He stared intently at her. “Yeah?”
“It’s a tough field. Starting a restaurant is risky and stressful and time-consuming. I like the idea of helping people with it.” In fact, she’d meant to become a consultant, not a teacher. She opened her mouth to say that, but then let the words fade away, unable to form them in a way that didn’t sound pitiful. She’d fallen in love with Victor. He’d wanted her time and energy invested in his career. And so that’s what she’d done. She’d taken a low-paying job at the university, because his career was important. Of course it was. Who could’ve argued with that?
Jamie stared at her, his eyes narrowed as if he were trying to puzzle something out. Olivia wanted to shrink down and protest that she’d done what she’d thought best at the time. Yes, she’d been an idiotic twenty-three-year-old, marrying a man who’d played her perfectly, but she’d meant well. He’d been recently tenured, after all. He’d had a career to build.
“It’s not a bad job,” she said quietly.
“I have an idea.” He didn’t sound disapproving. He sounded…excited?
Olivia had trouble adjusting to this unexpected turn. “What kind of idea?”
“Maybe we could help each other.”
She cocked her head in question.
“You want to learn how to have fun…?.”
“Yes…?”
He smiled, but it didn’t hold quite his normal level of confidence. “And I want to learn how to turn the tasting room into a real brewpub.”
His plan wasn’t exactly a shock. She’d assumed he was heading in that direction. But it was a shock to hear him present their problems as an equal exchange. Was he proposing that she work for him in exchange for sex?
“Jamie, I…I don’t know.”
“What do we have to lose?”
“If I’m going to be working with your family, I’m not sure it would be appropriate to—”
“You won’t be working with my family. My family doesn’t know anything about this.”
“I don’t understand,” she murmured, reaching for her glass, grateful he’d refilled it.
Jamie leaned back and held his own glass loosely between his fingers, turning it as he stared down at the tilting liquid. “My brother doesn’t have a lot of confidence in me. Hell, nobody does. I guess I’ve brought that on myself. Let’s just say there’ve been some instances of questionable judgement.”
“With the business?”
“No, not exactly. Years ago, I sowed my oats fairly widely. And once you’ve cast yourself in the role of black sheep, it’s hard to shake it off.”
“Were there drugs involved? Anything illegal?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just that…my brother and I are nothing alike. He’s a paragon of responsibility. I could never compete with that, so I didn’t bother trying.” He shrugged. “It’s complicated. But in the end, it comes down to this. We’re equal partners in the brewery, so whatever I propose, I’ll have to convince both my sister and my brother that it’s a good idea. So I need help. All the help I can get.”
“Well, of course I’d be happy to help. But I don’t need you to—”
“No, that’s not true. You need help, too. And I happen to be a lot of good at fun. I cut my teeth on it.”
Her face was so hot it prickled as if she’d just fallen into a field of stinging nettle. “But sex? I can’t just—”
“I didn’t say anything about sex.”
Oh, Jesus. She pressed a cool hand to her cheek. “I don’t understand.”
“I mean fun. Staying up later than ten, for instance.”
“I like to—”
“Sleeping late. Getting drunk under the stars. Skinny-dipping. Going to a strip club—”
“A strip club?” she yelped.
He winked. “And maybe we could work in a little can’t-wait-for-it, gotta-have-it sex against the bathroom wall while we’re at it. Assuming you’d consider that fun.”
“I think…” Her face still burned. Her throat turned on itself until she couldn’t believe she could still draw breath. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t how people went about things, not even older divorcées and younger men. Maybe she should be insulted that he wanted her to bargain for time in his bed. Or against his wall.
On the other hand, it made things easier, didn’t it? No worries that it was something special. Something deep. They were just…scratching each other’s backs. Exchanging services.
Now that she thought about it, maybe this was how it was done. Maybe she was a sugar mama, albeit a rather poor one.
Isn’t that how older men did it? Men like Victor offered guidance, stability, a wise hand along the way. Younger women offered tight bodies and simple needs.
“Well?” Jamie prompted, setting his glass on the table and sitting up straight. He looked right into her eyes, not the least bit embarrassed. How did he do that?
Olivia forced herself to sit straight, too. She’d wanted him anyway, hadn’t she? “All right,” she said, surprised at the conviction in her own voice. “You’ve got a deal. But I want my first lesson today.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“I DIDN’T BRING a swimsuit,” she said, confused despite her earlier bold declaration.
Jamie tried to look serious, shaking his head as he slipped the last of the dishes into the sink. “Haven’t you listened to anything I said?”
He could almost see her reviewing his list of fun. In fact, her lips moved as she repeated it to herself. Her eyes widened. “But today…I thought we’d…”
“What?” he asked, pretending he didn’t know what she meant.
She stammered, her face pinkening again.
“Take it slow?” he prompted, letting her off the hook. But he knew exactly what she’d meant. She thought they’d just have sex, and apparently she welcomed it. Jamie’s blood pumped faster, filling his veins until his body felt tight.
She leapt on his words and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Take it slow.”
“But I’m trying to teach you how to jump in feetfirst. Starting with the hot tub.”
