Catch 'n' Kiss (Are You Game?)

by Cahill, Rhian

  “Okay, I’ll get them to head home after school tomorrow, and Luc can pick them up from there whenever he finishes work.” A whole two days without the girls would normally bring a thrill, but not this time. This time she’d be spending those two days with the one person she’d been avoiding like the plague.

  “Great. I owe you. I’ll let Luc know the plan.” Cassie headed out with a wave.

  Jody slumped in her chair. It’d been two weeks and six days since the moment. She refused to think of it as a kiss. That just bought back memories and sensations she didn’t want to deal with, so it was the moment. Either he’d given up, was avoiding her or was biding his time. None of those scenarios made her happy. He’d been so adamant the other night, and then when she’d brushed him off—okay, it had been more than a brush-off—he’d all but disappeared. Well, there’d be no escaping each other this weekend.

  Dan was the lead coordinator and she was the assistant. But that wasn’t the kicker. No, the huge problem was they were sharing a hotel room. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes and tried to put a lid on the panic bubbling in her chest.

  “Sleeping on the job?”

  She catapulted forward, her eyes opening wide and her breath rushing from her lungs. “Shit. You scared the crap out of me.” Her heart beat against her ribs like a drummer on speed.

  It had been like this for days. She’d lived on tenterhooks waiting for the other shoe to drop. Of course, he’d been all smiles and friendly workplace-acceptable talk. All the while, she’d been worrying about touching him—stressing about him touching her. The hairs on her arms and neck stood at attention just being in the same room as Dan. She could only imagine her body’s reaction if they actually touched.

  “What’s got those creases in your forehead?” He sat behind his desk and Jody breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t coming closer.

  “Oh, I was running through my mental to-do list.” She held up the folder Cassie had given her. “Lots to get organised before the weekend.”

  “You agreed to fill in for Jeremy?” He raised his eyebrows.

  “Yes.” She clamped her mouth shut. As soon as she was alone again, she’d ring the hotel and see about getting another room. She’d pay for it out of her own pocket so Cassie would never find out there’d been a problem.

  “It’s fully booked.” Dan leaned back in his chair and crossed his muscular arms over his chest, the sleeves of his polo shirt stretching tight.

  “What is?” She forced her gaze away from his bulging biceps and up to meet his.

  “The hotel.” A smile curled his mouth. The same mouth that had turned her into a puddle of need two weeks ago.

  Oh my God. Was he a mind reader? She wanted to wipe the silly grin off his face.

  “But don’t worry, the room has two beds. As long as you don’t snore, we’ll survive.”

  “Snore? That’s all you’re worried about?”

  “Well, there’s also the small issue of me sleeping naked…”

  Naked? Heat pooled in her belly, dripped lower and moistened flesh that had been barren only a few weeks ago. With one kiss, he’d brought her body back to life. And now she’d have to share a room with him. A naked him. This couldn’t get any worse.

  “It’s about a three-hour drive from here, so we’ll leave at lunch time tomorrow. Make sure we get there with plenty of time to check in and set up for the evening.” He scanned a sheet of paper in front of him. “Oh, and don’t forget to pack your swimmers. There’s a hot tub on our patio.”

  Jody gulped. Images of a wet, naked Dan flashed through her mind. Her palms grew damp, her skin stretched tight and the crotch of her undies grew wetter by the minute. She had to get out of here. Had to get some fresh air before she did something stupid like throw herself over his desk and beg him to kiss her and take away the ache expanding in her sex. Leaping out of her chair, she all but ran from the room.

  Dan watched Jody dash from the room and smiled. She might want to pretend there was nothing between them, but she couldn’t hide from her feelings any more than he could. He’d seen the tell-tale reactions her body had presented on more than one occasion over the last few weeks. He wanted to thank his lucky stars that they’d ended up thrown together this weekend, but that seemed horrible when he considered the reason she’d had to come along on this job. Then again, fate was a fickle bitch and he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  He rolled his chair back and swung his feet up on the desk. He’d wait her out. She had to come back, and he’d been laying low long enough. Time to push her a little. Dan knew he was being arrogant in his approach. Figured she’d call him on it too, but he was enjoying the game. His usual MO when it came to women was simple. Get in, get out. The two long-term relationships—if a few months could be considered long—had been more a convenience than any real need. He wasn’t all that sure he liked the man he was.

  With Jody, he wanted to savour the chase. His mother had taught him nothing worth having should come easy, and he should always strive to make something better than it was. That probably explained why he’d never stuck when it came to relationships. The women he’d dated had come easily, and those that hadn’t weren’t even a blip on his radar. But this woman. Jody. She was different. Everything about her made him stand up and take notice. From the moment they’d been introduced, he’d felt the buzz.

  At first, he’d been so set on disliking her—or the idea of her—that he hadn’t registered what was really going on. And if he were honest, he’d admit he’d still been blind right up until the instant he’d laid his lips on hers. He shook his head. Damn, he was an idiot. Blind. Stupid. Ignorant. Each word described him perfectly. Right up until the kiss. In that second, the fog had cleared from his mind and he’d seen with HD-technicolour clarity. Jody Walsh had rocked his world to its foundations. But if he was lucky—and God help him, he wanted to be—she’d help him build them back up again.

