Whatever You Need (The Haneys Book 2)

by Barbara Longley

  “Busy.”

  “My family loved your Elec Tric comic books, and now they’re with my aunt. Just think, an agent is going to look at them this week. Becky says if Angela likes them, things will happen fast.”

  “Good to hear. Thanks again for your help.” He focused on opening the bottle of Chardonnay he’d put in the fridge a few days ago. He grabbed a couple of wine glasses from the cabinet and poured them both a glass. “Let’s go sit down, and you can tell me all about your weekend.”

  She took the glass he handed her. “You first. I want to hear about this flyer you mentioned.”

  Shoring up his nerve, he gestured toward the living room and followed her to the couch. “Well, it all started with the building being for sale. You mentioned you were going to look for a new place right away, and I realized I don’t even have your phone number. I kind of . . . panicked.”

  Kayla took a seat, her expression puzzled. “What does not having my phone number have to do with our building? Why on earth would you panic over that?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “See, it’s like this, I—”

  “Give me your phone right now and unlock the screen.” She held out her hand.

  He pulled it from his back pocket, entered the code and handed it over, looking on as she entered her name, number and an e-mail address into his contacts.

  “There,” she said, handing it back. “Problem solved, and once you call or text me, I’ll have yours.”

  Shoving his phone back in his pocket, he shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Where to begin?”

  Kayla studied him. “What’s going on, Wyatt? You’re making me nervous.”

  “Mind if I pace while I talk?” He began pacing before she answered. His heart had climbed to his throat, making it difficult to breathe.

  “Go ahead.”

  He took a gulp of his wine and set the glass on the coffee table. Then he grabbed one of the two remaining flyers from the bookshelf and handed it to her. “See, when Sam and Haley got together, my brother really mucked things up and almost lost her for good. He came to me and Josey for help to win her back, and we came up with a grand gesture for him to win Haley back.”

  “OK. Now I’m more confused than ever. What have Sam and Haley got to do with our building?”

  “I’m getting there.” He paced again. The next part was the hardest. He drew in a long breath and tried to force his heart back to where it belonged. “Our building is for sale, and you know how it is with friends. They move away and lose touch, and I didn’t even have your number, so—”

  “Oh, Wyatt. We won’t lose touch. Brady and I—”

  “Gotta get this out.” He came to stand in front of the coffee table and forced himself to look directly into her eyes. “I went to Josey and Sam and asked them to help me come up with a grand gesture. And what we came up with is . . . I would buy this building, become your landlord and keep your rent the same. That way, you’d have no reason to leave.”

  “What? You’re going to buy this building just to . . .” She flopped back against the backrest of his couch and stared at him, looking stunned. “OK, what have I missed? You don’t need to buy an apartment building to keep me in your life, that’s—”

  “Things kind of snowballed from there pretty fast.” It took all the courage he possessed, but he circled around the coffee table and sat down beside her. “I talked to the listing agent, and then I talked to all of our neighbors.”

  “You went around and talked to all of our neighbors. God, that must have been torture for you.” Her expression filled with tenderness. “You did that for me?”

  Nodding, he tapped the flyer on her lap. “Yes. I overcame my shyness for an entire morning. A good portion of our neighbors, me, Sam and Josey are all buying this place together, and I’m hoping like hell you’ll join us. We’re turning this place into condos. It’s an excellent deal and a great investment.”

  “You’ve done all this just because you didn’t have my telephone number?” Her gaze roamed over his face, pausing on his mouth, then rising back to his eyes.

  His blood heated. “This was never about not having your phone number, Kayla. OK, here goes.”

  He shot up to pace again. “You know how I said I’d switched gears from wanting you to being friends only?” he muttered, his face burning now. “I lied. I did all this because my feelings for you haven’t changed.” He was having trouble breathing now.

