All He Ever Needed (12 page)

He gave her a sharp look. “You know about her problem with Andy?”

“Everybody knows she has a problem with him. But I don’t know what it is.”

“Nobody does.”

“That seems odd. For an incident to trigger a decades-long grudge, you’d think it would have been bad enough so half the town would know.”

He had to agree with her on that one, but he didn’t say so out loud, because he didn’t want her speculating any further. In his experience, the only thing that caused that kind of deep, secret animosity between a woman and a man was sex. He didn’t want to think about Rosie and Andy and sex. She was like a mother to him and he didn’t want to believe even for a second she’d cheated on her husband. He
wouldn’t
believe it.

“How’s Josh handling her being on strike?” Paige asked, dragging his mind back from those unpleasant thoughts.

He shrugged. “We’re grown men. We can take care of ourselves.”

“Out of clean laundry yet?”

He grinned. “Almost.”

“Are you going to fire Andy?”

“No. I’m going to do a few loads of laundry and then head to the grocery store and stock up on more microwavable dinners.”

Paige frowned, fiddling with the sugar packets. “You won’t fire Rose, will you?”

He laughed, trying to imagine how that conversation would go. “If I tried to fire Rosie, she’d kick my ass and send me to my room.”

He liked that he could see the relief on Paige’s face. He liked that she cared about a woman he loved. And he
really
liked the way she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the counter so he could see down her shirt. He couldn’t see much, but the hint of cleavage was enough to make him hard.

“You know,” she said, “I wouldn’t mind you coming over for dinner every once in a while. Save you a few microwave meals, at least.”

He’d been kidding about the microwavable dinners. He could cook well enough for himself. But he wasn’t fool enough to turn down an invitation to sit at Paige’s table, which, thanks to the size of her trailer, wasn’t too far from her bed. He’d been thinking about getting back in that bed since pretty much five minutes after he’d left it.

“I might even make you dessert,” she told him.

“I like desserts with whipped cream. Lots of whipped cream.”

The flush that spread across her neck and up into her cheeks made him want to take her out back right then and there and find a supply closet or something. “I just happened to buy some when I was at the market.”

So she’d heard that story, too. This town was a pain in the ass. “When?”

“Tonight?”

“I can get there by six.”

She smiled a flirty smile promising fun and all sorts of naughty things. “I’ll be waiting.”

So would he, because walking around with a raging hard-on until six o’clock was going to suck. But she was worth it.

Chapter Twelve

It was ridiculous to spend the entire meal distracted by the upcoming dessert, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the can of whipped cream sitting in her refrigerator. Maybe she should have bought two cans. One for the strawberry shortcake and one for all the things she’d spent the day imagining a man would do with a can of whipped cream and a naked woman.

“You feeling okay?”

Paige looked at him, thinking he looked more amused than concerned. “Sure. Why do you ask?”

“You look a little flushed.”

“It’s a little warm in here.” She stood and threw her plate away—she’d made the dessert but succumbed to more carry-out from the diner—then cleared his place since his plate was empty.

She should heat up the biscuits for the shortcake and take the strawberry topping out of the fridge. And the whipped cream. Paige jumped a little as Mitch’s hands slid around her waist from behind. Then she leaned back against him, twisting her neck to get a kiss.

“You seem nervous tonight.”

She
was
nervous. She’d felt ridiculous buying whipped cream at the store. Sure, a lot of people bought whipped cream, but how many were buying it for sex? On second thought, she probably didn’t want to know.

“I’m not nervous.” His hands slid up under her shirt and she suspected it might be time for strawberry shortcake, hold the strawberries and the shortcake.

“Not nerves.” He kissed the back of her neck, sliding one of his hands around her body to cup her breast. “Anticipation?”

“Maybe. I happen to be very fond of strawberry shortcake.”

“I happen to be very fond of this spot, right…” His hand slid down into her jeans until he found the sweet spot. “Here.”

Paige would have liked to enjoy that more, but her mind was on the whipped cream. In her imagination, it was sexy and she could picture things that would make her blush. Actually, she
had
pictured things that did make her blush.

But the reality was awkward. At what point during the getting naked and the foreplay did one of them walk to the refrigerator and get the can? And wouldn’t the can be very cold? Where did one indulge in whipped cream anyway? The bathtub wasn’t big enough for both of them. Anyplace except the kitchen would cause a huge mess, but nobody wanted to have sex on cold, hard linoleum.

“Hey.” He spun her around and looked into her eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I…” There was probably no sense in lying. She wasn’t very good at it, anyway. “I’ve never done the whole whipped-cream thing before.”

“If you’re not into it, that’s okay, Paige.” He grinned and shook his head.

“No, I am. I just don’t know…how it works.”

“There’s no whipped-cream protocol as far as I know.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re making fun of me.”

