“Coming, Drake?” Heather called from somewhere inside the trailer.
He’d mapped out his future. Whether he liked it or not, Heather had nurtured the path. Spending the day with Twila had given him a new vision. A clearer one. Although she’d tried to keep them on a just friends playing field, Twila needed to know today had meant something to him. Enough to make a decision, one he should have made before kissing her. He leaned over. “Thank you for watching the sun go down with me,” he said quietly and brushed her cheek with his finger. Her genuine, selfless smile squeezed his heart.
When he looked up, Heather leaned against the patio door with a trained pose, her gaze sharp like a pair of scissors. He gave his mom a hug and patted his old man on the shoulder. “See you later, folks.”
Chapter Eleven
Drake rolled over in bed, his palm resting against warm skin and a full hip. He smiled and nibbled on her soft shoulder, his erection at full salute. Silky curls tickled his cheek. When he tried to draw her closer, he slapped himself in the stomach and his eyes popped open with a start.
Blowing out a breath and looking at the empty sheets instead of Twila, he groaned. Great! Now he was dreaming about the woman. With a roll and a blink, he sat up in bed, the sheet molding around his legs and tenting over his hard-on. Dreaming about Twila, what the hell did that tell him? He’d never dreamt about a woman before—ever. Time to shower off the stiffness in his cock. He wasn’t one of those guys that did himself in the shower to relieve the tension. Either he found a woman to settle the war drums of lust or he put it back in his pants and concentrated on other things.
Shooting a look at the clock, he saw it was zero-five-hundred hours. A hard run wouldn’t hurt, and he yanked on a pair of his North Face Long Haul shorts. A splash of water washed away his dream, but she still dangled in his thoughts.
Mile five and Twila’s smile from last night, lingered. Pushing himself harder, his soles slapped the pavement with a steady beat. Regulating his elevated breathing and heart rate with a deliberate rhythm, he put his mind in the Keys. That lasted for about twenty seconds. The sweaty ‘V’ in his T-shirt clung to his skin. He nodded to a couple of residents who were out for an early walk as he aimed for his parent’s trailer, but took a different route, the one that passed Twila’s place. When he reached it, he slowed to a walk and then came to a full stop. A grin slipped onto his face seeing her car parked under the carport. Twila reminded him of a fine reserve wine. Noble, quiet, but with a deep impact. Her car, on the other hand, told him something completely different.
The kit roadster sat low and mean looking. The paint job was friggin’ incredible, and he sauntered a little closer to look. A black paint job covered the lean machine, but shimmering beneath was a deep green undercoat. The huge fender flares ballooned over the tires and the bucket seats in sexy brown leather screamed, take me for a long drive and I’ll make your ass happy.
The side door opened and Twila stopped with a jerk, her eyes rounding. “Hey, Drake. Something wrong?”
Something wrong? Hell, yeah. You’re making me crazy. “No, I was just out for a jog and detoured to see your car. It’s a sweet ride.”
She smiled and stepped a little closer. “You like Lindy, huh?”
Lindy? Of course, she named her car. He chuckled. “Yeah, I like Lindy.”
“She belonged to my dad. He was a bit of a car buff. He had a few, but when he got cancer he sold them all but her.” Twila swept a gentle hand over the hood. “Lindy was his first kit car.”
“Your Dad built this?”
“It was his hobby. I couldn’t get rid of her.”
“Nor should you. Beautiful woman in a sexy car, cause any accidents?”
“I don’t think so, only I drive Lindy.”
She blushed and shook her head. Her loose locks did something to him when they fanned her face. Seeing them against a white pillow with his fingers coiled in them and his shaft buried inside her, would have to remain in his dreams. Heather had completely ruined their day when she’d shown up last night. He was starting from scratch, and he knew it.
Heather’s cherry red Vet didn’t have a thing on this car, and neither did the woman. Jesus, he had to stop doing that. Comparing the two of them was useless, amounting to the universal distance between Pluto and Earth. One was barren and inhabitable, the other, life sustaining and gorgeous. He’d already come to that conclusion. The moment felt awkward, and he never wanted to feel that way with Twila. She plastered a non-committal, but friendly expression on her face.
