by Hope Ramsay
Not that Laurie would ever take him back. Would she?
Andrew turned his gaze in her direction just as she glanced up at him. Her eyes were soft and warm and almost swallowed him whole. The noise and activity around him faded out as she cocked her head ever so slightly and bit her lip.
Damn. He wanted to escape. And he wanted to take her with him.
He nodded slightly as the room came back into focus. And then he pulled out his wallet and dropped a few bills on the table. “It’s getting late, kids. I’m heading toward my dad’s place. Anyone need a ride home?”
Laurie stood up. “I, uh, well, I left my car up at Eagle Hill Manor. Would you mind dropping me off there? I had a long day at work, and I’m ready to go home.”
“No problem, the inn’s on my way.”
Brandon turned in his chair and gave Andrew a short but meaningful nod, as if to say, Thanks for pulling her away from Ryan Pierce. That nod disgusted Andrew. If Brandon wanted Laurie protected and cared for, he ought to have stayed sober.
“Thanks, man,” Brandon said, glancing at Matt, who was staring down Courtney’s blouse. “I’ll see that Matt gets home.”
Damn. Maybe he shouldn’t leave. Neither Brandon nor Matt was sober enough to drive Brandon’s precious Camaro, which was parked outside in two parking spots. Maybe he should run Laurie up to her car and then come back.
He was about to suggest that when Ryan said, “Hey, man, don’t worry. I’ll make sure everyone has a safe ride home.”
Whoa, that was a surprise. Ryan seemed to have no problem letting Laurie leave with someone else.
So Andrew gave Ryan a nod. “Thanks.”
He walked Laurie out into the parking lot, with sexual longing corkscrewing through him. He felt just like a teenager on his first date. He wanted to kiss her, but he was afraid to open that Pandora’s Box. Instead, he guided her to his Audi and opened the passenger’s side for her.
But she didn’t get in. She turned toward him and murmured, “Come home with me.”
He stilled, his muscles freezing in place. He couldn’t. He shouldn’t. “Laurie—”
She pressed her fingers against his lips. “Listen to me. I want you to take me home. I want to…” Her voice faded out as she once again cupped the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss.
Her soft, pliant, sweet lips intoxicated him as nothing else could. He groaned, unable to resist as she opened for him.
What had started soft and warm grew hard and hot and impatient. He stepped deeper into the V of the door, pressing himself against her, the jersey of her dress sliding through his fingers as he ran his hand down to her ass. He pulled her hard against him.
She moaned a little and then whispered, “Oh God, that feels incredible,” right into his mouth.
They might have stood there in the open car door making out for hours were it not for the sound of laughter coming from a group leaving the bar. He put his hands on her tiny shoulders and set her back a little. “We should go. I don’t want—”
“Yes, we should,” she whispered back. “To my place.”
He stared down at her for a long time, trying to find the will to say no. He lost that battle. “Yeah, to your place.”
Chapter Thirteen
Laurie could hardly believe she had initiated a sexual encounter. She sat silent in the passenger’s seat of Andrew’s Audi with the erratic cadence of her heart making it hard to think.
Not that she wanted to think. She was too good at thinking at moments like this, and not so good at feeling. At least that’s what Brandon always said.
Right now, though, her thoughts had stalled on the way Andrew tasted. On the way his body fit against hers as if they’d been made for each other. On the way he smelled, like clean soap with a hint of citrus. Her brain short-circuited and replayed the kiss over and over again as he fired up the Audi and pulled out of the Jay Bird’s parking lot.
When they arrived at the house on Rice Street, he killed the engine, got out of the car, and came around to her side to open the door, as if he were a gentleman from some bygone era. This prompted her to wonder, for just a tiny moment, what Courtney might have to say about a guy who opened doors like that.
She pushed the thought away. She wasn’t going to be like Courtney, finding fault with every guy in the universe. Besides, this was Andrew standing in front of her.
“Laurie, are you sure?”
She caressed his cheek and felt another incredible rush of desire. “I’m sure,” she whispered.
