by Tawna Fenske
She was still mulling her options when Will pushed himself up on the heels of his hands, then slid one hand up to palm her shoulder.
“What are you—”
“Trading spots,” he said, gripping her waist and flipping her effortlessly onto her back. He used his knees to shove hers apart, wedging his hips into the space between her thighs. Marley gasped, both from the exquisite weight of him and from the sudden closeness of his face.
His eyes were inches from hers, and she stopped thinking about whether to focus on the green one or the blue one and just drank him in. They stayed frozen like that for a few beats, his breath ruffling her hair, her heart slamming so hard against her ribs that she was sure he moved with the beat of it. Then he leaned forward and breathed warm against her neck.
Every nerve in her body snapped to attention and screamed, Hell yes!
“Oh Christ,” Marley said, and clenched her legs tight around him.
He dragged his teeth across the humming nerves along her throat. “You have the most sensitive neck I’ve ever touched.” He breathed into the hollow behind her ear. “I could do this for hours.”
She bucked against him, her pelvis rising to press against the hardness behind his fly. He laughed, his chest vibrating her bare breasts as he dipped his tongue into the hollow of her throat and slid one hand up her side. Marley writhed again, powerless to stop her body from responding to the heat of his breath, the nip of his teeth.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he drew back, propping himself on the heels of his hands. Marley whimpered and tried to pull him back down, but Will laughed and slid down her body. His lips moved across her breasts, drawing one nipple into the warmth of his mouth. She gasped and he swirled his tongue around the left one, leaving her dizzy with heat and liquid and the sheer pleasure of it all.
He moved across her rib cage to brush his tongue over the other nipple, leaving Marley panting and clutching at the back of his head.
Will moved lower, kissing his way down her abdomen. He lingered at her belly button, trailing his lips over the smooth hollow before moving left to the upper edge of her hip bone. His fingers found the waistband of her capris, and he hesitated there, content to plant long, slow, lingering kisses in an uneven trail just above her belt line. He moved to her right hip, his tongue tracing the rounded bone, then the smooth slope of flesh trailing across her belly.
Marley felt her hips rise by instinct, a silent plea for more. Will clutched the button of her capris with one hand and leaned up, looking into her eyes. He was breathing heavy now too, and Marley felt heady with her own power.
I did that. I turned him on like that.
Will grinned and looked at her waistband. “Once I slide down this zipper, there’s no going back.”
She licked her lips and looked into his eyes. “You mean you won’t take no for an answer?”
“No, I mean there’s a thread stuck in the zipper. Once I get it down, I don’t think I can get it back up.”
Marley laughed and angled up to kiss him. Then she slid a hand to the front of his jeans, gripping the firm, hard length of him through the denim. “You don’t strike me as a guy who’s having any difficulty getting it up.”
“You have that effect on me.”
Marley shivered with desire and with the pleasure of knowing he wanted her. Brian and his bevy of doting women could go to hell, while she soaked up every ounce of pleasure Will could pour on her.
She moved her fingers under the hem of his shirt, tugging the rumpled cotton up over his back. She traced the muscular wings of his shoulder blades, then dragged the shirt higher, tugging to get it off him. He angled back, taking over before Marley ripped his head off with her enthusiasm. Will yanked his T-shirt off the rest of the way, tossing it behind him. Marley watched it land on their growing pile of clothes, the cups of her bra splayed out on either side of his gray cotton.
“It’s starting to look like a yard sale over there,” he said. “All we need is a couple old ladies haggling over the price of your shoes.”
“I’m still wearing my shoes.”
“Better fix that,” he said, and leaned back to tug them off.
His fingers traced the delicate pads of her toes as he pried off one sandal, then the other. He tossed them toward the rest of the clothing, the left shoe making a loud clang as it hit the aisle seat.
Will leaned down again, still propped on the heels of his hands, occupying the space above her. Marley wanted to feel more of him, to savor his weight on her chest. She slid her palms up his back and cupped his shoulder blades, pulling him down to her.
“Kiss me again,” she breathed.
He did, his mouth slow and soft and deliberate as he made her dizzy with his lips and tongue and teeth and hands and—
“I want the rest of my clothes off,” she gasped, breaking the kiss. “And yours. All of it. Now. Everything.”
Will laughed and shifted to his side. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and trailed his hand down her belly to the button at the top of her capris. “Any last requests before I ravage you?”
Marley tried to think of something clever to say, her breath coming hard and fast and her brain so fogged with desire that she was having trouble remembering her own name. She opened her mouth to beg him to just fuck her. To take her hard and fast and—
“Security! Freeze!”
Or that.
Will jerked his arm back, sliding it instinctively over her breasts to cover them. Marley blinked against the sudden rush of harsh light flooding the planetarium and the jarring absence of Will’s breath on her throat.
She squinted toward the door, trying to make out the shape of the intruder. She saw the silhouette of a man—a tall man—brandishing a gun.
