Savin' Me (14 page)

“What?” She jerked in surprise, then shifted
her gaze away and squirmed around a little.

“I know it’s a strange thing to ask, but…”
The question had been knocking at the back of his mind since they
toured the plant. The way she’d been drawn to the commendations on
the walls and the light in her eyes as she talked about working at
the humane society and the women’s shelter that night at dinner
made him wonder if she wouldn’t rather do something else with her
life. The only time she’d shown that same spark toward her job was
when she’d presented him with the idea of teaming up with Kevin to
promote the Coastal Preservation Association. “Is advertising
really what you want to do? Are you excited to get up in the
morning and go to work?”

She pressed her lips together and stared out
the window. After a long pause, she quietly said, “No. I want to do
charity work.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

“Because I need to do this first.”

She said it as if the answer made perfect
sense, but he didn’t understand. “You need to do what first?”

She fidgeted with the tie on her robe,
causing the fabric to separate in the front and expose the swell of
her breast. Which, in turn, caused his mouth to water and his cock
to get back in the ball game, but he wasn’t finished talking.

Jesus, when did he get to be such a choir
boy?

He grabbed her hand to stop the fidgeting and
prevent further exposure. Stroking her palm with his thumb, he
said, “You need to stop that, because I really do want to hear what
you have to say.”

She slid her tongue across her lower lip as
her gaze travelled from their joined hands up his torso, lingering
first on his chest and then on his lips. Her eyes turned to a deep
forest green as her lips parted and her breath hitched.

Shit. He swallowed hard as need pushed him to
pick up where she’d left off with the licking. But deep in his gut,
he knew this conversation was too important not to finish. He let
go of her hand and ran his thumb across her too-damned-tempting
bottom lip. No wonder he’d never put much effort into being
chivalrous—it sucked. “Finish telling me what you meant by
‘first.’”

“My grandfather is almost eighty, and his
health has begun to fail in the past few years.” Her eyes filled
with pain, and she swallowed forcefully. “He’s always been there
for me and is my biggest supporter. I don’t know how much longer
I’ll have him, and I have to do something worthwhile, actually
accomplish something in my life, to make him proud. After that,
then I can do what I want.”

He frowned. “Why do you think your granddad
wouldn’t be proud of you for doing charity work? That’s a great
vocation.”

“My mother and father are both corporate
lawyers, and my brother is an accountant. I’ve always been accused
of having my head in the clouds, of being a daydreamer, never being
serious enough.” She made a stern face. “Why can’t you be more like
your brother?” she said, mimicking the hurtful words she’d
obviously heard more than once.

She dropped her gaze to the floor and bit her
lip to stop the trembling. “They’ve always criticized the amount of
time I spend at the animal shelter. And the women’s shelter? When
I’m there, my mother says I’m spending too much time with the
‘downtrodden.’ Like those women and children asked to be victims of
abuse. They’ve always made it clear I should do something more
worthwhile, at least in their eyes, than charity work.”

Well, damn, Kat’s mother sounded an awful
lot, and he meant awful in the literal sense of the word, like his
mother. Maybe Kat would understand his hesitation to take her home.
Or maybe, just maybe, because she’d grown up with someone like his
mother, he’d be comfortable taking her home, knowing she could hold
her own.

“You said they said those things to you. Is
that your parents, or does your grandfather feel that way too?”

“God, no! Granddad would never say anything
like that.” She blinked a few times, considering what she’d just
said. Her eyebrows dipped low, and she caught her bottom lip
between her teeth. After a long pause, she said, “He’s never, ever
criticized me for anything.” Her voice was filled with awe and
wonder, and her eyes reflected that she grasped what that truly
meant… And how incongruous it was to her logic. “He’s the only
person who’s ever loved me for just being me.”

The deep creases in her forehead faded, and
her eyes brightened. She straightened her shoulders with renewed
purpose, and Erik’s chest swelled with happiness. She ran her hand
down the length of his thigh, and her expression flipped from
pensive to heated. “Thank you for helping me see that.”