His eyes grew a shade darker with the spark of the streetlamp in their depths. He kissed her fingers and then gently pulled her hand away. “There are lots of reasons we should—”
“I want to do this,” she said in a rush.
“But—”
“Please don’t say no. I need the experience, and you are…”
“What?”
“Safe.”
His eyes widened. Maybe telling him the truth was a bad idea. “Safe?” he asked.
She nodded, and then tried again. “What I’m trying to say, pretty awkwardly, is that I trust you. You’re the perfect guy to…well…you know.”
“No, I don’t know.” He frowned.
“To initiate me.”
“What?” The word exploded from him as if he were surprised or something.
“Damn,” she said out loud, her throat closing up. “I’m just not good at this.”
“Good at what?”
“You know…”
“Sex?”
She nodded, and her face burned. “It’s the reason Brandon walked out on me. It’s why he wants me to see other people. To get some more experience.”
Andrew’s expression went through several changes as if he was trying to process the secret she’d just told him. She’d probably given him too much information. As usual, her brain had run away with the rest of her. If she didn’t do something quick, Andrew would drop into his impeccable Lyndon manners, walk her to the door, and say good night.
She threw herself against him and pulled him down into another kiss. The moment his lips met hers, a storm of reaction flooded through her. His lips, his tongue, his hand gliding down her back made her feel alive in every cell of her body.
She broke the kiss and looked deep into his eyes. “Please don’t say no. I need to learn about pleasure. This is what Brandon wanted me to do when he said we needed time apart.”
“I don’t think Brandon believes that for an instant,” Andrew whispered. “Tonight he was jealous of Ryan.”
“Tonight he was coming on to Courtney,” she countered. “And you know what? I don’t even care. He wasn’t the one I was watching all night. And besides, I don’t need Brandon’s approval anymore.” She squared her shoulders. “I want to have sex with you, Andrew Lyndon. And I know you feel the same way. We’re both adults. We’re both consenting. So what’s the big deal?”
For a moment, she thought he might bring up his friendship with Brandon or the fact that he worked for her father, both of which were probably good reasons to back away. But instead, he gave her the tiniest of smiles and said, “Good point,” as if he appreciated her logic.
And then he moved in for another kiss that finally put her brain totally to sleep, while it awakened every other part of her body.
Andrew followed Laurie up the stairway to her bedroom, which looked more like a construction zone than a boudoir. Paint cans stood in lopsided stacks in the corner, the cracked plaster sported patches that were in various stages of sanding, and the curtains consisted of a bed sheet thumbtacked to the window.
But in her defense, the room was otherwise neat and tidy. The bed, which had no headboard, looked as if a drill sergeant had made it to military specifications. Each of the pillows had been squared and smoothed, and the hospital corners looked tight. He could probably bounce a penny off the bedspread.
Not one article of clothing lay on the bed or the chair or the floor, not even a pair of shoes. In fact, the hardwood
floors didn’t even have any dust bunnies in the corners, which was amazing since the house was in a state of reconstruction.
“Uh, well, I know it’s not the Ritz, but…” Laurie stood at the foot of the bed, her body language screaming her unease.
He should go. It would be the adult thing to do. But for just one moment he didn’t want to be the adult, responsible one. He just wanted to make love with Laurie. She’d wormed her way into his head and kicked Val right out of it. Besides, if what she’d said downstairs was true, then leaving now might crush her ego. He’d had no idea that she was so uptight about sex.
She turned toward him, her hazel eyes darkening. “I just want to make it clear that I’m not asking for the moon, you know. I mean, I’m doing this for the experience, not…” Her voice trailed off as she nervously twisted her fingers together.
Andrew wasn’t so sure he felt the same way. He’d never been a player. He tended to lead with his heart, and he didn’t mind having strings attached. But considering the situation, maybe no-strings was the way to go.
“Okay,” he said as he pulled her toward him, settling her against his thighs and chest. That was much better. Her curves were soft, and she fit against him perfectly. “This is all about you having fun,” he said. “And that means you have to tell me what you like and what you don’t like, okay?”
“Okay.”
