“Oh my God.” Loni sucked in a breath. “It must taste delicious.”
RJ nodded. “It does.”
“I’d love to taste your cornbread,” Lori said before biting into a bun then licking a smear of glaze from her lip.
Heat shot through RJ’s groin, sparking every inch behind his zipper to life.
Damn. Not good.
He cleared his throat and wondered if the woman was deliberately flirting with him, or just being kind. Since he was a little too worked up to think straight, he decided to keep his response neutral. “Can’t go wrong with my mother’s recipe.”
“Aww, that’s sweet.” She smiled. “Half the stuff we bake comes from our mother’s recipes.”
Loni nodded. “She’s the reason we got into the business.”
“I’m glad you did,” Dean said, reaching for his second cinnamon bun. “I think we’ve already established how much I love your buns.”
“Yes,” he said in unison with Lori.
Loni chuckled and leaned over to kiss his smiling buddy. “I’ve gotten that vibe from you a time or two.”
“Ugh…see what I’ve had to put up with, RJ?” Lori eye-rolled the couple.
“Beautiful and a saint.”
It wasn’t until a pretty blush colored her checks that he realized he’d spoken out loud.
“I…uh…thanks.” Her voice was slightly breathless, and the appreciation lighting her gorgeous blue eyes shifted something deep within his chest.
Damn, she was breathtaking. He couldn’t tear his gaze away.
Several seconds later, someone cleared their throat.
“Hate to interrupt, buddy,” Dean said. “But we have exactly three minutes to get to work before Mac starts our morning briefing.”
Shit.
RJ preferred to be there before the boss. Today was the first time that wouldn’t happen. Despite their daily coffee and bun ritual, they’d always made it to work with time to spare. Hell, he was a stickler for dragging Dean from Loni’s side.
But today?
The innocent ritual had taken an unexpected and arousing turn.
“I’ll bag your leftovers.” Loni jumped to her feet and rushed behind the counter with their half-eaten plate of baked goods.
“And I’ll get you two some fresh coffee,” Lori said, swiping their cups off the table before joining her sister.
Fresh coffee?
Okay, now she wasn’t playing fair. It was hard not to appreciate the sweet move. Or the sweet woman.
“Thanks,” Dean said.
RJ decided not to reply. It would only invite more conversation, and he was pretty sure they’d conversed enough. Hell, their bodies were speaking to each other in a sexy, sensual language. But although his buddy hadn’t meant to, he’d pointed out that Lori had some things in common with Elaina. Both women were beautiful, free-spirited, and creative, always had a sketchpad nearby, and even though he agreed—Lori wasn’t the type to use people like his ex-girlfriend—RJ wasn’t sure it was smart to get involved with another artist.
But smart didn’t appear to be one of his assets lately. It was becoming painfully obvious he’d left his brains in Iowa.
The chemistry between him and Lori was palpable. RJ was a realist. Ignoring their attraction wasn’t going to work. Sooner or later, the heat would consume them…and he suspected sooner rather than later.
Chapter Five
That evening, Lori sat at her kitchen table eating takeout, doing her best not to think about the sexy SEAL living across the street, probably also eating alone.
No big deal.
Plenty of people ate dinner by themselves. Heck, she’d done it lots of times throughout the years. So why was it bothering her so much lately? She’d been awfully restless, too.
Probably because she missed traveling and competing. It couldn’t have anything to do with her sexy, dark-eyed neighbor.
Except it did.
Dammit.
Something about the guy captured her attention. He was a righteous man. A hard worker. Tenacious. Determined. She knew instinctively he wouldn’t hurt her or force his opinions on her. He was a protector.
Then why had she chickened out this morning? It’d been on the tip of her tongue to ask him over for dinner tonight, but she’d closed her mouth and swallowed the invitation at the last minute.
Attraction had been zinging between them, and he was definitely attracted to her. She’d seen it in his heated gaze. But he seemed to be fighting it, too.
Yeah, in this day and age, there were plenty of guys who appreciated when a woman asked them out, and she was fairly certain RJ was one of those guys.
But she didn’t have the best track record when it came to men. One out of three had been nice. He was her first boyfriend and an artist, like her. She’d met him at college, but they’d parted when he left to study in Paris.
After that, it was jerkface. She’d mistakenly thought his undivided interest in her was nice. He wanted them to do everything together, but after several months with no breathing room, she’d felt trapped, like he was stepping on her wings. No, ripping them out. She couldn’t even go to the store by herself without him Facetiming to make sure she was alone. When she found out he’d been answering her phone and telling people she didn’t want to hang out—even her sister—Lori had kicked him to the curb. It had taken several friends and a restraining order, but the jerk finally got a clue.
More than a year had gone by before she’d jumped back into the dating pool, but even then, it had only been with one toe. She was extremely leery, not wanting to make another bad choice, so she eventually went out with a surfer she’d met in California while on a break between competitions last year. He was fun and care-free, the exact opposite of jerkface. But, he turned out to be a little too care-free, thinking it was okay to bring other women into their bed while she was away at a competition.
