Be My Temptation (Temptation #2) (2 page)

Tyler buttoned his winter coat. “You’ve got it really bad for this one, Brock. Maybe you
should
marry her. I’m picturing you if she dumps you, and it’s not pretty.”

“Bye, Tyler.”

Tyler paused at the door of the office trailer and said, “I’ll update the plans and send them over to you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“Hey, can you think of a smooth way to ask Skylar if she was the one I was with last night? Sometimes I’m too blunt.”

“I’m not getting involved in this one.”

Tyler frowned. “Don’t go getting all high and mighty just because you’ve finally dated a woman for longer than a week. You may have her fooled, but I know you’ve done just as much stupid shit as I have.”

Brock neither agreed with nor denied that claim. Long after Tyler had left, Brock was still thinking about what his friend had said.
I have done stupid shit. Before Kate and with Kate. I’m just lucky Kate doesn’t know it.

He opened the drawer to his office desk, took out the prepaid phone he’d told himself to get rid of at least a hundred times, and checked to see if there was a new message on it. As always, he was filled with relief when there was none. It meant Kate still didn’t regret her decision.

Looking at the phone gave Brock the urge to confess everything. However, much like how there was no smooth way to ask a woman if you’d slept with her or her twin sister the night before, there was also no good way to tell Kate he had lied to her.
Kate, you remember that letter you wrote Santa Claus requesting a good old-fashioned, up-against-the-wall, down-and-dirty fucking? Yes, that one. Well, I’m the one who found it. I was Mr. Elf.

No, things were going too well with Kate to fuck it up with the truth.

Realizing that he sounded more like Tyler than he wanted to admit, Brock threw the phone back into the drawer and locked it.

Regardless of how their relationship had started, he and Kate were happy together.
That’s what matters.

“Do not leave me like this,” Brock said. Kate walked away from the bed she’d cuffed him to, naked. What had sounded like an exciting idea when she’d suggested it had moved beyond his comfort zone when he’d tested the handcuffs and realized they could actually hold him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kate said as she walked back toward him with a blindfold in her hands.

“You didn’t say anything about a blindfold.”

“And you said it was my turn to be in charge. So zip it, or I’ll watch a movie instead of making your fantasy of having me and another woman come true.”

Brock quieted obediently. He was no fool. He was already aroused and impatient to see what she had planned for him.

She placed the blindfold over his eyes and kissed him deeply. His sense of sight removed, he noticed his other senses were suddenly heightened. He felt her hair brush across his bare chest, and he shuddered from the pleasure of it. Each place his body touched hers burned with excitement. Her tongue played with his, darting in and withdrawing, knowing he couldn’t stop her. He was both frustrated and increasingly turned on by this flip in power.

She ran a hand down his chest and caressed his shaft. He thrust upward involuntarily in response. Her hand worked him expertly until he was spiraling upward toward a crest he didn’t want to reach yet. She broke off mid-kiss and said, “Did you hear the door? That must be my friend.”

He groaned in a combination of pleasure and frustration when she walked away from him briefly. When she returned, he only heard one set of footsteps, but he could smell the perfume of another woman. “You’re killing me, Kate. Take off this blindfold.”

“I can’t,” Kate whispered near his ear. “My friend is shy. She doesn’t want you to know who she is so you can’t see her, and she won’t speak. But she says she loves to suck cock.”

Brock couldn’t tell if Kate actually had someone with her or not, and stopped caring as soon as a mouth—he assumed Kate’s—closed over his shaft. She took him deeply, sucking gently. She paused and said, “She says I’m wearing too many clothes, and so is she. I’m taking off her shirt. Now her bra. She has the most beautiful tits, Brock. Small, perfect. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I lick them. Oh, they are so nice. So firm. She wants to see mine. We can’t stop there. We’re both naked now. You need to feel her tits, Brock. Feel how amazing they are. They’re still wet from my tongue.”