  “No, scratch that. My feelings for you have changed. They’ve grown deeper and stronger every single day, and I was desperate to find a way to get you see that, and to stay here with me. I figured I just needed more time to convince you to give us a shot. The plan was to spend as much time with you and Brady as I possibly could. That way, I hoped you’d realize we’re perfect for each other. See, if you moved away, I’d lose my chance. This whole thing started out as my grand gesture . . . for you.”

  “Oh, Wyatt, I—”

  “I know.” His chest curled in on itself at the possibility of impending heartache. “I know. You’re still grieving over the years you believe you lost, and you need time to heal from your disastrous marriage, but—”

  “No. I don’t.”

  He froze. “You don’t?”

  She shook her head. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  Her eyes met his then, and he glimpsed vulnerability in their blue depths—and longing. Desire weakened his knees and made his head spin in a dizzying rush.

  “Sit with me.” She patted the spot beside her on the couch.

  He remembered the first time she’d patted a couch, inviting him to sit beside her—the day her kitchen had caught on fire. Even then, at some level, he’d known she was his one and only. Was she about to make him the happiest man on the planet, or was she about to break his heart for good?

  Sinking down beside her, he considered reaching for her hand, but what if she rejected him. Be bold. Shaky, breathless, he slid his hand nearer, one centimeter, another . . . and then he did it—he reached for her hand. She took it, gripped it actually. Good sign.

  He leaned back on the couch, because he couldn’t hold himself together for much longer. More than anything, he wanted to wrap himself around her, ease her down on the couch underneath him and make love to her. On edge, hyped up, he cleared his throat. “So, what is it you want to talk to me about?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Oh, God. Was she going to hyperventilate herself into a faint? Kayla reached for her purse. “I’d rather show you.” Wyatt still cared for her. He’d been willing to buy their building to keep her close. Who did that? If there had been any doubts remaining in the recesses of her mind, they flew the coop. She loved this man more than she’d ever believed possible.

  “I bought something for you,” she told him, her voice quavering. “Only, compared to what you were willing to buy for me, my gift is pretty lame.” She pulled out the small box of condoms she’d picked up at a truck stop and set it on the table.

  “What’s this?” Wyatt’s brow shot up, and his face turned an interesting shade of red.

  “They’re condoms, Wyatt.”

  “I know they’re condoms, Kayla.” He huffed out a breath. “But what does this mean? And you’d better tell me quick, because I’m this close”—he held up a hand, showing her the millimeter of space between his thumb and forefinger—“to going caveman all over you right now.”

  Her nerves were firing on all cylinders, every single part of her a quivering mass of take-me-now. “Can we do the caveman thing first and talk later?”

  “Hell, yes.” He put his arms around her, eased them both down on the couch and kissed her senseless.

  Wyatt’s kisses, his tongue sliding against hers, set her aflame. She slid her hands under his shirt, desperate to finally touch him. Warm, soft skin over lean muscle . . . Wyatt. He was her own personal aphrodisiac. Heat pooled low in her belly, causing a throbbing ache only Wyatt could ease. He trailed kisses along her jaw and down h
er throat.

  “I was wrong,” she murmured. “I do want to date you. I’m crazy about you, and I . . . ohhh, that feels sooo good—I don’t need a grand gesture.”

  Raising himself on his forearms, he stared into her eyes. “Really?”

  The absolute adoration she glimpsed in his expression turned her inside out. “Really. I only need you, Wyatt. Just you.” She slid her palms up his arms, reveling in the feel of his sculpted biceps, his strength. How many times had she fantasized about touching him like this?

  His eyes darkened. “You have me.” He tugged the hem of her T-shirt up and moved down to tickle her belly with kisses. “You’re so soft.” He skimmed his hands up her sides, continuing to torture her with kisses that made her muscles twitch and her insides flutter. “And you smell so damn good,” he whispered. Laying his cheek against her midriff, he rubbed and nuzzled against her sensitive skin.

  She gasped, his stubble sending frissons of arousal through her. Clutching handfuls of his shirt, she pulled it up. He lifted himself again and helped her take it off. Then he set himself to the task of removing her T-shirt.

