Sexy Suit: A Cocky Hero Club Novel

by Croix, J. H.

  Addie’s tongue darted out and swiped across her bottom lip. Another jolt sizzled through me. When she took a deep breath, her breasts pressed against my chest, and I practically had to talk myself down. Much as I wanted more, more than that, I didn’t want to rush through anything with her.

  I also hadn’t forgotten Addie’s declaration that we couldn’t have sex. She was giving me one kiss, and I intended to make it a kiss for the ages.

  Lifting my free hand, I cupped her cheek, tracing my thumb over her plump bottom lip. “I like you, Addie.” My words came out in a gruff whisper.

  She took another little breath, her eyes on mine the entire time. “Against my better judgment, I like you too,” she whispered, something flickering in the depths of her eyes, something I didn’t quite know how to interpret.

  For just a second, I sensed someone had hurt her. Knowing nothing about it, I experienced a cold chill. If anyone did hurt her, I wanted to make them pay the price for it. That price would be high.

  It was also something I couldn’t deal with just now. Right this second, I had Addie pressed against me, and she’d granted me one kiss. That kiss was absolutely all that mattered in this moment.

  Dipping my head, I brushed my lips over hers, watching as her eyes fluttered closed on a sigh. Her fingers tightened into mine. On the heels of her next sigh, I angled my head to the side and fit my mouth over hers.

  The moment her tongue slid sensually against mine, any idea I had of controlling the pace burned into nothing. Addie tasted sweet, and kissing her was like diving into a fire. I didn’t care if the burn devoured me. With slow sweeps of my tongue, my hand slid around her nape. She made this soft sound in the back of her throat, and it drove me insane.

  My fingers laced more tightly with hers as we held onto each other. When her hips rocked into me, with my cock rock hard and tight in the confines of my slacks, I groaned deep in our kiss. I couldn’t get enough of her.

  I meant for this kiss to be a seduction, to be something she would never forget. Instead, I was prey to the sheer force of my need for her. My hand slid out of her hair, brushing over her shoulder before pushing her coat apart. Her silk blouse was warm from the heat of her skin.

  I drew my fingers lightly in a circle over the taut bead of her nipple pressing against the silk. Satisfaction washed over me as I teased her. I felt the force of my need spinning faster inside and sensed I might be about to take things too far. It took all of my discipline to slam the brakes on this.

  I tore my lips away from hers, resting my forehead against hers as the sound of our ragged breathing filled the space around us.

  Chapter Twelve

  Addie

  I felt the cool wood of the door behind me filtering through my coat. It was a contrast to the enveloping heat of Ryan’s body pressed against the front of me from head to toe. My thoughts were all a muddle, tumbling about in my mind as I tried to gather myself together.

  I told him he could have just one kiss. I had greatly underestimated just how devastating one kiss from Ryan could be. I felt as if I were flying apart with my need vibrating through me and sparks scattering everywhere. I was almost frantic inside.

  Part of me was distantly alarmed at my state. Ryan was too much of everything. My rational mind was subdued, practically beaten into submission by the force of my desire. Even then, I still knew Ryan wasn’t a smart choice for me. But my body—and apparently my treacherous and way too stupid heart—had other ideas about him. My body thought he was the best thing ever. He was a man who kissed like it was a sport, and he would most definitely win gold.

  Ryan’s forehead rested against mine, and I could feel the steady and rapid beat of his heart against my chest. His hand gripped mine tightly against the door. I felt as if I were holding on, his grip the only anchor in the maelstrom of desire spinning me into its wake.

  When Ryan held me and kissed me, I felt taken care of. Maybe that sounded weird, considering that I was also so turned on I could barely think past the need thrumming through my body. I could feel the slick heat between my thighs, and twinges of pleasure radiating outward. I distantly wondered if I could orgasm from nothing more than a kiss. I was already teetering on the edge of release, and I knew it wouldn’t take much for me to fall over and shatter into pieces.