A moment later Brock felt a pair of breasts rubbing against his chest. He was about to question why he didn’t also feel the rest of the woman’s body against him, but Kate’s mouth closed over his cock again, and he gave himself to the fantasy. Kate pumped her head up and down, periodically stopping to say something to the other woman in the room. He couldn’t tell what she was talking about, nor did he care. He lived for each time her mouth returned to suck him again. Her pauses were mind-muddling, orgasm-postponing torture, but he wasn’t complaining.

“She says we should switch now,” Kate whispered against Brock’s lips. “She wants you in her mouth. How perfect. Now you can have me while she has you.”

Kate straddled Brock’s head and positioned herself so her sex was within reach of his mouth. He lapped at her, drinking her in while he felt another mouth close over his cock. “Do you like that?” Kate asked. “If you do, show me. Fuck me with your tongue while she sucks you.”

He did. The mouth on him moved up and down slowly. He knew the mouth on his cock wasn’t real, but it didn’t matter. Kate wiggled back and forth above him, guiding him to her pleasure, and soon he was out of his mind with desire for her. He stroked her, sucked her, teased her with fast-paced tongue flicks, until she came with a cry.

After her climax, Kate climbed off of him and said, “Looks like my friend has to leave. It’ll just be me again.”

He felt her sheath him in a condom, then straddle his waist. She lowered herself on top of him, and he thrust up into her. He couldn’t see her. He couldn’t touch her. All he could do was feel her as she raised and lowered herself onto him again and again until he was wild with the need to finish.

But she wouldn’t let him. She stopped and gave him instructions on what she wanted him to do, or she simply ran her hands up and down his body.

Finally, when he thought he could take no more, she released his hands from the cuffs, and he whipped off the blindfold. He rolled her beneath him, raised her legs up, and pounded into her, loving that she was as crazed as he was when he took them both to a white-hot release.

Afterward, he tucked her against his side beneath the blankets and chuckled. “What the hell did you use on me? Was it a doll? I couldn’t figure it out.”

She smiled and kissed his lips gently. “Some things are better kept secret. Just don’t look under your bed unless you want to ruin the mystery.” She ran a hand playfully across his chest. “Was it as good as your fantasy?”

He smoothed her hair with one hand and answered honestly, “Better. We don’t have to avoid her at the supermarket.”

Kate chuckled as she raised herself up onto one elbow to look down into his eyes. “I never knew it could be like this, Brock. I feel free. I can be myself with you.”

“And apparently other women, too.”

Kate nodded. “I could never have done that with my ex-husband. I would have worried he would laugh at me. It’s different with you. I trust you.”

Trust. Shit. I really need to get rid of that phone.
“I’m not perfect, Kate, but I do love you.”

Kate froze.

Brock froze.

Fuck.

***

Kate couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. As the silence dragged on it became painfully awkward.

She sat up, hugging the blanket to her.
Brock loves me? Oh, my God, Brock loves me. Why can’t I say it back? What the hell is wrong with me? He’s everything I ever wanted in a man.

“Kate?”

Kate closed her eyes. “I think you should go home.”

He rubbed her bare back reassuringly as he said, “Don’t shut me out, Kate. Talk to me.”

She shook her head. She didn’t want to talk because she didn’t know how to put into words how she was feeling: a mixture of happy, terrified, and angry. Happy that a man she had feelings for loved her. Terrified to consider getting serious with any man so soon after her divorce. And angry they couldn’t continue on blissfully as they were.

He’d said he loved her.

It was out there.

Three little words had changed everything. Fighting back real panic, Kate said, “Just go, Brock. Please. Go home.”

“I would,” he said dryly, “but we’re at my place.”

Kate half laughed, half sobbed, and started to edge off the bed. “I forgot. Sorry. I’ll go.”

He sat up and grabbed her arm. “No. It’s late. You’re not driving home upset.”

“I can’t stay here.”

“Why? Because I said I love you? I take it back.”

