0-69 in 5 Minutes (14 page)

Bridal showers were supposed to be about
drinking tea, eating cake and counting how many toasters the
bride-to-be received. So far this party was all about sex. Not a
toaster in sight. However, there was one blender and it came with a
case of margarita mix. Judith had excused herself to whip up a
batch. As another imagination inspiring negligee was held up to
admire, he took that as his cue to test out a mixed drink.

Normally he’d prefer a beer, but Val didn’t
have any in the fridge.

“
Oh, hey, Sam. Are you
enjoying yourself?” Judith placed a glass in front of him as he
perched his elbow on the bar.

“
It’s been interesting.”
He took a sip.
Not bad. Fruity.

“
So, when is the big day?”
She placed glassware on a tray to serve the guests.

He cleared his throat.
“Well, everything happened so fast. We really haven’t talked about
it yet.”
It
to
him meant getting married, but to Judith
it
meant the wedding
date.

“
I can tell things were
quite sudden. You didn’t even give her a ring.” Judith stood across
the bar from him, patting his hand. What was it about this family
and hand patting? “If you need to borrow some money—”

“
No, that’s not the
problem.” He pulled his hand back and took a long drag. “I just
need to talk to my grandma first about using her ring.”

“
Talk to your
grandma
?” Her eyes
narrowed as she gave him the mother’s caught-you-in-a-lie stare. “I
thought your Grandmother passed away a few weeks ago.”

Fuck!
Why would Val say that? “Um, yeah…she did. I meant that I
needed to…to talk it over with my…family. In case someone else
wanted…to use her ring. Can I have another drink?”

“
Sure. You poor thing.
Losing someone is hard.” She leaned over and pinched his cheek. “Go
on back to the party and I’ll fix a special drink just for you. You
need a man’s drink, not a fruity girly one.”

He excused himself and joined the rest of
the party in the living room before he stuck his foot in his mouth
again. His grandmother wasn’t dead. She’d raised him after his
mother had fallen ill and passed away. He’d been barely six months
old and his grandmother was the only mother he’d ever known.

Val smiled at him and patted the cushion
next to her. He nodded and joined her on the couch. The pile of
wrapped gifts had dwindled to a mere handful. He glanced at the
unwrapped presents. Bath salts, lotions, luxurious sheets. Plus
more lingerie—black, pink, lavender—all of which were simple,
elegant and classy. His temperature rose a few degrees thinking
about Val modeling them for him.

Judith rejoined the group and handed him a
glass. He took a long drag and swallowed hard. Not a fruity
cocktail this time. More whisky than fruit. But that was good. He
needed a strong drink to chase away the thought of Val’s soft body
pressed against his own.

Even though her family was on the crazy side
and bit too open about sex, he was enjoying himself. Too much. He
liked the openness in her family, the support they gave each other
and the way they accepted everyone for who they were. Lying to them
seemed wrong.

If he didn’t need the money, he’d call this
whole charade off right now, apologize to everyone, beg Val to
forgive him and then ask her out for real.

He took another drink, hoping to forget
about the foolish notion. If he was lucky, he’d pass out cold
tonight.

A twinkle in those gorgeous hazel eyes told
him she wanted an encore from earlier in the salon. But he
couldn’t…no, wouldn’t let things get that far again. Those legs and
that ass would tempt him, linger in his mind for a long time after
they’d parted ways. Best to keep it business while they were behind
closed doors from now on.

He glanced at her and smiled, trying not to
cringe. Judging by the sweat beading on his brow and the blue spots
dancing across her face, it was going to be a long night.

Chapter 11

Sitting on the back porch, the sweet smell
of Val’s perfume reached Noah as she opened the door and stepped
out. On the edge of his vision, the hemline of the black nightgown
skimmed her thighs. Images of her pulling the sheer negligee from
the box increased his already accelerated blood flow.

How the hell was he going to tell her “no”
when he’d wanted to bury himself inside her before she’d stepped on
the porch? Now she was going to try to seduce him!

Sweat trickled down his
temple.
Just keep your eyes on the
TV.

