by Marie Harte
“I know,” she said glumly, then took a bite. She talked while eating, which he for some reason found charming. She didn’t seem to be trying to impress him, and her distance made him want her more. “Look, Jim’s an ass. His wife left him and he drinks too much. I’m nice.”
“Oh?”
“I mean I listen. That’s it. So he’s a bit protective.”
“Like Earl. And all the other guys giving me the eye.”
She chewed, swallowed, then drank some water Lara had dropped off earlier. “I’m a staple here. Been coming into Ray’s for years. Hell, before I was legal. And J.T. has done half the ink on these guys. We’re like family.”
“Aw, and you brought me to meet the folks. Del, I’m touched.”
“In the head.” She frowned. “I’m just saying… Never mind. Eat. You earned it.”
“I’m buying, so I might as well.” He grinned at her. “What do they have for dessert?” What he wanted wasn’t on the menu. But maybe if he played his cards right, he could taste a little bit of Del and be satisfied. Because anything more than a slap and tickle wasn’t in the cards.
And never would be.
Chapter 4
Del witnessed the man consume vast amounts of food and beer. Mike was a big guy, no question, but he didn’t seem to have an ounce of fat on him. A big surprise considering how much he’d put away.
Dear God, watching him deal with Jim had been a thing of beauty. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said Ray’s was like a family. The guys and girls looked tough. A few had done time at one point in their lives or another, but they were good people. Her kind of people. Not debutantes and soccer moms living it up on the hill.
So how had Mike in his nice jeans, soft sweater, and smooth looks won over most of her friends with one small show of strength?
Maybe the speed and ease with which he’d done it, or the fact that he’d fought and then let Earl and John take Jim away, no mess, no fuss. She’d noticed how he’d stepped away from the table to engage Jim. Had even tried to let Jim back out of the altercation. Like that would ever happen.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mike asked as he finished the best chocolate chip cookies ever made. Lara had a recipe that knocked Mrs. Fields on her ass.
“Like what?” She pushed around her fries, her appetite having deserted her.
“Like you either want to kill me or…”
“Or what?”
He frowned. “Ah, forget it. I’m done. We can go, if you want.”
“You sure? I think Ray might have a few more cows out back. Jesus, you eat a lot.”
“Again, I’m paying. I’d think you’d complain less.”
“You’d think.”
He paid their tab, leaving Lara a generous tip, apparently.
“Hey, Mike. You come back anytime, sugar. Ask for me.” Lara winked at him.
“Will do. Thanks.” He nodded, then waited for Del to precede him.
When she walked in front of him, he put a hand on the small of her back. She had yet to put her jacket back on, and she felt that hand all the way to her toes. Damn him.
“Del.” Earl nodded at her. To Mike he just grunted.
Mike grunted back.
Guys. So predictable, and still she didn’t understand half of what motivated them.
Once out in the parking lot, a gust of wind froze her in place. Typical spring in Seattle—what felt like late-autumn anywhere else. She shoved her arms into her jacket and hurried to the car. Mike followed her without a coat, just that sweater. It was a cable-knit, but still.
“Aren’t you cold?” She circled around to the driver side door.
“Didn’t you see all I ate in there? Gave myself an extra layer of fat to protect me from the weather.” He chuckled, and that dimple—the one that stole her ability to reason like a mature adult—tempted her to do something stupid.
She wrestled with the decision of how to handle Mike McCauley. She didn’t like him, except she kind of did. He could be a jerk, a pushy bully. And a genuinely nice person who had the cutest son ever. No way he was the ogre she wanted him to be.
Mike tugged the handle of the car. “You know, sweetness, that whole cold weather discussion? Yeah, I was kidding. I’m freezing. You going to unlock the car or what?”
“Big baby. And quit calling me sweetness.” She circled the car to unlock his door. He closed in on her instead of moving back so she could open it. Hell. She could feel his breath on her neck and did her best not to shiver. “You want to back up and give me some space?”
