Read, Write, Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons, Book 5) Contemporary Romance (12 page)

LEANNA AWOKE TO the sound of dishes clanking together downstairs. The pillow smelled like Kurt, masculine and earthy with a hint of something sweet, floral. She turned toward the window and saw a vase full of fresh wildflowers beside the bed. How did she get lucky enough to meet the kindest guy on the planet? By the time they arrived at his cottage last night, she was so tired she could barely stay awake, and he’d tucked her in beside him and held her while he read—and she slept.
Like a log
.

His bedroom, like most of the house, was outfitted in white—white walls with stained wood trim, white fluffy comforter. A breeze whisked the sheer white curtains from the open bay window. There was a thick and inviting tan seat cushion built into the bay window, with brown, tan, and red accent pillows. A thick, white throw rug covered the wide-planked oak hardwood floors between the bed and the window. A house that was primarily white might feel sterile to some, but it felt just right for Kurt. He was clean and neat, with a dash of pizazz in all the right places.

She buried her nose in his pillow and inhaled his intoxicating scent.

Pepper barked, and she pulled her nose from his pillow and found Kurt smiling down at her with a cup of coffee in his hands.

“I’m not sure if that was creepy or sweet,” he said with a warm smile.

She cringed. “Let’s go with sweet. You should bottle your scent. You’d make a fortune.” She’d slept in one of Kurt’s T-shirts, and when she sat up and crossed her legs, it billowed around her.

Pepper jumped on the fluffy white comforter and Kurt slid him a dark stare.

“Down.”

Pepper obeyed and lay down beside the bed. 

“I’m not sure I want a bunch of guys smelling exactly like me.” He sat beside her and kissed her cheek, then handed her a cup of coffee. “I wasn’t sure how you liked it, so if it’s wrong, I’ll bring you a fresh cup.”

“Thank you, but I can come downstairs for coffee.” She took a sip of the hot coffee. “This is perfect.”  She touched his wet hair.

“I went for a jog; then I took a shower, made breakfast, read the newspaper.”

“I slept through all of that? I’m not that lazy, really. I swear.”

He laughed. “No one said you were lazy. I loved waking up with you beside me, and if I didn’t have a word count to chase, I’d have stayed in bed with you.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Or inside you.”

She stuck her lower lip out. “Dang word count.”

He glanced at the clock. “I promise we’ll make up for it later. There are fresh towels in the bathroom. Make yourself at home. I’ll be out on the deck writing if you need me.” He kissed her again. “I’ve never had trouble getting out of bed and writing until today. For the first time in my writing career, I really want to climb back in bed and let the writing wait.”

She pushed playfully at his chest. “Go. Write. I can’t be responsible for the world not getting their next Kurt Remington thriller.”

After she showered and put on her bathing suit and shorts, Leanna looked out the bedroom window at Kurt on the deck below. It was a hazy morning, and there was a pretty yellow-gray haze over the water. Kurt’s hands flew over the keyboard, and she wondered what went on in his mind. He was careful when he spoke, and sometimes he looked like he was mulling over a complex equation in his mind. Other times, like this morning when he told her he wanted to climb back into bed with her, tenderness softened his eyes and mouth. She thought of the first night they met and the way he’d seemed annoyed by the disturbance. She knew now that he’d been writing, and she
had
interrupted him. She hadn’t pictured him as having a tender or romantic side. He was a wonderful surprise.

Leanna didn’t hesitate to open a drawer and see if he was as neat in the hidden parts of his life as he was on the surface.

“Yup.” She ran her fingers over the stack of perfectly folded shirts. Wanting to feel closer to him, she withdrew a navy blue tank from the top of the pile, slipped it over her bathing suit, and tied it at the waist. Then she set out to explore. She wandered down the hall and peeked into a nicely appointed guest bedroom. She peered into the next room and was surprised to find a full gym, complete with free weights and Nautilus machines. She tried to picture Kurt working out as he took breaks from writing. Then she modified the thought. Working out
before
or
after
he was
done
writing. She peered out the window and was surprised to see another cottage a short distance away. It was the size of her cottage, with weathered shingles, an arched front door, and shaded by the only trees on the property.

She heard Pepper bark and made her way down the wooden staircase, where she found Pepper panting up at Kurt outside on the deck. Kurt sat before his laptop, typing away. He shifted his head in Pepper’s direction, then turned back to his computer. Pepper barked again, and that’s when she noticed Pepper’s food and water bowls beside Kurt, and attached to Kurt’s chair was Pepper’s leash.