“
Everyone’s gone home.”
She took a step closer. Stilettos clicked on the concrete floor.
Fuck-me-pumps, at the end of those gorgeous legs.

Lord have mercy.

“
Even Bree.”

Think about work. I need to fix the Cougar
tomorrow. Time the carburetor, change the spark plugs, and look at
those back brakes. It might need new pads put on.

She brushed her leg alongside his knee.
“Noah, did you hear me?”

Loud and clear.
Pert nipples pressed against the thin fabric.
Dying for a taste, he licked his lips, and diverted his gaze out
the window. “Yeah.” The single word came out a couple octaves
higher than his normal voice. What would he do with Bree gone?
She’d been the first excuse on his list.

“
Don’t you want to look at
me, baby?” Straddling his legs, she cupped his face and turned it
toward her.

Oh, God!
His cock strained against the zipper on his
jeans. A couple of pulls on those tiny, pink, ribbon bows and the
lacy triangle patches over her breasts would come off.

His gaze dropped from her breasts, but the
pink lacy thong created a lump in his throat. Dental floss was
thicker than the straps molded to her hips. Suddenly the urge to
practice good dental hygiene hit him. He could start by flossing as
he removed her thong with his teeth.

Val stared at him, waiting
for an answer.
What was the question
again?
Did he want to look at her? Right.
Best to not answer.

“
It’s been a long day,
Valerie. And I’m tired. The shop opens early and I got work to
finish up.” The rebuilt carburetor for the Cougar in his garage
needed a few adjustments. The brakes would take a couple of hours
to replace and then he’d finally be done with it. “I want to relax
a few minutes, catch some news and then get a good night’s
sleep.”

“
You can’t go back to
work. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I brought you
home from the hospital and the doctor said you need to rest for at
least seventy-two.”

“
There is nothing wrong
with me. A little tired. Other than that, I’m fine.” He’d keep the
raging hard-on to himself. Or at least he’d try.

She stepped back and crossed her arms over
her chest. Thank heavens. A few more minutes with her thighs parted
over his and he’d have caved.

“
You’re mad at me. Aren’t
you?”

“
What?”

“
I had to tell the EMT I
was your fiancée or else I wouldn’t have been able to see you in
ICU. Apparently Rita heard we were engaged and called Mom. I’m
sorry.” Sitting down beside him, she took his hands in hers.
“Please, don’t be mad.”

Hum. He wasn’t mad at her, but he could use
it to his advantage. “Your sister purred at me. Your aunt felt me
up. And I’d like to know what else you need to tell me, besides
we’re getting married and my Grandmother won’t be able to attend
since she’s dead?”

Her eyes widened. She bit her lip and
mumbled, “Oh, that.”

“
Yeah, that. Your mother
asked if I needed money to buy you a ring. When I tried to cover
and say I needed to ask my grandma if I could use her ring, I
discovered that she’d died a few weeks ago.”

“
That was a stupid excuse
I used to explain why they couldn’t meet you before.”

Soft skin rubbed his hands. Sweet smelling
perfume tickled his nose. Blood pounded in his ears. Right now he
didn’t care about her lies. All he wanted to do was take her place
and nip at that plump bottom lip himself, touch her full breasts
and wrap her firm legs around his waist.

What happened to the
air?
He closed his eyes and took a deep
breath. “Val…” Oh, how he wanted her! Could almost feel her wet
pussy wrapped around his cock. Hear her moan in his ears. At least
she hadn’t screamed Sam’s name earlier when he’d made love to her.
But he wanted more than sex with her. And he wanted more than two
weeks.

While his eyes were still closed, soft
tender lips brushed against his. How strong was a man supposed to
be? Strong enough to be a gentleman and walk away.

“
Val…” Her lips traveled
across his cheek and sucked on his earlobe. A spark of pleasure
fired straight to his hardened dick. A moan escaped him.
“God.”

“
You don’t have to work
tomorrow,” she whispered in his ear, tickling his neck. “Let me
take care of you tonight.”

