His Toughest Call

by Joss Wood

  Seth slid his fingers into her hair above her ear. Tipping her face, Seth bent his head and kissed her. Thoroughly, completely, competently...his tongue slid into her mouth and she welcomed his heat, his passion, his desire for her evident in the groans he made in the back of his throat, his fingers clenching her hip.

  Leah had doubted she could surrender so completely to a man again but she felt herself falling, sliding, deeper into him. Even with just his mouth on hers and his hand on her head and her hip, she knew she was, momentarily, under his control. She wound her arms around his waist and pushed into him, her hands exploring the skin covered muscles of his back.

  “This is a onetime deal, Leah. It’s all we can have.” Seth broke their kiss, placing his hot, open mouth on her cheekbone. “One hit, then we get back to real life, go back to where we were.”

  Could they? With this much passion? She didn’t think so.

  “Better make it good then,” Leah murmured.

  “I intend to but I’d prefer that we take this to the bedroom.”

  Slipping his hands under Leah’s thighs, he hauled her up and she locked her legs around his waist. His mouth nibbled her neck as he walked them back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. Leah straddled his thighs and Seth cupped her face with his big hands. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and traced her mouth with a calloused thumb.

  His eyes, when they met hers, were serious. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Leah took his hand and placed it on her breast. “Just be with me. Feel me.”

  Seth’s hands dropped to waist and slid over her back and butt, down her thighs and back up again. He teased her lips, her jaw, tugged her earlobe with his teeth. Still holding her, Seth stood up and turned around and gently lowered her down on the bed. He took a step back and, supremely unselfconscious about his own nudity, stared at her body. Then his eyes darkened, narrowed as he knelt on the bed next to her, his eyes drifting from her nipples, her belly button, the tiny triangle of hair at the juncture of her thighs. When she thought she couldn’t stand another second of not having him touching her, Seth covered her breast with his hand and he bent his head to kiss her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth and flipping the switch that shut down her brain.

  He was hard and big and she was lost in his taste and smell and masculinity. His hands stroked and smoothed, his voice reassured as it rumbled over her skin, his tongue probed, stroked, and swirled. At times she wasn’t sure where she ended and he started, whether it was her moans or his she heard deep in her soul, whether she would ever feel this free, this uninhibited again. He encouraged and complimented as he pushed her higher and higher, causing her breath to fumble and her skin to heat. Hands and mouth caressed those long neglected places; the crook of her elbow, her belly button, the soft inside of her thigh.

  Long luscious, breath-stealing moments passed and Leah found herself drifting or a ribbon of pure pleasure. So this was what good sex felt like. Leah softly protested when Seth pulled back from her and reached across her to dip his hand into the bedside drawer. He cursed and eventually pulled out a strip of condoms. After sliding his mouth across hers, he pulled a foil packet from the strip and quickly and efficiently sheathed himself with the latex.

  Thank God one of them was thinking straight. Yeah, she was on the pill but she hadn’t thought about protection at all.

  Then Seth pulled a nipple into his mouth and all thoughts of protection evaporated. He was hot and hard and she was ready when he slid into her, taking them to a place that was faster, higher, crazier. He held back and teased, plunged and varied his rhythm as he drove her upwards. Leah heard his labored breath in her ear, his dirty commands and knew he was holding himself back, waiting for her to fly. Reaching for the little death, she crested, and fell, crested again and Seth rode that wave with her until he tensed, shouted, and spasmed within her.

  Seth lifted himself up and off her, dropping a kiss on her stomach before flopping onto his back. He pulled her onto his chest, his broad hand running down her back in long strokes.

  “Ggnnnh?” Seth pushed the sound through his lips.

  Leah smiled up at him and his heart bumped. She scooted up his chest and laid her mouth on his.

  “Ggnnnh?” Leah tried to imitate the sound he made.

  “That was caveman for ‘you blow my socks off’.”

  Leah lifted her head and looked down at his bare feet. “You’re not wearing any socks.”