“Freeze!” he yelled again as Marley flailed an arm out to the side, reaching for her shirt. She got Will’s shirt instead, but pulled it to her anyway. She covered her breasts, then drew the shirt up over half her face for good measure. The light in the planetarium was dim, but there was no sense taking the risk of being recognized topless in her new workplace.
“Jimmy, it’s me,” Will said. “Put the Taser away. Nothing’s happening here.” He looked down at Marley. “Besides the obvious.”
“Mr. Barclay?” The man in the doorway took a few steps into the planetarium, lowering his weapon as he moved. “Is that you?”
“The one and only,” Will agreed. “Though not entirely alone.”
“What are you—? Oh.”
Apparently realizing Will was in the company of another human—not to mention partly disrobed—the security guard took two steps back. “Um, I didn’t realize… that is, I wasn’t aware you’d be entertaining any donors this evening, Mr. Barclay.”
“Fund-raising can be a challenge in this economy,” Will said. “Sometimes you have to go beyond the normal scope of things.”
Will pressed his pelvis against Marley’s, and she let out a little squeak of alarm. Or arousal—they were sort of the same. Marley fought the urge to wriggle her hand out and wave or offer a handshake. It was clear the man didn’t know who she was, and probably best to keep it that way.
“I’m very sorry,” Jimmy said, taking another step back. “I got a call that something tripped one of the internal alarms. Thought one of the coyotes might’ve gotten out of their pen again.”
“Right,” Will said. “In a manner of speaking—”
Marley jerked her knee up, threatening a swift jab to the groin. Will pressed his body harder against hers, pinning her in place.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” Will said. “For being so diligent about security. On behalf of the entire Cheez Whiz organization, I want to say how much we appreciate your service.”
“Right. Okay then, I’m going to leave you now to… um—”
“Raise funds for the organization.”
“Yes. Of course. You get on that.”
“I intend to.”
“Good night, Mr. Barclay.”
“Good night, Jim.”
Marley winced as the door slammed shut behind the guard. She pushed hard against Will’s chest, sitting up and fumbling her arms into his shirt. She could find hers in a minute. She reached back toward the pile and felt around for her bra, a little dizzy from the stars and heat and the unexpected burst of adrenaline. She managed to latch one finger in her bra strap and dragged the black lace to her.
“Do you ever get the sense the universe is conspiring against us?” she asked. “It doesn’t seem possible that two people could be interrupted this many times in the quest to remove each other’s clothing.”
Will grinned and reached out to nudge the bra away. “Maybe we’re being tested.”
“Maybe we’re being told this isn’t a good idea.” Marley leaned out further and tugged the bra back. “Hadn’t we already concluded that on our own?”
Will’s arms were longer, so he reached for the bra again. “Are we going to play tug-o-war with your underwear all night, or are you going to get naked?”
“I am not going to get naked.” Marley tugged the bra back more forcefully this time. “Even if I weren’t seriously freaked out by this curse, there’s no way in hell I’m taking off any more clothes with Officer Jimmy out there angling for a peek. Does this place have security cameras?”
“Only in high-security areas. The planetarium isn’t one of them.”
“Do you think he saw me?”
“Never mind that. Did you hear what he said about the coyotes?”
Marley rolled her eyes. “Coyotes getting out of their cages are the least of my worries right now. I’m a little concerned about my job. And how did Jimmy know you weren’t in here assaulting me against my will?”
“You had your legs wrapped around my waist and you were panting at me to fuck you. I think most folks would interpret that as consent.”
“Fine. Can you hand me my shirt?”
Will grinned and reached for it. “Are we trading? Your shirt for my shirt, or weren’t you planning to give that one back?”
Marley glanced down at Will’s shirt wrapped around her torso, and felt a funny pang of longing. A stupidly sentimental part of her wanted to keep it. To go to bed with it tucked beside her pillow so she could fall asleep breathing in the scent of him.
“Pink isn’t your color,” she said, and tugged her shirt out of his hands. “And we should probably go home now, don’t you think?”
“We haven’t had dessert,” he pointed out. “I don’t mean that as a euphemism. Seriously, how many of those lemon tarts are in the basket?”
Marley rolled away and pulled his shirt off, tossing it to him as she pulled her own T-shirt over her head. She realized too late she’d pulled it on inside out, but decided she didn’t care. Spending even three more seconds topless in Will’s company could be deadly. She turned and dug her hand into the basket. She came up with two lemon tarts and held one out to him.
“Tart?”
“Tramp? Trollop? Hussy?”
She thrust the dessert at him as she brought her own to her mouth. “Joke all you want, funny guy. I got the last dessert.”
Marley bit into the pastry, her heart still racing with lust and terror and a million other emotions she couldn’t name.
It’s a good thing you got interrupted again, her conscience told her. Besides all the other reasons not to get involved, you’re now hiding the fact that you’ve lost his family heirlooms.
“Bad tart?” Will asked.
Marley blinked at him. “What?”
“You got very frowny all of a sudden. Either you don’t like the tart, or it’s something I did.”
“Just thinking about your aunt’s figurines.” Her own honesty surprised her, as did Will’s response.