Her eyelids relaxed as the pulse in the side
of her neck fluttered, then picked up a rapid pace. Apparently,
their talk was over, the no-touching rule had expired, and it was
all systems go for him to slip that robe off and take her—right
here, right now.

His heart rate increased to keep pace with
hers as he ran a finger along the side of her neck, across her
collarbone, and down between her breasts. She moaned softly and
arched her back, offering herself to him, and then… yawned.

Her eyes popped wide open and she threw a
hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. How rude.” She laughed… and then
yawned again. “I’m so sorry. It’s been an emotionally exhausting
evening. When I get upset, rather than deal with things, I shut
down and go to sleep.”

Erik laughed and tugged on her hand. “Come
over here.” Gently lifting her onto his lap, he murmured, “I’ve got
just the thing to help you unwind and put you into a deep, restful
sleep.”

Her eyes glittered with desire and
speculation as she snuggled into him and ran her hand down his
chest. “Oh yeah?”

His plans didn’t exactly meet her
expectations, because if he undressed her and slid into her the way
he wanted, she wouldn’t get any sleep. But she’d be satisfied, and
he’d feel good because tonight, he didn’t want to take anything. He
only wanted to give.

He slipped the belt free and pushed open the
folds of her robe. She was wearing soft pink panties, no bra, and
her skin was as smooth and perfect as he remembered. Her rosy
nipples hardened as the cool air hit them, and his mouth watered
for a taste. As slowly and reverently as possible, he slid his palm
over first one breast, then the other. She arched her back and
cried out as he pinched and slowly rolled the taut nub between his
thumb and forefinger.

The use of both hands would come in handy,
but he was enjoying having her cradled in his arm too much to let
go. He slid his free hand down her stomach and toward the thin
satin fabric that covered his new definition of heaven. Leaning
over, he took a nipple into his mouth and sucked hard, then licked
gently before moving on to the other.

Christ Almighty. His eyes damn near rolled to
the back of his head as he slipped his hand under the sheer fabric
of her panties and his palm encountered smooth, hairless skin.
“Shit,” he breathed harshly, “you still wax.”

Her whispered “yes” was barely audible as she
arched and thrust her hips. She rolled her head to the side and
pressed a kiss against the skin of his chest, exposed by his open
collar, before grabbing his shirt and pulling him to her for a
kiss. He captured her mouth with his as his fingers slid down her
slick flesh and into her waiting core.

Her hips began a thrust and retreat rhythm,
allowing him to finger-fuck her while his mouth made love to hers.
She gave her body so freely to him, he felt as if he held a
precious gift in his hands.

His heart hammered and his cock swelled
painfully. Shit, he wanted to be inside her. But not tonight.
Tonight his satisfaction would have to come from giving her
pleasure.

She sucked on his tongue and he thrust his
fingers harder, while using his thumb to massage her clit. In a
matter of moments he felt her muscles contracting around his
fingers, grabbing hold and pulling him into her even further. She
arched her back and bit down on her lip, just as he’d remembered.
Then, she tossed her head back and cried out his name as her orgasm
rushed through her.

“That’s it, baby.” God Almighty, she was so
fucking hot he might come just watching her get off. He continued
to stroke her slowly and steadily, dragging her orgasm out as long
as possible.

When the waves subsided and her breathing
grew less strained, she opened her eyes and looked at him sleepily.
“That was amazing.”

He kissed her softly as he pulled his fingers
from her drenched channel, then held her gaze while sucking her
juice from his fingers. Shit, she tasted just as good as he
remembered.

Her eyes flared as she watched him. “Why
don’t we move to the bedroom?”

“That’s a great idea,” he said, as he cradled
her close. Walking down the hallway toward her room, he added, “But
I’m not staying.” When she made a sound of protest, he shook his
head. “No, you need sleep. And if I stay, you won’t get any.” He
grinned mischievously. “Sleep, that is.”

He set her down, making sure her wobbly legs
would support her before letting go and flipping the covers back on
her bed. He slipped the robe off her shoulders, then drew in a
long, ragged breath as he beat down his natural instincts and the
desire to pick her up, toss her onto the bed, and follow. Instead,
he picked her up, gently laid her on the cool sheets, then quickly
pulled the top sheet over her, minimizing the temptation.