“Yes. Yes, I am.” He pulled open her fridge and took out the can of whipped cream. After getting the cap off, he held it up. “Do you know what you do with whipped cream?”

“What I do with it is put it on strawberry shortcake.”

“Open your mouth.”

“Excuse me?”

He laughed at her. “Just open your mouth.”

She did and, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, he squeezed the nozzle and filled her mouth with sweet, creamy foam. Then, while she tried to swallow it all without laughing or spitting it on him, he squirted some in his mouth, too.

“And that’s what you do with whipped cream,” he said, making her laugh. Thankfully, she’d swallowed.

“Yummy.”

“Yes, it is. Be still. You’ve got a little bit on your mouth.”

He leaned and flicked his tongue over the corner of her mouth. She felt the jolt all the way to her toes, followed by a full-body shudder as he licked her lip.

“I think I got it.”

She took the can from him and squeezed a little spurt onto her finger. Reaching up, she wiped it across his bottom lip. “Oh look. You have a little bit on your mouth, too.”

His breath was a little uneven and his eyes hot as she moved in. With tiny, teasing licks, she cleaned the whipped cream from his mouth. Feeling a little more brazen, she added a little more, this time to the hollow of his throat. When he threw his head back and made a groaning sound as her tongue swept over his skin, she realized she’d found one of his hot buttons.

“You might want to take your shirt off,” she said in a low voice.

She’d never seen anybody take a shirt off as fast as he did. A little whipped cream on his nipples and his fingers were digging into her shoulders. And, when she got to the fly of his jeans, he actually held his breath for a second, before taking a step back.

“It’s my turn. And you might want to get naked.”

She did want to get naked, though maybe not in her kitchen, blinds lowered or not. But then he squirted a dollop of whipped cream onto his finger and taunted her with it.

“My couch is leather,” she said. “Easy to clean.”

“You have two seconds.”

It probably took her more like thirty or forty, but only because she got tangled up in her pants halfway from the kitchen to the couch. They were both laughing when she collapsed on the sofa, but it didn’t stop Mitch from whipped-creaming her nipple. Amusement quickly turned to desire as he leaned over her, sucking the topping off. When he turned the nozzle toward her other breast, she intercepted the stream and ended up with a serving in her hand.

When she reached out and smeared it down the rigid length of him, his breath hissed through his teeth and his hands curled into fists. Paige only had to shift a little to get her dessert.

She started slowly, with long licks that made his body tremble, and he muttered a curse under his breath. Paige took that as encouragement, running her tongue along his shaft until he unclenched his hands and buried them in her hair.

Covering him with her mouth, she took as much of him as she could, the sweet topping teasing her taste buds as she teased him. She kept the same easy rhythm he seemed to like, pausing once in a while to flick her tongue over the sensitive tip.

“Enough.” His voice was raspy as he pulled free of her.

He had to fish for the condom he’d set on the floor, and then he turned her so she was kneeling on the edge of the couch cushion and bracing herself on the back. Standing behind her, he grabbed her hips and took her. No finesse and easy rhythm this time.

Mitch was on the edge of control, and knowing she’d driven him there gave her a rush of pleasure. Her fingers dug into the back of the couch as each thrust came faster and faster until the orgasm rocked her and she might have screamed.

He pounded into her, his fingertips clenching her hips until he came with a low growl. For a minute or so he held her there, breathing hard and still shaking, before he withdrew and they both flopped sideways onto the couch.

“Holy shit,” he whispered.

“I agree.”

“I think that should be an official whipped-cream protocol.”

“I’ll stock up.”

After a few minutes, when they’d stopped panting, he gave her a light slap on the butt. “I think it’s shower time for us.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to feel sticky. You go first.”

He stood and hauled her to her feet. “We can shower together. It’s more fun.”

“I don’t think we’ll both fit.”

“We’ll fit. We’ll just squeeze in and have to rub our hot, soapy bodies together.”

“I think it’s a little less sexy in real life,” Paige insisted, but she went anyway because Mitch’s very fine, very naked ass was leading the way.

* * *

By the time they were both in the shower, Mitch was starting to think he should have listened to Paige. The tub surround was cold and a lot of his body was ending up pressed against it.

“I guess I can scratch sex in the shower off my to-do-with-Paige list.”

She laughed and pushed him even more against the surround so she could reach the soap. “It’s a good thing we didn’t have any chocolate syrup. At least the whipped cream rinses off easily.”

That’s what she thought. With both of them in there and no handheld sprayer, the logistics of trying to get both of them clean kept him from enjoying Paige’s slick, sudsy body to the full extent and he was relieved when they were done. Of course, they had to get out of the shower one at a time, because the bathroom wasn’t big enough for both of them to dry off at the same time. Being a gentleman—and so that he had a reason to stand there and watch—he let her go first.

