Take Me Home: Home is Where the Heat Is, Book 3 (2 page)

Chapter Three

Shawna grabbed her phone and dialed Cash’s room as she rechecked her reflection in the large mirrors lining one wall of the hotel lobby. She hated dressing up. Yoga pants and a tank top were more her speed. Add on a slice of cheesecake, a glass of wine and
Sleepless in Seattle
and she’d be in heaven.

And the unemployment line. Chloe would hit the roof if she found out a
StyleU
escort had taken Cash out on the town in normal, everyday clothing.

Keeping that in mind, she’d dressed in a shorter-than-her-norm black skirt. The matching high-heel boots would give her blisters, but they did tend to make her legs look a little longer and a bit less thick. Her breasts looked large in anything, there was just no helping it, so she’d settled for a pale-blue silk blouse that flowed freely and hid the upper portion of her arms.

She’d tried on every ensemble in her closet and nothing had come close to how she wished she could look for Cash. She’d never be model material, but she was passing for the evening, and her hair looked good for once. Win. The tight bun she’d put it in was neat, and the couple of wisps of hair escaping complemented her face. All in all, she looked appropriate for representing
StyleU
.

“Hello, darlin’.” The moment he answered, the butterflies in her stomach morphed into lunar moths focused on finding a way free.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Not yet. Come on up. I have a surprise for you.”

He hung up before she could say a word.

Chewing at her lip, she considered her next move. Go to Cash’s room or leave
StyleU
’s newest god without an escort? Neither option seemed safer than the other. Chloe could throw her out on her ass over the consequences of either choice. At least going up might hurry him along…

Mind made up, she rushed to the elevator. The ride seemed to take forever, and she glanced at her watch several times on the way up to the sixty-fifth floor. Cash was staying in one of the posh rooms the magazine held in reserve for guests. When the elevator door opened she found him standing just outside of it with a devilish grin.

He grabbed her hand and spun her in a quick circle. “Hot damn, you look good. Those boots are kickin’ my ass. Come with me.”

Pulled down the hall by his smile more than his hand, a lighthearted contentment stole over her. He was easy to be around, his smile lighting up his face and crinkling the skin around his eyes. It was an infectious expression, full of real emotion.

While they walked, she let herself enjoy how good he looked. A light gray shirt encased his broad shoulders, the material clinging to his bronze skin. The shirt tapered into a pair of washed-out jeans with fray marks at the pockets and knees. Everything fit to perfection, accentuating his incredible body. The toppings on this cupcake were his black cowboy hat and snakeskin boots.

He was straight out of a dream.

They reached his room, and she laughed when she saw a small wastebasket holding the door open. He pushed it aside with a little shrug. “Can’t find my key.”

“I’ll have the front desk issue you a new one when we go down.”

She’d barely finished the statement when he had her across the room. He stopped in front of a laptop and pointed to it. “I’ll look for my key while you open the file. It’s our pictures. Chloe agreed to copy them for me, but I can’t figure out how to open it.”

The spacious room closed in around her, his scent filling her lungs with every breath. Even when he disappeared into the adjoining room, Shawna just stood there, rooted to the spot by the fact that she was in his space, where he would lie down tonight on the large inviting bed no more than five feet from where she stood. Her mind conjured the image easily. His dark hair contrasted by the fluffy cream pillows, bronze skin covered only by the pale sheets. Every muscle would be outlined… Smooth silk sliding over his skin…

“Any luck?”

Cash called from the other room, snapping her from the sinful thoughts. She glanced at the computer, nervous anticipation fluttering through her chest. She’d imagined every scenario possible for tonight in the hours since the photo shoot. None of the daydreams touched the reality. She wasn’t even going to attempt to deny it. Truth was, she knew all it would take was the right touch, or word, and she’d be in his bed.

With a deep breath, she pulled a chair closer to the desk. Determined to ignore her wayward thoughts, she sat down and typed in the commands to open the protected file. Chloe should have known he wouldn’t know the password. But maybe that was her plan. She’d kill someone if the photos hit the streets before the magazine did. The file loaded quickly and the first picture popped onto the screen.

