by Ali Olson
She planted her legs on either side of him once again, opening herself fully to his view and making his heart pump so forcefully that one part of his mind wondered vaguely if he might have a heart attack. If he did, it definitely wasn’t the worst way to go.
Renee leaned forward and hooked a finger into one of the belt loops of his pants and tugged him back onto his knees in the space between her legs. She stopped tugging, but he kept moving forward, placing one of those smooth bare limbs over his shoulder as he leaned in to taste her.
As his mouth slid over her sex, she moaned his name. Fire shot through his veins. “Dammit, Jeremiah,” she said in a husky voice, “I was trying to be the one in charge, and now I can barely move.”
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, moving back slightly.
“God, no.”
He chuckled and leaned forward again. His tongue flicked her clitoris until he knew she was almost at the edge of another orgasm, and then he slipped a finger inside her. She gasped out, “You. Inside.”
He couldn’t have made a coherent sentence at that moment, either. He unzipped his jeans and finally let his throbbing erection free. As he slipped on a condom, she took the hat off her head and put it back on his.
Before he could change positions, she looped her hands around his neck and pulled him toward her, and then her lips were on his, kissing him as if her life depended on it. She wrapped her legs around him, and still crouching in front of the couch, he entered her. She groaned deep in her throat, but didn’t break off the kiss.
He sank into her warmth, then pulled almost entirely out, then back in. As he started a rhythmic motion, she copied it with her tongue inside his mouth. It drove him wild, and he moved faster and faster until they were hanging on to each other, gasping with the intensity of the moment. And then she was gone, crying out his name as she climaxed, and he followed.
Once Jeremiah had slightly regained the ability to think, he tightened an arm around Renee’s waist and shifted until he was on the couch with her on top of him, her weight settled on his chest. He wasn’t quite ready to slide out of her yet. It felt so good to be with her like this. So right.
She lifted her head and gave him a contented smile. He wondered if she felt it too, but he wasn’t ready to ask. Not yet.
Instead, he said, “I need a shower. How about you?”
“A shower sounds fantastic,” she replied.
They left their clothes in a disorderly heap on the living room floor, forgotten.
* * *
RENEE WOKE UP SLOWLY, enjoying the pleasant ache in her body from so much physical activity. The night before replayed in her mind and she smiled with her eyes still closed. Then her stomach grumbled and she realized she was starving.
She was more than glad to be out from under Jessica’s watchful eye, but dammit if she couldn’t use one of Aaron’s epic breakfasts.
She finally opened her eyes and saw that she was alone in bed. Where was Jeremiah?
As Renee got out of bed to search for him—and hopefully find food along the way—she remembered that all her clothes except what she had worn yesterday were in her suitcase, which was still in the back of Jeremiah’s truck. And the clothes she was wearing had never made it off the living room floor.
In her relaxed state, jeans seemed way too much hassle even if they were easy to find.
A quick glance around, though, and she discovered that her jeans actually were very easy to find. All her clothes, in fact. They’d been folded and placed on an overstuffed chair in the corner of the room, beside a clean pair of men’s pajamas.
Her heart started to melt before she reminded it that this was a fun fling and there was to be no heart melting involved. It was a nice gesture, sure, but not something to get all gooey about.
Just to prove that this was all supposed to be sexy and not real life, she left the pajama pants on the chair and only put on the shirt. It was long enough to cover her, but not by much.
Then she went off in search of Jeremiah.
The moment she opened the bedroom door, she could hear music playing somewhere in the house. She saw that her suitcase was beside the door, where Jeremiah must have put it while she slept, then continued to follow the music down the stairs.
She hadn’t noticed the decor the night before, but Jeremiah’s sprawling home was painted in warm Southern tones, with wooden furniture throughout the place. It was elegant, but so very country. She half expected to find a painting of a desert on one of the walls.
By the time she had made her way through the living room to the kitchen, she recognized the song and couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. He was listening to Sexy and I know it by LMFAO.
She stepped into the kitchen doorway just as it reached the chorus, and was greeted with Jeremiah dancing at the stove, a spatula in his hand, singing along. His back was to her, so she stood and took in the scene without interrupting.
“I’m sexy and wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah! Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah!” he sang, slightly offbeat.
He shook his jean-clad ass with every “wiggle,” and she had no idea why it was sexy when it should have been absolutely ridiculous, but man, he had a nice ass.
Then he noticed her and turned down the music. “Was it too loud? Did I wake you?” he asked.
She shook her head. He didn’t seem self-conscious at all about being caught wiggling with a spatula in his hand, which just made him even more adorable.
Sexy, not adorable, she reminded herself. And it was sexy, though how that was possible, she had no idea.
“Nice dancing,” she commented.
He gave her a smile that turned her legs to jelly. “Yeah, I considered becoming a professional, but you know how it goes.”