Her eyes slid toward the back door as she piled silverware in the sink. “But…people will see us.”
“Nope. The trellis keeps it private.”
“But…the walk…”
“I have towels, Olivia. Big, fluffy ones.”
She swallowed and stared hard at the bright rectangle of sunlight spilling onto the kitchen floor. “All right,” she said, looking terrified.
“Hey.” He walked over and nudged her chin up. “I’m teasing. Maybe we could go for staying up late as a first step.”
She met his gaze, and there was that vulnerability again. Jamie felt his heart turn. But then her jaw hardened. “No. You’re right. I’m not the expert here, am I? I should trust you.”
Her skin felt like silk when he traced the line of her chin. “It’s just a hot tub,” he said, because he’d be damned if he’d make her feel she was agreeing to anything else at this point. He wasn’t going to shame her into sex. “Just a swim. That’s all.”
“Right,” she said. “Just a hot tub.”
“I’ll leave a towel in the bedroom for you.”
He walked away casually, trying not to let her know how much he was anticipating this. If she thought he lounged naked in his hot tub with a different girl every Sunday, then so be it. He stuffed a couple of condoms into his pocket, slung a towel around his neck and laid one on the bed for Olivia. Then he walked right past her, grabbing the champagne glasses as he passed.
When she turned on the water at the sink, he paused. “Just to be clear, I’ll get the dishes later.”
“Oh, sure,” she said. The water cut off. He chuckled as he stepped outside and headed for the tub. He had set the timer to keep the water warm on the weekends, so it was already comfortably toasty. Jamie turned on the jets, dropped his clothes on the bench and stepped in.
It would take her a little while. He knew that. He could picture her perfectly, sta
nding in the kitchen, her fingers wound together, jaw set tight as steel. She might be careful and serious, but she was strong as hell, and he had no doubt she’d work up to it.
He laid his head back and closed his eyes, picturing her walking slowly down his hallway, her heels clicking against the wood. When she reached his bedroom, she’d stare hard at the towel. Then at his bed. Her hands would hesitate over the knot that kept that wrap dress on. God, he’d give anything to be the one to untie it. To slide the sash free and watch that bright yellow fabric open. To see that first glimpse of skin. What was she wearing under there? Something sweet and modest? Something delicate and silky?
Jamie’s cock was aching by the time he opened his eyes and found her standing before him. He blinked in surprise. In his mind, she’d still been nervously undressing.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes sweeping down the wide white towel she clutched to her body.
Jesus Christ, she was naked under there. No doubt about it. Her eyes were wide and her knuckles glowed as pale as the cotton she clutched, but she stood straight and met his gaze.
“You’re sure no one can see in?” she asked.
“I’m sure. Too many shadows.”
“Could you…?”
Jamie closed his eyes again, but his ears strained to make up for that chivalry, as if he could possibly hear a towel being unwound over the sound of the rolling jets. He counted to ten, then twenty, sure that there’d be some global shift once she was naked in the water with him. At the very least, she’d splash a little.
“Can we even count it as skinny-dipping if you keep your eyes closed the whole time?”
That would be a tragedy, so Jamie opened his eyes immediately. And there she was. The swirling bubbles hid most of her body. All of it, really. He could see much more of her skin while he was sitting in class. But the few inches of her shoulders seemed startling bare above the water. Fascinatingly bare. Her dark hair just brushed along her collarbone when she moved. Water danced and dipped just an inch below that, teasing him with her nudity each time a little trough showed more skin.
Jamie forced his eyes up to her face, then realized it didn’t matter. She was too busy checking out his chest to notice. He slid up a little straighter in response.
“So,” she finally said. “I did it.” Her smile started small, but it didn’t take long for it to spread across her face.
“You certainly did. How’s it feel?”
“I don’t know yet.” She slid a few inches to her right, coming a little closer, though there was still two feet of tub between them. From this angle, she was looking right out into the yard. A breeze stirred her hair, and he watched her take a deep breath. “It’s like a cave in here. A secret.”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Beyond the trellis walls, the day exploded in brightness and light. The people out there moved through their Sunday world. And no one knew Jamie and Olivia were tucked into these shadows, nude beneath the water. Her foot brushed his. He breathed very carefully.
When he’d dared her to skinny-dip with him, Jamie had felt in control. A little superior. Just as he should, as the man tasked with teaching her how to loosen up. But this wasn’t like a casual dip with a tipsy girl who’d tossed her bikini top away like an unneeded jacket. This was Olivia Bishop, whose nudity seemed a precious, guarded thing. And just the glimpse of her naked shoulders felt risqué. Now Jamie didn’t feel superior and calm. He felt nervous and so aroused that he was thankful for the shroud of bubbling water. Not cool to casually lounge around with a throbbing erection.
Not cool at all.
“Look at that,” she whispered, and for a moment, Jamie worried the waters had cleared. But she pointed out toward the sunlight, to the hummingbird feeder he’d hung on a small tree. Two green birds danced there, swiping at each other as they competed for the sugar water.
But Olivia was smiling, so he watched her instead.
“This is really neat,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” he said with an irony she seemed to miss.
“I feel different.”