Cash stood with Jenna and Lise. They all looked beautiful, hot, everything an ad should be. She cringed, wondering if Chloe had added any of the other pictures. “I’ve got it when you’re ready.”

“Be there in a minute. Go ahead and find ours.”

She flipped through dozens of pictures, unsure if she wanted theirs to be in the file. Seeing the pictures together here, instead of the privacy of her apartment or office, didn’t sit well. She was about to turn away when the next picture popped up.

Her breath caught. She and Cash stood close, his masculine grace evident. She looked pale and plain next to him, but the heat in their gazes sizzled on the screen, as if nothing outside of the two people existed. Chloe must have deleted the first few awkward photos before Lynn-Ella had prodded Cash into action.

The next photo was even better. He was closer, his lips near her neck. A zing of awareness tickled her belly, liquid heat dampening her thong. The look on her face was mesmerizing. She looked dazed, lost in the moment, as if he’d cast a spell. The next few pictures barely changed, just slight shifts, like the photographer had tried to catch every aching movement until they kissed.

He pulled her hair free, stroking until it flowed down her back. She was arched into him, her hand coming up to rest against his bare chest, her lips parted on what must have been a sigh of contentment. The next picture caught when their lips met. Their eyes were closed, his muscular arm around her waist. She wasn’t small, but next to him she looked tiny.

When the first picture of their deeper kiss came up on the screen, she couldn’t hold back a groan. A double dose of heat pooled between her legs. There was nothing simple or calm about the photo. They may as well have been naked and fucking. It was just as intense. Mouths fused, his strong jaw flexed as he demanded a response. She could taste him now and closed her eyes to block out the memory.

“Wow,” he whispered next to her ear. “We look good. Go back. I want to see them all.”

Jolted by the nearness of his voice, she flipped numbly through the previous pictures, trying not to look again. Having him over her shoulder did a serious kick-start job on her normally placid libido. She shifted to alleviate the building pressure, cringing when the movements spiked her arousal instead.

When she reached the pictures of him and the models, his hand closed over hers on the mouse. “Wait. Not those. Just the ones of us.”

He didn’t remove his hand. Instead he placed his finger over hers and clicked through the pictures slowly. “You look fantastic. So sexy.”

His breath brushed over her ear and she shivered. “No, you look good.”

They stayed that way as he flipped through the pictures. When he reached the last batch, the ones of their deep kiss, he slowed down considerably. “We’re so intense. I knew I liked it, but I wasn’t sure if you had.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” His cheek brushed her neck. “I wasn’t sure if you were just acting. But looking at these, hell, you can almost see the heat between us.” She nodded, tipping her head slightly as his lips barely brushed her skin. “I’m not one for small talk, Shawna. I like you. Hell, I want you. To put it as blunt as I can. And I think you want me.”

Yes, yes and yes. “Cash, I’m not sure this is—”

She tried to turn the chair to face him, but he held her still. “Look at us. We are amazing together, perfect, like we’ve already been lovers and know exactly what we want. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel that.”

“Yeah, I felt it.” The light bristle of his whiskers moved down her neck. Every nerve ending in her body stood at rigid attention when he was near, ready to sing at his touch.

“Do you feel it now?”

His hands moved up her arms to her shoulders, his fingers drifting over the skin exposed by her flowing shirt. She closed her eyes and nodded mutely, unable to form a decent response.

His low growl rumbled through her, and when his lips closed over the pulse at her neck, she dropped her head to the side. Reaching back, she clutched at his hair, holding him close as his teeth nipped gently at her flesh. Sharp, pulsing pleasure poured through her from the simple caress, and her nipples tightened, straining against the lace of her bra.

She wanted to lose herself in his touch. He’d be gone soon. Her one chance to take advantage of his interest would disappear when the photo sessions were over. She didn’t normally think about sleeping with a man just for the sake of doing it before he left. Men were more apt to pass her by for the gorgeous models who paraded through the doors of
StyleU
every day. His interest in her was as shocking as the one-night-of-cowboy-riding-bliss thoughts rolling through her head.

“Shawna?” Cash’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

She blinked to clear her head. “What?”