His eyes lit up as they raked over her from head to foot, lingering at the hem of the shirt that only just covered her. Her pulse sped up and she could feel heat flood her body. There seemed to be more than just shallow attraction in his expression, though. Something akin to contentment was mixed in with the desire in his eyes, and that made her hesitate. She wanted to say something sultry, to keep things flirty and sexy between them.
That was when she noticed what he was wearing over his clothes. It was a neon-green apron—covered in cats. Her train of thought veered wildly.
“You bought yourself one of those ugly aprons? I thought that thing was a joke you played on Aaron.”
He looked down at the hideous item in question. “There was a sale going on. Buy one, get one half off.”
She tried to stifle her laughter, but wasn’t very successful. “You still paid money for it, though? Real dollars?”
He smiled and nodded. “I thought it was pretty bad at first, but it’s grown on me. And the green looks way better than Aaron’s pink one. And everyone loves cats.”
His self-confidence amazed her. She’d never met anyone so comfortable with themselves. How did he do that?
Jeremiah’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Breakfast? I made waffles and sausage,” he said, gesturing with his spatula.
Her stomach growled in response, and she sat at the table as he brought over a steaming plate that smelled absolutely delicious. She wasn’t sure what made her mouth water more: the food, or the cook.
He caught her gaze as he set down the plate and gave her a look that liquefied her insides. The cook, definitely. Even in his silly apron.
A thought occurred to her as she doused her waffles in syrup. “Does Aaron know you have one of those aprons, too? He didn’t talk like he did.”
Jeremiah shook his head. “No, and you can’t tell him. Otherwise I won’t be able to tease him about it anymore, and what’s the fun in that?”
She tried to come up with some reply, but her thoughts were distracted by the crispy, sweet creation she had just st
uffed into her mouth. As soon as she swallowed, she shook her head. “What is it with you guys and amazing breakfast food? Is that a Texas thing?”
“No, it’s a ‘my mom’ thing. She insisted I help with the cooking when I was a kid, and Aaron was over so often as we grew up that he learned, too. I can also make a mean chicken parm. And my snickerdoodles kick ass.”
“Is there anything not awesome about you?” she asked. She said it jokingly, but in a way she was serious.
Why did this guy, the one who lived far away and she’d met at the worst possible time, have to be so absolutely perfect? Why couldn’t he just be a sexy way to spend a week, no strings attached?
Because she hated to admit it, but strings were attaching all over the place, and it was going to hurt when all those strings broke.
“I can’t roll my tongue, I always lose at Monopoly and you just saw my dancing. No more to say about that.”
Dammit, none of those was bad enough. She took another bite, savoring the flavors and trying to push the worry out of her head. She would just need to enjoy the here and now, and prepare herself for the inevitable end of this whole thing.
As she looked around the kitchen, she noticed one strike against him. “Don’t forget that you decorate with antlers.”
Jeremiah looked at the antler chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. “Yeah, I guess it must seem pretty crazy to someone not from around here. It’s just the way everything’s always been and I never thought to change it when my parents moved out.”
Jeremiah went back to the stove and got his own plate, then sat down beside her. He poured syrup on his waffle while he said, “So, did you want to go into town today and see some of the sights, or—”
“Or. Definitely or,” she said, cutting him off.
He gave her a grin so full of promise that the temperature in the room went up by a few degrees. She resisted the urge to fan herself with her hand. This was what she’d wanted. No more of that gooey sweet stuff. “Good,” he said, “because there isn’t really anything to see in town. I don’t know what we’d do there.”
“We can just stay here, then. I’m sure we can come up with ways to pass the time,” she responded with a flirtatious raising of an eyebrow.
Jeremiah took one of her hands and brought it to his mouth, biting lightly at her palm. The sensation shot through her body, settling low in her stomach. “I have a few ideas,” he said.
She wanted to giggle like a schoolgirl. Yes, this was going to be a good day.
When they were finished eating, she picked up the plates and took them to the sink, aware that she was giving him a good view of her backside as she did so. By the way he cleared his throat and the flush on his skin when she turned around, she was sure he’d taken full advantage of the opportunity.
“Well, what should we do first? We have the entire day free,” she said as she walked back toward him, aware of just how much of her legs was on display.
He held out his hand as if asking for help out of his chair, but when she took it, he pulled her into his lap instead of getting up himself. She could feel his body hard against her in more ways than one.
“Well,” he began, sliding the collar of her shirt off one shoulder and nipping at her skin in a way that sent bolts of pleasure through her. “I can think of a few different options.”
His bites and kisses traveled across her exposed shoulder and onto the base of her neck.
“Like what?” she asked in a hoarse whisper. She tilted her head back to give him more access, and he immediately took advantage of it.
“We could play hours of Monopoly, or we could have sex.”
His hands slid under the hem of the shirt and began moving along her body, leaving trails of heat wherever they touched.
“Hmmm, let me think about that,” she said, her eyes closed as she enjoyed his attentions. “I actually hate Monopoly,” she told him.