He didn’t want Heather making a scene in front of everyone last night. When they got to her place, Heather said she was going to freshen up and came back in the room with cat-like strides wearing a sheer see-through negligee.
“That’s not why I’m here, Heather,” he warned.
She kept advancing with a look that used to indicate he was gonna get one hell of a good fucking. The woman knew how to pleasure a man, no question, but all he saw now was the person inside. She knelt on the couch he stood behind and offered him a sexy, submissive smile.
“We can talk later. Right now I want to suck on your cock and make you come.”
His gaze darted to the floor, an overwhelming feeling of guilt coursing through him. Just looking at Heather made him feel unfaithful to Twila. With a sigh, he rounded the couch and when she reached for him, he stopped her hand and sat beside her. He heard Twila’s voice in his mind. ‘Good luck at the wedding.’ In other words, forsaking every second they’d spent together that afternoon. He could still feel her kisses. Knowing Twila might consider more than a sunset and a kiss had given him a clear path. If she thought she was going to forsake herself for his future business ventures, she didn’t know him. “Heather, I can’t make it to the wedding tomorrow.”
Heather pulled back as if she’d been bitten by a snake. “Why not? Everyone is expecting us. Together,” she emphasized.
Why couldn’t she see he wasn’t interested anymore and make this easy? Heather was anything but easy. “You want us to be a couple?”
She gripped his arm. “We are a couple, Drake. I’m willing to wait if you want to ignore that, but that’s what we are.” She palmed his cheek. “Let’s go to bed. Let’s fuck. We can talk later.”
“Sex isn’t going to change our arrangement, Heather. We’re not looking at the same future, or seeing each other in the same place.” He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, although she was tough enough to handle it, he still treated women with respect, and that included the woman he’d been screwing for six months. He needed to take responsibility for taking advantage of a convenient lay. He hadn’t been an asshole and told her outright that’s all they’d have. Heather’s plea to fuck actually turned his stomach. It sounded cheap and course. Guys in the Navy had cleaner mouths, and a decent woman wouldn’t say those things, or more aptly, the woman he wanted now, wouldn’t say those things.
“I’m going to make you a drink. You’re going to get your ass in my bed, and we’re going to go crazy on each other.”
She tried to rise, and he palmed her shoulder. It felt bony and so damn different than Twila’s warm skin. “I’ll pass.”
Her brow crunched together. “You’ve been acting strange ever since you came to visit your parents. I don’t get it. We were fine until then.” Realization leached into her brain and made her eyes sizzle. “No way,” she spurted. “Not that trailer trash?”
He ground his jaw against the response ready to launch from his mouth. “Think I’ve heard you insult Twila enough.” He stood up. “If anything you should take a couple lessons in life from her.”
“Like how to be a sad little moppet of a woman? Poor me, I’ve lost my mother and I’m all alone in the world. Please, Drake, rescue me. Is that what you want? You need someone to look up to you?” Heather trilled.
A sound of disgust left his throat, and he headed for the door.
“Let me guess.” She chased after him. “You’ve fucked her already. She’s a n
ew toy and you want to use her until you’re bored. Is that it?”
She grabbed the door as he walked through it. “No. Heather, I haven’t.” He turned to look at the woman who was totally self-absorbed. “That’s the difference between Twila and you. She doesn’t see how beautiful she is, because it’s all inside of her. Twila spends every waking hour taking care of others instead of herself. You, on the other hand, can’t stop looking at yourself in the mirror.”
“It’s my job to look good,” she shouted.
True, it was, but he didn’t have to look at her anymore. He walked down the wide, cobbled path from her waterfront home. The one her daddy had bought for her. Immensely glad she was nearly naked and couldn’t chase after him.
“If you’re not screwing her, than what? Talk to me.”
“Done talking.”
So here he was, standing on Twila’s driveway, hoping like hell he wasn’t about to make the biggest ass out of himself.