His brows furrowed. “Everything okay?”

“Sorry.” What was wrong with her? She should have been enjoying his touch. Instead she’d let her insecurities take over as usual. “I’m a bit overwhelmed.”

“That’s not what I wanted.” He stepped back. “I want you ready, willing and not questioning a thing.”

“No. I mean yes, I am. Way am.” Good God, if he only knew how bad she wanted to turn around and let him have his way, in any down-and-dirty way he wanted… Fuck. He would if she knew how to send the right signals. Better yet, if she could figure out her own head. For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why she was so reluctant. Everything about Cash screamed good time. “It’s just that we’re going to be late and Chloe won’t be happy. And I tend to overthink things. It’s a bad habit.”

The fact that she could form the coherent explanation surprised her almost as much as his soft laugh. His warm lips pressed to her collarbone. “I know a
not ready
when I hear one. Come on.” He pulled her up from the chair and looped an arm over her shoulder. “Let’s get this work stuff over with so I can try to seduce you again later.”

“Is that what you were trying to do?” She looked up at his handsome face. It had worked. Her body was drenched with need.

His eyebrows arched and his easy smile toppled. “Dang. Was I that bad at it?”

“Yes. No, I mean. Not at all. I was just teasing you,” she rushed on, horrified that she may have hurt his feelings. “That was my badly timed attempt to defuse the tension. You’re very good at seduction. I wanted—”

Silence enveloped the room. His eyes darkened. “Wanted what?”

“Never mind.” She fingered her necklace, completely out of her element with flirtation, play, or any semblance of foreplay fun. “Let’s just go.”

“What happens if we’re late?” Cash couldn’t help himself. She kinda wore her emotions. No poker face at all. And he found her so intriguing he wasn’t ready to join the crowds again when he had her to keep him occupied. “Chloe plays at being a hard-ass, but I have it on pretty good authority that she’s sleeping with my brother and isn’t thinking of much else right now.”

“I got that impression too at the shoot.” She rolled her eyes and seemed to relax a tiny bit. “Well, about her and your brother. Chloe doesn’t let her personal life get in the way of her job. She knocks everything else aside to get what she wants. Even some great guys. I like her, but men just don’t stand a chance with her, and I think it’s gone to her head.”

Cash laughed. “Well, she’s certainly giving Nick a run for his money, but I think my brother can break her.”

“You don’t know Chloe.”

“You don’t know Nick,” he countered. “In any case, I really don’t want to talk about them. I was just letting you know that we don’t have to go anywhere. We could stay here. Find something much more entertaining to keep ourselves occupied.”

“No.” She leveled him a glare, her brows furrowed. Her serious look, he guessed. “As tempting as that is, we need to go. Chloe’s right. People need to be teased by you. If we can get the public’s interest piqued, it’s great for sales, her career and my future. We have a job to do.”

Cash forced himself to remain impassive. There was something incredibly sexy about her shift into kick-the-world’s-ass business mode. Taming her didn’t do the feeling justice. He didn’t want to break her. It was more a need to show her she could be herself with him.

But damn it, her ability to shut off the attraction between them as if it didn’t exist wasn’t easy to swallow. Time to shuffle her deck. “So you’re taking me out for business, huh?”

“Yes.” She nodded slowly.

“Hmmmm. And here I thought you liked me.”

“I do. Now, if you’re done trying to throw me off-balance, the car’s waiting for us downstairs.” She grabbed her small black handbag and tucked it under her arm. “Right now, making sure I keep my job is all that’s important. I can like you all I want later.”

There it was again. Cold. Focused. Fucking hot. Cash watched her for a long moment, taking in every detail. She wasn’t sure of herself at all. Her hands were clenched, her body rigid now that she’d regained the control she’d lost when he’d touched her. She was attracted to him, and if her intrepid additional statement of liking him later was indication, she was even trying to flirt a little.

The woman was an enigma. One he planned to figure out before the night ended.

Chapter Four

StyleU
did things big.

Big hotel room. Lavish food he couldn’t even pronounce. Clothes that fit just right but with price tags attached that blew his mind. Who in their right mind paid three hundred bucks for a pair of ripped jeans? Gram would have another stroke if she knew.

