TooHot (9 page)

“Matchmaker?”

“Yeah. When I started talking to him about you it became
clear he didn’t plan to ask you out because of me, so I took matters into my
own hands. I wasn’t about to let your relationship with me be the reason you
missed out on a good guy, so I helped things along a little.”

“Helped them along. You made me sound like a pathetic loser
who couldn’t get her own date.”

His eyebrows wrinkled. “No, I didn’t. I just told him if he
didn’t ask you out I’d see if Rick wanted to take you out.” He laughed. “Rick
has a bit of a reputation with the ladies, so I knew there was no way Marco was
going to risk Rick asking you out. I never had any intention of talking to
Rick. Hell, what kind of uncle would I be if I set you up with someone like
that?” He snorted. “Marco should have known better than that.” He shook his
head. “So you see, it wasn’t really a bribe when it’s what Marco wanted to have
happen all along, now is it? This way works so much better than a blind date
because you’d both already seen each other.”

How had she never seen what a crafty old romantic her uncle
was? It was convoluted, but hearing him say it, somehow it made perfect sense.
She shook her head. “Uncle Jack, you are an odd duck.”

He crouched down in front of her chair. “I’m sorry you got
hurt by my matchmaking. That was not my intention.” He tilted his head sadly.
“You should know better than that. You’re like a daughter to me, Josie. I’d
never do anything to hurt you and somehow that’s exactly what I ended up
doing.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry, Josie.”

“I know.” She held onto him tightly. What if she’d blown her
chance with Marco? She hadn’t exactly been nice to him tonight. Who was she
kidding? She’d been a bitch, implying he was no better than a dog in heat,
fucking anything that moved. She dropped her head onto her uncle’s shoulder and
held on.

He pulled back and looked at her. “Did you talk to Marco?”

“Sort of.”

“Josie? What did you say?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Let’s just say I didn’t make things
better.”

“Josie, Josie, Josie. What am I going to do with you, girl?
Did you let that redheaded temper of yours get the best of you again?”

Heat ran across her cheeks. “I might have.”

He laughed. “Well, girl, I guess you’re going to have to do
something to make it up to him.”

* * * * *

Josie eyed the bottle of forty-year-old Glenfiddich in her
hand. She’d been given it as thank-you gift from a neighbor for taking wedding
photos for them. And not being a scotch drinker, she’d never cracked the
bottle. Marco had taken one look at the scotch and nearly had a coronary. She’d
practically had to wipe the drool off his chin. She hadn’t even realized it was
such a good bottle until she’d seen his face. Hopefully giving it to him would
be the peace offering she needed to sway Marco.

She took a deep breath and knocked on his apartment door.
Nothing. Damn it, he wasn’t home. She glanced at her watch. Where the hell
could he be? Oh god, what if he was out picking up someone else? Pain lanced
through her at the thought.

Okay, nope, she wasn’t going to think like that. Marco
wasn’t Dave. He wouldn’t have moved on that fast. He said he wanted to make it
work, and he wouldn’t have given up that easily.

She sat down and leaned her back against the door and set
the bottle on the floor beside her. Popping in her ear buds, she flicked
through her iPhone for the right song. Sometimes a girl just needed to listen
to a little Heart. Growing up, she’d listened to it a lot. Her mom was a huge Heart
fan and said they had a song to cure anything. God, she hoped her mom was
right. Plugging in the song, she leaned her head back against the door and
closed her eyes.

The song slowly spread through her, and she hit replay. She
was humming along when she felt as if she were no longer alone. Josie opened
her eyes and found Marco leaning against wall, watching her. Heat ran across
her face. So much for being cool when she saw him. An amused smile spread
across his face as he watched her stumble to stand up.

She ripped her ear buds out and shoved them in her pocket.
“Hey.”

“Hey.”

She picked up the bottle from the floor and stuck it out
toward him. “A peace offering.”

Continuing to lean against the wall, he didn’t take the
scotch from her. “Why would you need a peace offering?”

“Umm…well…” she stammered. “Because I was a bitch.”

He shook his head. “You weren’t a bitch, Jos, you were hurt.
I get that.”