Beneath a heavy fog of confusion, Kate argued the point automatically. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“Well, it sure as hell doesn’t work the way you want it to. Where are you going, Kate? And why?”

Eyes filling with tears, Kate said, “I need to think, Brock. Everything between us has happened so fast. My head is spinning. I can’t handle this.”

“So, you’re okay with sleeping with me as long as I don’t care about you?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. See why I need to leave? Oh, my God, you must hate me right now.”

Brock turned her to face him. “I don’t hate you.”

Kate chewed her bottom lip nervously. “But you do love me?”

Brock raised one shoulder and gave her a boyishly charming smile. “I always have.” He pulled her to him and hugged her to his chest. “Don’t run away, Kate. I shouldn’t have said anything yet. I know you’re still gun-shy after your divorce.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”
You think you love me, but you don’t know me. What would you think of me if I told you about Mr. Elf? About the real reason I asked you for your number?

“Why don’t you let me worry about what will or won’t hurt me? I enjoy being with you, and you enjoy being with me. Forget about everything else.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “Well, don’t forget to remove the woman from under my bed. Mrs. Gleason would never look me in the eye again.”

Kate relaxed a little at his joke. She shook her head, imagining what his cleaning lady would say if she found the silicone female body parts Kate had used to create Brock’s fantasy. “Imagine what she would think of us.”

“Who knows, maybe we could inspire her to try the same with Mr. Gleason.”

Kate smiled against Brock’s bare chest.

Brock lay back down, pulling Kate down with him and tucking her back beneath the blankets. “Relax, Kate. Don’t overthink this.”

Even as she snuggled up against Brock, she couldn’t help but remember another time and another man who had said very similar words to her. Brock thought her confusion stemmed from her divorce, and that was partially right, but it also came from the knowledge that she had found pleasure in two men since her husband.

Two very different men.

Although Kate had told Mr. Elf she was finished with him, she sometimes still wondered what it would have been like if she had met him on the twelfth day of their game, as he had planned. She felt guilty each time she thought of him. She hated that she’d kept the phone he’d given her instead of throwing it away, as she should have. But the relationship, having ended so abruptly, hadn’t entirely run its course for her.

He was still an unknown.

Still a temptation.

Kate closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

I am so fucked up.

So, so fucked up.

“Is it safe to come in?” Kate called from the doorway of her friend’s home. They were supposed to meet for a walk at 10:00 a.m., but Kate had gotten used to Angie operating on what she called baby time. Considering that Angie had twin boys who were barely over five months old, Kate couldn’t judge. She followed the sound of screaming up the stairs into the children’s room.

Angie gave a flustered smile when she saw Kate in the doorway. “I’m almost ready. I had them both dressed. Then Tim decided he was going to poop so much that no diaper could contain it. I swear they can talk to each other because as soon as I had Tim cleaned up, Tom did practically the same. I know what their first words will be. All I seem to say lately is: ‘Are you fucking serious?’ ”

Kate chuckled and leaned into one of the cribs to pick up one of the crying boys. He settled down quickly and made a grab for her hair, as he often did. Small children used to make Kate nervous, but Angie had an open and loving relationship with hers, despite her occasional bout of profanity. Kate cooed at the infant in her arms. “You would never do that to Mommy, would you? He says you’re making up stories, Angie.”

“Sure, encourage him. Next he’ll tell you he slept all night.” Angie finished dressing one of the boys and picked him up. “So, update me on life next door. You know I’m living vicariously through you right now.”

Kate bounced Tim on her hip gently, hiding the blush that colored her cheeks by momentarily turning away. “My life is not that exciting.”

“It’s better than what’s happening over here. I told Mike we’re not having sex again until he gets a vasectomy. He thinks I’m joking.”

Kate turned back in surprise. “You’re not having sex with your husband?”

