggos and Toaster Sticks.
Beneath the slight pressure of his lips, her mouth opened beneath his and his tongue swept inside. Hot and liquid and unraveling a ribbon of fire from her throat, down her chest to the waiting friction in the pit of her stomach.
He fit his free hand into the curve of her waist and pulled her into him. Her breasts brushed his chest and the kiss deepened. His tongue touched hers while his mouth created a warm suction that felt ripe and so delicious—the ribbon of fire in her stomach engulfed her thighs and tightened her nipples against the front of his shirt.
A deep groan vibrated his chest against her breasts. His grasp on her waist tightened, relaxed, flexed, then slid to her behind. Pleasure flushed her skin and she opened her mouth wider, kissing him deeper. She ran her hands over his shoulders and chest and neck. He untangled his fingers from her hair and slid his palm down the side of her throat and across her shoulder. While his tongue plunged into her mouth, his hand moved to her ribs. He fanned his thumb across Spandex and the side of her breast. Back and forth, driving her mad with the want of his touch. Her breasts tightened while other places in her body turned liquid with need. She melted into him even more. Against her pelvis she felt the stiff ridge of his erection and she rocked against him, loving the feel of it. The size and weight and hard length.
His hands slid to her back, his fingers brushing her bare skin above her tank top. This had to stop, but she didn’t want it to. Not now. Now she wanted more. This was crazy. She was crazy. As crazy as everyone said. Crazy Lily lusting after her neighbor and she didn’t seem to care. He’d ignited something in her she hadn’t felt in a long time. Crazy, consuming lust.
Tucker took a step back and grasped her shoulders. Her hands slid to down his shirt, his star cool against her palm and his breathing, heavy, harsh, lifting his chest. “Lily. I want more.”
Great. She wanted more too. She took a step toward him but his grasp tightened, keeping her at arm’s length. She didn’t understand. If he wanted more, why was he pushing her away? “So do I,” she said, although she thought it was obvious.
“I want you.” He dipped his head and his heavy gaze looked into her. “All of you.”
She raised a hand to her mouth and touched her wet, tingling lips. Was he talking some strange sexual position? If so, she might be okay with it. Would probably be okay with just about anything. Had probably been there and done that. Several times. But he was young and she had eight years of experience on him. That was probably his attraction to her. “What exactly do you want?” However, there was one part of her that would always remain virgin territory. She didn’t judge women who went there. She just wasn’t one of them.
“When I saw you today, I knew I wanted every bit of you. That I want to know all of you.”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “You said that.” She really didn’t want to have to come right out and say it but . . . best to be up front because real ladies didn’t do it in the back. “My bottom is a no landing strip.”
His brows pulled together over his suddenly sharp brown eyes. “What?”
“I just thought you should know.”
“Thanks for clearing that up.” He frowned and took another step back. “Jesus, Lily. You thought I want anal sex?”
She shook her head, more confused by him than ever before. And he was plenty confusing. She put her hands on top of her head and blew out a breath.
“That’s not only disturbing, but insulting.”
“I’m disturbing?” She put one palm on her chest. “You said you wanted to know every bit of me. And that bit of me is off limits.”
“I wasn’t talking about your ass, for Christ sake.” He raised a hand, palm up. “I was talking about you. Your life. Your heart and soul.”
Her heart and soul?
“I want more than sex.”
She turned and grabbed the mugs for something to do with her hands. What could he possibly want? More than sex? All men wanted sex. Her heart and soul? She reached for the coffee carafe and poured. What did that mean?
“I’ve had relationships that were just about sex. I don’t want that anymore. I don’t want that with you.”
“Relationship?” The coffee sloshed over one side of the Everything’s Bigger In Texas mug and she turned to face him.
“Pushing you away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” He scrubbed his face with his hands then dropped them to his sides. “I still can’t believe I did it, but I don’t want to start out that way.”
“Start? We can’t start anything. We can’t have a relationship.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“Okay.” She raised a hand toward him. “You’re thirty and I’m thirty-eight.”
“So.”
“So I have a young son.” She dropped her hand. “I can’t just . . . just can’t go around . . . with you.”
“Because I’m thirty?”
She’d already lived so much down. “People will talk.” And it was nice walking into a room and not hearing whispers behind her back.
“So what?”
If he could say that, then people had never talked about him. “They’ll say I’m a cougar, and that you must want someone to take care of you.”
