Indecent Encounters (21 page)

Oh yeah, he wanted Lara. His cock twitched and throbbed just at the thought of it. He glanced to the bathroom door. She was just through there, in the kitchen, probably waiting for him to go out and say his goodbyes. Her face on the walk home had been shadowed, like a woman waiting for rejection.

Tate spun him round and slapped his ass. “Go get her, tiger,” he ordered, kissing the back of his neck. “Don't let her get away twice.”

* * * *

Caleb moved so silently through the room, Lara didn't notice him until he was kneeling at her feet. She jumped as he rested his hands on her knees. He was clad only in tight black jeans, his muscled torso gleaming in the lamp light. Faint red marks from her nails drew her eyes down to the waist of his jeans, and she wet her lips, hungry for him all over again.

“Lara,” he said, staring up at her earnestly, amber eyes wide and hopeful. “I... Thank you for your help. Finding Tate, I mean,” he added awkwardly.

She smiled, resisting the urge to smooth his ruffled, damp hair. “It was nothing.”

“Not to me,” he insisted. “Tate, he's...you know. I'd never have dealt with it if I'd lost him.”

Lara felt the prickle of tears. So this was it. The big goodbye. Caleb would tell her it had been good, see you around, take care and all that, and waltz off into the sunset with Tate. And who could blame him? She'd walked out on him after all—why shouldn't he have moved on with someone who accepted him, all of him, unreservedly? “I'm glad we found him,” she said finally, hoping her tears didn't start until after they'd left. If she cried in front of him, she'd never get over it.

“We're heading home tomorrow,” Caleb continued, taking her hands, twining his fingers in hers. He was silent for a long, painful moment, clearly fighting to get the next words out. “Will you come with us?”

It was so far from what she'd expected to hear, she almost didn't understand him. For a second Lara couldn't even breathe, let alone answer. She gaped at him, a hot flush working over her from head to toe. “Are you serious?”

She saw him flinch, realized he'd misunderstood. He rose, head ducked. “Okay, I get it. It's fine. I just thought...” He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets and turned away. “We'll get moving then. No point in us being in your way.”

Her heart skipped at the thought of him leaving her. “No!” She leapt up, catching his arm. “Caleb, no. I don't want you to leave.”

He turned, surprise lighting his face. “Then what do you want?”

She wet her lips again, searching for her courage. She wouldn't let him escape, not if he was serious, not if he honestly did want her. She'd missed him, ached for him every day, and their encounter with Tate had only intensified that. “You. Always you, Caleb.”

Hope flared in his eyes again. “What about Tate? You know we come as a package, right? Can you live with that, day after day? You didn't think you could before.”

“I know,” she acknowledged. “And it would be naïve of me to promise here and now that I could live with it, because I just don't know. But I want to try. I need to try.”

He stroked her hair, a little smile on his lips. “Are you sure, Lara? Don't make me hope if you're going to change your mind.”

“I want to try,” she repeated firmly, curling her arms round his neck. “I thought I'd never have a second chance with you, Caleb. I've missed you every day and I won't give you up without trying. I love you. I've never stopped loving you.”

He kissed her then, hot and possessive, waking her lioness once again. “God, I've missed hearing you say that. I love you, Lara. So much.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet, and she wrapped her legs round him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. She threw her heart into kissing him back, pouring all her passion and need into the kiss. If he wanted her, she would give her all to make it work this time.

As she remembered the sweet, burning lust Tate and Caleb had filled her with, she didn't think she'd have to work that hard.

The End

Do It Fur Love

Copyright © Melissa Hosack

Chapter One

Vanessa slammed the accelerator of her car to the floor in a rage, her breathing ragged as she fought between punching something and bursting into tears. This wasn’t the first time she’d left work in such a state of emotion. She should be used to being disappointed in the human species by now. People were egotistical, rude, and self-absorbed. Today had crossed the line of her patience though. Her sleazy boss had once again grabbed her backside. He’d done it for the last time, too.