  His expression intense, heavy lidded, he caressed her breasts, his touch reverent. “Perfect.” He kissed her along the swell above the lace of her best bra. “Can we take this off?” He ran his tongue over her skin. “Please and thank you?”

  Chuckling, Kayla slid her hands underneath her back and unhooked her bra. He drew it off and tossed it to the floor.

  “Oh, yeah,” he groaned. He teased one nipple into a hard peak with his tongue, and then the other before burying his face between her breasts, his hands continuing to explore and tease. “I’m in heaven.” He took one nipple into his mouth and suckled.

  Electric currents shot from her breast straight to her core. “Wyatt.”

  “Hmm?” He kept his face buried between her breasts, kissing and nipping, driving her insane and impatient to feel him inside her.

  “Maybe we should—”

  “On it.” He shot up and took off his shorts and briefs in record time.

  As she’d suspected, he was gorgeous from head to toe. His erection? Magnificent, and he was all hers. To think she’d almost let fear from her past ruin things with him for good.

  Wyatt reached for the box of condoms, tearing it open with so much force that cellophane and cardboard flew. He pulled out a foil packet and ripped that open too. Sheathing himself, he murmured, “Ready,” and sank to his knees on the floor rug beside the couch. He tried to unbutton her shorts, and fumbled, and blew out a shaky breath.

  Kayla reached to help, but he moved her hands away. “Let me do this.” His expression one of absolute concentration, he tried again, and this time he got it free. His hands trembling, he worked her out of her clothes. “Kayla, I don’t think I’m going to last long this first time. I’m just warning you, but the second time . . .” His eyes met hers, an endearing earnestness suffusing his beloved features. “The second time will be all about you. I promise.”

  Her eyes stung, a lump formed in her throat, but she managed to smile. “I’m not worried.”

  “I just want to look at you for a few minutes. Can I?”

  She nodded, unable to answer, so caught up in the moment and the intensity of her emotions. Still on his knees beside her, he leaned close and kissed her deeply. Breaking the kiss, he straightened, his gaze roaming from her head to her toes and back up again.

  “Wow.” He ran his hands over her, his expression one of awe. Beginning at her collarbone, down over pebbled nipples aching for his attention, and continuing lower to her torso, his touch elicited delicious shivers along the way. When he got to her sex, he raised her knees and spread her legs. “And again . . . wow.”

  The sudden intake of his breath, the hooded sexy look in his eyes, shot right through her, and brought a rush of wetness to her core. Never had she felt so vulnerable or so completely open to anyone before, but this was Wyatt, and she loved him. He touched her then, sliding a finger along her slick cleft. He leaned over and kissed her belly, circling her navel with his tongue, and she arched into him.

  “Can I taste you?” he asked, the wavering in his voice.

  She wasn’t alone in her vulnerability. “I thought you said you weren’t going to last,” she teased. “The second time was supposed to be all about me, and this time is for you.”

  “Oh, believe me when I tell you . . . this is for me.” He spread his hands over her hips, his gaze riveted on her sex. “I really, really want to do this.” He leaned in, took her mouth in a scorching kiss, inserting a finger into her. Bringing it out again, he circled her clitoris.

  Moaning, she raised her hips, trying to bring his touch to where she needed it most. “I’m all yours.”

  “Kayla mine,” he rasped out before kissing and stroking his way down her torso to make love to her with his mouth. He held her bottom with both hands, and licked, nipped and sucked. He flicked her clit with his tongue, and she was lost.

  “Oh . . . don’t . . . stop.” She tangled her fingers into his hair, guiding him to where she needed him to be, holding on for dear life. Waves of sensation washed over her, the pleasurable pressure building with each flick of his tongue. Her back bowed, she came in a rush, shuddering and pulsing against him, her eyes closed tight. Once he’d wrung the last shudder of pleasure from her, she opened her eyes to find him watching her with an intensity that robbed her of the ability to breathe.

  “You liked that,” he said, his expression full of masculine pride. “Seeing you come is the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced.”