  On the heels of a deep breath, I opened my eyes just as Ryan lifted his head. His deep blue gaze snagged mine instantly, and we stared at each other. The desire between us was a living, breathing force of its own. I could still feel it swirling through the currents in the air surrounding us.

  The sound of him swallowing was audible before he took a step back. I instantly felt bereft and missed the heat of his strong body surrounding me. If my nipples could talk, they would’ve protested. Because that little tease of his thumb over my nipple—oh sweet hell, it was delicious.

  The lines on Ryan’s face were taut, his expression almost pained. The look in his eyes prompted me to ask, “Are you okay?”

  My voice came out breathy. Seeing as I hadn’t had a proper breath since he pressed me up against the door, I was actually breathless.

  Ryan’s face softened, and the low chuckle that followed sent a hot shiver through me, leaving me tingling all over.

  “I suppose it depends on what you mean by okay. I want you. You said just one kiss, and you also told me we weren’t having sex tonight.”

  The hand joined with mine slowly lowered, although he kept his fingers laced in mine as he took another step away. We were now linked just by our hands. His thumb began to move in slow circles along the edge of my wrist. My pulse thundered along as we stared at each other, and I tried to remember why I told him no sex.

  Oh, right. With Ryan, it was easy to forget things. Which was strange for me. When it came to men, I was usually thinking way too much to relax. In the aftermath of my last relationship, a therapist had gently suggested that perhaps my need to be in control of my emotions contributed to my difficulty relaxing.

  With Ryan, I simply surrendered to the moment. With him, I forgot to be tense when he kissed me and held me. I forgot to worry about what I should be doing, and if I was doing anything right. It all just happened, so fluidly that it made my knees weak and my insides feel funny.

  “You said just one kiss,” he repeated gently as his eyes searched my face. “I want to respect your boundaries.” After a long moment, he spoke again. “Honestly, as much as I want you—and trust me, I want you—I don’t want to ruin this by rushing it.”

  My heart did a funny little tumble, the heart equivalent of tripping and falling on its ass. “Oh,” was all I could muster in reply.

  “When can I take you out again?” he asked swiftly.

  I bit my lip, literally trying to hold back the urge to say “tomorrow.” Finally, the tiny voice of reason clamoring to be heard amongst the rushing roar of desire and need broke through. “I don’t know. How about you text me?”

  He nodded. His fingers slowly unlaced from mine. The moment his hand fell away, I wanted to snatch it back, to yank him to me for another kiss. But I needed to be sane here. I had set some boundaries for a reason.

  Marshalling myself to stay strong, to contain the desire sliding like liquid fire through my veins, I took a breath and stepped away from the door. As if he somehow knew I needed the interruption, Barnable came trotting down the hallway, eyeing me expectantly.

  “I should take him out and feed him,” I said distractedly.

  Ryan knelt down, holding his hand out when Barnable approached him. “You have a good night, little guy,” he said as he scratched behind one of Barnable’s ears.

  When Ryan straightened again, his eyes landed on mine. My pulse immediately lunged to a gallop. Dear God. I seriously needed to get a grip around this man.

  Curling my hand around the door knob, I opened it before I did something else stupid and impulsive. “Thank you for dinner. Good night,” I said, my voice still breathy.

  “Good night, Addie. I’ll be in touch.�
�

  With that, Ryan left. Closing the heavy wooden door behind him, I leaned against it, resting my head back as I gulped in several deep breaths of air.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Addie

  I adjusted my scarf and looked down at my feet. The toes of my familiar black leather cowboy boots looked back at me. I didn’t often contemplate what other people thought of how I looked. Of all the things I was prone to worrying about, I felt blessed that for some reason, I had avoided that little curse.

  That said, I was a tiny bit worried right now. The attorney, through Ryan’s recommendation, had turned out to be lovely. He was an elderly man with a sly sense of humor and very thorough. He had turned over a letter in the estate paperwork that the former set of attorneys handling the estate had neglected to provide to me.

  Among other things in the letter, Eleanor had given me the name of a personal friend and requested I stop by and check on her. So, here I was.

