by Marie Harte
“Do you like it?”
“I do. But I had to go through it to find out. Same as you can’t know if you’d like the Marines or not until you do it. But I understand it’s a big commitment. Once you sign that dotted line, you have a good four to six years before you can get out, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s a risk you have to be willing to take. Only you can know if you’re willing to take it.”
He nodded. “I think I always knew the answer, I’m just giving myself time to think about it.” His mood had lightened, the process of unburdening himself a healthy step in the right direction.
“Good for you. And Theo, don’t be afraid to feel uncertain. I bet if you asked Landon, he’d tell you he’s had the same feelings.”
Theo snorted. “Landon? You have met my brother, haven’t you?”
She grinned. “You have a point. But even Landon had second thoughts about his decision. I guarantee you.”
“I’ll think about talking to him. But you won’t say anything?”
“Not a word. This was just a coffee and donut between friends.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Ava. Now I’d better get back to work before I get fired.” He saw his boss glancing at their table.
“No problem. And thanks for the donut.”
He hustled back to the counter. Ava sat, sipping her coffee and letting the beans have their way with her. Her brain started buzzing, getting that jolt she needed.
She wondered how best to let Landon know he’d been right about Charles without admitting he’d been right. Hmm. A conundrum. And a challenge. But first, she’d have to arrange their next—third—date. How to disarm the man. What should she do, she wondered?
Chapter 11
“I know it’s our fourth date and all, but taking me back to your place to have your wicked way with me… It’s been done, Doc. Not very creative.” Landon smirked.
“First of all, it’s our third date. And second, there’s nothing wicked about garlic chicken. Note the garlic in the recipe. Not something you serve when you want to kiss your date afterward.”
He sighed. “You got me there. But hell, a free meal? Who am I to complain?” He accepted the beer she gave him. “Besides, you owe me.”
“How is that?” She checked the chicken in the oven.
He had to admit, it smelled delicious.
“Well, I let you put me off about your date with Chuckles. So what’s the verdict, Ms. I’m Too Busy with My Job to Talk to You?” He took a large swallow of beer. “That excuse isn’t working anymore. It didn’t work when you avoided me at the gym, and it’s not working now.”
He laughed at her scowl. He’d played along, of course, giving her until Wednesday night to see her, because Theo had hinted that she hadn’t seemed overly thrilled on Sunday. Granted, he’d had to choke the information out of his surprisingly close-mouthed little brother, but he’d heard what he wanted to hear.
“For your information, I enjoyed my time with Charles.”
“Really?” He waited until she stood and looked into his eyes. The liar.
“Well, I enjoyed my coffee.”
He smiled.
She scowled and turned to the oven once more when it dinged. Ava bent over, and he had to work not to drool. The woman filled out a pair of jeans better than anyone he knew. She’d also worn a light-blue shirt that molded to her curves, and he was dying to unbutton the thing and peel it apart.
Instead, he guzzled more beer and watched her putter around in the kitchen. He knew it was throwback, and hell if he’d ever admit it to his mother or sister or anyone else with two X chromosomes, but he liked watching a woman in the kitchen. He especially liked Ava and her cute pink fuzzy socks.
He leaned over the small window in her tiny dining room to see her feet. “Do the pink ones have snowmen too?”
She looked down at her feet. “Nope. Just lots of pink fuzz. I like my feet to be warm.”
“They’d have to be in those things.”
She smiled at him. “Yep. Not sexy at all, are they?”
The minx. She wore her hair down, and as usual, he wanted to caress her. She seemed so soft all over. She’d been especially soft between her legs, where he’d stroked that velvety slick cream and licked it all up.
Shit. He tried to ease his dick from poking through his jeans, uncomfortably aware of how she could get to him without even trying.
“So when do you wear glasses?” he asked. Not smart to change the subject to another of his sexual fantasies, but he was dying to see them on her.
“When I read.” She fixed their plates. “I hope you like a Caesar salad, because I made one.”
“So garlic, anchovies, what else is on the menu? Some stinky cheese? Doc, I get that you don’t want to make out.”
“Shut it, Donnigan. And go sit down at the table.”
He grinned and sat, pleased she’d lit candles and had the table all prettied up. “This is much fancier than my basketball party.”
“That was not a party. That was a free-for-all with pizza rolls.” She served him a plate that made his mouth water.
“Damn, Ava. You can cook.” He glanced up to see her looking satisfied. “Or did you have your cousins come make this so you can look like you know what you’re doing? Yeah, I know all about the masterminds at Sofa’s.” A terrific coffee shop in Green Lake. He’d met friends there once or twice and been bowled over by their homemade soups and sandwiches.
“I’m insulted.”
“Really?”
“Yes, because this was a lot of work.” She frowned. “You know, I should have had Sadie cater this.”
“I, for one, am glad you worked your pretty little fingers to the bone.”
“Patronizing much?”
“Hey, I’m trying to be complimentary about your stinky food.”
She shook her head and laughed. “You are such a jerk. Well? What are you waiting for? Dig in.”