Disgusted, she had returned to Connecticut and devoted her free time to sketching and painting when she wasn’t working at the bakery or at competitions. This was around the time Loni had received her diagnosis. Her sister had a jerkface of her own who had walked out when she told him about her impending blindness.
Lori had insisted that Loni give up her lease and move in with her. She hadn’t dated since. Hadn’t really missed it, or even paid attention to men…until RJ had shown up at Abby and Cooper’s wedding.
Something about the haunted look in his dark eyes had drawn her in, and she’d been intrigued ever since. Dammit. She didn’t want to be interested. Didn’t want to be tied down…unless it was by him with a silk scarf…
A knock at the door had her jumping out of her skin…and from the start of a great fantasy. She pushed her half-eaten pizza aside and headed through the open concept kitchen/living room to answer the door.
An hour ago, when she’d opened her door after a persistent knocking, no one had been around. If that were the case this time, she was going to have to talk to Dean about getting some security cameras set up.
Even though her sister was technically the famous one, Lori had garnered her fair share of fans by appearing on television at those competitions with Loni. They’d found out just how crafty some fans could be in regards to discovering their address.
Back in Connecticut, she’d had cameras installed because strangers showed up at their doorstep often…and because of jerkface. Her jerkface, not Loni’s.
Inhaling, she opened the door, expecting to find it empty again, but at the sight of her sexy neighbor standing on her porch, she exhaled. “RJ…hi.”
“Hi, Lori,” he said. “Didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
She snorted. “You’re not interrupting. You’re saving me from eating a whole pizza myself.” She stood back and motioned toward the box clearly visible on the kitchen table. “Please, come in and share some carbs with me.”
After a second’s hesitation, he entered. “Thanks, but you don’t need to give up your supper. I came because I found this on the bea
ch and thought it might be yours.”
He handed her a sketchpad. Her sketchpad.
She frowned, glancing at the coffee table where she’d thought she’d set it. “I-I don’t remember leaving it outside.” She took the pad and flipped through the images that she indeed had created, trying to remember if she’d picked it up after standing to brush the sand from her legs when she’d left the beach earlier. “Thanks.”
Her mind ran through her actions.
“Maybe you were in a hurry to get your pizza.” The smile on his face did funny things to her pulse.
She returned the smile, suddenly aware of a fluttering in her stomach. “Could be…and speaking of pizza, I really don’t want all of it, so I hope you’ll stay and help me eat some. It’s the least I can do to thank you for spotting my sketchpad and bringing it to me. I would’ve hated to lose it.”
She also hated to think what he thought of the sketches she’d done of him running on the beach. No doubt he’d seen them if he’d glanced through the pad. There were several. She couldn’t help herself. The man had a great anatomy.
He nodded. “I could polish down a slice or two.”
Bless him. Whether he saw the sketches or not, she was grateful he made no mention of them.
“Good.” She set the sketchpad on the coffee table on her way to the kitchen. “What would you like to drink? I have beer, soda, iced tea, water, coffee. Help yourself in the fridge.” She grabbed a glass and another plate before joining him at the table. “Where, exactly, did you find my sketchpad?” she asked, while he helped himself to some iced tea and two slices of pizza.
“Just off the trail that leads to the beach from here.”
“It must’ve slipped from my backpack,” she mused out loud, then changed the subject. “I heard you guys have a job in Austin later this week.”
He nodded, and they spent the next half hour eating pizza and talking about museums and art. Lori was shocked by the man’s knowledge.
He finished his iced tea and set his glass by his empty plate. “Okay, you’re looking at me funny. Why? Do I have something in my teeth?”
She laughed. “No. I’m just surprised you know a little bit more about art other than a color palate.”
He laughed, but it sounded a little empty of mirth. “My ex was an art history major.”
“Ah.” She nodded, and reached for her tea, ignoring the unexpected tightening in her chest.
There was no reason the thought of him with another woman should bother her.
None.
So why did it?
He laughed again, but this time he sounded sincere. “Exactly.”
She set her glass down and leaned back. “I had one of those.”
He raised a brow. “An ex-girlfriend who was an artist?”
She snorted. “No,” she said, and rose to her feet to take their plates to the sink. “But I did have an ex-boyfriend who was an artist.”
“Ah.” He walked over with their empty glasses and set them next to their plates. “He must’ve been an idiot.”
Warmth spread through her chest at the unexpected compliment. Maybe she’d just misconstrued the comment. He was just being friendly. It wasn’t like they were on a date or anything. He’d had plenty of opportunities to ask her out. She’d had plenty chances to ask him out, too. Well, it didn’t matter. Tonight, was a nice, friendly dinner.
Just one neighbor repaying another neighbor’s kindness with a pizza.
She turned to him and sucked in a breath. There was nothing neighborly about the heat in his gaze. “You…uh…take my breath when you look at me like that.”
“Yeah?” He stepped close but didn’t touch her. “And now?”
Unable to keep her hands to herself, she set them on his chest, thrilled to feel his heartbeat was as unsteady as hers. “Now…is good.”
“Real good,” he said, trailing a finger up her arm, over her shoulder to her neck, where he leaned in to brush her skin with his lips. “Do you want me to stop?”
No way. Not when he was finally making a move again.