“Bullshit.” He moved across the kitchen and grabbed his coat. “You’re not old enough to be a cougar.” He shoved his arms into the sleeves. “I have my own house and car and money. I don’t need a woman to take care of me. I can take care of myself and anyone else in my life.” He stormed across the kitchen but paused in the doorway long enough to say, “I tried to do the right thing today, but the next time I get my hands on you, we’re not going to stop.” She heard him walk through the living room and open the front door. Then, “Hello Mrs. Brooks.”
Crap! Her mom.
“Deputy Matthews?” Lily raised a hand to her throat as her mouth fell open. Please God, just let her mom walk inside without stopping to ramble. “How’s your cat?” Obviously God wasn’t listening to Lily Darlington. Probably punishing her for putting her hands on the young neighbor.
“Pinky’s good. Thanks for asking.”
“Marylyle Jeffers had a black cat like yours. She had diabetes and had to have her foot cut off.” No wonder Lily acted a bit imprudent so
metimes. Her mother was one taco short of a combo plate. “Leg too.”
“Oh I’m sorry—”
“Then she caught the pleurisy and died. Not saying it was her cat, but she did have horrible luck. Even before she was struck with—”
“Momma, you’re letting out the bought air,” Lily interrupted and stuck her head into the living room. She couldn’t look at Tucker and pinned her gaze squarely on her mother’s pile of gray hair. She was sure she was a bright red and didn’t know what was more embarrassing—what she’d done with Tucker or her mother’s inane rambling. “Thank you again for carrying in my groceries, Deputy Matthews.”
“You’re welcome. See you two ladies around.”
Louella Brooks stared at the closed door, then turned her gaze to her youngest daughter. “Well.”
That one word packed a wealth of meaning. Lily ducked back into the kitchen, looked at the two coffee mugs, and raised the Everything’s Bigger In Texas mug to her mouth. She managed to hammer back half. It burned her tongue and throat and she set it back down as her mother entered the room.
“He certainly is a nice-looking boy.”
Lily swallowed past her scalded taste buds and throat. She reached for her pink Deeann’s Duds mug and turned with a slight smile on her face. “Nice too. He carried in my groceries.”
A scowl settled into the wrinkles on her mother’s face. “You’re a single woman, Lily. You have to be careful who you let in your house.”
“He’s a deputy. What do you think he’s going to do? Kill me?” Touch me? Kiss me? Drive me as crazy as everyone says I am?
“I wasn’t talking about your physical safety.”
Lily knew that. “He just carried in my groceries and had a half a cup of coffee.” With her free hand, she pointed to the mug on the counter. “Then he left.” And thank God too. If he hadn’t stopped when he had, her mother would have used her key and strolled inside. The mere thought of her mother walking in on her and Tucker was too horrible to contemplate.
“Single gals can’t be too careful when it comes to their reputations. Just the other day, the cable repairman was in Doreen Jaworski’s house for three hours.” She gave Lily a knowing look. “Cable repairs don’t take three hours.”
“Ma, Doreen is in her seventies.”
“Exactly. She always did wear her clothes kind of sudden. Or course that was before she married Lynn Jaworski . . . which just goes to show, people’s memories are longer than pulled taffy.”
Lily closed her eyes and blew into her coffee.
“Her daughter Dorlynn didn’t fall far from that tree. She—”
Lily didn’t bother to stop her mother. Louella was going to talk until she ran out of words, which could take a while. Since her mother’s retirement from the Wild Coyote Diner, the rambling had gotten worse. Nothing to do for it but block out her mother’s voice and retreat into her own head. Unfortunately, her head was filled with Tucker. He’d said he wanted a relationship, but he didn’t know her. Didn’t know her past and what everyone said about her. At least not yet. He’d no doubt change his mind once she heard about the Ronnie incident of ’04.
Lily took a sip of coffee and winced as it hit her scalded tongue. But her past wasn’t the biggest reason any sort of relationship was impossible. She was busy. She didn’t have time. She couldn’t get involved with him.
He was thirty. She hadn’t even known what she’d wanted at thirty.
He might not have a problem with the age difference, but she did. People would call her a cougar. That crazy cougar, Lily Darlington. If it was just about her, she might risk it. Might show the world her middle finger. But it wasn’t just her. She’d gone to school with a momma who wasn’t wound too tight. Kids could be really cruel, and she couldn’t do that to Pip.