“Spoken like a single person with no children. Mike’s working crazy hours right now, to make up for the income I walked away from so I could stay home with the boys. And I am exhausted. Trust me, when these two finally do fall asleep at night, the last thing I’m thinking about is sex. You know what my idea of a perfect night with my husband is? Four hours of uninterrupted sleep.”

“I told you I would watch the boys for you. Maybe the two of you should plan a date night.”

Angie gathered up the boys’ coats and said, “Let’s change the subject. How is Brock?”

Kate helped the little boy she held into his winter clothing. “Good. I stayed at his place last night.”

“I bet you’re still having amazing sex, aren’t you? God, I miss those days.”

Kate blushed again. She followed Angie down the stairs and into the garage, where they secured the boys in a double stroller. They continued their talk once they were out walking in the brisk morning air.

They started up a steep hill, side by side. With her long brown hair swaying back and forth in its ponytail, Angie said, “I know you don’t normally talk about stuff like this, but I have to know—is it as good as I remember?”

Although she and Angie had only been friends for a couple of months, Kate couldn’t imagine life without her. Angie didn’t hold back what she thought. She told it as she saw it, and that kind of honesty was refreshing to Kate. She trusted Angie more than she trusted friends she’d had for years. Friends she had left behind when she moved home. Friends who hadn’t bothered to call to see how she was doing. People who, perhaps, had never actually been her friends at all. “It’s amazing.”

“I probably should take you up on the date-night offer, but if it ended up being disappointing, I think I would just cry. Is that my hormones? I mean, I love my husband, but I don’t feel sexy at all. I’m a mother. I don’t know if I have any desire left in me. That’s not good, is it?”

“I’m sure it will come back.”

“I just worry. Watching you with Brock makes me feel like I’ve lost a part of myself. How do I find my way back to that?”

“Have you tried toys?”

“Toys? You mean like sex toys? I don’t have of any those. Do you?”

Kate kept her eyes focused straight ahead. “I do. My ex-husband was, let’s just say . . . selfish in bed. When I first got divorced I was so angry. I wasn’t sure I had ever enjoyed sex and thought I’d never want it again. I joked about wanting it, but I wasn’t serious. A friend introduced me to toys. I’m not saying they’re for everyone but, if you’re looking for a way to heat things up with your husband, they can be fun.”

Angie stopped and gave Kate a long look. “You’re spicier than you let on.”

Kate gave her friend a wide, unabashed smile. “You have no idea.”

Angie started walking again, and Kate fell into step beside her. They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, then Angie said, “I saw you drive by with your car packed with boxes. Does that mean you’ve cleaned out your mom’s room?”

“Mostly, but there’s still a lot to do. I’m giving myself until summer to decide what to do with the house.”

“You and Brock seem pretty serious. Maybe you’ll end up getting a place together.”

Kate tripped over an uneven part of the sidewalk, then said, “Maybe. Brock told me he loved me last night.”

“That’s awesome! Congratulations. Not that anyone would be surprised.”

“I didn’t say it back.”

“Oh, shit.”

“I know. It was really awful. I just froze. I thought I loved my husband, but I never felt for him anything close to what I feel for Brock. Brock makes me happy. Why couldn’t I tell him I love him?”

“Cut yourself some slack, Kate. You haven’t been divorced that long. Brock has to understand that.”

“I hope so. I’m all jumbled up inside these days. Sometimes I’m happy, then I’m angry. I’m scared to rush into something and be wrong a second time. I’m so confused.”

“Give yourself some time. Brock doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere.”

Kate nodded, feeling a hundred times better now that she’d gotten last night’s worries out of her head. “Thank you, Angie. You don’t know what it means to me to have someone I can talk to.”

Angie waved it off and kept her workout-paced walk going. “That’s what friends are for.” After a quiet moment, she added, “So, if I were going to buy a toy, where would you suggest I start?”

After quickly blinking twice, Kate answered, “Not only are remote control Ben Wa balls really effective, but they also have health benefits. They strengthen your inner muscles. If you want to really go nuts, drop the boys off with me for a day, treat yourself to a long nap while your husband is at work, and keep those balls in all day, alternating an hour on, an hour off. Trust me, you’ll be all over your husband when he gets home.”

