CRAVING HER CURVES: The Complete Curvy Series

by Erin Havoc

  “So many books!” She breathes. “Are they all related to finances?”

  “No.” I cock my head, aware for the first time how little we know of one another. Because of our age gap, I was already working when she got into high school. Even though every time I saw her she had her nose stuck in a book, she has no reason to know that’s something I like too. “I just like to read.”

  Her mouth drops in an O-shape. I can’t help but smile.

  “Cherry’s going to have a field day in here,” Liz giggles as she turns back to me. “I’m dying for a hot shower, then you can show the rest of the place around.”

  I return to my stride. “There’s a bathroom in your room. I have two guest rooms, so I hope you won’t mind sharing.”

  “We already share the dorm, you know?” Liz sticks her tongue out as I open the door to their room. She walks in and Cherry follows, her gaze glued to the floor.

  Her smell wafts up to my nose as she passes me. Sweet and fucking mouth-watering. I clear my throat to conceal the groan that fights its way out.

  “There are towels in the bathroom. I’ll be in my office if you need me.” I begin to close the door when Liz calls me.

  “Wait! I’m the one who’s going to shower. Take Cherry around to see the place!”

  My heart jumps up to my throat. I’m pretty sure my face pales a little.

  I can’t be with her by myself. I won’t be able to control my actions, my words.

  Cherry freezes too. “It’s okay, Liz. I’ll wait here, check my phone. We’ll do the tour together.”

  “No,” Liz waves off, striding to the bathroom. “Go on and start without me. I’m sure you’re going to take forever with those books anyway.”

  Before either of us can complain, Liz enters the bathroom and shuts the door behind her. Several, pounding beats of my heart pass before I hear the shower running.

  I swallow, my gaze dropping to Cherry. Her cheeks are a brighter shade of red than before.

  “Are you cold, Cherry? Maybe too hot?” Yes, she’s too hot indeed. But that’s not the point. “I can adjust the temperature.”

  She shakes her head, and the murmur that escapes her comes out almost inaudible. “Hot, indeed.” Her eyes have darkened as she shoots me a glance.

  This must be my imagination. It has to.

  Because if there’s any heat in those eyes, and if she wants me half as bad as I want her… Then screw it all.

  Something shifts in me.

  Cherry slides her coat off, abandoning it over the bed, next to her bag. “So would you mind showing me around?”

  My heart still hammers against my ribs, but there’s a difference now. Now that she’s looked at me like that, my control, my restraints are about to snap.

  She’s going to be mine. That’s the only thing I care about.

  5

  * * *

  CHERRY

  Tyler takes the lead to show me around, quickly pointing out where the other guest room is and where his bedroom is. He doesn’t take me there.

  I clear my throat to hide my embarrassment. Isn’t it kind of ridiculous how hard I want to see where he sleeps? I wonder if it smells like him.

  Because now that there’s only the two of us and I’m walking next to Tyler, his smell is kind of turning me on. He smells like expensive aftershave and classy liquor. I wish there was a perfume that smelt like him. I’d bathe in it.

  “I’m usually in my office anyway. I hardly ever have guests.” He walks to the first door we passed and enters it. I follow, gawking at the shelves upon shelves of books all over again.

  There’s a fluffy carpet on the floor, stretching from the door all the way to the huge windows. They take up all the wall behind his desk, where there are a computer and several sheets of paper and folders.

  “I’ve heard you were in the board of directors,” I try to do small-talk as I press my fingers to the spine of those books. There are indeed books of every genre. Some Stephen King’s and Dan Brown’s and the whole Eye of the World series. Classics and new ones, mass paperbacks to leatherbound. He clearly likes books.

  “I am,” he mutters just from behind me, his breath hitting the top of my head. I flush but I don’t turn to look at him, knowing I’ll probably give away how much his husky voice makes me wet.

  For some reason, the light here is very dim. There’s only a light on his desk, and he hasn’t turned the ceiling one on. I don’t mind. It’s kind of magical. The snowstorm rages against the large windows, and there’s a mix of Tyler’s smell and the smell of books. The only sound is the wind.