“You have plenty of space. You’re little.”
“Please. I’m tall. You’re just a giant.” She turned. Big mistake. Because it put her in his arms, a hairsbreadth from his fine chest and those glorious muscles he’d used to incapacitate Jim in seconds. Jim had been drunk, yes, but he was a mean drunk and a decent fighter.
Mike had taken him down with little effort. So strong. Bad-ass. Just her type.
“You’re not that big,” Mike said in a low voice. “Just right for—”
She cut him off by dragging his neck down and plastering her mouth to his. For a moment, he remained still, and she wondered if she’d made a huge mistake. Handsome, sexy, probably rich Mike McCauley wouldn’t want some cool chick like Del. He’d be after a Suzie-homemaker like his moth—
He kissed her back, taking charge of the embrace. Mike put his hands on her head to hold her in place while he kissed the ever-living breath out of her. She’d never felt so surrounded before. Del had dated larger men, but Mike dwarfed her. So big, so hot, so damn sexy.
He tasted like chocolate chip cookies, and that sweetness made her melt. He knew how to use his lips and tongue to maximum advantage. When he leaned in to her, she thanked her stars she hadn’t zipped up her jacket. He pressed his chest against her breasts, and she sagged against the car, weak with desire.
He pulled back to look at her. His eyes had darkened to a sapphire blue. His lips were slick, his mouth taut, a furious hunger on his face. “I knew you’d be like this.”
Before she could ask what “this” meant, he dug his fingers into her hair, holding her in place while he angled her chin up and dove in for a second kiss. He ravaged her mouth as she lost track of everything but the feel of Mike against her.
Nothing but need consumed her while he enveloped her in a blaze of arousal that obliterated sense. She had to get closer, had to touch him. But when she tried to move, he tightened his grip and held her in place.
Lord, but his dominance turned her on. She moaned and bucked, needing more. She managed to find his waist, and when she moved her hands under his sweater and ran her fingers over his T-shirt-covered abs, he growled and closed the miniscule gap between them.
He ground his pelvis against hers, and she trembled, understanding that Mike was big all over.
A horn blared. “Get a room.” Someone laughed. More coarse talk.
She didn’t care, until she grew lightheaded from a lack of oxygen.
Mike finally stopped the kiss and pulled back, letting go of her hair, his body still rock hard against hers. They panted, catching their breath.
She just stood there against the car, pinned by his muscular body like a butterfly to a mounting board. Mounting… Not a great word to think of with the hunk of maleness trying to fit into her every nook and cranny. And God, did she want him to.
“Shit.” He blew out a breath and leaned his forehead against hers. When she shifted under him, he groaned. “No, wait. Don’t do that.”
Elated that he’d been as affected by their kiss as she had, she suddenly realized that was not a good thing. Mike really wasn’t her type. He came from a different class of people. She liked his kid, and a sexual relationship might have consequences that would hurt Colin. Besides, she had no idea what Mike thought of her as a person. Del was so done being used for nothing more than her body…unless she was the one setting the rules.
She just wished more than her brain would get the h
int. Her nipples stood on end, her panties needed to be changed, and her entire body felt like one giant, exposed nerve. All from Mike McCauley. Talk about bad luck.
A few moments more, then they parted. Mike moved back, and she firmed her knees and stood straight, backing away from him to move to her side of the car. They stared at each other over the roof.
She said, “That was a mistake,” at the same time he growled, “We need to do that again.”
They considered each other in silence, then in mutual unspoken agreement moved into the car. She started the engine and drove him back to his house with only the radio breaking the silence between them. She parked and waited.
He didn’t look at her, just stared through the windshield. “Hate to break it to you, sweetness, but that kind of chemistry is impossible to ignore. Come see me when you grow a pair.” He stepped out of the car, with her gaping at him, then shut the door quietly behind him.
She watched the arrogant jerk walk to his front door and disappear inside.
“Grow a pair?” The nerve. She shot down the street, fuming, cursing, and…confused—because she wanted to turn the car around and continue where they’d left off.