  Oh, he knew it was too soon to think so seriously, but he’d had days to think about their chemistry, weeks to ponder the absolute rarity of such a connection, and there was no way around it. What he felt for Jody wasn’t just simple lust. He knew lust. Christ, he’d spent his whole adult life letting it lead him around by the dick. This was bone deep and raw edged. For the first time in his life, he felt as though he’d be missing out on something amazing if he didn’t get the girl.

  Jody walked back in, her steps faltering when she saw him leaning back in his chair. “Oh, I thought you would be gone.”

  Hoped more like it. “Nope.” He smiled. “Still here.”

  She headed for her desk. Without looking his way again, she scooped up the file for the weekend job, pulled her bag from a drawer and turned to leave. “Bye.”

  He could have predicted her snub. She’d made an art of ignoring him for the last three weeks, except he wasn’t about to let her get away with it any longer. He pushed out of his chair and met her near the door. “I’m heading out too.”

  The scowl on her face said it all, and it took considerable effort and a bitten cheek to keep from grinning. Dan let her precede him through the door, let her lead the way downstairs, but once they made it to the bottom of the stairwell, he crowded close behind her. She picked up her pace, and this time there was no stopping the smirk from stretching his lips. When they neared the door, he scooted around her and opened it before she could. He waited for the I’m-capable speech. Women these days couldn’t seem to accept a kind gesture no matter how small.

  “Thank you,” she murmured as she walked past.

  His shock was so great it took him a second to follow. He’d expected her to lash out. God knows she never accepted his help when he offered. Suddenly she was thanking him for giving her a hand without asking? Dan wasn’t sure what to make of this latest shift in attitude, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He had something else he wanted to do before they parted ways. Hurrying, he caught her just as she reached her car.

  “Hey.” As he’d hop
ed, she spun around, putting her back to her car, and he moved right in.

  “Wha—”

  Dan lowered his head and slanted his mouth across hers.

  Her lips parted as she sucked in a breath—his breath—and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside her mouth. The moan that issued from her throat had his blood racing and his balls tightening. Minty fresh, her taste exploded—saturated his mouth with memory and need. He’d wanted this for weeks. Days. Hours.

  Forever.

  He tangled their tongues and pressed in closer. They touched from chest to thigh, and Dan wanted the barriers between them gone. Wanted to rip the clothes from their bodies and really feel her against him. Except that wasn’t going to happen here. There were enough brain cells still functioning for him to know that. Instead, he angled his hips, pushed his leg between hers and rubbed against her pussy. She moaned into his mouth and he increased the pressure. She rocked her hips, the motion growing quicker with each stroke of his tongue—thrust of his leg.

  Dan worked his hand from her waist to her breast. He cupped the mound, tested the weight in his palm before pinching the taut nipple between thumb and fingers. Jody murmured, half-demand, half-plea, and the sound egged him on. His cock screamed for action and he twisted a little to the right, pressed his straining length into her hip in an attempt to find the friction he desperately needed. She bucked against him, her spine arching like a bow, and he pulled back, separated their mouths, to see her face.

  Her skin was coated in a fine sheen of sweat, her cheeks flushed pink and her pulse hammered at the base of her throat. She was the picture of a woman on the edge, and it blindsided him to think just a kiss and a few well-placed touches could get her there. The swollen flesh of her bottom lip lay wet and inviting, and Dan couldn’t resist sliding his tongue over the curved length. He barely registered the traffic metres away, rushing along the road as people made their way home.

  He saw the second she realised what they were doing—where they were doing it—and before she could protest, he planted his mouth on hers once more. This time he savoured. Licking and stroking in wet glides that stole his breath and gave him hers. She made that sound again—the one between a demand and a plea, and Dan’s good intentions fell at their feet. He squeezed her breast, pressing his thigh into her pussy until she rose to her toes. Off-balance, she leaned in, rocked her hips and ground her sex against him.

  Something snapped. In him—in her—he didn’t know, but all of a sudden they were moving together in a frenzy of need that left Jody panting in his mouth and Dan clenching every muscle in an effort to hold off the orgasm burning in his balls. She arched, her muscles stretched tight, and her breath stalled. Then it happened. She shattered. The climax tore through her. Her body thrashed between him and her car, and he pulled them away so she didn’t hurt herself on the hard metal surface. He held her close, his mouth still devouring hers, soaking in the sounds she made, while she rode out the final waves.

  Dan enjoyed the moment. Took it all in and engraved it on his mind, because he knew the second she came down, the moment reality returned, she’d be all over his arse about what he’d done. Sure she’d let him, she’d definitely been willing, but he’d pushed himself on her, taken her by surprise and left her no recourse but to surrender. And surrender she did. Beautifully. Completely. He wanted her to do it again. And again.

  Jody dragged air into her straining lungs. Every part of her felt replete—relaxed in a way she hadn’t in so long it took her a moment to get her head around what had happened. She’d come all over Dan’s leg. Gotten off in the damn parking lot. On his leg. She wanted to hate herself for allowing it to go that far, but the pleasure still zipping through her veins, pleasure she hadn’t experienced in years, wouldn’t let her. He held her close and she buried her face in the curve of his neck to avoid facing him a few minutes more. Not that she could ignore him. Not with the huge erection pressing into her hip.