He did and fell straight into heaven. He cleared his plate while she was in the middle of hers. “Damn, woman. Can I have more?”
She blushed with pleasure. “I’ll get it.” She reached for his plate.
“No, no. Eat up. I can help myself.” He noticed she’d emptied her water glass, so he took it with him and refilled it. After he piled up his plate once more, he returned to the table, placing her water in front of her.
“What?” he asked at her odd look.
“Nothing. Thanks.” She drank half the glass. “I was parched.”
“I gotta say. This is some fine eats. I mean, really good.” He sighed as he bit into more chicken. “I love the dark meat.”
“Me too.” She smiled. “My mom gave me that recipe. My dad is the one who came up with the green bean concoction there.”
“They cook together?”
She nodded. “One of their many passions. They’re also both medical people. Dad’s a doctor, Mom’s a nurse.”
“So that’s where you get it. That need to help people.”
“I guess. I just knew I didn’t want to work in a hospital. I’m not a fan of blood.”
“Me neither.”
“You’re not afraid of needles, are you?” she asked.
“Get that excited look off your face. No. I also don’t faint at the sight of blood. Sorry to disappoint.”
“That’s okay. I’ll find your weaknesses and exploit them another time.”
He chuckled. “See? That’s why we get along so well.”
“Don’t call me evil, devious, or conniving.”
He paused in thought. “How about scheming?”
She sighed. “Whatever.”
“I mean, you’ve manipulated me all night with amazing food, fine beer—”
“That you brought.”
“And you served.”
&n
bsp; “And still, you haven’t told me about your date with Charlie. Well?”
She threaded her hands through her hair. “Do you have any idea how annoying you can be?”
He pretended to pause in thought. “Hmm. I think so. Yes.”
She groaned. “Fine. If you must know, it was awful.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” she snapped. “And it doesn’t help that you sound so cheerful about that fact, either.”
“Sorry.”
“Not buying it.” She toyed with her salad. “He was boring. I don’t understand it. On our first date, Charles was nice and funny. But today, he followed my lead on everything.”
“Yep.”
“What?”
“You don’t want a wuss.”
“I also don’t want a macho headcase who thinks he can tell me what to do twenty-four seven.”
“Gee, Ava. You seem aggravated.”
To his surprise, she stood and started pacing, running her hands through her hair. He was captivated, because the woman seemed genuinely frustrated. He’d never before seen her this way. So human. So fuck-all sexy.
Every time she paced by the table, her breasts heaved and her hips swayed. That ass was begging to be spanked, he’d swear to it. And once again, he was hard as a rock, watching Ava.
“You have to be right, don’t you?”
“Not always.”
“Well, you are,” she snarled. “I thought he and I were doing well together. But he bored me. And why is that, you ask?”
“Why is that?”
“Because he wasn’t you.”
Landon sat dumbly, unable to believe his good fortune.
“You’re incredibly annoying.”
“I think we covered that.” He sounded hoarse, he couldn’t help it. He hadn’t known the woman long, but what he knew, he liked. A lot.
“It’s taken me a long time to be comfortable with the idea of dating. I’ve been so busy with my career that men have taken a backseat. And I was okay with that. But now I’m thirty, and time is ticking away.”
Was this a biological clock thing or something? And why wasn’t he more panicked at the thought it might be?
“It’s time I crossed off a few more items on my list. I’m financially set. I’m supported emotionally by family and friends. My job is amazing, and I love it. But my social life, when it comes to intimacy with a man, is lacking. So I decided to try dating. And after some really bad dates, I met you.”
Meaning, I’m not a bad date. Score.
“The worst of the bunch.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re arrogant, too muscular, handsome in an unconventional way, and coarse.”
“Yeah?” Okay, she was starting to irritate him. Mostly because the table separated them when he wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss the breath out of her.
“You’re a family man. You protect your own and those you consider needing protection. You’re not afraid to love others, even if you don’t like to talk about your feelings.”
He frowned. “What’s the rule about not shrinking me, Doc?”
“And yet, despite you being totally not my type, you turn me on. It’s like my body isn’t mine when I’m around you.”
“All good things.” He nodded, wishing she’d come closer so he could sit her over his raging hard-on and help her turn off. A few orgasms and she’d be feeling just fine.
“I’m supposed to set our tempo when it comes to sex, but I get the feeling you’re herding me in the direction you want me to go.”
“How’s that?” Okay, so she was really good at reading him.
“That blasted basketball game, where you showed me how natural you are, how loving, with your family. Giving me orgasms without taking any for yourself,” she hissed.
God, she was so fine. She spun on a heel as she raged, and her hair flared around her breasts. He could see the tight buds of her nipples through the blouse, and he could only too well imagine how wet she might—hopefully—be.
“It didn’t help that you played me.”
“Played you?” He sounded like he’d swallowed a bucket of gravel. “How’d I do that?”
“By ‘giving me’ the control. Please. You’ve been doing your best to seduce me, and I see right through you.”