Angie shot Kate a shy smile. “Have we crossed the line into oversharing?”

“Not unless you feel uncomfortable. You’re a good friend to me, Angie. The kind of friend I always wished I’d had. I’m not embarrassed if you’re not.”

Suddenly looking a whole lot happier, Angie said, “Really, what’s the big deal, right? I’m already hooked up to a breast pump every day. What’s one more intimate connection with an appliance?”

Kate winked at Angie. “As long as you don’t get the two confused.”

Their eyes met, and they both burst out laughing.

***

“What put you in such a bad mood this morning?” Brock’s sister, Linda, asked as she plopped a cup of steaming coffee in front of him.

“I’m in a great mood,” Brock snapped and stood, leaving the coffee untouched on his desk. “Everything is fucking perfect.”

Linda took off her coat and hung it on a hook beside the door. “Did we lose the Fall River job?”

“No, we won that bid.”

“Did you argue with Kate?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Linda sat down in her brother’s chair. “Okay, so you had your first blowout with Kate. Big deal. Couples fight. Especially when they spend as much time together as the two of you do.”

“We didn’t have a fight. And I’m not talking to you about this. Did you contact the tile place I asked you to?”

“Yes.”

“Are they able to deliver on the timetable we need?”

“I convinced them it’s possible.”

“Good.” Brock walked over to the trailer’s window. “The crew will have to work overtime if we’re going to get this project completed before the end of the month, in time to start the next one. We should still come in close to budget. And the profit we’ll make from the next job will more than make up for anything we lose by paying overtime.”

“We’ll pull it off, Brock. We always do. We’re getting a lot of press right now, and that’s moving the units, even the ones that aren’t completed yet. The bank is happy. Our investors are happy. You’re the only one who looks miserable today. Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I fucked up.”

Linda swiveled in Brock’s chair, one hand on top of his desk. “What happened?”

Brock shook his head. He and his twin sister were close. But they weren’t so close that she knew how he and Kate had actually gotten together. There are some secrets a man shouldn’t tell anyone. The game Brock had played with Kate after he found her letter to Santa Claus was one.
A smart man takes that shit to the grave.

“Earth to Brock. Are you still with me?” his sister asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Brock, do you remember when you were twelve and you wet the bed? You were mortified and didn’t want Mom and Dad to know. So you came to me, and I helped you clean it up. I never told anybody.”

“First of all, I was six. And I think I threatened your life if you ever said a word about it.”

“Are you sure? I thought you were older.”

Brock glared at his sister.

She waved her hand and continued, “It doesn’t matter how old you were. What matters is that I have never told anyone. You can trust me. If something is bothering you, tell me. It’s not good to keep things all bottled up.”

“It’s Kate.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.” Brock continued to frown. “I just said something I shouldn’t have.”

Linda’s eyes widened. “Did you tell her you want to see other people? If so, you’re an idiot. We all like her.”

“No, it was nothing like that.” Brock rubbed one of his temples, hating that his sister knew him so well. “I told her I love her.”

“And?”

“And she told me she wasn’t ready to hear that.”

“Ouch.”

“Tell me about it. She was gone when I woke up this morning. She left me a note saying she had errands to run. I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer.”

“That’s not good. What are you going to do?”

Brock rocked back on his heels. “What can I do? Hallmark doesn’t make cards that say, ‘Sorry I said I love you.’ ”

His sister came around the desk and hugged him. “It’s kind of cute seeing you like this. I’m so used to lecturing you on how not to break someone else’s heart. She’ll come around, Brock. Just give her time.”

He hugged his sister back, then shooed her out of his office so he could return some business calls he’d been putting off. He felt slightly better after talking to his sister. Nothing had changed; Kate simply needed more time.

He had waited his whole life for her.

He could wait a while longer.