She chewed the inside of her cheek as she watched him. His
words said it was no problem but his body language spoke differently. If she
was going to have a hope in hell of saving this relationship she needed to put
on her big-girl panties and grovel if necessary.

She stepped toward him. His eyes lingered on her breasts and
his nostrils flared before he raised his eyes to hers. Heat lurked in the
depths. A thread of hope spread through her. He definitely wasn’t immune to
her.

She nodded toward his door. “Any chance we can go inside and
talk?”

Marco shrugged, moved past her and opened the door. “After
you,” he said gesturing for her to go first.

She purposefully brushed against him as she walked by and
grinned when she heard his sharp intake of breath.

Josie kicked off her shoes and walked into the living room.
She sat down on the edge of the brown leather couch and ran her hands along the
soft grain.

Marco sat down in the recliner across from her and rested
his elbows on his knees.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” she said.

“Yeah, what was that about? I get what you thought you
heard. I just don’t understand why it wasn’t enough after I told you what it
really was.”

She sighed. “You know how my uncle said I was coming off a
tough breakup?”

He nodded.

“Well…umm… God this is embarrassing.” She blew out a deep
breath. “My ex umm… He cheated on me, and when I caught him he said it was my
fault because I’d let myself go and I disgusted him.”

“Fuck.” Marco pushed to his feet. “And you believed him?”

She rubbed her hands together. “When I met him I was really
slim and I put on quite a bit of weight over the past two years.”

“So? Why should that matter?” He shook his head and paced
the room. “Don’t answer that. That explains why you were so self-conscious.” He
stopped in front of her. “That explains the body image, but that doesn’t
explain why you thought I would sleep with you when I wasn’t really
interested.”

She groaned. “Come on, Marco, look at you and look at me.”

Marco flicked his hands up. “I have no idea what that
means,” he said.

Josie rolled her eyes. “Marco. You are model gorgeous and
I’m well…not.”

He grabbed her hand, pulled her up and pushed her in front
of the fireplace, forcing her to look in the mirror over the mantle. “Look at
yourself,” he demanded. “’Cause you sure as shit don’t see the same person in
the mirror that I do. Do you know what I see when I look at you?”

Unable to speak, she shook her head.

“I see a woman with hair that has more colors of orange and
red than I’ve ever seen in any fire. With eyes so green and pure I forget how
shitty people can be to each other.” He pressed up against her back and she
could feel his erection against her spine. His hand cupped her hip. “I see a
woman with curves so soft and sexy that I want to bury myself so deep inside
her I don’t know where I end and she begins because when I’m in you nothing
else matters.”

She met his eyes in the mirror and the passion she saw there
made her knees weak. He pressed his erection against her and shifted his hips.
She dropped her head back on his shoulder.

“You feel that, Red? I can’t fake that. The second I get
near you I’m hard. That sure as hell isn’t pity.”

She turned in his arms and looked at him. Arousal and
compassion shone from the depths of his chocolate eyes.

“I’m crazy about you, Red, no two ways around it.”

She licked her lips. His eyes tracked the movement of her
tongue and she grinned. “I’m crazy about you too, Marco.” Going up on tiptoe,
she dragged his head down to hers and kissed him.

He groaned and sank into the kiss. His lips were soft at
first, growing hungrier with each sweep of her tongue in his mouth. He pressed
his tongue inside and she sucked it into her mouth, making Marco groan.

“Take me to bed,” she whispered.

He gripped her hips and hoisted her up so she could wrap her
legs around his waist. The first time he’d done this she’d been worried it
would turn him off to feel how heavy she was, now she just relaxed into him,
and simply enjoyed being with a man who could handle her.

She ran her tongue along the length of his neck and he
moaned.

“Don’t think you are out of trouble yet, Red. You’ve got a
spanking coming for putting me through all that today.”

She shivered and rubbed her pussy against his hard cock.
Even through two layers of jeans it felt amazing. He swatted her ass. “You’re
playing with fire, Red.”

She nipped his earlobe and whispered, “Mmm, I knew there was
a perk to dating a fireman. You know exactly how to put out the fire.”

“Fucking right.”

