by Sophia Rae
Luke moaned as he bit into the hot muffin, and Chloe laughed. “I take it you like the muffins?”
He could only nod as he shoved more of the cranberry treat into his mouth.
“Well,” Marcus said, looking at his brother. “If you really don’t care. Make a list, and I’ll send Luke here to the store.”
“Sorry guys,” Luke said as he filled a small glass with tap water. “I forgot I’ll be working late into the evening. I’m starting a new job, and the owner seemed pretty anxious to get it done. Looks like it’ll just be the two of you.”
Marcus gave his brother a puzzled look, to which Luke only smiled, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. Marcus knew for a fact Luke wasn’t working late because they had discussed watching the six o’clock Reds game together.
“Cooking for just us would be fine with me.” Chloe bent over once again pulling another pan of muffins out of the oven. “And you won’t have to go to the store. I can find something in your cabinets. I found enough to throw together these muffins.”
“Chloe, you are an angel.” Luke moved in to give her a full, smacking kiss on the mouth. “But I have to go. It was a pleasure meeting you, and your muffins are excellent.”
Once alone, Marcus moved closer to Chloe. The look in his eye was nothing short of need. As if in slow motion, he inched forward. God, he was going to kiss her. Her bottom pressed up against the warm oven, sending more heat radiating through her body. When he leaned in, Chloe parted her lips and kept her eyes locked onto his.
This had to be it. The kiss she just knew would send her over the edge and back into her old ways. She could practically feel those lips on hers.
But then his arm reached around her side, and she realized he was only going for a muffin behind her. A damn muffin! What an idiot. Why would a sexy, seductive man want anything to do with her? He probably had a harem, what did he need another woman hanging on him for?
“Oh, my God,” he said after a sample. “These are awesome. Do you cook everything this good?”
Chloe felt herself actually blush, something she’d never done in front of a man before. “I suppose. I mean, I like to cook, so I hope I’m good at it.”
Still mere inches from her, he studied her, and Chloe let him. She’d taken the time to put on a little make-up this morning and combed her hair straight down her back. She’d put on a simple white sleeveless button-up top with jean shorts and brown sandals. She was put together without being overly done up—hopefully Marcus liked a simple woman and not the model type.
“How long do you plan on staying here?” Marcus asked, his voice husky.
“I’m not sure,” she replied honestly. “I’d like to stay for at least a week, if that’s all right with you and if you have the room.”
“Great. But I ought to warn you. I may hit on you once or twice in that time.”
Her heart picked up it’s pace, but she merely smiled at his bluntness. This was going to be better than she thought. “That’s fine. Actually, I would enjoy that. But maybe I should warn you. I hit back.”
Chapter Three
The evening was perfect for sitting outside, enjoying each other’s company and a wonderful home cooked meal. Marcus hadn’t gotten a great deal of information from Chloe, but that didn’t stop him from prying. A damned defensive wall came up anytime he mentioned her personal life.
“So where was it you said you were from?” he asked, casually holding the screen door open for her.
“I didn’t.” She brushed past him to set the empty plates on the cream colored, tiled counter-top.
Marcus brought the rest of the dishes in and began loading the dishwasher. “So where are you from?”
“Here and there,” she said in a casual manner as she leaned back against the counter to watch him.
Why was it such a big secret? He didn’t know why it mattered to know more about her. After all, they’d made their attraction to each other clear, and he was under the impression she knew, same as he did, that it was only physical. He didn’t want anything permanent in his life right now. Not with the mess he was in with the B & B. All he needed was a little casual sex—no strings attached. Sex with the lovely Chloe would take his mind of his problems for a while.
A long while, he hoped. He wanted to take his time to explore all her luscious curves.
After the kitchen gleamed once again, Marcus led Chloe to the front porch. He opted for a white wicker rocker while she made herself at home on the wooden swing he and his father had built when Marcus was a senior in high school.
The sky resembled a kaleidoscope of colors with its ribbons of red, pink and orange twisting across the horizon as the sun set, closing out yet another beautiful summer day. Marcus relished this time of the evening after all his work was done, guests were settled—the few he had—and everything seemed right with the world.
“Dinner was great. Thanks.”
Chloe’s arms draped across the back of the swing. She’d slipped off her sandals and pushed off the wooden porch with a perfectly polished red toe to keep the steady movement going. “No problem.”
“Luke will be sorry he missed it.” But I’m not. He liked being one on one with her and could think of other ways he’d like to be with her—horizontally, vertically. Hell, he didn’t care if they were hanging upside down from the ceiling fans.
The past twenty-four hours he’d been living with a permanent hard-on, making his jeans tighter than usual. The image of being buried deep inside her kept playing over and over in his mind. And he couldn’t get the image of the two of them on her bed out of his mind. He’d cursed himself all night for walking away.
“Is business always this slow?” she asked as she looked out onto the acres of grass and trees.
Marcus shrugged at the sore spot she’d hit. He didn’t want to get too personal with her, at least not that way, not about his family. “Sometimes.”
“I kind of like it, though. I left home to be alone. I never imagined I’d find such a cozy place to stay.”