  “That’s because you blew them off.”

  Leah wanted to giggle, thrilled at the idea she’d affected him as much as he did her. Leah kissed his chest, enjoying his rhythmic breathing, his soft hair under her hand, the hard muscles under masculine skin. Nothing had ever felt as insanely amazing as when he’d pushed into her; it was as if she’d been waiting for him for a long, long time.

  Seth patted her butt and she pulled back to look at him and sighed at his serious face. “Something wrong?” she asked.

  Okay, she knew he wasn’t a cuddly type of guy, that this wasn’t anything but a mutual pursuit of pleasure but five minutes ago she’d shattered in his arms. Couldn’t he give her a little more time to recover?

  “I’m expecting a call. I was taking a quick shower while I waited.”

  Uh huh.Leah rolled off him. That might be true but it was also a damn fine excuse to avoid the touchy-feely, cuddling part of the program.

  “Sorry. I need to do this, it’s important,” Seth said, his voice extra rough.

  Leah blinked away the burning sensation in her eyes. “Sure, I understand,” Leah said, her voice conveying exactly the opposite.

  Seth muttered a curse as he left the bed and walked back into the bathroom. When he returned, a towel around his waist, he placed a hand on her shoulder and she was surprised when he sat down next to her and dropped a kiss on her upper arm. “I need to work, honey.”

  Leah rolled over and frowned, not understanding. This was her house and her bedroom...oh, hell, she was in the spare bedroom and Seth obviously needed privacy to take his call.

  Leah climbed out the side of the bed Seth wasn’t on and, realizing her clothes were in his bathroom, whipped a t-shirt from the pile of laundry on top of a chest of drawers. She pulled it over her head as his computer buzzed with an incoming call. She glared at the screen and pulled her hair out from the collar of the t-shirt.

  She couldn’t whine, she couldn’t complain, she’d come here and she’d received exactly what she’d wanted. Her only course of action was to leave the room with as much dignity as possible.

  She walked around and gestured to the bed. “Thanks. As I said, it was fun.”

  Seth looked at his computer and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll try and wrap this up—”

  Leah lifted her hands and managed to pull a smile onto her face. “It’s okay, seriously. I’ll let you work.”

  Leah walked out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her. She blew out a long breath and stumbled across the empty hall to her own bedroom. She locked the door behind her and sat on the edge of her bed.

  So, ignoring the way it ended, making love with Seth had been—cliché time—magical and it made the quick fumbles she’d shared with Heath seem childish and silly. She’d never known the depth of physical satisfaction she was capable of until Seth put his clever hands and mobile mouth on her body. And she’d responded with some moves that she didn’t know she had, and it was a surprise to realize she seemed to be very good at making love.

  With Seth.

  It was funny how it all worked when two people just clicked. She seemed to know where to touch him and he wasn’t afraid to ask what she liked. They were each eager to please, desperate to give more pleasure than to take. And in the giving, they received more than expected.

  And magic stirred.

  But magic dissipated when reality intruded...and reality always intruded. This wasn’t, after all, a Disney movie.

  Pushing the memory of how he made her feel aside, Leah fo
rced herself to think. The sex was great. She’d expected that but what she hadn’t expected was the emotional connection she felt to him while she was in her arms. Something in him, something aside from the heat and the passion and the mind-blowing sex, called to her.

  Which was ridiculous because she’d been non-married for a few weeks, who felt emotionally connected to another man shortly after being cheated on? Who did that? Someone who was confused and bemused, hurt and emotionally bruised.

  Except that she wasn’t, dammit.

  She’d never been more clear thinking in her life. Yes, she was angry at Heath, she had every right to be, he’d treated her like trash. But she wasn’t hurt or pining over him or crying over or missing him. Even at the height of her betrayal, she’d been more humiliated than hurt, more angry than betrayed. Mostly she just felt relieved she’d dodged that matrimonial disaster zone.