With Mike McCauley.
What were the odds she’d be in lust with a man completely wrong for her? Del had been a lot of things. Vulnerable, scared, stupid. But now she co-owned her own business, had family who loved her, and friends she actually liked. Starting something that would only end in heartache made no sense for a smart, independent chick like herself.
She pulled into her driveway and parked in her garage, a sweet spot she’d paid extra for to protect her pride and joy. After letting herself into the townhome she shared with her cousin, she went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a tall glass of water.
She downed it in one gulp and poured another.
“Wow. Must have been some night.”
She shrieked as she spun around, holding the glass out like a weapon.
“You going to stab me with a drinking glass?” Rena asked, amused.
“God. Put a bell on or something, would you?” she snapped. Her cousin had a bad habit of sneaking around on silent feet. Always had. Del should have known better than to think she might be alone on a Wednesday night.
Rena never went out. The woman was more a homebody than Del.
With cocoa-brown skin, laughing brown eyes, and the prettiest corkscrew light brown curls, Rena could have modeled for the hair salon where she worked. Instead, she continued to cut, dry, curl, and style her way to owning the business. Which explained her lack of a social life.
“So what happened to you to make you so jumpy?”
“I thought you were working tonight, but you weren’t at Ray’s.” Her cousin put in extra hours at the bar to make ends meet while she continued to save money for her salon.
“I was scheduled, but Jenny needed a haircut. Her kids too. So I switched with Sue. I’m on tomorrow.” Their neighbor Jenny was sweet…and broke with four kids and two baby daddies who didn’t believe in child support. Del and Rena did what they could to help her, because Jenny worked harder than anyone Del had ever met.
“Oh.” Good thing Rena had been busy, because if the blabbermouth had witnessed that kiss in the parking lot, she’d never let Del hear the end of it.
“So. Your jumpiness. What’s up?”
“Nothing. Long day.”
“Uh-huh.” Rena followed her into the living room and sat with her on the couch. The house wasn’t designer by any means. Not nearly as nice as Abby, Maddie, and Vanessa’s pad. But it felt like home. A plushy couch and love seat, a scarred but functional coffee table covered in hair magazines and the occasional Popular Mechanic, as well as a few of Rena’s romance books. And boy, had her cousin chewed her out for not inviting her to go along to the last book club. Apparently Rena had a thing for Abby’s novels.
“So how was the party?”
Del shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
“What did you do?”
“Hung around. Chatted. And yes, you can come next week to the book club.”
Rena squealed. “So awesome. I can’t believe you fixed Abigail D. Chatterly’s car.”
“First of all, it was her tire. And her name’s Abby Dunn.”
“You know her real name. Man, that is so cool.”
Del rolled her eyes. “She’s a person, Rena. Just a writer. Not a pro wrestler.”
“Riiiight. Because wrestlers are real celebrities. You’re so weird.” Rena paused while Del took another sip of water. “J.T. came by earlier.”
Del swallowed a groan.
“Told me all about your friends—the McCauleys.” Rena’s eyes sparkled.
“Please. Stop right there.”
“So about this Mike guy…”
“I’m so tired. I think I’ll crash early.”
“Talk. Come on. You know I have no life. Clearly you need to confess that you pulled him into a closet and did him right there at Abigail D. Chatterly’s party.”
Del blushed, remembering how much she’d wished she and Mike could have done more.
Rena’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. You did not do him at that party. Did you?”
“No. Geez. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Can’t help that you put me there. So what’s with the blush? Tell me.”
Del sighed, related the night’s events, in detail, then confessed her dark, dirty secret. That she’d liked when Mike had kissed her and thought about doing it again. And again. And maybe one more time, just to get her stupid craving for the not-so-nice guy out of the way for good.
***
Thursday night, Mike found himself entertained while he and Colin spent time at Grace’s house. Nadine, her mother, had gone out to a movie with her good friend, Beth McCauley. Clever of his mother, to clear the way for Mike and Grace to do…what? Chitchat? Have sex? Smile and kiss?