Marco carried her down the hallway and set her feet on the
floor at the foot of the bed. He sat down on the edge and smiled. “Take off
your clothes.”

At the commanding tone, her nipples beaded tightly. She
slowly unbuttoned her shirt and spread it open. Her nipples were barely
contained in the coral demi-cup lace bra. Marco hissed in a breath and beckoned
her closer. She shed the shirt, dropped it on the floor and stepped between his
legs.

He pushed the cups beneath her breasts. The underwire
hoisted them up, putting them on full display. He ran his tongue around one
nipple and sucked it inside his mouth. Josie threaded her hands through his
thick, dark hair and held on.

Marco pulled back and shook his head. “Naughty girl, trying
to distract me. You still have a punishment coming.”

If possible her nipples pulled even tighter. His eyes darkened
until they were almost black. “We’re going to have to buy some clamps for
those,” he said and flicked her nipple. The touch sent an arrow of heat
directly to her pussy, making her panties even damper than they already were.

“You like that idea, do you?” he murmured.

Josie nodded.

A slow, sensual smile curled the corners of Marco’s full
lips. “Good. Now lose the jeans and panties.”

Josie pulled down her pants and underwear and let them pool
at her feet.

Marco groaned. “Damn, Jos, you are so fucking sexy.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her across his lap so her ass
was up in the air. The rough fabric of his jeans rubbed against her nipples,
making them more sensitive, and she squirmed on his lap.

His hand landed on her right cheek and she yelped in surprise.
“I wasn’t ready for that,” she giggled.

“You weren’t supposed to be,” he said and smacked her left
cheek a bit more firmly. The smacks felt as if somehow they were sending a
shock of arousal directly to her clit. She widened her legs.

Marco swatted her again. “Quit grinding my leg; you’re not
getting off until I say you do.” He smacked her again, then his palm caressed
her burning ass. She moaned at the contrast from pain to pleasure.

Marco trailed his finger through her slit. “Damn, Red,
you’re so wet, you’re going to soak my jeans.”

She should be embarrassed about that, but with Marco it
didn’t matter. He seemed to love the fact that spankings turned her on.

His next smack landed on the edge of her pussy and a small
orgasm rippled through her.

“Damn,” Marco chuckled. “What happened to not coming until I
told you?”

Breathing rapidly, she laughed. “Sorry, that one kind of
snuck up on me.”

He pushed his finger inside her pussy and she groaned.
“Yeah, me too.”

With his fingers still buried inside her, he smacked her ass
again. The combination made her erupt again, this orgasm bigger than the last.

Marco laughed. “So much for this being a punishment, you
seem to like it a little too much.” He lifted her off his lap. He stood and
dropped his jeans and boxers in one swoop. His cock stood proudly erect. “Maybe
I should make you suck my dick as a punishment instead.”

Josie groaned and squeezed her legs together.

“Fuck this,” Marco said a moment before he grabbed her,
tossed her on the bed, and followed her down. “I need to be inside you.”

She giggled at his loss of control. Whatever this thing
between them was, thank god it was mutual. She didn’t understand why he wanted
her like he did, but holy mother she was happy he did.

“Condom,” she reminded him.

“Fuck,” he groaned and rolled off her to reach into the
bedside table drawer. Sheathed, he moved back between her legs. He positioned
his erection at her entrance and paused. Looking her in the eye, he grinned
then leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. He eased inside her and she
sighed as he filled her completely.

Marco broke the kiss and met her stare again. Maintaining
eye contact, he slowly eased back and buried himself balls-deep inside her.

“Holy hell,” she moaned. Wrapping her arms around his back,
she arched her hips, meeting him as he thrust forward. Marco reached between
them and flicked her clit and her eyes drifted shut.

“Look at me, Red,” he demanded.

Josie opened her eyes. A quiver ran down her spine to her
clit at the intensity of his stare. How was it possible for her feelings to be
so strong in such a short period of time?

“I feel it too,” he murmured and bent to kiss her lips. His
tongue tangled with hers and she dug her nails into his back as an orgasm built
slowly inside her. She clenched her inner muscles and Marco groaned.