  I swallow, moving on to the next bookcase. “You’ve always worked hard. It’s good to know it has paid off.”

  He mutters an agreement and I can still feel his warmth too close. I want to twirl around and beg him to back off - I don’t want Liz to find me climbing him. But I hold it back and ignore the whole thing. He’s surely just keeping me company.

  “It is. And how’s college?”

  Is it my impression or has his voice grown hoarser?

  “It’s great. I’m majoring in English.”

  “I know.”

  I look over my shoulder and find him staring down at me with something in his eyes. Something… soft.

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. Liz told me. I always expected you’d go there someday. You’ve always been a devourer of books.”

  I’m taken aback he’s noticed this. I’m sure Liz is the one who prompted the knowledge about what I am majoring in, but I’m surprised he remembers it.

  And I really like it.

  Tyler has both his hands deep in his pockets as I turn back to walk across his office. There are conflicting feelings in his face, things I have never seen there. He’s always been so stoic. So grave.

  But the way he’s looking at me now? I want that. I want him to look at me like that all the time.

  “So I’m…” I clear my throat. When did the ambiance become this tense? I’m covered in goosebumps. “Yeah, I’m majoring in English. I’m loving it.”

  “What are your plans? Are you going to teach?”

  “Yeah. Literature. I really like it.”

  “I know,” he says again, and his voice has grown even huskier.

  My nerve endings are buzzing. My breathing has grown labored. He isn’t touching me, he isn’t giving me any hint about anything, and yet, my whole body has started this crazy reaction.

  I stride to the windows and press my hands there. It’s cold, as I expected, and I use it to try to clear my head.

  The city below us blinks up. It’s dark outside, and the storm doesn’t help. It’s getting harsher now, but still manageable.

  Seeing the city from such heights is… Stunning.

  I’m gawking, my mouth dropping open as my gaze runs from one side to the other. There are a park and a shopping mall. I can see a hospital and many smaller residential buildings. Far in the distance, a cluster of tall ones.

  Pressing my forefinger in their direction, I voice, “What are those buildings?”

  “Finance district.” He answers, his voice making my bones vibrate. “That’s where I work.”

  I hum an agreement. “It’s so beautiful from up here.”

  “You’re beautiful,” he answers without missing a beat.

  I snap a wide-eyed glance at him. I expect to have heard it wrong. I expect him to either laugh or apologize.

  He just stares. His eyes clear with honesty.

  I hug myself before stepping back so I can look at him fully. Though my throat is dry, I tilt my chin up. “Are you serious?”

  He nods. That’s all he does. There’s something in his face that tells me he’s just lost a battle. Pressed brows, his lips pursed to a side. As if he had been fighting it, and he gave it up…

  Fighting what?

  He can’t be attracted to me, can he? Not a man who looks like him. A rich, older man that could have any girl he wants.

  I try to smother the amber in my chest.
But as his eyes don’t leave mine, it flickers brighter and warmer. The beats that pass between us are silent but not uncomfortable.

  A smile opens in his face. He takes a step, his hand coming up to — my face? My arm? He opens his mouth to say something…

  The whole moment, the bubble, the snow globe shatters as Liz’s steps echo through the hardwood floor to us.

  As if electrified by the sound, both of us step away the moment she enters the office.

  “I knew you’d still be here,” she giggles as she meets my eyes. She lifts her phone in a hand as I’m ordering my heart to calm down. “Mom sent me a message. She’s arrived.”

  Tyler turns to her, his hands back to his pockets. “Have you given her the address?”

  “So, here’s the thing,” Liz tilts her lips to me. “She wants me to pick her up.”

  I frown. “She wants you to drive there? What for?”

  “She can take a cab. Tell her that.” Tyler insists.

  Liz shakes her head. “Sometimes you’re such a noob with our parents. She wants to be picked up.”