“Good. Me, too.”
10
JEREMIAH SAT UP SLIGHTLY, looking up and down Renee’s beautiful body, his fingers trailing along her side. She squirmed slightly at his touch and moved even closer to him. His heart slammed in his chest. Opening her eyes and stretching, she said, “I haven’t taken a nap in years.”
“How was it?”
She sat up and gave him a sleepy grin. “Wonderful. The US should really get on board with this siesta thing.”
While he was watching her sleep, he’d been considering something, and now he came to a decision. He got up and started dressing. “I want to show you something, Renee.”
She leaned on her elbow and looked at him, as if she was trying to figure out what was going on. He knew that getting closer frightened her, but he needed her to know about this side of him, even if she wasn’t totally ready for the next step. For a moment, he thought she might refuse.
She nodded and rose, putting on clothes without a word.
His heart started pounding again, but this time for a different reason. Very few things made him nervous, but he was anxious about this. Still, he was going to go through with it, come what may. He wanted her to know about him, just like he wanted to know everything about her.
Once they were both dressed, he walked with her down the stairs and out the back door to a large old wooden shed that used to hold gardening supplies and other equipment. When they got there, he leaned against the door and looked at her.
She smiled at him, a little nervously, he thought. At least he wasn’t the only one. He took a deep breath before opening the door and ushering her inside. Dust motes floated in the sunlight filtering through the windows around the room he’d turned into a studio, and here and there the light bounced off his statues, making colors dance on the ceiling.
Renee walked among them silently, studying each one with a deep solemnity, as if she was wandering through a cemetery. When she reached out and ran her hand along the edge of the one he called Mother and Daughter—two leaf-shaped pieces of copper, the larger curled around the smaller—he couldn’t wait any longer. “What do you think?”
“You made these?” she asked.
He bit back his nerves, which he thought might break if she didn’t give him her opinion. “I started a couple of years ago. I wanted to learn how to solder and cut different types of metal, so I practiced by making different designs and it just sort of turned into this,” he said, sweeping his hand around the studio. “I know they’re not great—”
“Are you kidding?” she said, interrupting him. “These are amazing. You’re an artist.”
All the tension eased out of his body. She liked them. “I wouldn’t call myself an artist. It’s a hobby.”
He tried not to let her know how much it meant to him, but she seemed to know anyway. And her earlier reticence seemed to have disappeared. She touched another one, her fingers dancing across the overlapping aluminum squares. “You could sell these, you know. I’m sure you could.”
How many times had he thought about trying to sell them? Hundreds, probably. He’d even gone so far as to research different places that might want to purchase them. But something always made him decide against it. “You think so?” he asked, his self-consciousness draining away.
She touched another one, her palm resting against the spidery slivers of wire that had taken so long to shape, and she moved around to see it from every angle. “I can’t believe Jessica and Aaron haven’t forced you to share these with the world. They’re so beautiful.”
When he didn’t answer, Renee glanced up at him. He didn’t need to say anything. “Why haven’t you told your best friend about this?”
Jeremiah shrugged. “It’s really personal. I don’t think he’d get that.”
“But you showed me,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
He nodded. There was so much he wanted to tell her. How much she m
eant to him, despite how short their time together had been. How this sort of thing didn’t come along every day and they needed to see where it led.
But he didn’t say any of that. Not yet. He didn’t want to scare her away. Still, she must have seen some of it in his eyes, because she suddenly seemed nervous again and turned back to the statues, away from him. Her voice took on a light, friendly tone, in stark contrast to the quiet seriousness of a few moments before. “Well, I’d buy one for sure if I didn’t live in a shoe-box-sized apartment,” she said, standing next to one piece that was taller than her.
Jeremiah wanted to tell her to pick her favorite and it would be waiting here for her, but he stopped himself. The idea had too much future in it. She wasn’t ready for future. Luckily, he was a master at keeping things light and carefree. Wasn’t that what he’d done most of his life?
“Yeah, I guess I haven’t really scaled them for New York City living. Maybe I should work on paperweight-sized ones. There’s good money in the paperweight business, right?”
She seemed to appreciate the change in mood. “Oh yeah, paperweights are booming right now. People can use them to hold down their flash drives full of documents.”
“Maybe I can make digital statues to hold down documents flying around in the cloud.”
She chuckled and wandered around the last few pieces with a lighter step. He leaned against the wall, not feeling very lighthearted at all. Why was she so scared to get close to him?
When she was finished studying each statue, they walked back to the house. He was glad he’d shown her, but couldn’t help but feel like he was just setting himself up for heartbreak. Every time he tried to get closer to her, she pulled away. Did he need to be hit over the head to see that she wasn’t interested in a long-term thing? Why couldn’t he get that through his thick skull?
Still, he couldn’t stop himself from hoping that over the next couple of days he could convince her to give this thing a shot. It was too good, too right, to be for just one week.