She watched as Kurt untied the leash from his chair and walked Pepper down to the beach. Leanna stepped outside and watched them walk along the water’s edge. Kurt’s feet were bare as the water lapped at his toes. His broad shoulders were relaxed, his stride comfortably slow. He seemed perfectly content, though she knew he had to be wishing she’d take over so he could write. She took another minute to drink in the sight of him. He was so handsome that he took her breath away, and walking beside Pepper, he warmed her heart. She realized that he looked like the type of guy she and her girlfriends would point out on the beach and stare at until he disappeared into the distance. Only Kurt was
her
boyfriend. She’d never managed her life very well, so it was no surprise that she’d never managed having a relationship well, either. This felt different. She felt different. She wanted this to work.

Leanna took the stairs down to the beach and caught up to Kurt. “Hey, want me to take over?” She reached for the leash.

He switched the leash to the other hand and draped his arm over her shoulder. “Nope. But I want you to walk with us.”

“But what about your word count?”

“I might have to work a little later into the evening, but I think you’re rubbing off on me. I don’t want to miss this. You. Us.” He kissed her cheek and glanced at his shirt, tied to fit her figure. “You look cute in my shirt.”

“I hope you don’t mind. I wasn’t snooping.” She put her hand on his stomach and leaned her head against his arm. “Well, that’s not true, exactly. I wanted to see how neat your drawers were. Weird, I know, but I wondered if you were a closet messy guy and the whole clean house and nothing-out-of-place thing was just for show.”

“Uh-huh. I have nothing to hide. I am who I am.”

“I like who you are. And now I know how you got those insanely big and sexy muscles. Arnold Schwarzenegger could work out in your gym.”

 “I’m a private guy. I’ve never really liked public gyms.” They walked a little farther with their feet in the water. “Do you have to prepare anything for tomorrow? A presentation?”

“I told you, I don’t stress over this stuff.” But the more he talked about a preparation, the more she wondered if she should be preparing. She’d never really
prepared
for anything in life. She moved on a hope or a whim, and she assumed things would work out for her. Or they wouldn’t. Now she wondered if that was part of her issue. Was she unfulfilled because she hadn’t taken the interest or put in the dedication that it might have taken to dig a little deeper in everything she’d ever done? She pushed the thought away. She couldn’t stress about the meeting now, and the last thing she wanted to do was worry when it was such a beautiful day and she was with Kurt.

“Yeah, but—”

“I’ve got it covered.”
I hope
.

“Okay, duly noted. But I’m pretty good at putting those things together, so if you ever want to put together marketing plans or presentations, I’m right here.”

“Thanks.”

“Maybe the jam business is just very different from other businesses. When my brother Dex takes a new PC game to distributors, they want to see everything—business and marketing plans, product specs. Even in publishing, forward planning is critical. We develop business and marketing plans for each new release. It’s different, but kind of the same thing.”

“I know that’s how things are usually done, but I guess I think I want to try it my way first. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not really the presentation and business plan type.”

He kissed her temple. “I think you sell yourself short. You’re the anything you need to be type, but you know your business best.”

“I don’t know best, but I know so little about marketing plans and all of that, that I think I’m better off going in as me. If I’m wrong, I’ll figure it out later.”

“That sounds reasonable. I have faith in you, but if you do need more, I’m here.”

Kindest man on the planet for sure
.

Pepper ran toward a mother walking with a young boy. Kurt reined in the leash. “Come here, Pepper.”

“He won’t bite.” Leanna stopped beside Kurt as he crouched next to Pepper.

“I know, but kids get scared. This way we’re near Pepper in case he tries to jump up on them.”

The woman and child were walking toward them. She had kind, dark eyes and a friendly smile. Holding her son’s shoulder, they stopped a few feet from Pepper. “He loves dogs. Is it okay for him to pet yours?” She wore a floppy green hat and a black one-piece bathing suit.

“Sure. He doesn’t bite,” Leanna assured her.

Kurt held Pepper’s collar while the little boy pet him and giggled. 

“His name is Pepper.” Kurt smiled at the boy.

“Pepper,” the little boy said as he held his hand out for Pepper to lick.

“How old are you?” Kurt’s eyes bounced between the little boy and Pepper.

“Free,” the boy answered.

“Wow. You’re a big guy. Is this your first time at the beach?”

The boy shook his head.

Leanna felt her heart squeeze at Kurt’s tender tone.
He’d be a great father someday.
Oh my God. What am I thinking?

“Me either.” Kurt glanced up at the boy’s mother. “He’s really sweet.”

“Thank you.” She touched her son’s blond hair.

“Thank you.” The little boy reached for his mother’s hand as they walked away.