She’d whirled around, hauled off and punched him the instant she felt his hand cupping her ass, tired of warning him against his inappropriate behavior. She was pretty sure she’d broken his nose, too. As blood gushed from between the hands cradling his face, she’d quit, right there on the spot. At twenty-eight, she was no longer the timid girl she’d once been.

“Jerk,” she grumbled, her eyes narrowing into angry slits.

Preoccupied with thoughts of her lecherous boss, Vanessa didn’t realize how fast she was driving until she sped around a bend, and her tires slid on the light layer of snow. It was early December, but already the ground was covered with a fine dusting of the chilly substance. With a soft curse under her breath at her carelessness, she pressed her foot down onto the brake pedal.

To her horror, the pedal continued all the way to the floor, being about as useful as a steak dinner to a vegetarian. The car didn’t even slow down. With a gasp of fear, Vanessa repeatedly tapped her foot against the pedal, praying the brakes would catch.

Nothing happened.

As she struggled with the wheel, the tires hit a patch of ice unseen against the black pavement. The car spun out of control, careening off the road. She gave a cry of alarm as the driver’s side door slammed into the side of an embankment and the car came to an abrupt stop in a wide ditch.

Vanessa’s head slammed against the steering wheel with a dull thump that seemed to echo around the car’s interior. Stars danced in her blurry vision. A small squeak of pain escaped her, the only thing she could manage in her confusion.

She was on a secluded back road. In her anger, she’d decided to take the long way home so she could blow off some steam by driving faster than the speed limit advised. The path she’d chosen was isolated enough that it could be hours before someone drove by in good weather. With the snow, it might be days.

As she fumbled with the clasp of her seatbelt so she could reach for her cell phone, her vision began to fade to black. She fought it as long as she could, until the peaceful oblivion of unconsciousness took her under.

* * * *

The roaring sound of her pulse in her ears dragged Vanessa slowly into consciousness. Her vision swam, making it hard for her to focus on any one thing. Dimly, she was aware of an arm underneath her back, lifting her. Blinking rapidly as she attempted to force her gaze to focus, she turned to a movement on her right and saw russet fur.
A dog perhaps?

The animal nudged her shoulder as if trying to rouse her.

Vanessa mumbled in her half conscious stupor and turned her face away from the cold nose, trying to see the person who’d just hefted her out of her car, the person who had probably just saved her life.

She saw thick black hair and a strong jaw with a five o’clock shadow.
A man.
That was all she was able to make out before her eyes fluttered closed and she passed out.

Chapter Two

Vanessa woke to sunlight streaming through the window. She opened her eyes and nearly panicked at the unfamiliar bedroom that greeted her. She sat up with a gasp, and her head protested the sudden movement.

The unexpected pain brought memories rushing to the forefront of her mind. She’d wrecked her car and passed out alongside the road. With a groan, she ran a hand over her face. “My car,” she grumbled, afraid of the amount of damage she’d done.

Noise, she guessed from a kitchen, made her glance toward the door in alarm. There was nothing more awkward than waking up in a strange man’s bed without knowing his name. Though this man wasn’t a one night stand. He was actually kind of her hero. And she’d spent most of the night with the russet colored dog curled up against her side, not the owner of the animal.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed with determination, she marched purposefully to the door. She was ready to get the awkward meeting out of the way. The man must be just as leery about a strange woman spending the night in his home as she was about being there. Putting on a brave face, she marched into the hall and followed the smell of food to the kitchen.

The man who she assumed had saved her stood at the stove with his back to her, transferring bacon from a frying pan to a plate on the counter.

Vanessa leaned against the doorframe, studying him.

His black hair was cut short in back, but she remembered it was slightly longer in front, curling over his forehead. His shoulders were broad, tapering down to a narrow waist, and his backside looked fabulous even in a baggy pair of sweatpants.

Once finished with her saucy ogling, she cleared her throat to get his attention. Getting caught spying would hardly make a good first impression.