The corner of Twila’s loosely knit sweater slipped off her shoulder when she knelt down to pick up the newspaper lying next to her stairs, and he almost bit his tongue off upon catching a glimpse of the soft curve of her breast. An overactive imagination sent a clear vision of his mouth and tongue toying her nipple until she moaned. He took a deep breath and veered away from the invisible door with a plaque over top that said you’re becoming obsessed.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a left over cup of coffee in there would you?”
“Yes, but I was just going to the store for some milk. I ran out.”
The side of his mouth rose with a smile, and his left brow joined it. “Need to take the car, I bet.” The closest grocery store was a mile away.
“Umm, yup, I’m not going to jog, that’s for sure.”
“Nor should you,” he said seriously. “You run those legs too damn much anyway, but I’m glad to see you’re using the bike.”
“Thank you. It really does save me a lot of time.”
She hadn’t invited him for that coffee yet, but he really wanted one, and he wanted it with her. “Wouldn’t mind a ride in Lindy, and I can keep you company.” If he could get her in that car, he would redirect her to a place he knew in Jensen Beach. It opened early, and the breakfast was mouthwatering, never mind the scenery, which had his heart beat up to running levels.
She twirled the ring around her finger, the keys jingling. “The last time we drove somewhere it didn’t work out so well, Drake.”
He stepped up to her with a slow wicked smile. Sue him, he’d gotten to the point of using what God gifted him with, and he hoped like hell it worked on Twila. “I enjoy every minute I’m in your company,” he said, his voice lowering to a timbre he didn’t even recognize. “Tell you what, you give me a ride in Lindy, and I’ll show you an awesome place for breakfast.”
She backed away from him and rounded the car. “Your girlfriend has her Drake satellite tracking system turned on high. Not a good idea. I’ll see you later.”
Did he detect a little snipe in that last sentence? Here’s hoping. He pulled open the passenger door and slipped inside, then reached across and pushed hers open. “I told you. She’s not my girlfriend.”
Twila slid her beautiful ass in the car and placed an arm across the seat to give him a serious look of keep your distance. Would he? Not fucking likely.
“Fine, but as a frien—”
He stopped the “f” word from getting all the way out with his mouth. The leftover frustration from his dream deepened his need. He could keep his hands off his dick, but he couldn’t keep his tongue from seeking her sweetness. The warm acceptance of her kiss gave him hope. His fingers swirled in her soft curls, loving the silky strands and how good it felt to be close to her. He’d been the center on his football team, a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corp, the dark horse coming from nowhere to make a place for his yachts, and he was going to find a small undefended crack in her wall of resistance and squeeze through, no matter what it took.
One hand touched her shoulder, his thumb rubbing small circles across her tanned, soft skin, while he kissed the ever-lovin’ daylights out of her. With a few nibbles on her jaw, he finally pulled away. “I woke up dreaming about you.” She stared at him, trying to read him. He pulled the keys from her fingers and inserted them into the ignition, turning it and bringing the engine to life with a low rumble. She looked shell shocked and hadn’t moved. He winked at her. “Maybe I should clarify that. I woke up alone, dreaming about you. Either we get going or I can sit here and neck with you for the next hour, probably two. I wouldn’t mind, but you know it’s going to spread far and wide on the grey-haired gossip mill before noon.”
She swiftly straightened herself and threw Lindy into first gear without a word. He chuckled, knowing it wouldn’t stay that way. Twila would be giving him a get-back-behind-the-line speech before breakfast was over. Friends? Not likely. Fuck buddies? Never. Man the torpedoes, he was at full battle stations, and he was gunning for her.
* * * *
Twila gulped down as much air as she could, her foot normally reserved on the gas pedal, pressed heavy this morning. She hoped most cops were busy with paperwork after a typical Saturday night of partiers causing trouble. She’d been more than surprised to see Drake in her carport when she opened the door.
Half the night she concentrated on her ceiling. The thought of Drake in Heather’s arms rolled around like a thorn bush crossing the desert and it scratched her with every tumble, berating herself the entire time for letting him get to her.