 “He was sweet, wasn’t he?” They headed back toward the cottage.

You sure were
. “Adorable.”

Back at the cottage, Kurt settled into writing and Leanna sat on a lounge chair a few feet away.

Kurt’s cell phone rang, and when he answered it, he spoke quietly. “Hey there.” He listened to the person on the line and then said, “I know. Okay. Yeah, I’ll get them something nice.” He paused. “Really, Siena? I think I can handle picking out a gift. What does that mean? A woman’s touch?” He paused again, then laughed.

Leanna was trying not to eavesdrop—no, that’s a lie. She was blatantly eavesdropping.
Who is Siena?

“Okay, fine. Yes. I’ll look for something that’s not too manly. Do you want to just buy it and say I picked it out?” He paused again. “You’re a pain. I love you, too. Okay. Uh-huh. Bye.”

He ended the call and went back to writing. Leanna couldn’t see his face, and she wondered
who
he loved.
Who
was a pain? They were boyfriend and girlfriend. Didn’t that give her the right to ask? She watched him typing and resisted the urge.

“Leanna?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You’re burning a hole in my back.” He rose from the table and moved her hip over, then squeezed in beside her on the lounge chair. “Siena is my sister. My family always says,
I love you
, and she was giving me a hard time about buying my brother Jack, who is getting married, a wedding present.”

“You didn’t have to tell me who you were talking to.”

“I didn’t have to, but I felt you worrying.” He ran his finger along her thigh, and it sent goose bumps down her leg.

“You felt me worrying? I didn’t even say anything.”

“You didn’t have to. We’re in sync, remember?”

THE SUN SET, leaving a warm streak of blue against the night sky. An evening breeze swept across the deck. Kurt had been writing all afternoon, and it had taken all of his focus to continue writing with Leanna wandering around in her little pink bikini, touching his shoulders as she passed by. He liked knowing she was there with him. He heard the French doors open, and her sweet scent surrounded him. He glanced at his word count:
8,289
.
Not bad
. He just wanted to finish this one paragraph; then he’d put the computer away for the night.

Leanna leaned against the table, and Kurt’s eyes slid from the keyboard to the curve of her hip. He continued typing as his eyes followed the line of her body up to her breasts, then to the playful smile on her full lips.

“I missed you.” She leaned forward and kissed his neck.

Her hair tickled his bare chest, causing his fingers to still on the keyboard.
Two. More. Sentences.
She slid her hand down his chest to his thighs. He held his breath.

She flicked his earlobe with her tongue. “I missed you a lot.” Her lips grazed his cheek, and then she pressed kisses along his lips as she moved in front of his computer and pushed his legs apart, then seductively positioned herself between them, looking at him through heavy eyelids, hair falling loosely over her breasts. She leaned in close and ran her hands down his chest. Kurt saved his work and pushed the laptop back, unable to even remember what he had wanted to write. Her breasts lifted and fell with each desire-filled breath. He kissed the warmth of her deep cleavage and ran his hands down her ribs to her rounded hips. God, he loved her hips. She sank down on her knees, and his pulse kicked up. He shot a look at the empty beach despite knowing they were too high up to be seen.

“Leanna,” he whispered. “You don’t have to—”

“Shh.” She pressed her finger to his lips as she unzipped his pants and set his erection free; then she lost her balance and toppled to the right. He caught her midfall with one strong hand and helped her find her footing again. She covered her face with her hands.

“I am so bad at this whole seductress thing.”

He caressed her cheek. “You’re amazing at the whole seductress thing.” And she was. He couldn’t have been more turned on by the way she looked at him, her tentative movements, or her sensuous body.

“Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.”

“Already pretending.” He had no idea that a woman could be so hot and so goddamn cute at the same time, but she pulled it off perfectly. Every muscle corded tight at the sight of her between his legs.

She nodded and closed her eyes for a beat—long enough for Kurt to take a deep breath and try to calm his racing heart.  When she wrapped her hand around his throbbing arousal, then took him in her mouth, he didn’t have a chance in hell.

“Good Lord,” he said in one long breath.

Her hair curtained her face and he moved it to the side so he could watch her take him in. She stroked him with her delicate hand, loving him with her sexy, hot mouth. He untied her bathing suit top and watched it fall away, exposing her milky-white breasts, strikingly beautiful against her deep tan. She licked the tip and met his gaze from beneath her hair, sending heat searing through him. She licked him from base to tip, never breaking their eye contact. He clenched his teeth against the urge to come. She was taking him to places he’d only fantasized about but never allowed himself to enjoy. He pulled her to him and kissed her hard, stroking her mouth with his tongue while drawing her bikini bottom down. He needed more of her. He filled his palms with her heavy breasts, loved them with his mouth, sucked them until she fisted her hands in his hair, tilted his head up, and set a dark, hungry stare on him.