  Leah acknowledged somewhere deep inside her she still wanted to be part of a couple, to make a life with someone at her side. Was Heath just a stupid mistake—well, yes, sure he was, of course he was—and was Seth the real deal? Was Seth, that pop-up, make her crazy man, someone she wanted in her life? Was she even allowed to be thinking this way? She was, after all, newly out of a stupid, man-related situation.

  Heath is over, her heart told her. Forgotten about, done.

  It’s too soon, her mind insisted, you’re projecting, transferring...acting crazy. It’s the dopamine making you stupid.

  Seth’s the real deal...

  Heart.Head.Heart.Head.Heart.Head.

  Leah flopped backward on her bed and flung her arm over her eyes. The crazy train was pulling into her station...

  Chapter Eight

  After a night short on sleep and long on soul-searching, Leah rolled over and hit the barrier of a long, hard male body. She was half asleep but she was pretty sure that she went to bed alone. Leah sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. Her eyes focused and, yep, Seth was lying on the bed next to her, his hand supporting his head. Mussed hair, amused eyes, thick arms, washboard stomach and a long, thick...damn, he was wearing boxer shorts.

  She’d gone to bed alone and locked the door behind her. Leah looked across the room and, yep, her door was open.

  “Practicing your B&E skills?” Leah croaked.

  “It’s always good to have a backup career. I told you, they come in handy occasionally.” Seth drawled, placing his hand on her bare hip.

  Leah looked down and realized that she was still wearing his t-shirt and she’d neglected to put panties on. Seth’s hand, running over her hip and down her butt told her he appreciated her lack of underwear.

  “Hi,” he murmured, his eyes a smoky green.

  “Hi back,” Leah said, sitting up. “Um...what are you doing here?”

  Seth placed his hand on her knee. “I finished my business around twelve thirty—the time differences are a bitch—and I thought I’d clear the air but first I had to pick my way through your door. Then I found you conked out.”

  “Okay,” Leah said, “why did you feel the need to clear the air? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Not wrong but maybe I was a little abrupt,” Seth replied. “I wasn’t expecting you in the shower and by the time we finished, I knew that Stone would be calling me back to discuss a...sensitive issue.

  “I owe you an apology.” Seth’s voice was rough but she heard the sincerity in every word.

  That being said, Leah was so conscious of his hand on her thigh, the muscles in his arms, his citrus-spice-Seth smell.

  “I could’ve explained better. You make me crazy,” Seth ruefully admitted.

  Leah knew how that felt.

  “You make me do things, say things, feel things that I’m not accustomed to doing, saying, feeling. That’s probably why I’ve subconsciously avoided you all these years.” Seth continued, linking his big hand around the back of her neck. “I don’t want to hurt you, Leah. You’ve been hurt enough. I don’t want this to cause you any heartache or pain or any regret.”

  “I appreciate the sentiment, Seth, but I’m not going to ask you for more than you can give,” Leah said as she gripped his arm with one hand.

  Seth tensed at her touch and her eyes dropped down and she saw the movement in his shorts. His erection grew thicker, harder, and she swallowed, wishing she were brave enough to make the first move again.

  “I want you,” he said, his eyes on her mouth, his hand gripping her thigh.

  “I know.” And for now, it was enough. “I want you, too.”

  Seth’s face turned serious. And determined. “The thing is... sex can lead to complications, emotional complications.”

  “For me or for you?”

  Seth didn’t answer her, not that she expected him to. “There are reasons why I think we should keep our distance.”

  “Yeah, yeah... we live on different continents, my disastrous non-marriage, you might lose focus or become distracted, we might find ourselves wanting more.” Leah waved her hand between them. “But we could also be hit by a meteor strike in ten minutes. You might have a heart attack—”

  Seth snorted and she had to agree. She’d never met anyone less likely to fall over from a coronary than Seth but she was trying to make a point here.