When he was finished drying off, he found her in her bedroom, slipping an oversize T-shirt over her head. “Hey. I’m not done with you yet.”

He whacked his arm against her dresser getting across the room and almost fell on the floor when he misjudged how much room he had on the bed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Paige, but your home makes me feel like Gulliver.”

“Should I tie you down and have my way with you?”

“You can have your way with me any way you want.”

And she did, touching him and teasing him until he thought he’d explode and, only then, she slid down over him and it was so intense he wasn’t sure he’d ever catch his breath.

After a few minutes, she stretched out in the tiny space between him and the wall, so he got up and went into the bathroom. When he came back out, he thought about putting his clothes on and kissing her goodbye, but she hadn’t moved into his space and the bed, despite its size, was comfortable, and Paige had that rumpled, sleepy look he couldn’t resist. A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

He slid back into her bed, lining himself up along the edge and keeping his head close to the headboard so his feet didn’t hang over, and she nestled against him. Telling himself he’d leave before he started nodding off, he turned and kissed the top of her head.

A little while later, when his phone started playing the theme song of an old frat-party movie from somewhere in Paige’s living room, he realized with a start he’d actually fallen asleep.
That
he didn’t do. Ever.

“Should you get that?” Paige murmured against his shoulder. It sounded as if she’d fallen asleep, too.

“That tone means it’s Drew. I’ll call him back on my way home.” That was a natural segue to getting up and putting his clothes on, but he let himself have one more minute.

“How’s he doing? I heard he’s been sleeping at the police station.”

“He was, but they finally talked a little bit and he’s hoping they can still save their marriage, so he’s sleeping at home again. Not together, but under the same roof, at least.”

“I feel so bad for them,” she said. “And it’s hard to choose a side, not only because I like them both, but because their issue isn’t cut-and-dried when it comes to fault.”

“She’s been lying to him for their entire marriage.”

“True. But she’s entitled to be hurt that children that don’t exist are more important to him than she is.”

“It’s not about the kids they didn’t have. It’s about her lying.” He really didn’t want to end this night fighting about somebody else’s relationship. “Look, Drew’s been my best friend my whole life. I always liked Mallory, but I’m not in a position to choose sides. I’ve got Drew’s back. Always.”

“Even if he’s in the wrong?”

“I don’t think he’s wrong but, yes, even if he was. He’d be like a brother to me if I didn’t already have too many pain-in-the-ass brothers.” He raised his eyebrow. “Can you honestly say you’re not just taking her side because you’re both women?”

She pushed up onto her elbow so she could glare at him. “So we’re all just man haters? Or are we sheep who can’t think for ourselves? If you’re going to insult my integrity, be specific.”

This conversation was going south on him in a hurry and he wasn’t even sure how it had happened. He’d try a kiss to distract her but, with that look in her eye, he was afraid she’d bite him. And not in a playful way.

Thankfully, her expression cleared and she flopped back with a sigh. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you, since I don’t disagree with you. I like both of them and there’s really no right or wrong answer.”

“I swear, they’re the poster couple for what happens when two people who want different things in life end up together. It’s not pretty.”

“No, it’s not.”

They were quiet for a few minutes and Mitch felt her body start to relax against his. She was going back to sleep and there was no way in hell he could let himself do the same. If his phone hadn’t gone off, he might have slept the entire night, and waking up next to a woman was a big mistake.

He kissed the top of her head again before sliding out of bed. “I should get going so you can get some sleep.”

“Four-thirty sucks,” she muttered.

By the time he’d found all his clothes and put them on, she was softly snoring, so he turned off the lights as he left and locked the door behind him. Thankful the threat of rain showers had made him bring the truck tonight, he got in and pulled out his phone to listen to the voice mail from Drew. As it went through the “you have one new message “ routine, he braced himself for bad news.

“Hey, you suck. I had to go out on a nuisance call and saw your truck parked at Paige’s. Just thought I’d call in a little coitus interruptus, but obviously you’re having too good a time to answer your phone. Did I mention you suck?”

Mitch chuckled as he deleted the message and disconnected. But as he started the truck and pointed it toward home, his thoughts were already turning from Drew back to Paige. She wasn’t an easy woman to leave behind, naked and warm and sleepy-eyed in bed.

Although not spending the night in a woman’s bed was a rule he never, ever broke, he had some guidelines that were a little more fluid, like not seeing a woman two nights in a row.

He had a feeling he was going to break that rule as often as she’d let him.

* * *

“I’ve been in your bathroom and there’s no way in hell both of you fit in that bathtub.”

Paige laughed at Hailey’s expression before taking a few hasty licks of the fudge pop she’d bought at the market. They were sitting in the park with their ice creams and, while Paige wasn’t really one to kiss and tell, the bathtub story was too funny not to share.

“We were both in the tub, but I don’t think we’ll try it again anytime soon.”