  He heaves. “So what? Tell her there’s no chance you’re driving up there.”

  “Here’s another thing!” Liz gives him her phone. “She wants me to take a cab there, pick her up, then return.”

  Tyler’s face drops to a scowl as he reads the texts. “She’s mad. What the hell is this for?”

  Liz shoots me a look. “She’s always like this. She wants to irritate me. It’s a test.”

  I nod. “We’ll make it through. I’ll go with you.”

  Liz shakes her head, pressing her lips together. “You can’t. If you go, there’ll be three people on the back.”

  “Mother hates it,” Tyler sighs, giving Liz her phone back. “She hates cramped places. I’ll go, Liz. You girls warm the dinner up.”

  Liz shakes her head sharper. “No way. She asked me. If you show up, she’ll get here already screaming her head off that I’m a lazy, useless person that asks other people to do whatever I’m supposed to do.”

  Tyler opens his mouth, but no sound comes out.

  “Liz, this is non-sense,” I tell her, crossing my arms. “You’ll have to go on a cab by yourself in this storm just because she wants you to?”

  “I know it’s nonsense,” Liz lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “But if I don’t, it’ll be hell.”

  Tyler rubs his eyes. “It will. I’m already regretting this whole thing. Next time, I’ll forget to call Mom.”

  My heart swells a little. I imagine him asking me to spend the Holidays with him.

  Snuggled up under the covers. Pressing my hips against his as he cuddles me.

  My face warms up as I imagine his hands running up my body to cup my breasts, and his length pressing against my backside. Lust pools low in me.

  “I’ll be back as fast as humanly possible,” Liz says as she turns to leave. “You guys warm it all up so Mom has everything ready when she arrives.”

  “I’ll take some wine bottles out so she gets drunk and sleeps earlier.” Tyler offers.

  “Genius,” Liz chuckles and leaves.

  Jerking back to life, I follow her to the living room, where she slips her coat back on. “Liz, keep us posted, okay?”

  Liz nods and blows me a kiss before she exits the apartment. Then there’s only silence. Silence, and Tyler’s warmth right behind me.

  “The drive to the airport is short. We should start the warming up,” he says as he passes me and strides to the kitchen.

  I do try to smother the hope. But it’s so bright now I have no other option than to follow him, a smile on my face.

  6

  * * *

  TYLER

  Destiny mocks me.

  I was already having a hard time with Liz in the house. Now that she’s out, I’m doomed. My mind keeps drifting to the way Cherry looked at me when I called her beautiful, a hint of a blush kissing her cheeks. I can’t get her out of my mind.

  We walk into the kitchen in silence, and I can feel her stare boring into my back. Of course I’m making her confused. Of course she’s wondering about when did I turn into a perverted old man.

  I called her beautiful, and I was going to touch her, and I know once I did, I wouldn’t be able to let go.

  This woman has already become an addiction.

  Pulling the food from the fridge, I pause the containers over the island. My mother hasn’t cooked in years, always expecting someone else to do the job. I do like to cook, but Mom would freak out if she learned I’m the one who put the dinner together — that that’s not a male thing to do, that I should have paid someone, what would the others think, that I didn’t have money?

  I would tell her that there are no “others”, but it’s to no use.

  Like Liz, I have given up. I cooked the dinner, and I put it away in glass containers as if somebody else had done it for me.

  Discreetly, I search for Cherry. She’s pressing her fingers over the marble counters with a soft smile.

  Does she like my place?

  Wait. Why the hell do I care?

  I have to give her some space. I’ve been standing too close so I could smell her, feeding my craving. I tried to touch her.

  Even if nothing ever comes out of this, I don’t want her to hate me. I don’t want her to think I’m a freak.

  “This is an amazing kitchen,” she voices.

  Her freaking voice makes my cock twitch. How the hell is this even possible?

  “Thank you.” I turn the oven on and slide the turkey in. “It’s really spacious. More practical to cook this way.”

  She cocks a brow at me, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning against the counter. “You say it like you used the kitchen to cook.”