The man spun around with a pleasant grin on his lips, showing off a set of teeth so white they gleamed. “Well, good morning! I didn’t expect to see you until this afternoon.” His gaze shot to her head. “How are you feeling?”

Vanessa touched her forehead, and fingered the tender lump at her hairline. “Good,” she admitted slowly. For being in such a scary accident, she honestly didn’t feel all that bad. “Thank you so much for helping me last night. You saved me. I may have frozen to death if you hadn’t come along.”

He seemed to stare straight into her soul with his piercing blue eyes. “Don’t mention it,” he said, voice low and soothing.

She had to look away from the heat in his gaze, feeling embarrassed as it shot a bolt of electricity straight to her nether region. “You…you had a dog with you, yes?” she asked, searching for something to distract her from the all too inviting way he leaned back against the counter, giving himself an air of confident ease. “I didn’t imagine that, did I? I thought it curled up in bed with me last night, but I haven’t seen it this morning.”

He gave a bark of laughter at her comment, but it was the anxious gasp from behind her that made Vanessa jump in surprise. She spun around to face a second man, shocked to discover someone else in the house.

“Yeah,” the first man said with a laugh. “There was definitely a dog there. Though I wasn’t aware he chose to sleep in your bed last night. Bad doggy.”

Vanessa tried to keep her jaw from dropping to the floor as she gawked at the newcomer. Though he was fully dressed, he’d obviously just gotten out of the shower. He was running a towel through his messy, nearly shoulder-length reddish-brown hair, his expression wary. The dark haired man was gorgeous, but his friend was not outdone in the mouthwatering department. He was striking in a completely different way than the first man, who was polished and sly, whereas this one was rugged and masculine. He was also larger, with broad shoulders and a bigger waistline. He looked like a football player, all hard-muscled and firm. His biceps rippled with strength as he rubbed his hair absentmindedly.

She couldn’t take her eyes off his abs, which were clearly defined through his tight t-shirt, causing her body to tremble with longing.

He seemed to finally realize how flabbergasted she was at the sight of him, because he relaxed and smirked in amusement. “I’m Brenn.” He reached into the back pocket of his faded jeans and tossed a stack of mail to the table next to Vanessa’s elbow.

Distracted, she glanced down at the envelopes. She saw a few were addressed to Brenn, but the one on the top read ‘Dihn’. Her eyes lifted to the dark haired man. “Your name is Dinn?”

He shook his head with a chuckle. “It’s D.I.H.N., but it’s pronounced Dean. My mother had a sick sense of humor. Either that or she was the worst speller on the planet.”

Vanessa grinned, drawn in by his casual smile and open, friendly expression. “I like it. It’s original.” After a pause, she added, “I’m Vanessa.”

“Vanessa, is there someone out there worried about you?” Brenn asked, interrupting the silent flirting Dihn was doing with his eyes. “Do you need to use our phone?”

“No,” Vanessa said without thinking on her answer. “I live alone. I only see my parents twice a year. In fact, I quit my job yesterday, so it would probably be months before someone started missing me…” She trailed off uncertainly and bit her lip in concern over her thoughtless admission. After rushing all this out, she realized it might not be the best thing to say in a strange house, in the company of two strange men.

“You don’t need to worry,” Brenn quickly assured. “You’re safe with us.”

“It’s not like we’re monsters or anything,” Dihn threw in with amusement, his eyes twinkling with humor.

“Dihn,” Brenn said with warning, but the other man only laughed. With a sigh, Brenn turned to Vanessa. “I’ll set you up with stuff for a shower while the lug over there finishes breakfast.” He motioned for her to follow him.

With a half wave to Dihn, she padded after Brenn down the hallway to the second door on the left, passing the room she’d slept in the night before.

“This is the bathroom,” he informed her as he grabbed a towel from a cabinet just inside the door. “The next door down is Dihn’s room. I suggest you avoid that. It’s a pigsty,” he teased, with a slight grin. “I’m at the end of the hall.”