CHAPTER FIVE
The rows of track lighting in Lily Belle’s Salon and Day Spa sparkled like gold fire in the sequins of the owner’s dress. The long-sleeved dress covered Lily from collar bone to mid-thigh, and might have been considered modest if not for the fact that it clung to the curves of her body. A body she kept thin and toned through a busy life, Rodney Yee, and the Pilates Power Gym in one of the spa’s back rooms. She not only cut hair, she was the owner and face of her business, and it was important that she reflect a positive, healthy image.
Lily’s blond hair was pulled into a loose, sexy bun on the left side of her head, and she stood in the middle of the spa, chatting and sipping her first glass of champagne of the night. The party was officially over in half an hour and she was looking forward to slipping her feet out of the sparkly gold pumps. The spa had given away over ten thousand dollars in products and services and signed up a lot of clients for spa packages. Given the expense of the party and giveaways, Lily figured she’d broken even, which was fine with her. Her goal had been to bring in new clients, make them happy so they’d return. And with each return visit, happy clients generally wanted to try the newest facial or latest filler.
“I need to get going,” her sister, Daisy, said as she moved toward Lily. She wove her arms through her tan trench coat and pulled her blond hair from beneath the collar. Daisy was six months pregnant and a red maternity dress hugged her belly. Daisy was older, but Lily was taller. There were other little differences between the two, but they looked enough alike that there was no denying they were sisters.
“I’ll walk you out.”
“No need.”
“I want to.” Lily set her glass on a table and moved through the spa toward the front. “I’m so glad you came tonight.”
“I didn’t win a darn thing, though.”
Lily smiled and opened the door. “Don’t worry about it. I know the owner and I’ll hook you up.”
“Good, ’cause once this baby is born, I need some color in my hair and Botox in my forehead.”
Lily folded her arms across her chest and huddled against the chill of the night. “I’ve been trying to talk mom into getting Dysport because she doesn’t want ‘poison’ in her face.”
Daisy laughed. “How did it go with Ronnie yesterday?”
Lily shrugged as the two moved across the parking lot. Their heels tapping against the pavement as they walked to Daisy’s new van. “Ronnie was an hour late, of course. But he did make it.”
“Do we think that’s progress?”
Lily shook her head and a gold hoop earring brushed her neck. “We think it’s a fluke. He’s dumber than a road lizard and admitted his last girlfriend took off with his big screen TV and Xbox. Once he finds a new sloozy, he’ll forget about Pippen again.”
“Oh, my gosh,” Daisy said, disgust lowering her voice. “He still plays Xbox? At his age? What a loser.”
“I know. Right?” Lily laughed. “A thirty-eight-year-old ‘gamer.’ He probably sits around with one hand on the controller and the other on his balls.”
“Ick.”
“It’s just embarrassing that I ever married him.”
“Well, at least Pippen takes after you.” An awkward pause stretched between them before Daisy said, “You had a hard time for a while, but you came though all that. And look at you now.” They stopped by the van and Daisy opened the driver’s side door. “I’m really proud of you, Lil.”
Her heart got all mushy. “Thanks.”
“And I wanted to ask you if it would be okay if we name the baby after you.”
Her mushy heart got all tingly and the backs of her eyes pinched. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Is Jack sure?” Given her past, it might be something the baby had to live down.
“It was originally his idea, but as soon as he mentioned it, I knew I wanted to name her Lily too. It just seems right, but I wanted to make sure you weren’t planning on having your own baby ‘Lily’ someday.”
Lily laughed. “I don’t even have a boyfriend.” For some weird reason Tucker’s face popped into her head. “And I don’t see a man in my future. I don’t think I have very good judgment.”
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“The rat bastard doesn’t count. He never deserved you, and you deserve someone as great as you, Lily. Someone who looks at you and knows he’s lucky.”
Someone like Jack. Jack looked at Daisy like that. She hugged her sister. “You’re going to make my face run.” She stepped back and waved her hands in front of her eyes.
Daisy climbed into the van. “Go back inside before you catch your death.”
“Drive carefully and take good care of little Lily.” She took a step back as Daisy fired up the engine, then waved as her sister pulled out of the parking lot. She refolded her arms and smiled as she walked toward the front of the spa. Little Lily. Several years ago, she had given up the dream of finding the right man and giving Pip a sibling. She’d always wanted a happy family, and hoped for two kids and a dog, but it just wasn’t in the cards for her. That was okay. Her family wasn’t perfect, but they were happy.
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