What would one more time hurt?

Everything.

His wallet, his pride, his…his…heart.

“
No.” He swallowed hard.
Had he really turned her down?
Man up and
do what you need to do.
Pushing her away
was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he needed to. “I should
get some sleep. Out here, on the couch.”

“
Oh.” Hurt washed over her
face. The playful smile that tugged at the corners of her sexy
mouth disappeared. Pain shone from her eyes as she pulled away. “I
see.” Possibly from embarrassment, she covered her breasts with her
arms and excused herself from the porch.

Guilt slammed into his gut harder than if
he’d been punched. He’d rejected her like all the other assholes in
her life.

Didn’t she know what she did to him? He
didn’t need help from her mother. Desire for her seethed inside him
anytime she came near.

Hell! Who was he kidding? She didn’t have to
be near to stir a deep longing in his loins. Thoughts were
enough.

He clicked off the TV and
lay down on the couch. Hazel eyes swimming in a pool of tears
haunted him as he tried to sleep. Why was
she
hurt? This business deal was her
plan, not his. She was the one who didn’t want to date, the one
calling off their relationship, not him.

Then, why did he feel so bad?

* * * *

Tears trickled over the bridge of Val’s
nose. Noah hadn’t even let her explain. Yeah, she’d talked him into
some crazy things and he’d been a good sport about it all. However,
she’d promised him a large chunk of money to go along with her
plan. But she’d thought he found her attractive. She’d been sure
she’d seen a twinkle in his sexy blue eyes when she’d pulled out
the black gown.

Exhaling, she swiped at the tears dropping
from the edge of her face onto the sheets. She’d been stupid yet
again. Tyler had left her for another woman, James had gone to the
store for cigarettes and never come back, and Tommy…he’d straight
out told her she was too fat for him to get serious with. Would she
ever learn to guard her heart?

Before she could think about the answer, a
knock sounded on her bedroom door. What did he want? Obviously not
her. She rolled over and squeezed her extra pillow to her stomach.
Maybe he’d leave.

A second knock came, this time louder.
“Val.”

“
Go away.” Her self-esteem
couldn’t take another rejection.

“
Come on. Let me
in.”

Shit. She let out a groan and tossed her
pillow aside. The faster she got this over with, the faster he’d
leave.

She jerked the door open. “What?” The tone
of her voice came out harsher than she’d intended. Bright lights
from the dining room forced her to squint.

“
Oh, sweetheart. You’re
crying.”

“
I am not. I was asleep
and…the light is blinding me.” She moved a step back out of the
light.

The plan to get away from him backfired.
Instead, he moved closer, cupped her face and wiped away the
moisture.

“
You are.”

“
Don’t trouble yourself by
worrying about me. Get some sleep so you can work tomorrow.” She
pushed against his chest, but couldn’t budge him. Damn, if he
wasn’t hot. Which made things worse. Pressed tightly to his chest,
she wanted him, in more ways than one. How much could she take
before her sanity came into question? “Let me go!”

“
Not until I apologize for
being an ass.” He gripped her arms, refusing to let her go. “I’m
sorry.”

“
You’ve apologized. Now
let me go.” She squirmed in an attempt to free herself, but her
body responded; nipples puckered and breasts tingled. Damn her
traitorous body.

“
Shit, Valerie. This is
hard for me. I hate lying to your family. They’re good people and
they love you. A bit peculiar, but they deserve the
truth.”

“
Are you crazy? You’ve
seen what my mother is capable of doing. We have to stick to the
plan. After next Friday, you can walk away with two grand and never
think about me again. I’ll tell them the truth a few weeks after
this is all over.”

His chest heaved as he sucked in a breath.
“Do you think I can just fucking do that?”

“
Why not? It’s not your
family you’re lying to. Trust me, they’ll be hurt, but they’ll get
over it and Mom will set up a blind date for me or something. That
woman drives me crazy, and I need peace of mind to handle this one
event. Please. You can leave tomorrow. All I ask is that you take
me to the reunion. I’ll handle everything else.”