  Trixie Canton lived a few blocks away from Eleanor’s place in another brownstone on the Upper West Side. The door seemed gigantic and was painted bright purple. I liked that. The color gave me a dash of courage, so I lifted my hand and knocked.

  I waited several moments before knocking again. As the time ticked past, I decided that perhaps Trixie wasn’t home and turned to walk down the stairs. Just then, the door opened behind me, and I glanced back over my shoulder.

  An elderly woman stood there, her white hair in a curly little halo around her head. She had a cane in one hand and wore a pair of pressed black slacks with a bright red blouse to match the red glasses perched on her nose.

  Her eyes narrowed when she saw me. “Yes?” she asked in a clipped New York accent.

  Turning, I fiddled with the end of my scarf. “Hello, I’m Addie Castille. My Aunt Eleanor left me a letter with your name and address, but no phone number, so I thought I’d stop by.”

  Trixie stared at me for a long moment and then rolled her eyes. “Oh, Ellie. Did she send you over to check on me?”

  Considering that was precisely what the letter asked me to do, I told the truth. “Yes, she did.”

  Trixie’s gaze softened slightly, and she smiled. “Come on in.” Stepping back, she held the door open and gestured with her cane for me to pass through. After she closed the door, I followed her down a wide hallway with the sound of her cane tapping on the floor as she walked. “I don’t get many visitors, so I’ll just bring you into the kitchen if that’s okay.”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t have just dropped by like this, except Aunt Eleanor didn’t leave a phone number, and I couldn’t seem to find one for you.”

  “I have a phone, but it’s still in my late husband’s name. Bless his heart, he only died three years ago.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, unsure what else to say about that.

  “Thank you. He was ninety-seven. What can you expect? He lived a good life, and I figure that’s the best blessing anyone can have before they die.”

  I followed Trixie into the kitchen. The room had high ceilings with decorative moldings. Two tall windows looked out over a tiny courtyard outside. Trixie had a square table situated in front of the windows and pointed toward a chair for me to have a seat.

  “Coffee or tea?” she asked as she walked slowly toward the counter.

  “There’s no need to make me anything.”

  Trixie clucked. “I already have coffee ready, dear, and it’s no trouble to make tea.”

  “Coffee is fine. Thank you.”

  I unzipped my jacket and let it fall open as I unwound my scarf from around my neck. “Shall I help you get anything?” I called over.

  Trixie waved her cane in the air as she turned. “Oh no. It’s just one cup of coffee. I can certainly handle that.”

  In another moment, she handed me my coffee and pointed to the cream and sugar in the middle of the table. After she sat down across from me, she looked over, unabashedly eyeing me from head to toe.

  “You must be Adelaide.”

  “I am. Did I forget to mention my name?” I paused to sip my coffee, which was delicious, rich, and dark.

  “I’m not sure since my hearing isn’t the best. I know Ellie was leaving everything to Adelaide. I presume that’s you.”

  I smiled. “Did she mention she would be leaving me a letter suggesting I check in on you?”

  “No, she didn’t. Although we told each other just about everything, I doubt Ellie wanted me to know she might worry about me being alone after she died.”

  “Were you two close friends?”

  “The very best,” Trixie said firmly. “I miss her dearly. I’m not all alone though. My daughter comes by regularly. Enough about me. Tell me your plans for Eleanor’s place.”

  “I’m going to stay there. I grew up in New Orleans, which you might know.” Trixie nodded, so I continued, “When I learned I’d inherited Eleanor’s place, I took it as a sign it was a good time to move.”

  “What did you do to your hand there?” she interjected, pointing to my hand.

  I sighed. “My dog, Barnable, got lost the day after we got here. I was out looking for him one evening, and I heard him barking in return. Turns out, he got into someone’s basement. I might have been accused of breaking and entering because I broke some glass to try to get to him.”

  Trixie burst out laughing. “Oh my. Did you get in trouble for that? Please tell me you’ve got Barnable back safe and sound.”