“I want more,” she whispered.

A groan rose from deep within him as he lifted her to the table and laid her back, spread her legs with his, and lowered his mouth to her moist, hot center. She sucked in a breath as he stroked her with his tongue, tasting her sweetness as she arched against him.

“More, Kurt,” she pleaded.

He slid his fingers inside her and licked her sensitive folds. She clawed at the table, moaning with pleasure, and shaking her head from side to side as her insides squeezed tight, pulsing against him.

“That’s it, baby. Come for me.”

Jesus, she was beautiful when she came. He spread her legs farther, and she tensed against his efforts, still in the throes of her orgasm. He withdrew his fingers, and she cried out.

“No. Please. More.”

He brought his mouth to her once again, devouring her as her body eased down from its peak, and he could wait no longer. He lifted her hips and brought her to the edge of the table, then drove into her. She gasped a breath—he groaned with the intensity of their passion, thrusting harder, deeper, faster.

“Yes. Oh God, Kurt. Yes!”

She reached for his hips, and he captured her cries in his mouth as another orgasm clutched her. Her body shook, and her hips bucked wildly against his. He slowed her sinfully sensual hips and found their rhythm again.

“There we go, babe. Let it go.”

She cried out again, grabbing his wrists and digging her nails into his skin. The intense pleasure and pain impassioned him. He was unable to hold back any longer. Every muscle was strung tight, his legs burned, and with two more powerful thrusts, he surrendered control and followed her right over the edge with his own ardent release.

He drew Leanna to him and held her tight, still buried deep, breathing hard. Three words lay on the tip of his tongue, and he held them back. Trapped them in his mind like butterflies under glass, where they flapped and fluttered, trying to set their magnificence free. They hadn’t known each other long enough for him to even think the three words that, when strung together and spoken from the heart, were the three most significant words in the English language, yet they were there, as clear and present as he knew his own name.

THE BRISK EVENING air whipped through Leanna’s hair as they drove toward Provincetown with the top down. They’d stopped by her cottage to pick up clothes for the evening, and Leanna stored the new batch of jam in the room off the kitchen. Now she and Kurt were on a mission to find the perfect gift for his eldest brother, Jack, and his fiancée, Savannah, who were getting married at the end of the month. Pepper sat at her feet with his head on her lap, happy as could be. She couldn’t believe Kurt had accepted Pepper into the fold of their relationship, but he had insisted that leaving Pepper at home would just make the pup feel bad and that dogs who felt lonely tended to act out. How did he know? She imagined that, as with the stain, he’d Googled it. She imagined him researching how to properly care for a misbehaved, needy dog. The thought brought a smile to her lips.

As they passed Pilgrim’s Lake on the right, nestled between mountainous dunes and rows of beachside cottages on the left, Leanna felt as though she was moving forward, and surprisingly, felt more fulfilled. At the same time, what she’d been doing with her life had hardly changed—except for the addition of Kurt.

Kurt reached for her hand. “You’re quiet. You okay?”

“Better than okay.” She watched the edges of his lips curve up and wondered if he was thinking about their intimacy on the deck. She had never before even attempted to be a seductress.
A seductress?
She was more like Lucille Ball in
I Love Lucy
. She didn’t know what she had been thinking, except that she wanted Kurt so badly that she couldn’t get enough. She wanted to be closer, to taste him, to knock him off balance and see him with all defenses down, and she’d knocked herself off balance. She thought of the way he’d caught her on the deck and how he brought out the confidence that she exuded in every aspect of her life except relationships. He helped her bring that confidence to their relationship in the most loving and tender ways, but there had been a moment in their passion when she saw everything else in his eyes fall away. And in the space of a breath she could tell that he wasn’t thinking either. He’d dropped all his defenses. He was touching, tasting, moving, driven by the sizzling connection between them, just as she had been.

“Nervous about tomorrow’s meeting?” He turned off the main highway and followed the road into Provincetown to the parking lot by the pier.

“Not really. I will be when the time comes, though.”

“I envy your ability to be so relaxed about things.” He parked and put the top up, then came around and opened the door for her. Pepper ran around his feet, tangling the leash as if he were a tree. He looked down at him and shook his head.

“Sit.”

Pepper plopped down on his butt and whined while Kurt untangled the leash. “Aren’t these meetings huge for your business? I mean, they must be the equivalent of my signing with a publisher for my books, right?”

“I guess. Yeah, probably about the same.”