Her knees literally knocked together and she grabbed his upper arms for support. “Depends.”
On if he was staying.
God, she hoped he was staying this time.
“Oh?” He continued to kiss her neck, his stubble grazing her skin, sending goose bumps down her right side as he kissed his way to her jaw. “On what?”
His hands were under her tank top now.
It took Lori a moment to remember their conversation. “On if you have a condom and you let me take top,” she responded, her pulse dipping between questions as he slid his thumb under her bra and unhooked it with a flick of his fingers.
She wanted him badly—big-time badly—but refused to jeopardize his healing spine.
“I have two,” he replied, cupping her breast, while he brushed his thumbs over her nipples…twice.
Breath hitched in her throat as she shamelessly pressed into his touch. “Good.”
He drew back and grinned. “You’re more than welcome to take top, but if you’re worried about my back, don’t be. I’ve gained quite a bit of strength since…June.”
His slight hesitation over the last word wasn’t lost on Lori. She wasn’t sure what to call the last time they’d gotten naked, other than a hot as hell, way too brief interlude. One that had left her wanting many more repeated rendezvous. But she knew he was too alpha to cut himself some slack over what hadn’t transpired that night, even though the oral sex had ruined her for other men.
What RJ had done to her with his wickedly talented mouth and tongue had been an honest to goodness out-of-body experience for her.
And she was so ready for another.
“Good.” She ran her hands up his magnificent chest and shoulders, while holding his heated gaze. “But I’d still like to take top.”
The thought of riding him sent a heated shiver through her entire body.
His grinning mouth hovered just above hers as he backed her up to the oversized armchair just off the kitchen. “As you wish.”
A second later, her shirt and bra were on the floor and he was kissing her like she meant everything to him, shocking her with the ferocity of his need.
This…this was what she’d wanted all these weeks—his delicious, commanding, plundering mouth on hers, stealing her breath…stealing her brain cells.
Lori slid her hands under his shirt to stroke his hot skin, needing to touch that sexy body of his again.
Last time was nowhere near enough.
RJ broke the kiss and reaching behind his neck, grabbed the back of his collar and yanked his shirt off one-handed.
The dead-sexy move sent a shock of anticipation quivering through her body, and when he dropped to his knees and skimmed his hands up her legs, she reached out to grasp his shoulders.
“RJ…”
How could the man have her aching for him when he’d barely touched her?
He remedied that by kissing her belly before he tugged her shorts and panties down, following the procession of material with his teasing, seeking lips. Moving his hands to her hips, he urged her to sit down on the chair then placed her legs over his shoulders and looked his fill.
“Gorgeous.” His voice was deliciously low and hoarse. “I’ve been thinking of this for weeks.”
He had? Then why hadn’t…
The pad of his finger stroked the very top of Lori’s upper thigh, halting her thoughts while tripping her pulse. In the next instant, his mouth followed suit, slowly traveling toward her center, treating her to a few special caresses that had her eyes drifting shut and her hands shoving through his hair in a silent plea for more.
As if knowing what she needed, he slid a finger inside then groaned, “You’re so wet.”
And when he pulled out just as deliciously slow in an eye-crossing, upward motion, he ripped a raw sound from deep in her throat that lasted as long as his masterful stroke. The talented, wicked man did it again and again, h
olding her in that hot, fuzzy limbo between need and release.
Shaking and panting, Lori gripped RJ’s head as everything inside her tightened, and just when she didn’t think he’d ever take her to the final, blissful plane, he licked her.
Lori cried out and bucked, shamelessly showing him just how much she enjoyed his touch. In a heart-pounding duet, using his finger and tongue, the amazing man took her out of herself, and within seconds, she came undone with a liberating, wild abandon that left her quivering and weak.
If she had any brain cells left in her head, she’d probably be a little mortified at how quickly the man had set her off. But for now, she was determined to enjoy the afterglow.
He sat back and gazed at her. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen…or tasted.”
From somewhere, she found the energy to smile, but was thankful nothing more was required as she watched him strip off the remainder of his clothes in quick, sexy, economical moves. He grabbed a condom from his pants, opened the packet, and with his smoldering gaze holding hers, he rolled it on. “This time, I’m coming inside you.”
She tipped her head and smirked. “Technically, you did do that the last time.”
He chuckled. “True, but I wanted to give you more.”
Before she could remind him of how satisfied he’d left her that night, he placed his hands on the armrests, bent down and captured her lips for a drugging kiss that stoked the heat simmering low in her belly.
They broke for air, and as she worked to catch her breath, he switched their positions, and she found herself straddling his lap.
“Are you okay this way?” he asked, reaching up to brush her cheek with his thumb, his gaze tender and smoldering at the same time. “I meant what I said earlier. You don’t need to take top.”
Cupping his hand, she kissed his palm. “Yes. This is what I want. It’s absolutely okay.”
So okay, that anticipation rushed through Lori’s veins and it boggled her mind that her body had already recovered and hungered for more.
Chapter Six
“I agree.” RJ smiled, running a finger down the sexy woman’s throat to the tip of her gorgeous breast. “This is very okay.”
RJ (HC Heroes Series Book 7) Page 4