The limo Shawna climbed into—the one she’d called a car—was no exception. Talk about feeling like a fish out of water. He followed her onto the slick leather backseat and yanked the door closed before the oddly feminine butler guy could do so.

Shawna shook her head and chuckled. “It’s his job, you know.”

“I’m sure it is. Hell, he can pamper you all he wants.” Cash settled back against the seat. “But I’m doing this for my gram. She’s sick, and the contract Chloe offered will cover her medical bills for a year, maybe more. I’d do anything for her, but that don’t mean some guy in butler gear is gonna be openin’ and closin’ doors for me. That’s going too far.”

“You’re doing this for your grandmother?” She waited for him to nod then popped a console open to her right and waved at the selection of liquor. “You must really love her since you’re completely out of your element.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Kind of.” She pulled a glass from the compartment. “Your drawl is more pronounced when you’re stressed, or—”

“Or what?” he pressed, really wanting to know where that thought was leading.

“Aroused,” she murmured. “Want a drink to ease the painful experience?”

Cash was tempted. A good stiff whiskey would relax him, but he wanted to be in top form tonight. Stress didn’t have anything to do with anything in a dark limo. Definitely not when there were tinted windows and a sexy woman needing attention. “No thanks.”

“So you were saying, about your gram?” She poured herself half a glass of champagne and took a slow sip. “What’s wrong?”

“Age,” he answered honestly, letting her steer the conversation for the moment. “She’s ninety-four. By all rights, with the life she lived and what my granddad and pa put her through, she should be dead.”

Shawna settled deeper in her seat as they glided through traffic. “What do you mean?”

She seemed genuinely interested. He was used to female attention. It was a curse, his pa had said.
They wantcha but that’s all they wantcha for
. His no-good pa didn’t know much, but he knew women. He’d had his fair share and most men’s dream share.

“Grandpa was a son of a bitch,” he offered by way of explanation. “He was drunk more often than not and beat her as much as he put babies in her belly. My pa was one of fourteen kids and the hellion, to boot.”

“Fourteen?” she sputtered. Swiping at her mouth, she stared at him with wide brown eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Wish I was.” He chuckled, enjoying her astonishment. “Big families are a dying breed nowadays, but my hometown still has a few roads littered with the same last names of lasting generations. My aunts and uncles take up half a county.”

“How big is your immediate family?”

“I’ve got two brothers and seven sisters, all older. All but two are half siblings due to Pa’s addiction to jumping fences for greener pastures. Hell, I didn’t even know Nick was my half brother until five years ago. No one knew, except Pa. Nick’s mother was already married before Nick was born, and she never told him about Pa until his adoptive dad passed away. Nick ain’t close to our family, but he’s coming around with Gram.”

“Holy crap!” Shawna refilled her glass before tapping on the window dividing them from the driver. When it rolled down, she said, “Take Seventh tonight—there’s a political rally up ahead that will slow us down even more if we don’t go around.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She turned back to him as the privacy window slid shut. Sipping at her champagne, she crossed her legs, bringing those damn sexy boots of hers back into his thoughts. “That’s a lot of Christmas presents.”

“I’m not really what you’d call close to any of them either, so I only buy for the munchkins.”

“Dare I ask how many of those there are?”

“Nine nieces and thirteen nephews. My oldest sister has eight kids herself.” He shifted closer, unable to wait any longer to touch her. She’d been in his head since the shoot, and it was well past time to purge the fascination. Taking the glass from her hand, he set it in a cup holder. They could talk her talk, but they were going to dance too. “What about you? Any family to speak of?”

“Uh, no.” She glanced at his hand as he ran his knuckles over her knee. “I’m an only child, and my parents were originally from New Zealand.”

Goosebumps erupted on her skin and Cash smiled. “They around?”

“They?” she parroted.

“Your parents,” he supplied, enjoying the blush tinting her cheeks.

She shook her head. “Do you really care?”

“Yes.” He didn’t lie. “I want to know everything about you. But I want to feel you, touch you and taste you as well.”

“I can’t concentrate while you’re touching me.” She took a deep breath. “Saying stuff like that just makes it worse.”