“Um, Ava. You’re a little out in left field here.” Totally spot on. “I wanted to introduce you to my family, but in a comfortable setting. Hence the basketball game. What we did together that night wasn’t scripted, honey. I wanted you, bad. Letting you set the pace is only right. I don’t want you to feel rushed.”
“Bullshit. You liked taking charge through the rest of it. Why stop there?”
“Huh?” Man, he was so hard. He wanted her mouth over him in the worst way.
“Did you get that checkup?”
“Wait. What?”
“That checkup you mentioned. Did you get it?”
“Not yet. I scheduled it, but—”
She stalked over to him and grabbed him by the arm. She tugged, and he went with her, mesmerized by her tirade. An angry Ava was sexy personified. So hot with those light-green eyes shooting daggers at him. She seemed mussed, and that was just the way he wanted her.
“You okay?” he asked. “You seem a little—”
“Shut up. And stand right there.”
He was amused despite his erection. He stood next to the table, wondering what the hell she planned next. Maybe a striptease? Would she wrestle him to the ground and try to beat on him? Poke him in the chest? Get right up into his face? Foreplay, by his standards. But let the poor thing tire herself out—then he’d pounce.
Landon crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.
She just watched him with those witchy green eyes. “Do you practice safe sex? Or is that a lie too?”
He glared. “Hey. I’m not sure why you’re getting so pissy. I never lied to you. I’m always safe. Damn, Ava. I left you after going down on you because I didn’t have a condom.”
“Because you don’t want to get me pregnant. But what about STDs?”
“Hell no. First off, when we fuck, it’s not gonna be about babies. We’re going to have fun, period. No kids. Not until I’m married, because that’s the way I’m made. Sorry if you don’t agree.”
“Why are you talking about babies?” She crossed her arms over her chest, tapped her foot, and glared back.
“Second, I’ve never gotten a disease because I always wear a condom. And before you ask, blowjobs count. If I don’t know her, she’s not kissing jackshit with a dirty mouth. Got me?”
“Yep.” She stalked over to him, and he braced himself for a slap, a punch, a kick, even. He hadn’t prepared himself to watch her drop to her knees in front of him. Every dirty thought he’d ever had came rushing to his mind.
“Ava?”
“Shut up.” She put her hands to the waist of his jeans, and he froze, unable to move. She unbuttoned him, having to work to maneuver around his erection. Then she pulled his jeans down to his thighs, while he stood there like a stiff, his arms locked tight across his chest.
He blinked, sure he’d imagined it, but no, she remained on her knees, busy getting his cock free. Christ.
“Ava, you—oh fuck.”
She’d pulled his underwear down and cupped his balls. Still in shock, he could do nothing but watch as her cherry-red lips took the tip of his cock into her mouth and sucked him but good.
A wave of pleasure consumed him, and he felt a spurt of come leave his body. Hell. If he came in two seconds, she’d think him a lightweight for sure. But the woman was on her fucking knees. He wasn’t strong enough to withstand the sight of her, let alone the feel of her lips sucking on his cock.
She bobbed over him, massaging his sac while she worked him with a mouth that knew wha
t it was doing. Her clever little tongue stroked just under his cockhead, and he rocked into her, helpless to stop himself.
“Ava,” he groaned and rested a hand on her shoulder, the other going to cup her head. “Please. Oh fuck. I’m so hard.”
He felt her smile around him, before she pulled away. “Now who’s in charge?”
He’d say and do anything to get her to continue. So close… “You are,” he breathed and moaned when she put that hot mouth back around him. She sucked and stroked, laving him as she took him deeper to the back of her throat.
“Ava. Baby. Oh fuck. Gonna come.” He was down to one- and two-word sentences, his grasp of language fading as his body took charge.
He expected her to pull away at this point, finish him off with her hands. But she only rubbed his balls faster and sucked harder.
He thrust, in and out, watching himself fuck her mouth, and he couldn’t stop. “I’m coming. Oh yeah, swallow me. All of me,” he said and came so hard he saw stars.
He could only pump, letting her suck the life from him as he jetted down her throat. Weeks of frustration and desire rushed into her hot little mouth.
She moaned as she swallowed, and her desire made it all so much better. He remained half hard when she eased away from him. He watched her wipe her lips, then suck her finger.
“See? I told you we wouldn’t be kissing tonight.” She looked so pleased with herself, and he could barely stand without shaking.
“You happy with yourself?” he rasped, so fucking replete.
“Yes, I am.” She tucked him back into his underwear and pulled up his pants, but she didn’t button him up. She stood, but when she started to back away, he moved with her until he had her pinned up against the wall.
“I don’t think so.”
“You have a problem with what I just did?” She narrowed her eyes, but he could see her excitement.
“Yep. I didn’t get any dessert.”
“Dessert?”
“I want something sweet, like honey.” He didn’t give her a chance to protest as he unfastened her jeans and shoved them down her legs. He continued to stare into her eyes, daring her to object. But she kicked her pants off. He yanked her panties down and tossed them aside, and she let him, then widened her stance.