Long after silence surrounded them did Marcus glance her way. The swing swayed gently in the breeze, and her eyes locked with his. He couldn’t take the sexual tension a moment longer, not when his hands were itching to run along her bare, tanned legs. In mere seconds, he was on his feet and taking a seat beside her on the swing.
Her gaze never left his as he settled in close. He’d never been this bold with a stranger before. He’d never had to, seeing as how women always seemed to hit on him first. But for reasons he didn’t understand, he couldn’t keep his distance from her. The temptation was too strong.
“I know you’ve only been here a day, but I can’t help this feeling.” The pounding of his heart seemed so loud, he wondered if she could hear it. It had to be the combination of nerves, excitement, the thrill of the chase.
“Define feeling,” she said with a quirk of an eyebrow.
“Well…you know…”
To hell with it. He grabbed hold of her silken hair and pulled her in closer. His tongue plunged into her mouth, taking all she was willing to give and more. He hadn’t meant to ravage her, but damn, he just couldn’t control himself. Once his mouth touched hers, all restraint went to hell.
A little relieved that Chloe wasn’t gentle, either, Marcus didn’t ease up. The need to touch her and to have her touch him was too great to waste time with caresses of gentle persuasion.
Her delicate hands eased up his chest to clasp behind his neck, and he groaned with pleasure. She matched his urgency with a need all her own while running her fingers through his hair.
Lifting his head, he changed the angle of the kiss and was pleased to hear her moan. She shifted sideways, drawing one leg up in the seat, throwing the other across his lap. He slid his hands from her hair, down her bare arms, finally finding the mile long leg he’d been dying to touch since he saw her. Had that only been yesterday?
Smooth, sleek skin met his rough fingers as they playfully nipped at each other’s mouths befo
re coming up for air, their breathing heavy.
“If that’s your definition,” she said, smiling. “I wouldn’t mind feeling more.”
“Good.”
“But,” Chloe swung her legs back onto the porch, coming to her feet. “I think this is moving a bit too fast. I’m going to go in and do some reading before I turn in. I’m still tired from all the driving I did yesterday.”
What? She was going to go in and…read? How could she think of reading after a kiss like that? Maybe what had just transpired between them wasn’t as earth shattering as he’d thought. Marcus knew he wasn’t losing his touch. So what the hell happened?
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she said with a sinful grin playing across her angelic face.
With that, she sauntered into the house, leaving her dainty little brown sandals on the porch. He must be doing something wrong or she wouldn’t be going to her room alone for crying out loud. And he wouldn’t be sitting here with a hard-on the size of the whole damn state.
Damn it. Marcus unfolded himself from the swing, wandered to the railing and leaned against it for support. There had been a look of arousal in her eyes he was pretty sure matched his own. That wasn’t something that could be turned off, no matter how tired she claimed to be.
Filling his lungs with some much needed fresh air, he scooped up her small shoes with two fingers and went to lock up.
God Almighty. Her floral scent enveloped him as he made his way up the staircase. He cursed himself for acting like a sixteen year old virgin. He was a thirty-five year old man, damn it. He should have more control over his hormones—and his dick. But dear God, he wanted her like he wanted air.
With a little more force than necessary, he shut his bedroom door. After pacing a hole on the antique rug, Marcus threw open the set of French doors and walked out onto the porch that joined with Chloe’s room.
Darkness had settled around the house, the stars in the sky seemed to twinkle at him. Much like Chloe’s dimples each time she smiled. Like her eyes when she was aroused. And damn it, he knew she’d been aroused mere moments ago.
He gripped the railing hard enough to turn his knuckles white. “Control yourself, Delaney.”
“You know, talking to yourself is a sign of multiple personalities.”
Marcus looked over his shoulder to find Chloe propped against the doorway to her room. Sheer ivory curtains flittered behind her from the summer breeze. A mixture of honey and golden blonde hair danced about her shoulders. His dick hardened again at the sight of the sinful angel standing before him.
“Sneaking up on people, not alerting them to your presence is a sign of a stalker,” he countered with a bit of bite to his voice.
Chloe laughed. What was it about this man that kept a smile on her face? She hadn’t smiled this much since…well, never. It pleased her to know he was as sexually frustrated as she was. But she liked prolonging the foreplay. Besides, she knew once they got their hands on each other, it would be nothing short of mind-blowing.
She liked flirting with him, but she loved kissing him—and the man could kiss. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind they would burn up the sheets. She only hoped she didn’t have any marks once they were through. A battered heart was more than she could bear.
Shrugging, her bra strap slipped down her shoulder. “I like to hunt my prey before pouncing on them.”
Marcus swallowed, ran his eyes over her body and quirked a brow. “Am I getting ready to be pounced on?”
Chloe pulled her strap back up, but remained where she stood, even though she wanted to rush to him and resume to the kiss they’d started on the porch swing. With each sweep of his eyes, she could practically feel his hands. “Do you want pounced on?”
Before she could blink, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush with his body. His hard shaft pressed into her belly. “I think if we don’t do something soon, I’m going to explode. You’ve consumed my every thought since you showed up on my door step, and I can’t wait another second to get my hands on you.”