  “Barnable is fine, and I managed not to get arrested. I just cut my hand.”

  “Do you happen to know where he was?”

  “Yes. The owner of the home was Ryan Blake.”

  Trixie’s eyes widened as her brows hitched up. “Oh my word. Your dog managed to break into the home of one of the wealthiest men in the neighborhood. How in the world did you keep him from calling the police?”

  “I just told him the truth.” I shrugged. “Considering that Barnable was in his basement barking, he seemed to believe me. He’s actually ended up being quite nice. I even went on a dinner date with him.”

  Trixie laughed again. “Well, well. Ryan Blake’s beating models off with a stick, and he takes you out to dinner. Don’t get me wrong. You’re a lovely girl. It’s just he’s known for not getting personal.”

  “So I gathered. I actually looked him up online,” I admitted.

  Trixie chuckled before pausing to take a sip from her coffee. “I’m guessing you saw some things about his family.”

  “Just a bit. I was curious after meeting him.”

  Trixie laughed again. “It’s no secret he had a terrible falling out with his father, and his brother’s death was so sad. It’s always terrible when people die young. Rumor had it, his father even tried to cut Ryan out of the will, but he couldn’t because the company was originally founded by his maternal grandfather.”

  “I saw that in the news, but I wasn’t sure it was true.”

  “Oh yes. Despite Ryan’s reputation for being a bit cold when it comes to women, I always found him to be quite the gentleman. He doesn’t seem to think much of social expectations. Considering I think they’re bullshit too, that works for me.”

  “Do you mind me asking how you know him?”

  “My husband knew Ryan peripherally through business. They were decades apart in age and weren’t friends, but I met Ryan at a charity function. Ryan’s also on the board of a dog rescue program with me.”

  I sputtered on my sip of coffee. One of Trixie’s silver brows arched up as she cast me a smile. I reached for the napkin she handed over from the center of her kitchen table. “Surprised?” she queried.

  “Yes,” I said after I dabbed at my mouth and wiped up the drops of coffee on her table. “Although I did read he was rumored to be a donor for an animal shelter, so I suppose that’s true.”

  Trixie shrugged lightly. “Ryan doesn’t say much about it, but then he doesn’t say much about anything personal. He still lives in the house where he grew up. His soft spot for ani
mals is probably why he didn’t call the police on you.”

  “How very interesting,” I finally said. At that moment, the doorbell rang in her house. “Do you need me to get that for you?”

  “Oh no. It’s my daughter. I’d love for you to meet her.”

  I heard the door opening and a voice calling, “Hi, Mom!”

  Footsteps approached down the echoing hallway, and a woman who looked to be about my mother’s age walked into the kitchen. She had blond hair pulled up in a ponytail and bright blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. Her smile was wide and welcoming.

  “I didn’t know you had company, Mom,” Trixie’s daughter said as she approached the table. She held out her hand. “I’m Tara.”

  I stood from the table. “Hi, I’m Addie.”

  “This is Ellie’s great-niece,” Trixie said. “Help yourself to some coffee and join us.”

  “So nice to meet you, Addie,” Tara called over her shoulder as she walked across the kitchen to pour some coffee.

  “Nice to meet you as well,” I replied before sitting back down in my chair.

  Tara turned back with her coffee. She sat down at an angle across from me. “So, you’re Ellie’s great-niece? She told us all about you.”

  “You know, I’m so grateful that she left me basically everything, but I can’t say I knew her well. I grew up in New Orleans with my family. She got married and moved away. I came up to visit with my mother once when I was a little girl. I sent holiday and birthday cards every year though. Apparently, I’m the only one who did that.”

  Trixie grinned and tapped her cane on the floor. “Ellie was delighted with your cards every year. They were so creative.”

  I laughed. “Oh yes, I really got into my cards and made them all by myself when I was little. It turned into a career. I design cards for a greeting card company. It pays rather well, and I can work wherever I want. It made it easy for me to move here.”