  “I did like that.” She shot him a wry look. “Turns out I’m the one who didn’t last.”

  “Guess I have a few superpowers after all.” His expression wolfish, he came back onto the couch to cover her.

  Kayla laughed, not so much because anything about this was funny, but because she couldn’t contain her happiness. She hadn’t been too late, and he hadn’t given up on her. Tenderness and love for her shy, funny, creative sexy man overcame her. “I want to see and touch all of you, Wyatt. You said you had other scars from your burns. Let me see them.”

  He frowned. “Now?”

  “Please?” She stroked his shoulders and down his arms.

  He blew out a breath and twisted around so she could see his left side. “They’re here on my side.”

  She touched the scattering of scars down his rib cage. “They’re not bad. Do they bother you?”

  “Not at the moment. Not if they don’t bother you.” He propped himself on his forearms again and cradled her head between his hands. “I love your hair.” He tangled his fingers in it and nuzzled her temple, and his hips rocking gently against her. “And your eyes. You have the prettiest eyes.” Kissing one eyelid, then the other, he kissed his way over her face to her mouth. “And your lips. I love these lips.”

  Kayla wrapped her arms around him, bringing him in for a kiss, and all talking ceased. She wanted him so badly. She hadn’t known sex could be like this, all consuming and intensely emotional as well as physical. It was her turn to explore, and she did. Every contour, every bit of his long, lean body. When she finally got to his member, she ran her hand over him from base to tip, and back down again to caress his testicles. He groaned and pressed himself against her palm.

  “Ahhh, that feels so damn good. Kayla, I can’t wait any longer.”

  Desire once again coiled tight within her. She opened her arms to him, and he covered her. Skin to skin from chest to toes, she exalted in the feel of his warmth and his weight against her, the way the hair on his legs and chest tickled her skin. His hands were everywhere, inciting a riot of need to a feverish pitch. “Now, Wyatt.”

  A growling noise rose from his chest, reverberating all the way through to the very marrow of her bones. He raised himself, and she reached between them, positioning him at her opening. Wyatt entered her, and the fullness of their joining brought a sigh to her lips. “Yes.”

  Swept into a tide of sensation,
she met his thrusts, raising her hips to meet his. They moved together, finding their own rhythm. His movements were slow, deliberate, and his heavy breathing against her ear as he held her close was the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced.

  The tension began to build again; he filled her just right, the friction perfect. He groaned, and his pace accelerated. She was close, so close. Pausing, he raised her knees, supporting himself with his arms on either side, seated himself even deeper. Thrusting into her with greater force, touching a place inside her that sent her over the edge. She fell apart, her muscles tightening around him. He threw his head back and called out her name and stilled above her.

  Lowering her legs, he collapsed on top of her. “Stay with me tonight?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, running her hands up and down his back.

  He sighed into her ear and smoothed her hair back from her sweaty brow. “Are you hungry? I make a mean sandwich. I have ham, pastrami and all kinds of cheese. I’m starving.” He rose from the couch and stretched.

  “Me too.” She thoroughly enjoyed the view. “Shower first?”

  He reached out a hand to help her up and pulled her into his arms. “Oh, yeah. Can’t wait to get my hands on that sexy body of yours, all slick and soapy. You are so gorgeous, Kayla.”

  Her eyes misted at his praise. Yep. After the dearth of anything good that had been her sham of a marriage, Wyatt’s compliments, his adoration, renewed and healed her like nothing else could. She twined her fingers with his. They walked to his bathroom together as if it were the most natural thing in the world to walk naked by his side, like he hadn’t just tilted her world on its axis. Her muscles barely held her up; she’d gone that boneless with satisfaction.

  “Kayla?”

  “Mmm?”

  “I’m crazy in love with you.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and she sniffed. “I love you too. I was so afraid you wouldn’t give me a do-over after the way I hurt you. I was going to seduce you back into dating me, and I planned to tell you what a fool I’d been either before or after, but I hadn’t decided which to do first, and then—”