A gust of wind swept through the parking lot and followed them toward one of the busiest streets on the Cape, Commercial Street. Commercial Street was lined with colorful stores, artists, restaurants, and all types of musicians. Provincetown was an arts community with a year-round population of around three thousand, but in the summer it was
the
vacation destination of gay men and lesbians, as well as tourists from all over the world, bringing tens of thousands into the small town. The streets held the aroma of salty sea air, baked goods, and patchouli. It was an assault of the senses, an explosion of colorful people, artistic efforts, and one-of-a-kind experiences—and one of Leanna’s favorite places on earth.

A young man playing a guitar sat on the ground outside a restaurant, and they stopped to listen for a few minutes. Kurt threw a few bucks into the guitar case before they continued on their way, passing families with children, men and women of varying nationalities, cross-dressers, transvestites, and a wide variety of leashed dogs. A man whose entire body, including his clothing, was painted silver stood on a crate, still as a statue. Nearby, a tall, thin man with long brown hair sang in front of the Town Hall, dressed in a green minidress and spiked heels, surrounded by onlookers, who applauded and tossed money into a box on the ground. The diversity of Provincetown was just one of the reasons Leanna loved the area. The widespread acceptance seemed to go hand in hand with interesting, creative shops and people.

“There’s something about P-town that makes me happy.” She smiled up at Kurt.

“There’s something about P-town that makes everyone happy. That’s the best thing about this place. Everyone fits in.” He kissed her temple.

Another surprise. She’d wondered if he was comfortable with the crowds and diversity. Now she knew. And she added his appreciation of Provincetown to her mental Like List, which was getting pretty darn long.

At the main intersection, they walked past a gray-haired, paunchy policeman who made traffic direction an art form. He swayed his hips to silent music, bowed as cars passed, and blew his whistle at the throngs of onlookers. Throughout the years, Leanna had danced with that policeman, and now she had an urge to run into the street and do it again.

“I love that guy,” Kurt said as they walked past.

Leanna threw caution to the wind and let go of Kurt’s hand. “Be right back.” She kissed his cheek and ran into the road. If he was going to like her for her, he had to know the real her. And she wouldn’t be Leanna if she didn’t mimic the policeman’s moves and dance with him.

Hands on hips, the policeman blew his whistle at her. She mimicked his actions with a smirk and an
oh-yes-I-am
shake of her head. He turned his attention back to the line of cars waiting to pass, and as he waved them by, so did she. She had seen many people join him in the street throughout the years, and though he kept a stern face, he always bowed in appreciation when they parted. When he spun in a circle, motioning for the cars to cross the intersection, she was right behind him doing the same thing, and caught sight of Kurt holding his phone up and snapping a picture with a wide smile that reached his eyes.

He wasn’t embarrassed.

He wasn’t acting like he didn’t know her.

He definitely likes me.

Kurt crouched down beside Pepper, one arm protectively around the dog’s shoulder as he pointed to Leanna and said something she couldn’t hear. It wouldn’t matter what he said. Just seeing him embrace Pepper tugged at her heart.

She mimed a thank-you to the policeman, who bowed and made a rolling motion with his hand; then she rejoined Kurt.

“Now, that was priceless. If your Sweet Treats falls through, you could definitely go into the dancing traffic directing business.” He pulled her close and kissed her.

“Sorry. He’s been there since I was little, and I always used to dance with him. I had to do it.” She wiggled and tugged at her T-shirt and cutoffs, adjusting them so they weren’t askew from her walk on the wild side.

They walked hand in hand, weaving in and out of the crowd with Pepper in tow. They browsed a leather shop—where Kurt joked about buying matching leather chaps for Jack and Savannah. They meandered through two art galleries, a kitchen shop, and they came out empty-handed from each.

They stopped at Shop Therapy, a hippie clothing store downstairs and adult toy store upstairs. Dresses and tie-dyed tops hung in the front windows. A basket of sage incense blocked part of the entrance. The shop smelled like marijuana, which the employees claimed was the sage incense they burned. Leanna had her doubts. 

Kurt led her to the stairs in the back of the shop with a hint of mischief in his gorgeous eyes.

“Wanna go up?”

Her heartbeat sped up, and she felt her cheeks burn. With Bella and the girls? Sure. But with Kurt? Even the idea of looking at adult toys with him made her a little dizzy.

“Um…How about…?”

He laughed a little under his breath and kissed her forehead. “Don’t sweat it. I only know what you’re into by asking.” He led her safely back through the shop to the racks of women’s clothes. “Show me what you like.”

Oh God. You think I’m a prude
. “I don’t mind…that stuff.”