He brushed the hair back from her face and
dropped a kiss on her forehead. Stroking the side of her face, he
said, “Baby, you need a break. Will you go to the beach with me
this weekend? I promise it won’t have any effect on your job.”

She opened her eyes partway, then slowly
blinked. “Yes. But I have one stipulation.”

Erik locked his jaw and prepared himself.
He’d told her she could set the parameters, and he meant it. He
wanted her to go, and he’d live by her rules even if it killed
him.

And, depending on her stipulation, it just
might.

She gave him a sleepy smile and ran her
fingers along the side of his neck. “I want a whole lot more than
what just happened.”

He released his breath with enough force to
ruffle her hair, and said, “Oh, hell yeah. That, I can do.” His
smile was as predatory as a lion going after a lamb as he leaned
over and kissed her long and deep. “Get a good night’s sleep.
You’re gonna need the rest tomorrow night.”

Chapter Nine

Erik sank into a pale-blue Adirondack chair
and propped his feet on the top railing of the deck surrounding his
Topsail Island beach home. Little Bit took notice and bounded over,
then patiently watched and waited for Erik to get settled before
leaping onto the chair and making himself comfortable in Erik’s
lap.

“You comfy?” LB nudged his head against
Erik’s hand. “You’d be a lot more comfy if I rubbed your head?”
Erik laughed as LB’s tongue flopped from the corner of his mouth,
and his dark brown eyes rolled up toward Erik in pathetic plea.
“You are one spoiled mutt, you know that?”

Erik absently stroked behind LB’s ear and
watched a commercial fishing boat get beat to shit as it struggled
to cut through the large waves churning up the inlet. However,
while his eyes were glued on the boat, his hearing was trained on
the back of the house, listening for Mazze’s truck to pull into the
driveway.

Sitting here not-so-patiently waiting for Kat
and Kevin to arrive was making him crazy. No, Kat being with
wild-man Mazze was driving him crazy. Sitting here waiting for them
to arrive was making him criminally insane.

Kevin had dark hair, dark eyes, and a dark
look powerful enough to make women drop their clothing where they
stood. More than once, Erik had seen Kevin raise a finger, curl it
in a come-here-baby motion, and the object of his desire moved to
him as if in a trance. But the real kick in the ass was, beneath
the dark exterior women found mysterious and ultimately
irresistible, Kevin was also a nice guy.

Erik blew out a breath and took a drink of
his water. Thinking about Kat falling for Kevin’s charm made his
stomach heave, which was ridiculous. Erik had no claims on Kat. And
in reality, her spending the weekend with him was a horrible
idea.

The self-preservationist may have walked off
the job, but that part of his mind had been in control far too long
to be completely silenced. It was like a broken record asking the
same question over and over: “What are you doing?”

And no matter what answer he gave—
giving
Kat a much-needed break, spending a fun weekend with Kat, following
through on the goal of hot sex
—he got the same question right
back again. “But what are you
doing?
”

Eventually, he faced the question for what it
was. What did this weekend mean? Would Kat expect more? Would she
think this meant they were involved?

Were they involved?

What did he expect from her? What did he
want?

And for those tough questions, he had no
answers. Besides, it was a little late to be worried about them
now. He’d made the offer and she’d accepted. Now it was a matter of
waiting for her arrive, with fucking Mazze as her chauffer.

The French door leading into the living room
opened and slammed shut, startling Erik from his thoughts. He
jerked around in his chair, then grabbed hold of Little Bit just in
time to keep the poor little guy from landing on his ass.

“Damn, bro,” Steve said, limping across the
deck. “It’s just me. Settle down.”

Since Steve was supposed to be competing in a
BMX event in San Jose, Erik had been surprised to find his
motorcycle in the driveway. But once he’d caught a glimpse of Steve
passed out on the couch, a cast on his wrist, and an icepack on his
thigh, the answer had been obvious: Steve had taken another bad
fall.