Becka’s description of her eldest son was from a mother’s proud heart, but Twila saw far more. Why couldn’t he be an egotistical jerk instead of being a handsome, sexy, well established man with a good heart and a solid grip on what he wanted and where he was going? The vision of his broad shoulders and lean waist, ruffled dirty blond hair and those aviator shades he wore as he stood at the wheel of the Rebecca with his legs spread just a little for balance, turned her into an instant groupie. His image cemented in her mind. She needed to Photoshop him out of her head.
He’d be gone in a couple of weeks, and Heather had the means to see him, not to mention all the family money and associations she brought with her. Twila didn’t blame him for wanting that. Who wouldn’t? But here he was, sitting beside her just past the crack of dawn. His entire presence screamed hot, hard and irresistible. Even in his running gear, his aura roared with I’m-gonna-break-your-heart.
She’d give away too much if she asked the question stampeding like a wild buffalo across her brain. “Isn’t Heather going to be pissed you left her this early?” A quick peek at the magnificent man sitting beside her, relaxed with his arm slung across the top of her seat revealed he wasn’t concerned.
“I didn’t sleep with Heather,” he stated. “I was back at the parent’s place within the hour last night, but you were already gone.”
When he turned his gaze on her, she took another gulp of air, zeroing in on his unshaven jaw, rigid in its sexy angles and maleness. He’d kissed her. Not just a peck on the cheek, but a hard, make you lose consciousness kiss, like he had on the Rebecca. Crazy shit. “Why did you kiss me?” Driving with the top down, the wind swept his blond bangs and his jaw tightened with an even broader smile.
“Want me to stop?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I’d need a good reason.”
She slowed for a red light. “You’ve got a hot model, what the hell, Drake!” Flustered by this man would be an understatement. If he was playing games, she would be seriously angry.
“Don’t want the model.”
She idled at the ridiculously long light. No other cars crossed their path. “Why not?” She could ask stupid questions. When he didn’t answer, she glared at him. “We’re friends, don’t screw it up by kissing me again.”
“Light’s green.” His brow furrowed, but obviously still humored by her vexing.
“Why are you smiling like you’ve just eaten a canary whole?”
“Why? I don’t understand.”
“I’d imagine that took a lot of nerve, to ask me where I slept last night, and I’m gonna take it to mean the thought bothered you.”
“None of my business.” Lame, lame, lame. If it wasn’t any of her business, she shouldn’t have asked.
“Too late for denial, sweetheart.” His gaze swayed to the other side of the road, and he wore a huge smile. “Far, far too late for denial.”
With a few directions and no further talk on the subject of kissing, she pulled into a busy parking lot. It was more of a bay with palm trees and a heavy dose of Shangri-La. The calm water lapped at the shore and a large shanty style building with tall beams and a thatch roof sat beach side. Only a second passed before he turned onto his hip and wrapped her into his arms.
“Twila, I know we’ve just begun to know each other, but trust me when I say, I would never have kissed you if my interests lay elsewhere.”
His gaze shortened her life expectancy and toyed with her resistance. “Don’t you dare kiss—” His listening skills sucked, but his warm mouth didn’t. Nor the way his tongue licked her like she was a comb of honey. Two hands on his shoulders and a lot of reservations about pushing him away, but she did.
“Stop. You have a wedding to go to today.” She jumped out of the car, and he raced around and caught her around the waist and lifted her right off her feet. “Cut it out, Mr. Rich and Famous, and put me down.” He nuzzled her neck and little tingly fingers zipped up and down her spine. With a gentle drop, he put her back on her feet, and held his hand out for her to take.
“There’s no wedding and no more Heather. Come on, Saint Twila, let’s get some breakfast. I’m hungry for two things, and since you’re going torture me a while before you give in, I’ll settle for an omelette.”
They joined the line of waiting people. Drake slipped inside to put their names on the list. Twila didn’t miss the women’s heads spinning like they were boneless when he walked by. When Drake returned, she was leaning against the rail, and he captured her with his arms, pinning her with his body. “So far this day is the best I’ve had on this visit.”
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