“Yeah?”
She turned and aimed that smile at him, and it tilted in a naughty way he’d never seen on her. “Yeah.”
Jamie shifted his leg so that it slid against hers, and there was no mistaking the excitement that sparked in her eyes. “I feel strange calling you Ms. Bishop when I’m supposed to be teaching you today.”
“That’s because you shouldn’t be calling me that and you know it.”
“Okay, I’ll call you Olivia then.” He reached for the champagne glasses and handed her one, taking the opportunity to slide a little closer. Now his calf rested naturally against hers. “Your name is beautiful. I don’t think I’ve met an Olivia before, and I meet a lot of people at the brewery.”
“It’s old-fashioned,” she sighed.
“It’s pretty,” he insisted, not adding that it suited her perfectly. She wouldn’t appreciate it, because it was old-fashioned, and that was exactly why it fit her.
Sighing, she ducked down a little farther in her seat and sipped champagne. Her expression was soft. Dreamy. And her cheeks had turned pink in the steam.
Jamie touched her temple, sliding back a strand of hair that stuck to her dampening skin. When she turned toward him, he touched his thumb to her lower lip, loving the soft give of her flesh.
She watched him, waiting, all her nervousness floating away on the steam. And hell if he could wait a moment longer.
He kissed her, very conscious of keeping his hand on her shoulder as he slid next to her. And it was strange, here in the heat, almost as if their whole bodies were part of the kiss. Every part of her was as hot and wet as her mouth at that moment. When her hand slid over his shoulders, it was as sensual as the lick of her tongue. When her knee pressed into his thigh, it slipped over him.
He tried to take it slow, but she slanted her mouth and wound her fingers into his hair. The buoyancy alone pushed him closer, and he had to brace himself to keep from covering her completely. His hand landed on her hip. His fingers naturally curved to hold her. And then his palm was sliding up her side, exploring her body, shifting her closer.
At first he thought it was only the push of water against him, but then he realized her knee was sliding between his thighs. Jamie tried to find an impossible balance between getting her closer and keeping his distance. But a moment later, his restraint had wound so tightly that it simply shattered and floated away. Olivia was trying to deepen the kiss, and now her thigh slid along his cock as her leg fit more snugly between his.
She made a little noise into his mouth. A murmur of surprise or pleasure, he wasn’t sure, because his mind was occupied with the sensation of her skin against his shaft and his hands spreading over her back. She was so very naked. Every inch of her wet and available. His hands slid up to her neck, then down…slowly down, following her spine all the way to the base, then he spread his hands out, shaping her ass, holding her hips.
This time she moaned more loudly, and he had no trouble interpreting the sound.
Jamie eased her back, loving that her breath came as hard as his. He dragged his mouth down her neck as her fingers clutched his head. He set her back and lifted her hips, forcing her to stand so that he could see her. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted, and Jamie followed the trickles of beaded water that slid from her neck to her naked breasts. He kissed her collarbone, then followed the water with his mouth. When his lips closed over her nipple, Olivia gasped so loudly that he worried he’d hurt her. But then her fingers twisted into his hair and held him close, and he growled with approval.
Her small breasts barely curved into his palm, but she was incredibly sensitive. When he traced his tongue around the dark rose of her areola, her hands shook against him. When he scraped his teeth against her nipple she sobbed. She was amazing. He could do this for hours, coaxing every imaginable sound of pleasure from her mouth. It was like a pretty game, finding the places tha
t pleased her. Even licking the pale skin along the side of her breast made her whimper. He teased her before closing his mouth over the peak again.
“I can’t…” she breathed.
Jamie let her nipple slide from his mouth with such slowness that she groaned.
“I can’t stand up anymore,” she whispered.
“Well, then…you’d better sit down.”
She put one knee on the seat next to his hip, then lifted the other to straddle him.
For a split second, Jamie considered just sliding into her right then. Just easing her hips down and filling her, because he’d never wanted anything more. Nothing. No woman, no fantasy had ever left him so desperate.
She looked down at him, her damp hair stuck to her neck in dark coils. Her eyes so wide he could fall right into them. Her chest rose and fell as she panted, waiting.
“Shit,” he murmured, then pulled her down for a kiss. His cock was caught between them, pressed tight to her belly. Every time she even breathed, she slid white-hot pleasure into his shaft. Christ, what would it feel like when he got inside of her? He wound her hair around his fist and kissed her harder.
She was wild, her nails biting into his biceps, her hips shifting against him. Jamie’s world was one big pulsing wave of lust. He dropped one hand down her back and slid his fingers along the seam of her body. He stroked her, loving the way she writhed against him, teasing her until she nearly sobbed.
Just as he was about to plunge two fingers deep within her, the world stopped. Everything stopped. They both froze, pulling back to look at each other in shock.
Jamie had no idea how long they’d been in the hot tub together, but he’d neglected to set the timer for long enough. The new silence roared in his ears. The water settled and became a quiet pond.
Olivia’s eyes got even wider. She glanced around as if remembering where she was. “Oh,” she said, the word whispering cool air over his cheek.
Bad Boys Do Page 7
