Body of Work (30 page)
“Yes, lucky enough to land another big promo job.”
“Then the panties worked. You’re hired.”
“Don’t you think you should wait for my quote? I don’t come cheap.”
“As long as you come hard and often, I’m happy to foot the bill.” He hovered over her, trailing butterfly-soft kisses and deliciously sharp nips along her neck, over her breasts as he freed them, then down, to the insides of her thighs. “I’ll be running a tab,” his eyes twinkled up at her, “starting now.”
* * * * *
The grand opening. Four months in the making and a shitload of hard labor and debt later, it was finally happening.
“It looks incredible, let’s go inside.”
He unzipped his Focus Fitness monogramed hoodie, pulled Cassie’s shivering body in front of him and wrapped her in fleece and his arms. “One more minute. Then I’ll take you into my office and warm you up before the crowd gets here. Assuming anybody shows up.”
“Of course they’ll show. People have been hitting the website, emailing and calling for over a month, asking when they can get in. You’re going to have so many clients, you’ll have to hire other trainers to keep up with the demand.”
Anybody could say stuff like that. Because it came from her, his chest puffed out and his nerves eased off. Wild, the effect she had on him. She’d been there for him every step of the way. Pitching in, offering support, coming up with incredible ideas, telling him straight up when he was being an ass about stuff. She’d iced his bumps and bruises, massaged his aching muscles until he dropped into a coma-like sleep some nights. Others, she’d tested the limits of his cardiovascular fitness by fucking him into a pheromone-induced frenzy. Every day was different. Every day was the same—amazing.
“There’s your parents.” She giggled. “Your dad’s wearing a kilt…in December. He must be freezing his you-know-whats off.”
“Do yourself a favor, cutie, don’t ask him if he’s warm enough in the kilt.” Though he had to admit, seeing Cassie turn deep-red might be worth it. She was adorable when she blushed.
“Oh look, Sam’s here too.” She tipped her head up and graced him with her beautiful smile. “Guess the quickie’s out of the question.”
As if they’d have had a quickie. The things didn’t exist since he’d found Cassie. He could spend an entire day worshipping her, owning her, and still crave more.
Two more cars pulled in across the lot. His brother stepped out of a Camaro—his winter beater, unbelievably—and the Mancusos from their Cadillac.
“We should go, everybody’s waiting for you to hang the Open sign.”
“I’m one lucky son of a bitch.”
Her elbow jabbed his ribs. “Hey, don’t insult my favorite haggis maker.”
And future mother-in-law, as soon as he thought Cassie was ready. Might take years, but they’d get there someday. He was sure of it. He kissed her nose, then her lips. One swipe of her sweet, talented tongue inside his mouth and his cock went to standby mode. “This’ll sound nuts, but I can’t wait for this day to be over so we can hang the
Closed
sign and celebrate in private.”
She turned in his arms, smiled up at him. “Me too.”
“Your place or mine?” The pullout sofa bed in his office-slash-apartment wasn’t the most comfortable for sleeping, but by the time they’d finished the
celebrations
he had in mind, he doubted they’d care where they crashed.
“How about both—at once.” She disentangled from his arms and fished a single link of chain from her pocket. “Move in with me. I love you, I want to start and finish every day with you. I want to pull into the driveway and have my whole day made because you’re already there, sharing every part of my life.”
She’d obviously had the key ring custom-made, because it’d been soldered closed, making its contents permanent. A key for the front door, one for the back. He fingered a small, third key hanging alongside the others. “What’s this for?”
“Say yes and you’ll find out.”
“Yes, baby. Always and forever, yes.”
As a girl, Karla Doyle tried endlessly to convince her parents she needed a pet ostrich to ride to the beach. By age ten, she’d drawn up plans and a budget to build a bathroom in her bedroom closet. (It was a tiny closet!) While these campaigns and numerous others never came to fruition, her creativity and imagination were always encouraged. She studied fashion design in college and worked in that industry for much of her life.
These days, Karla lives a charmed existence. She has two amazing kids, an incredible (and smokin’ hot) husband and the best friends in the world. When she’s not writing the sexy stories that swirl around in her head, you can find her lifting weights at the gym or curled up with a book, surrounded by a pack of pets.
Karla welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her
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Karla Doyle
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Body of Work
ISBN 9781419946431
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Body of Work Copyright © 2013 Karla Doyle
Edited by Grace Bradley
Cover design by Syneca and Michelle B.
Cover photography by StudioArtur10/Shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication May 2013
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