“Good.” He slid his hand higher, palming her thigh. “Now we’re on fair ground then.”

“Meaning?” she squeaked.

He ran his finger across the smooth black leather encasing one delectable calf. “There’s something hotter than hell about a woman wearing fuck-me boots when she doesn’t realize they’re screaming
fuck me
.”

“My boots?” She glanced down at them and shimmied her knees close together. “You’re kidding, right?”

When he met her gaze, she seemed genuinely surprised. “No, darlin’. No kidding. That’s exactly what they’re sayin’ to me.”

She tried to back away, but he followed. “Don’t pull away. You’re hotter than hell and I get the feeling you don’t even know it.”

“Pretty words from a pretty man,” she scoffed. “That’s a get-the-ugly-duckling-in-bed line if I’ve ever heard one.”

“Or the truth.” Her self-doubt floored him. She was the most upfront, honest woman he’d met in forever. She wasn’t nasty or manipulative, which he appreciated in spades. The fact that she didn’t know how enticing her all-natural attitude and body were was sad. He’d been looking for this kind of combination for a while. “You’re fucking killing me. All I can think about is how sexy you are, how much I want you right now, and you’re thinking I’m loading up the bullshit. I don’t do lines, Shawna. I want you. Bad.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond. His only real weapon against her insecurity was to show her. Sliding down to his knees on the limo floor, he whispered, “Relax. I’m going to let you decide if I’m tellin’ big fish stories.”

Grasping both of her knees, he eased her legs apart slowly. Her resistance was minimal, and he kissed her knees, watching her reaction. “From the second you stepped off the elevator all I could think of was how good you’d look in nothing but these boots.”

She gasped softly when his hands slid up to her inner thighs, edging toward the darkness beneath her skirt. “So sexy,” he breathed against her skin. “The things I want to do to you.”

Shawna trembled. As much as a cliché as it seemed, she couldn’t control the shakiness engulfing her body. In the dark recesses of the limo, Cash Dillon, soon-to-be
StyleU
god, was going down on her.

The soft bristle of his five o’clock shadow was rough against her inner thigh, and his promised whispers of the pleasure he’d like to show her were blowing her mind.

“How long until we get there?” he asked against her skin.

Right. He expected her to form any semblance of coherent thought when he was between her legs? “Twenty minutes, give or take a few.”

“That’s more than enough time.” He pressed a slow, hot kiss against her thigh. “I’d like a few hours to play, but I can work with what we’ve got. Until later.”

He slid his hands high under her skirt, grasping her hips to pull her farther down on the seat. The low, rumbling growl he let loose was as intoxicating as his touch, and even if she shouldn’t want this, she did. Fucking
StyleU
personnel was a huge no-no, and a quick way to lose her job. And oh, dear mercy, he was so close to her thong she could feel his warm breath…

He inhaled deeply, his dark hair brushing his brows when he glanced up at her. “You smell delicious.”

Her heart stopped when she realized he wasn’t talking about her hair, or her perfume, or any other normal scent. He was talking about her pussy. The look in his eyes said he liked what he’d found and he was going to devour her whole.

She’d never had such an intense experience. Maybe it was his handsome face and perfect body adding to the desire, but the normal reluctance she felt about sex evaporated. It did from time to time, when she found a considerate lover, but that was usually once they’d invested a bit of time and she could let go of her issues with her body. Even then, an actual orgasm was hard to come by. There was so much motion, rolling, potential for flab to shake. No. Orgasms came in fractured irregularity for a single girl with a bit of pudge.

Even when she did it herself, she found herself critiquing how she would look to someone else…

Now she was doing it again. Damn it.

Cash sat up then, ripping her back to the moment, his emerald eyes intense. His hand snaked around her neck, pulling her close to kiss her gently. In the same moment, his thumb brushed over the lace covering her pussy.

“Stop thinking,” he demanded, inhaling her gasp. “You’re so responsive.”

“Not usually,” she admitted. “Being surrounded by stick figures of beauty makes it hard to love my—added packaging.”