“Any chance we could take a look at them while we’re here?”
Marley felt all the blood drain from her face. “What for?”
Will shrugged. “There was one figurine in particular that Bethany always liked. I’ve been thinking if it wouldn’t ruin the collection to remove one piece, I’d like to buy it back for her birthday.”
“I’d love to, but the pieces are being cleaned right now. Some other time?”
Will was studying her so intensely, Marley had to fight the urge to look away. At last, he nodded. “Some other time then.”
***
The drive home was a quiet one. Will wasn’t sure whether to blame the post-meal stupor, the awkwardness of another near-miss hookup, or something else entirely.
It’s the something else that has you worried.
He’d seen Marley’s face when he’d asked about the figurines. He didn’t doubt there was something to what Aunt Nancy told Bethany about the empty safe. But what was going on? And what role did Marley play in it?
“Here we are,” Will said as he pulled up the driveway of the condo. “I’d offer to do the gentlemanly thing and walk you to the door, but my intentions aren’t gentlemanly and I’d hope to get a lot further than the door.”
Marley smiled. “I appreciate your honesty.”
“I’m nothing if not honest.”
Marley didn’t respond, and Will stole a look at her. He’d been baiting her with the comment, and the way she bit her lip now told him he’d hit a nerve.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Just preoccupied about work.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
“Not really.”
Okay then…
Will sighed and pulled the e-brake. Not volunteering information isn’t the same as lying, he reminded himself.
Tell that to any guy who’s ever discovered his wife enjoys playing tickle-the-lint-trap more than batter-dip-the-corndog.
Will glanced at Marley again and said a silent prayer of thanks she couldn’t read minds. “So are you still planning to go mountain biking with April and Bethany next weekend?” he asked.
Marley looked at her hands and sighed. “I’d like to, but…”
She let the words hang there for a moment, leaving Will to fill in the blank on his own.
“But you actually hate biking and would sooner saw off your own arm with a rusty bread knife than get on a bicycle again anytime this century?” he guessed.
Marley laughed and looked out the window. “I want to like biking, but my last two experiences haven’t gone so great. Maybe I’m not cut out for it.”
“Once you get past the butt bruising, the busted frame, the expensive repairs, the bad dates with bike repair guys, and being stuck at a restaurant with a locked-up tandem bike and no way home, it’s really quite an enjoyable hobby.”
“It’s sounding a lot less fun the more we talk about it.”
Will cleared his throat, then hesitated. “You know, Marley, you don’t always have to base all your decisions on what you think other people want you to like.”
She turned to look at him, her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and Will felt the temperature drop inside the Volkswagen. “Thanks for the armchair psychiatry. That’s enlightening, coming from a guy who can’t have an emotional conversation without cracking penis jokes.”
“That’s unfair,” Will said. “I like to think I made a broad range of sex jokes encompassing all manner of genitalia.”
Marley sighed. “Look, there’s no point in psychoanalyzing one another. We’re both a little fucked up. At least we’re being honest about it.”
“Honest. There’s that word again.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “Is there something you’re trying to say?”
Will hesitated, then shrugged. “Not really. You?”
“Nope. You want to have a discussion about your trust issues now, or can we just ca
ll it a night?”
“Tempting, but I’ll pass.”
“Okay then.” Marley reached for the door handle. “Thank you for the amazing dinner, Will. It was a hundred times better than my real date turned out to be.”
He smiled. “My pleasure.”
“Be sure to thank April for the food. It was wonderful.”
“I’ll let her know.”
Marley’s hand was still on the door handle, but she hadn’t pulled it yet. He waited, giving her a chance to fill in the silence. To come clean with whatever secrets she might be hiding.
“Good night, Will.”
“Good night. Tell Magoo hello for me. And tell your dad—well, on second thought, it’s probably best if your dad thinks you spent the evening with Plaid Neanderthal.”
“Or with a roving gang of pedophiles and crack dealers.” She grinned. “Take care, Will.”
“You too.”
She hesitated again, then leaned toward him. For an instant, Will thought she might be angling for a passionate embrace. He was willing and able and starting to reach for her when Marley’s lips landed on the edge of his jaw.
The kiss was so soft, so gentle that Will ached from the sweetness of it. When she drew back, her cheeks were flushed. He ached to reach for her again—just to feel her lips on his skin one more time—but Marley pulled the car door open and stepped out.
“Good night, Will. Thanks again.”
“Sweet dreams.”
She closed the car door softly behind her. She was halfway up the driveway when the front door of the condo flew open. Magoo came scampering out, his fuzzy paws an excited blur as he scrambled toward his mistress. Will smiled as Marley dropped to her knees and began to scratch behind the dog’s ears.
“Good boy! Such a good boy! What a very good—”
Marley froze. Will watched her whole body go stiff, and the profile of her smile vanished so swiftly it might not have been there at all. Her eyes were fixed on a spot at the edge of the porch, and Will followed her gaze, expecting to see her father or maybe Curtis waiting at the front door.