  “I might go to work, meet someone and fall in love at first sight. I might get T-boned by a delivery truck—” Seth looked horrified and his reaction caused her stomach to jump. “My point is that anything could happen and I don’t want to regret not taking this time with you. We might have two days or two weeks but I’d like to spend whatever time we have together. Carpe diem, you know?”

  Seth placed his hand in the center of her back, silently urging her to scoot closer. She lay down so she faced him and placed her arm across his chest. Seth pulled her into him and tucked her head under his chin. Leah relished the feeling of holding him, touching him, sharing this moment with him. She’d spoken the truth. She didn’t know how much time they had but she wanted to be with him. In every way she could.

  “Jed’s going to kill me.” Seth’s voice rumbled over her hair and she heard the amusement beneath the words.

  “I promise to say nice things at your funeral.”

  Seth rolled her over so she straddled him and she gasped when her clit settled on his erection, his warmth burning into her despite the barrier of his boxer shorts.

  Leah fell forward and their mouths aligned so Leah dropped an open-mouth kiss on his lips before pulling away. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

  Seth’s eyes glittered. “If it means that I’m going to slide inside you, then yes.”

  “Did your condoms accompany you on your lock picking adventure?” Leah whispered, nipping his ear lobe and then soothing the small sting with her tongue.

  “I’m a boy scout, I always come prepared.”

  Leah laughed and then went back to the serious business of exploring underside of his jaw with her lips and tongue.

  Seth stood at her grandmother’s rolltop desk, all his attention on the papers lying on the top. Leah pushed her shoulder into the doorframe of the study, happy to watch him. She was making memories, she thought. When Seth left, and he would leave, she would remember him here, the morning sunlight bouncing off his hair, his long neck, his masculine profile. She’d remember his shoulders were broad and his legs long, and she’d remember the ways the muscles in his arm moved under his tanned skin as he picked up and discarded a piece of paper, when he tapped something into his laptop computer.

  She’d remember the way he looked and his masculine scent but most of all she’d remember the way he made her feel. Living with Seth, loving Seth made her feel like a woman, in every sense of the word. She felt powerful but protected, sexy and strong.

  Around Seth she felt like the best version of herself. Yes, he could be autocratic and annoying but she sensed behind the walls he’d carefully erected was a man who would be, if he allowed himself to, a fantastic lover. Oh, not in the make-her-scream way—he
showed her, often, how good he was at sex—she was talking about being one half of a whole. He would be an amazing partner, strong when he needed to be but happy to allow her to do her own thing.

  He was a man, in every sense of the word. Responsible, smart, fully adult. And, unlike Heath, Seth didn’t need, or want her money. He didn’t require her to cook, to do his laundry, or pay his bills.

  All he wanted from her from her company. And, naturally, sex. Lots and lots of sock-blowing-off sex.

  Leah didn’t have a problem with either concept.

  “Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?” Seth asked softly. “Or are you going to share that mug of coffee?”

  Leah didn’t bother to ask how he knew she was there or that she was carrying coffee. Seth’s kids would have a hell of a time pulling the wool over his eyes. Seth’s kids...Was it crazy to wish his kids could be hers, too?

  She could see them getting old together. She could see them walking on the beach, a toddler between them, swinging from their hands. She could see them living in this house, raising their kids here, living and loving and arguing.

  Her imagination was on steroids. Thinking those thoughts, dreaming those dreams was the romantic equivalent of handing Seth a razor and asking him to slice away at her heart. Seth was not a man a girl should dream about, he wasn’t husband or father material. He lived another life a long way away; he had a career that was demanding and exciting and that left no room for a relationship. It certainly had no room for her.

  His life and hers could not merge; it was an impossibility. So dreaming dreams and creating scenarios was just silly. A waste of time and energy.

  When Leah reached Seth, she placed the mug into his hand. Standing next to him, she laid her palm on his back and tipped her head so her temple rested on his shoulder. Yeah, she should be pulling back, creating some distance between them and she would, later. Right now, she just wanted to be close to him.

  Making memories. That was all she was doing.