Men For Hire (3 page)

Bree looked up, her gaze dreamy and so lost in his, he’d rarely felt more like a man. David figured he should question what was going on here but didn’t, deciding to go with the flow and his unruly desire. To simply enjoy life. Anything could happen and they could both be dead tomorrow, right?

Right. With his pulse racing, David leaned close and slanted his mouth over hers.

Chapter Two

T
he first touch of his lips sent Bree’s head spinning. Her heart whispered,
more
.

She melted into him, drowning in David’s heat and strength even though she knew it was nuts. They didn’t know each other. There would never be more to them than this moment.

It had to be enough.

Six months had passed since any man had held or kissed Bree. She might not have been a beauty, nor did she have a supermodel figure, but that didn’t mean she lacked feelings. Right now, they were monumental and achingly real. Her need for intimacy from a man, even if it was purely physical, was simply too great to deny.

She wreathed her arms around David’s broad shoulders, reveling in the feel of them and his mouth. It was unbelievably warm and soft, a perfect contrast to his bristly upper lip, chin, and cheeks.

He kissed her gently, a mere brush of his mouth against hers, as though he needed to test her reaction before going further. Bree worked her fingers through his wonderfully thick hair, keeping him to her and at the task, proving she wanted all that he could give.

Playfully, he skimmed the seam of her lips with his tongue then demanded entrance, spearing it inside her mouth.

A yearning moan escaped her. She suckled his tongue deeper, adoring his sweet breath and clean, minty taste.

Grunting in what sounded like pleasure, he pulled her close, his hands roaming her back before moving to her boobs.

Yes, oh god, yes.

Bree arched her back as David alternately palmed her nipples and squeezed the soft swells of her breasts. When he angled his head for greater access to her mouth, she parted her lips even more, her tongue dancing readily with his.

They both tried to get closer to each other, their elbows and knees hitting, the sound of their passion artless but beautiful too.

On a lusty growl, David thrust his tongue more deeply into Bree’s mouth and lowered her to the floor. Several rods rolled away from them, clanging against each other. Ignoring the noise, he pushed the straps of her tank top and bra to her biceps then tugged on the garments to expose her right breast. Her nipple was tight as could be despite the heat, the tip so erect that each brush of his thumb against it sent shivers of delight up her spine and down her legs with all of those sensations settling in her cunt.

Bree didn’t think she could get any wetter. Then again…

David fondled her carefully, roughly, then carefully once more, as though he didn’t know which he liked best.

Wanting it all, Bree wrapped her legs around his slim hips and dug her heels into his ass, pushing his body into hers so his rigid rod was snuggled more closely against her cunt.

His kiss turned savage, just as she craved, both of them making noises like animals in the wild rather than civilized humans. Loving it, she moaned, as she’d never done before.

He tore his mouth free. Before she could whine about that or ask if she’d been too coarse, David latched onto her nipple, his tongue stroking the firm tip, his wet heat warming Bree clear to her soul.

She gulped as much air as possible, lust swirling within her, building to an intolerable level. Her pussy ached dully, wanting his cock to fill its emptiness, give her a sense of belonging to someone even if it was only for a little while.

Which it was.

Already, David was tonguing her areola more slowly, his embrace less intense than it had been a moment before.

Why? What had happened? What didn’t he like?

He lifted his head, his expression pained.

She gripped his biceps and whispered, “What is it?” Surely, it couldn’t be a heart attack, he was far too young.

Shaking his head, he reached to the side, made a worse face then finally tugged on something that scraped against the floor. He brought the item around—one of the smaller metal braces with two screws in it. Part of what she’d done before calling the service.

Uh-oh. “Were you kneeling on that?”

He swallowed and nodded. “Bloody thing kept digging into my knee.”

Bree took it from him and tossed it over her head. The bar jangled to a stop somewhere near the door. “No worries about it now.”

His shoulders shook with quiet laughter, but he kept his head down, hands on his thighs rather than her boobs. After a few moments, no one had to tell Bree the magic was over, his wayward lust dampened to the point that good sense had flooded back in.

All at once, she felt very naked and foolish. Trying her best not to blush—and failing miserably—Bree tucked her boob back into its bra cup then straightened the rest of her clothes until she was all put together again. Sort of. Her lips felt bruised from his kiss, cheeks chafed from his stubble, her heart aching for more.

Don’t count on it.

She lowered her legs from him.

“About this,” he said and moved back so they were no longer touching.

Her stomach fell. “You’re going with someone.”
Oh my god
. “You’re engaged—married.”

David slid his gaze to her. “None of the above. You?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Of course not?”

“I meant I wouldn’t have done this with you if I were. We lost our heads, okay?” she said to his silence. “Probably from the heat. A little more and we’ll both be passed out from it. Nothing else. It’s the heat.”

“Right.” He sighed deeply. “I was about to say that I’m not sorry about what happened. I enjoyed it. You didn’t?”

That was so far from what Bree had expected to hear, she could barely speak. “Huh? That is, what? Wait.” She held up her hand to keep him from speaking even though he hadn’t opened his mouth. “You enjoyed this?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” He frowned. “Didn’t you?”

“Of course I did.” Bree curled her upper lip. “You were the one who stopped.”

“Because of the bloody part, not you.” Sitting back on his heels, he crossed his arms over his chest as if he expected an argument.

Fat chance of that. His biceps bulged so much his tat danced, turning her brain to mush. A moment passed before Bree could collect her thoughts. “You want to continue then?” She sure as hell did.