“We’re always more critical of ourselves. Trust me, darlin’. You’re gorgeous.” He sat back a bit, meeting her gaze. “Those women don’t look real. They’re pieced-together fragments. I like the real deal. A woman who’s just the way she was created naturally. Soft, supple and damn sexy.”

Incredibly enough, she believed him. Maybe if he hadn’t had the option to fuck any of the models he’d worked with today, she might have thought different. Knowing he’d picked her was a drug she didn’t want to quit. Her own personal crack. “Well, you’re certainly getting natural tonight.”

“Just the way it should be, whether you live by God, Goddess or science.” He spread her thighs wider and glanced down at her body. “Take your panties off for me.”

The demand wasn’t rude. Not with the way he looked at her. It was a plea. One she couldn’t deny. Sliding the thong down slowly, she watched his reactions. He followed the progress of the lace, his hands gripping tight against her skin again when she shimmied the material past his fingers.

“If you don’t hurry, I’m going to fuck you right here instead of just getting you off.”

She’d never had anyone talk to her this way. It was shocking and incredible at once. Knots formed, tightening her inner walls and notching her anticipation up to insane levels. When her panties hit the limo floor, he sighed. “That’s more like it. I want to see you.”

His thumb parted her, and she dropped her head back against the seat. Both for the sensations his touch created, and because she wasn’t sure she could look at him when he touched her this way. Stroking with slow deliberation, learning what made her sigh or grip the seat. Then his finger slid inside her aching channel, and she bit her lip to keep a loud moan of pleasure in check.

“Perfect,” he murmured. “Wet and ready. Damn, I’d like to feel that around my cock.” His finger was hot, his thumb stroking her swollen clit. “I’m going to eat you until you come for me.”

She closed her eyes, acutely aware of the brush of his mouth moving closer to where she so wanted it, the way he nipped at her flesh, his hot breath, so close…

Then his tongue touched her, and she arched off the seat. “Oh. My. God.”

He didn’t break stride, and the world tilted on a dizzy swirl. She liked oral sex, but this, with Cash, in a limo… This cowboy knew his way around a horse. Their location added an erotic, exciting element she hadn’t attempted before. Public sex had never been her thing. The fear of exposure was too high. But tonight, in the safe enclosure of the limo, with Cash as her partner, she felt sexy as hell.

When he reached one hand up to stroke her aching breasts, she cried out.

“That’s what I like to hear,” he murmured, nuzzling her opening with his nose. “Let me know what you like, ’cause I don’t plan to be shy.”

The hand caressing her breasts slid beneath the flimsy material of her shirt. In seconds he had her bra unfastened, and he stroked the skin between her tits. “If we were in my room—” he licked her clit in a slow, torturous rhythm between every few words, “—I’d have you on the bed.” Another lick. “I’d still eat you first, but then I’d turn you around and rub my cock right here.” Several more, until her head started to pound. “I’d stroke against you, and ride you after you came in my mouth.”

“Cash.”

He growled low and slid his tongue deep into her pussy only to drag it back over her clit and suck lightly. She was panting, ready to explode. So close. Her nails bit into his shoulders as the first tremors started. “Right there, Cash. Yes. Don’t stop,” she begged.

He didn’t disappoint. He lapped faster, grasping her inner thighs harshly to spread her wider as the orgasm hit. Wave after wave of almost painful pulses rocked her insides, ricocheting through her womb and crawling up her spine in a sizzling current.

She tried to push him away, shaking her head. “No more. No. Too sensitive.”

He slowed, but he didn’t stop completely. He kissed her, lapping at her, drinking her up. Her ears were muffled, her body lethargic. “That was amazingly great.”

Bright green eyes met her gaze before trailing back to her highly exposed flesh. Even if she shouldn’t feel bashful after what he’d just done to her, old habits were hard to break. She tried to close her legs, but he held her open, his thumb stroking her wet flesh. “Don’t.”

“Cash, please.”

“What?” he asked, his brows crinkling.

“I want to cover up.”

He shook his head. “There’s nothing sexier than a woman drenched with desire. If we had the time, I’d show you exactly what you’ve done to my cock. What I want to do to you. What looking at you does to me.”