Just the thought of the word kiss had him recalling how sweet Del had been. How incredibly arousing to touch and taste her. Digging his hands into her silky hair, holding her tight while he took and gave—
“This okay?” Grace interrupted his thoughts with a smile. She handed him a glass of lemonade.
“Perfect.” No beer for him tonight, not when he had to focus on surviving this arranged dinner with his mother’s idea of the new Mrs. Mike McCauley.
She nodded to the sounds of boys playing in the living room. “I think they’re getting along pretty well.”
Mike thought it too early to tell. Colin could get along with just about anyone, but piss him off one too many times and suffer his wrath. In a lot of ways, Colin reminded him of Cam. Smart, conniving, and once riled, nearly impossible to settle down. Then again, he was a con man with that obvious charm. A lot like Brody. Or Flynn, for that matter. But when he smiled and gave all of himself, he was like a chip off the old block. Loyal, a friend for life.
Yeah, he was biased. But he had the best kid in the world. Too bad Lea hadn’t been alive long enough to see him blossom into his own little person. But with family helping to mold the boy, Colin had turned out more than okay. Mike knew he had it pretty good, having such a close-knit family. They could drive him nuts—like his mother with her need to fix him up—but they loved him and his son without reserve.
He glanced at Grace, conceding his mother had at least set him up with a woman he’d normally find attractive. Maybe it was the time of year, his missing Lea more than he normally did, or his run-ins with friggin’ Del that had him off his game, but he didn’t feel even a spark of lust for his host. At least she wasn’t giving off any “do-me” vibes. She’d been nothing but pleasant since his arrival.
He must have imagined her friendliness the other day as meaning more than it did. After all, she was new to the area and trying to stay on his mother’s good side.
“So you work with your dad?” she asked.
He nodded. “McCauley Co. Construction. MCC.”
“How long have you been doing
that?” She moved with economy, flitting around the kitchen preparing dinner. She stirred the spaghetti sauce, and the aroma of stuffed shells smelled heavenly. The oven timer showed another five minutes before it finished. Thank God. Mike’s stomach threatened to eat itself if he didn’t soon get something for dinner.
He knew he should have eaten before coming over. But it had been another long day on MCC’s latest remodel. He loved having too much work as opposed to not enough, but hell, he needed to recharge.
“Mike?”
“Sorry. Shells smell amazing. I’m finding it hard to do more than fantasize about dinner.”
She smiled, and he again asked himself why he’d prefer someone like Del over Grace. Grace had a kid. Del had an annoying older brother. Grace had a demure personality and a smaller frame, the kind of body he was naturally drawn to. Del reminded him of an Amazon with the build to prove it. Nothing shy or remote about her. Yet since their kiss he couldn’t stop thinking about her. A kiss she’d initiated.
God.
“…enrolled in second grade. Have you had any problems with the school?”
He plugged back into the conversation. “Nope. Great elementary. All the teachers are terrific. Colin loves his teacher, Ms. Sheffer. She’s amazing with the kids.”
“Yeah, Dad,” Colin yelled from the other room, apparently paying close attention to the conversation.
Normally Colin ignored him in favor of his friends. Were he and Noah getting along?
“Keep playing while you can,” Mike encouraged. “We’re going to eat soon.”
Grace nodded and started preparing the salad.
No ignoring Colin’s dramatic sigh. Uh-oh. Things with Noah must not be working out.
Hoping his son could try to enjoy himself at least, Mike gave Grace a wide smile. “Are you sure I can’t help?” She’d refused the first time he’d asked.
“Actually, you can rinse and cut the tomatoes.”
He hated tomatoes. In a sauce, fine, but by themselves? Still, he rinsed them and cut them into the salad anyway.
“So you have three brothers?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’m the oldest.”
“I’m an only child. My mother kind of obsesses over my life.”