David lowered his face to hide his smile. “Yes and no.”

Bree stopped pushing her strap down her biceps. “You’re not sure?”

“I’m positive I want to continue, though not here or now. It’s too hot. There’s too much in the way.”

Bree would have suggested they move to the bed, except that wouldn’t have solved the heat problem unless she put ice cubes on the sheets. “Where and when?” she asked, feeling bold.

Okay, maybe a little desperate too. Not because he seemed ready to bolt and she needed to stop him. David appeared to genuinely want her, at least for the moment, while Bree couldn’t wait to be in his arms again.

“After I put this thing together.” He gestured to the parts. “We can have dinner afterwards, enjoy ourselves.”

“Where?”

“Do you like surprises?”

Only if they were good. She’d had enough lousy ones to last a lifetime, including the sudden transfer here and her last boyfriend cheating on her. “Will I like it?”

“Absolutely.”

His smile reached his eyes. Hell, it seemed to pour from his soul. Unless Bree was very wrong about David, he appeared to be a genuinely decent man, not a player or a con trying to get her into bed. There was little need of that, was there? Bree had already proved how willing she was when it came to sex with him.

She peeled a rubber disc off her calf and tossed it into the pile with the others. “Count me in. Let’s get this sucker put together.”

The faster they worked, the quicker dinner would come, along with their carnal dessert.

Delaying what they’d both wanted had been the hardest thing he’d ever done and the right decision. David wasn’t looking for a fast fuck with Bree simply to relieve himself. He wasn’t that kind of man. More importantly, it wouldn’t have satisfied. When they’d been kissing, he couldn’t seem to get close enough, touch her as much as he wanted, get his fill of her scent. The harder he tried to sate himself, the more deprived he’d felt, wanting more. Fuck it, he needed everything.

The heat hadn’t helped, making him even more feverish. So many screws and other parts had dug into his knees and shins, the pain had finally killed his pleasure. Better to wait, treat them both to a nice night … an intimate surprise David had thought about while their tongues had been playing with each other.

“Thanks.” He took the ice water from Bree, downed half of it then went to work.

With the instruction manual in both hands, she flapped it up and down to fan him.

David grinned at how silly and wonderful she looked. “I knew that was good for something.”

“Call it Yankee ingenuity.”

“If you say so.” He tightened a screw and grabbed another part. “But what are you going to do when I need to check the diagram to see if I’m putting this thing together correctly?”

Bree stopped, dropped the manual on the floor, and went to the counter where her laptop was.

He arched one eyebrow. “Think
Google
has the answer?”

“Nope.” She lifted a piece of pasteboard from behind the laptop and returned.

The breeze she created with the board clearly outdid what she’d accomplished with the manual. He sighed in pleasure. “Brilliant.”

Bree cooed, “I knew my work was good for something.”

“Your work?” David lowered the pieces he was trying to fit together. “Is that your marketing stuff? Hand it over, I want to see.” He reached for it.

She pulled the board away, embarrassment flooding her face, the same as when he’d asked why she needed the equipment. “It’s just a concept. Not even finished.”

He spoke without thinking, “Did your boss shoot it down, luv?”

Her blush said that’s exactly what had happened. “I can do better. I have.”

“Show me then. I’d like to see what you do.”

She chewed her lower lip but finally brought her laptop over. Seated cross-legged on the floor, their arms touching—as though it was the most natural thing in the world—she brought up a series of files. David was no expert on marketing, but her designs were stunning. The words in particular surprised him. There was such depth of emotion in the copy, as though she was speaking from the heart about wanting to be beautiful finally, aching to have men notice her.

What in the bloody hell was the matter with this woman? Didn’t she ever look in a mirror and see how wonderful she was?

Not wanting to get into that, David bumped her arm with his. “This stuff’s brilliant. Surely, it boosted sales.”

“That’s why I’m here.”

Liar. He heard her pain and decided to be honest, at least to some degree. “We can’t all fit in. I surely don’t. Many of my friends drifted away after I quit my position.”

Bree rested her hand on his thigh, seemingly unaware of how quickly that aroused him, his cock wanting to be free of all clothing so her cunt could imprison it instead.

“Friends are people who love you no matter what,” she said.

He smiled. “Very wise. Did you write that too?”

“Heard it on a sitcom, can’t recall which.”

He hugged her for making him laugh again, kissed her breathless then divided his time between looking at her work and seeing to his assembly. As Bree fanned him with the pasteboard, they shared histories. Her time at Harvard, his at the University of Cambridge. Bree’s addiction to
The Walking Dead, Suits, Nashville,
and
Grey’s Anatomy.
His love of football and other sports.

At last, he had the frames for this monstrosity in place, though little else even after so much time had flown by. The sun was low, turning everything in the flat a hazy gold. Thankfully, the temperature had dropped a bit, making it almost bearable.

Bree looked as wilted as David felt, her arms flapping more slowly, the breeze she tried to create barely registering.

A wave of tenderness hit him hard. Rather than fleeing the emotion, David embraced it, unafraid to be himself around her. Bree brought that out in a man, letting him know he was enough just as he was.

Time for him to be as considerate of her. “You can stop. In fact, you should. Your arms must be killing you.”

She spoke through gritted teeth. “I’m fine.”

“Put it down,” he ordered. “We’ve done enough for now.”

Bree let the pasteboard slip through her fingers. “Time for fun?”

The hope in her voice made David feel younger than he had in years, excited too. He pushed to his feet. With one hand on the back of her neck, he eased Bree close. She sagged into him, her face lifted to his.