  I motion to the food between us. “Don’t tell my mother, but I’m the one who cooked the whole thing.”

  Her eyes pop as her lips tilt up in a skeptic smile. “No way. I’ve never known you cooked!”

  “Only when my mother is not looking.”

  Cherry cracks up. “Your mother is a piece of art.”

  “She is. The first time she visited me after I moved out, I cooked dinner. She freaked out. That it wasn’t a man’s thing to do.”

  “What?” Cherry scoffs. “Eat?”

  “Exactly,” I laugh along. “She thinks I’m supposed to pay some woman to do it for me. I think she believes cooking is a sexual trait or something.”

  “Like breasts,” she giggles.

  I chuckle along, but why did she have to mention breasts? It draws my gaze to the beautiful set she has. I have to pry my eyes from them. They’re full, the kind of tits that makes men crawl.

  Clearing my throat, I turn away so she won’t notice. “The thing with my mother is that we have to find ways around her. She’s too headstrong. So instead of trying to convince her, I just put the food in bowls so she thinks I had someone cook it for me.”

  “This is crazy,” Cherry approaches a couple of steps, leaning to gape at the food. “Everything looks amazing. She should be proud of you.”

  “Oh, she should be proud of many things, but she’d rather bother me and Liz with not having dates, or how our hair looks or how much we weigh,” I shrug. “She’s never satisfied. I just gave up on trying.”

  Cherry presses her lips together. “I’m sorry you two have to go through this. It must be awful.”

  “I’m sorry you have to go through this too. She’s not even your mother.” I lick my lips, suddenly noticing how much I have told her. My mouth is dry with how much I have spoken. I’m taken aback with how easy it is to just pour it all out when I’m with her. “And yet, I’m glad she’s never complained about your presence. That’s extraordinary when it comes to her.”

  “I’m glad too,” Cherry cocks her head, her golden tresses spilling down her shoulder. “Though I’m sorry I’ve bothered… other people. I understand how annoying it must be. I’ve been spending the Holidays with you guys for years now.”

  I bli
nk. “You’ve bothered other people? Who?”

  Her cheeks flush. “Well, I wasn’t going to come this time. But Liz really wanted me with her so your mother would…”

  “Wait, Cherry.” I bolt upright. “Who did you bother? Did Liz say something about my father?”

  She shakes her head, her fluster deepening. “No.” She licks her lips, “I’m not judging you, Tyler. I know it’s—”

  “Do you think I’m bothered?” I chuckle, but the sound is shallow. I’m surprised. When did that come across? “Why?”

  “You were so off the other time. And I know you said you couldn’t make it to last year’s because of work, but your commitment just came up when Liz said I was coming.”

  “No.” Before I can stop myself, I’m crossing the kitchen to her and my hands come up to her shoulders. “No, Cherry. Don’t think that. That’s not why I bailed out.”

  Huge mistake. She’s too close. She’s so freaking beautiful, so beautiful it hurts. Her bright eyes lock with mine, and she smells amazing.

  She smells like freaking cherries and cream.

  “It’s not a problem, Tyler. I know you want your family time and I’m barging in every single year.”

  “Cherry.” All my walls crumble down at the same time. I’m out of breath and I’m flipping a finger to all fears and uncertainties. “Cherry, that time I was off because I had a reality shock.” A smile stretches on my face. “It’s kind of your fault, really.”

  Her eyes are huge, “Is it? Why?”

  “Because I saw you that time and ever since then I can’t even look twice to a woman.” I brush my knuckles on her creamy skin and she shudders under my touch. Her eyes flutter for a moment. “I was amazed at the woman you’ve become. And I was so fucking aroused by your presence I was afraid you’d think I was a degenerate.”

  Cherry’s mouth drops open. “No way.” She blinks several times. “But last year?”

  “Cherry,” I laugh, and I approach her another step. She tilts her head up, never taking her eyes from me. “You have no idea how hard it is to have an erection every time I saw you and pretend to be casual.”