She’d consumed his thoughts? The flutter in her chest didn’t go unnoticed at his declaration. Though he only wanted sex, Chloe didn’t care. True, she wanted to put her one-night-stand days behind her, but something about Marcus made her forget the reasons why.
“When are you expecting more guests here?”
“Not for two more weeks. Why?” He nipped at her chin.
“Just curious.” She stood on her tiptoes to nip back. How long would she be able to control her emotions around this sexy, desirable man, especially since they were going to be all alone? The thrill of being in this large house, never knowing when she’d bump into Marcus, made her giddy with anticipation.
“I thought you wanted to read.” He ran his tongue along her lips. His hands made their way under her shirt to run along her soft, hot-to-the-touch skin.
Her back arched when his rough thumbs grazed her pebble hard nipples through her lacy bra. “I…um…”
Marcus smiled. “What was that?”
“Oh, hell.” She jumped up to wrap her legs around his waist. Her mouth captured his, drawing his tongue in to suck gently on it. The heat that ran through her body had nothing to do with the balmy summer night.
His hands eased from under her shirt to hold onto her backside. Just as he began to knead her, she shoved her hands into his hair, deepening the kiss.
With her wrapped in a vice-like grip around him, he moved further onto the porch. Bodies tangled, mouths hungry, neither could get enough of the other.
“Touch me,” she pleaded.
“I am.”
Marcus lowered her feet back to the floor of the porch and backed up to look at her. Between the lights from their bedrooms spilling onto the porch and the soft moonlight, they were surrounded by a pale, gentle glow. She wouldn’t call it romantic, though. Romance had nothing to do with what she hoped would happen.
Keeping her eyes locked onto his, she began unbuttoning her shirt. One by one by one. With each new opening, she offered him another inch of herself.
Shrugging the shirt off her shoulders, she let it fall without a sound to the wooden porch floor. Her breasts threatened to spill from the white, lace demi bra. His eyes followed her hands as she unbuttoned her shorts and slid them over her curvy hips and onto the floor. With a toe, she sent them flinging.
His gaze roamed from her bra to her matching white thong and back up to her eyes. “Damn woman, you trying to kill me?”
“That’s not what I had in mind. I want you fully alert.”
“I think I’m a little over dressed for this party.” Marcus pulled his T-shirt over his head, letting it fall where it may. Once he popped the snap on his jeans and unzipped them, he shucked them and his boxers without hesitation.
“Very nice,” Chloe said, admiring his sexy build from his muscular shoulders and arms to his long, well-toned legs. God, she loved the male form.
He took a moment to admire her. Wherever his eyes landed, her skin grew hot, smoldering. What would it be like once they finally came together?
“I could say the same.” Marcus moved slowly toward her.
Chloe retreated with a sultry grin. “Are you always in such a hurry?”
“When I have a beautiful woman standing before me, wearing nothing but white lace…you bet your sweet, sexy ass I’m in a hurry.”
“This is insane,” she said, smiling at him. “You do realize we’re standing out here naked for all the world to see.”
Advancing on her, he merely shrugged a shoulder. “I know I want you and you want me, who cares. Besides, there’s no one to see us and you’re not naked.”
“What if your brother or sister comes back?” she asked, still retreating along the length of the banister.
“They won’t. Besides, I think they know I have sex.”
“What if you have unexpected guests?”
He was an arms length away now. Desire and need swam in
his eyes. “We’re closed for the night.”
Chapter Four
“I thought business was slow. You really shouldn’t turn people away. Any good business owner would say the same.”
“Chloe,” Marcus said, backing her in circles until he finally trapped her against the side of the house. Placing an arm on each side of her head, he pinned her in with his hard, lean body. “You’re standing there like that, and I’m standing here like this—I don’t want to discuss business.”
Her gaze traveled down to take in the sight of his bulging erection. “That does seem uncomfortable. What should we do about it?”
“Let me show you.”
He had the pleasure of seeing her eyes widen just before he bent and closed his mouth over a lace covered nipple. Her back arched, and he took the opportunity to reach behind and unclasp the bra. Without haste, he pulled the silky straps down her arms, tossing it aside with their other unwanted garments.
While he feasted on the taut, mauve peak, her hands kneaded his shoulders. Her nails bit slightly into his skin, sending a tremor down his spine. Satisfied with his work on one breast, he moved his attention to the other. Her subtle moans had him hardening even more. He imagined her beneath him making those little noises. He couldn’t wait.
“God, Chloe, you taste so good.” He trailed a path of wet kisses up her neck to claim her mouth once again. He slipped his tongue inside and tasted the wine they’d had with their dinner earlier—sweet and intoxicating—the woman was walking, talking sin.
Her soft, firm breasts slid against his chest. He could feel her heart beating just as wildly as his. Without breaking the contact of the kiss, Marcus’s hand traveled down to delve between her legs. She spread her feet slightly apart, allowing him better access.
He shifted the scrap of lace to the side, wasting no time in plunging two fingers into her wet, hot heat. Her muscles clenched around him, and he nearly lost it. He couldn’t wait to get inside her, to feel those muscles constricting around his throbbing cock. They were going to drive each other wild, of that he was sure.
