“I’ll drop you off.” Caleb took a step toward her, palms itching to touch her. He shoved them in the pockets of his jeans. “But before you go, think about this. You said you’re not sure marriage would ever be worth it. Well, this…” He gestured from himself to her. “This is worth pursuing. Because right now I’m feeling like if you let me, I could fall right into love with you.”
Trish felt her nipples harden and her heart go soft like crème brûlée. She was naked and he was talking about love. How exactly did she get herself into situations like this?
Someone here had to be rational, and since he was giving her a lovesick look, it would have to be her. “You just think that now. It’s called afterglow. You don’t really mean that. We just met sixteen hours ago.”
She expected him to give in. Maybe even look a little hurt and embarrassed.
Instead he took another step closer to her, eliminating the remaining space between them. His big hands landed on her arms and she thought taking that nightshirt off had been her stupidest move to date.
“We have something else in common, Trish Jones. You said you always get what you want. Well, so do I. And I want you.”
Then he picked her up and held her so tight she expelled all her air and feared for the safety of her bladder. “Put me down.”
“No. I want you and I’m keeping you and you can’t do anything about it.”
“You’re nuts.” And sexy as hell. Geez, she had it bad for him.
“Nuts about you, lawyer girl.”
“I thought I was Angel.” Her words came out breathier than intended since his hands were stroking across her backside and her breasts were pushing into his bare chest.
“That too.” He kissed her chin.
“You know I’d love to stand here all day and chat, but I have a bridal shower to go to. You know, lots of gifts, cake, smiling so much your face cracks.” Talk wasn’t the only thing she had in mind when he started nibbling on her ear.
“Just tell me you want me, too, and I’ll let you down.”
“You know, if we’re going to start dating, you can’t just sling me around whenever you feel like it. It’s rude.”
“Sorry.” His tongue slid into her ear.
Somehow her legs wrapped around his and a moan escaped her mouth. “Caleb, stop it.”
“Tell me you want me, Trish. I need to hear it.” His voice was soft, vulnerable, even as his nose nuzzled into her neck.
Trish couldn’t think of any more good reasons to deny it. The man clearly had no sense of self-preservation. “I want you, too. There, I said it, and you’ll be sorry, you know. I’m difficult to get along with. I’m aggressive.”
He laughed. “That’s one of the things I love about you. And the only thing I regret is that you have to put clothes back on your sexy little ass.”
He patted the little ass in question and Trish felt sickeningly, grotesquely happy, and very glad he hadn’t walked out of her apartment angry.
Caleb covered her mouth with his in a desperate, possessive kiss that rocked her to the tips of her bare toes. And she thought she might have an idea why Kindra, Ashley, and Violet had been walking around with such smug smiles on their faces.
Finding a great guy was better than winning a court case.
She broke off the kiss. “Give me a ride on your Harley,” she panted.
Caleb raised an eyebrow and gave her a wicked grin.
“No! I mean to the bridal shower.” Then she thought about it and relented. “But maybe tonight…”
He groaned and dropped her to the floor. “Go, before I use my strength for evil purposes.”
Trish darted away from him and went to her underwear drawer. “There’s one good reason to go to the shower. I can order more pink condoms from Ashley. I anticipate us using these up quickly.”
As she pulled on panties, Caleb said, “Order red instead. It’s your signature color.”
She laughed, while Caleb adjusted himself in his jeans. “What’s the matter? Pants too tight?”
“Yes. You have no idea how you just looked wiggling into those panties.”
“No, I don’t.” Trish shoved the panties back down to the floor and pulled them off. She stepped in front of her full-length mirror and lifted a leg, thoroughly enjoying the shocked arousal on Caleb’s face reflecting back at her. “Let me see.”
“You are going to kill me.”
Trish pulled the panties up her legs, making sure Caleb got a nice view. “But you’ll enjoy every minute of it.”
Caleb nearly tore through the front of his jeans watching Trish display everything she had and then some. “Oh, hell, yeah.”
When he pulled her into his arms again, Trish looked up at him, her brown eyes serious. “I do believe in love and marriage and a happily ever after, you know. I just never saw it happening for me. I’m still not sure it can.”
Caleb thought it was ironic that a woman so confident, so successful, could doubt that she would ever find love. And he found it amazing that what he already felt for her seemed suspiciously like love.
“Trust me, Trish, not to hurt you.”
She nodded without hesitation. “I do.”
“Then let’s go for a ride.”
Trish grinned. “Can I drive?”
“Our relationship, my Harley, or in the bedroom?”
“All three.”
“How about we drive the first together and take turns with the other two?” Though he felt a little pang at letting her drive his bike.
“Perfect.” She threw her arms around his neck. “Now kiss me, you big lug.”
“You got it, Angel.” Caleb moved his lips over hers and sighed. She was a hell of a woman.
Which was confirmed when she grinned up at him. “Now let’s get a move on. We have a bridal shower to be late for, and an ex-wife’s wedding to crash.”
Erin McCarthy
Erin McCarthy sold her first book to Kensington Brava through author Lori Foster's website contest in 2002, and has since sold an additional nineteen contemporary romances and novellas to Brava and Berkley Publishing. Her debut, BAD BOYS ONLINE, was a Romantic Times Top Pick, and BAD BOYS IN BLACK TIE was a USA Today bestseller. Erin lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband, two kids, and two cats.
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It’s About Time Page 7