They were nose to nose now, closer than they’d been the other night at the club. “There are no steps to this dance,” he said. “And you don’t have to let me lead.”
She glanced up at him. “I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“I doubt that. I mean, you certainly know how to kiss.” And he dropped his head and pressed his lips to hers. Wow. For a woman who said she lacked experience, her kisses were erotic as hell. She didn’t seem to have a lot of boundaries. Once she got going on his lips, she practically invaded him, her tongue stroking his in a wild and crazy dance that made him groan out loud.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders and then up into his hair. He pressed into that touch as hot, molten desire coursed through him. He truly wanted this woman.
He undid the clip at the back of her head and tossed it aside. The satin texture of her hair spilled through his fingers, sexy as hell. He broke the kiss and trailed little nips along her jawline to her ear. When his tongue touched the spot right below her earlobe, Laurie arched against him with a satisfying whimper and then a breathy “Oh, that feels so good.”
Yes. The satisfaction of knowing that she was turned on filled him with lust. He found the zipper for her dress and pulled it down. A moment later it lay pooled around her feet on the floor.
And then something changed, abruptly and without warning. She went still and rigid.
A moment ago, when Andrew had stroked his warm hands down the bare skin of her back, her core had gone into complete meltdown. But when he undid her bra, the giddy feeling retreated like a wave on the shore.
She must have stiffened or something because Andrew backed up a little and made eye contact. Wow, he looked half-drugged, his lips kiss-swollen, his eyes so very dark.
“What is it? Talk to me,” he murmured, as if he already knew how she felt about guys groping her boobs.
This was hard. “I…”
He held her gaze, so kind, so safe. She could tell him anything.
“I don’t like it when…when…you know, when I’m fondled.”
His eyebrow arched in that classic Lyndon look of surprise. “No?”
She shook her head and bit her lip. She was such a loser.
“Thanks for the warning.” And then he dipped his head and kissed her again as if she hadn’t said anything surprising or embarrassing. Her mind started churning a mile a minute, the way it always did when her clothes came off. She was about to suggest that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea when Andrew found that spot below her ear again.
Oh sweet Jesus, when his mouth touched that spot, her whole body exploded with desire. She forgot to be tense. In fact, she got so busy enjoying the sensations that she didn’t immediately notice his hands, ghosting up and down her rib cage, approaching the underside of her breasts and then moving away.
Tension coiled inside her with each advance and retreat until she could hardly bear the anticipation. She wanted his hands on her breasts. In fact, they practically ached for his touch.
“Uh, Andrew,” she said in a surprisingly husky voice.
“Mmmm,” he said into the skin of her shoulder, where he was doing something impossibly hot with his mouth.
“That thing I said about…um…you know…my boobs.”
“Mmmm.”
“I didn’t really mean it. I…” Her voice morphed into a moan as Andrew traced his fingertips around her nipple in a tease that made her go frantic. She arched against him until he had her breast fully in the palm of his warm and wonderful hand.
“Oh, that’s so much better,” she said. Her head fell back, and Andrew had his way with her breasts. But unlike Brandon, who had always gone after her boobs like a kid with an all-day sucker, Andrew was way softer, and sneakier. He didn’t tweak her nipples. He adored them with his hands and his mouth.
He finally backed her up against the bed and let her tumble down onto it. She stared up at him as he pulled his golf shirt over his head, exposing a well-toned chest with a sprinkling of dark hair between his nipples. Wow, she was surprised at how muscular he was. He looked like he spent time in the gym.
“Nice chest,” she said.
He gave her a wicked smile. “I took up aikido this spring.”
“Really? You don’t strike me as a martial arts kind of guy.”
“Aikido isn’t about fighting. It’s about keeping the peace.”
Andrew definitely played peacekeeper on many occasions. That thought might have sidetracked her, but thinking was hard to do, especially with him standing there naked, aroused, and incredibly handsome.
He crawled up onto the bed, winked, and said, “You may regard me as your personal sex slave for the evening. Your every wish is my command.”
Oh yeah. Thinking was definitely overrated at a time like this.
About a half hour after Laurie left with Andrew, Juni Petersen, the manager of the Jay Bird Café, placed another Manhattan in front of Courtney and spoke in a low-pitched voice directly into Courtney’s ear so no one else could hear. “Andrew Lyndon and Laurie Wilson make a really cute couple, don’t you think?”
Courtney looked up. Juni was wearing a long East India print dress with a little beading along the neckline. Her thick brown hair flowed down her back in waves. Her almost black eyes sparked with amusement.
What was Juni up to? She claimed to have the ability to read auras, and Courtney wanted to believe that was true, but she was also skeptical enough not to take everything Juni said as gospel. Juni might have some kind of ability, but she was also the quintessential sympathetic bartender who loved happy endings. Which was kind of funny because she’d yet to find her own.
And didn’t Courtney know exactly how that felt? She met Juni’s stare. “You’re out of your mind. Andrew and Laurie are friends.”
“Uh-huh, they weren’t looking at each other like friends, not to mention the fact that their auras were smoking hot. I’m pretty sure they’re going to hook up tonight.”
“What? No. Wait. How did I miss this?”
Juni gave her a smile that didn’t show any teeth. “Because that’s your third Manhattan and you know what happens when you have more than two drinks.” Juni’s eyes rolled toward Brandon, Ryan, and Matt.
“Boy, honey, it looks like you have three tigers by the tail.”
Courtney straightened in her chair. Ryan, Brandon, and Matt were all super hunky guys but she wasn’t going to hook up with any of them. Ryan was the quintessential wounded man who was emotionally unavailable.
Brandon might have a pair of heavy-lidded blue eyes that could turn a girl to mush in five seconds flat, but he was the Nice Guy, Not, wh
o’d left one woman at the altar already.
And Matt? He was the Player. Although she had to admit he was probably the best looking of the three. But really, he had to be ten years younger, and Courtney was not desperate enough to be a cougar.
“Wake up and smell the perfume, Court. Everyone is hooking up tonight. Trust me on this. Lust is in the air.” Juni winked, and then turned away to deliver margaritas to Jessica and Madison, neither of whom really needed another drink any more than Courtney did.
In fact, now that she focused on it, she realized she was too buzzed to drive home. Maybe she should throw herself at Mr. Dudley Do-Right Pierce, but at the moment, the guy seemed to be giving Juni Petersen the once-over.
Wait, what was up with that? A moment ago, he’d been mooning over Laurie. She shook her head and took a sip of her drink and watched Ryan for a long moment. Damn. His gaze followed Juni as she worked her way across the room, greeting customers and delivering drinks.
Why had she not noticed this before? Did Dudley Do-Right have a thing for the hippy-dippy manager of the Jay Bird? Wow. They would be like the weirdest couple ever. Although now that she thought about it, Juni was a bartender, and Ryan was a wounded soul. Yeah, that kind of fit, didn’t it?
Emma and Nabil stood up. “We hate to be party poopers,” Emma said, “but it’s a big day tomorrow. We’ll see you all around lunchtime.” She gave Courtney a long stare. “And I’ll see you much earlier than that.”
Nabil put some cash on the table to cover Emma’s drinks, and the two of them left the bar arm in arm with sappy, happy looks on their faces. Courtney heaved a big sigh. Her next bride had just told her to go home and get some rest.
And while brides were always bossy, in this case Emma was right. She should go home. She had to be at the inn bright and early in the morning. Unfortunately, she was in no shape to drive herself. The excitement of almost going to jail, followed by too many Manhattans, had done her in.
Just then, Jessica and Madison picked up their chairs and moved to the adjacent table to join a couple of guys who looked like military types. Courtney didn’t recognize them, but that wasn’t a surprise since this weekend was the opening of the Shenandoah Valley Harvest Festival. People came from all over the landscape for a week of craft fairs, vineyard tours, the annual Harvest Festival Ball, and of course, the incredible fall foliage along the Skyline Drive. Eagle Hill Manor’s busiest season was between September and New Year’s, although the spring Apple Blossom Festival brought in tourists as well.