  She couldn’t evade the inevitable forever, so she took a deep breath to brace herself. Big mistake. His scent filled her. Soaked into her pores and surrounded her with renewed desire. He smelled like sex. They smelled like sex. Her insides quivered. A trembling of nerves and cells brought to life by the man holding her close. She’d never done anything like this before. Never dreamed she’d climax without stripping naked and spending long minutes building towards an orgasm that often proved elusive.

  “You okay?”

  The quietly uttered question brought her out of her thoughts. She was more than okay, but she wasn’t about to stroke Dan’s ego by telling him. Managing a nod, she tried to pull from his grasp.

  “No. Not yet.” He roamed his hands up and down her back, soothing and arousing, the motion keeping her in place. “There’s no one around and nobody can see us from the street.”

  She sighed. At least Dan was the only witness to her embarrassingly wanton behaviour. As the seconds ticked past, Jody began to realise the full extent of her mistake. She’d been so easy. So ready to ride his leg and take what he offered. Embarrassment didn’t begin to cover it.

  “Stop beating yourself up,” he murmured in her ear, his warm breath flowing over her neck.

  She shivered and a groan slipped up her throat. How did he read her so well?

  “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t. Take it for what it is. Mutual pleasure.”

  Jody laughed. “Not so mutual.”

  “Oh, you’re wrong there.” He gripped her arse cheeks and pulled her hard against him. “Feeling you get off is one of the most pleasurable things I’ve ever experienced.”

  She highly doubted it. His hard cock still pressed against her. He had to be in some sort of discomfort if not outright pain. “I…” Words failed her.

  “Here’s what we’re going to do. When you’re ready, I’m going to let you go and you’re going to get in your car and drive home.” He gave her arse a gentle squeeze.

  “But—”

  “Nope. The only butt is the one I’ve got my hands on. The same one that will be in that driver’s seat in a few minutes.”

  “Dan.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “’Night, Jody. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” With care, he let her go.

  No argument came to mind. No words or thoughts or anything that might make this moment easier. Thank you was on the tip of her tongue, but the words seemed out of place and inadequate at best, so she turned around and opened her door. She slid into her seat and felt the stickiness of her come-soaked undies between her legs. Sliding the key into the ignition, she reached for the door only to have Dan close it for her. They stared at each other through the window and she pressed the button to lower it.

  “Please, don’t say anything.” He brushed a finger down her cheek, over the swollen flesh of her lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “O-okay.”

  He grinned and stepped back. “Don’t forget to pack your swimsuit.”

  The reminder of what lay ahead had Jody’s insides springing back to life. Thinking about sharing a hot tub with Dan sent a shiver down her spine and a host of sexually charged images through her mind. She needed to leave. Distance would help her think clearly. Turning the key, she started the car then put it in reverse. With one last look at Dan, she lowered the handbrake and reversed out of her spot. It took everything she had not to glance in the rear view mirror to see if he watched as she drove away.

  She had no idea what to think or how to feel about the last few minutes in his arms. There was no denying she’d enjoyed herself, the evidence was in her drenched underwear and making the drive home extremely uncomfortable. Stripping out of her clothes and jumping in the shower was the first order of business when she got home. Hopefully, the girls would be busy with homework and she could sneak to her room without having to stop.

  Jody flipped the visor down and slid open the mirror. Her face was flushed and her hair was a mess with numerous strands escaping her ponytail and hanging in her face. Any ad
ult would know exactly what she’d been doing, but at fifteen and thirteen, she hoped the girls would be oblivious and assume she’d just had a hectic day at work. A car cut her off and she shook herself free of her thoughts and concentrated on the madness of peak-hour traffic.

  It was a bitch. Everyone seemed to be in a big hurry to get where they were going and nobody wanted to let someone else get in front of them. She barely missed being part of a three-car smash, braking hard to miss the vehicle in front and spewing some choice words she’d never utter with her daughters around. Then again, it had been an afternoon of doing things she’d never do with the girls present.

  With fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel, Jody negotiated the roads until she hit the quieter suburban streets near her house and she could relax her grip. She lived in an area where the median house price was considered low, but it was a beautiful older area of Sydney that she loved and one that she could afford on her own with two kids to support. As she pulled into her driveway, she wondered what Dan would think of her small fibro house. Would he see the fading, chipped paint? Would he notice the lawn needed mowing and the garden weeding?

  Giving herself a mental slap, she switched off the car and got out. It shouldn’t matter what he thought. She didn’t need his approval of where she lived. Besides, she owned it. Well, she owned three quarters of it, the bank owned the rest. Perhaps the peeling paint and messy yard were the bank’s quarter. Jody glanced down the street then back at her house and tried to forget about the man she’d just driven away from. What mattered was what lay before her. Her house and the girls tucked safely inside its walls.

  She didn’t need a man to give her a home. She’d done that herself without the help of the man she’d married. Nothing Dan offered could compare with what she had. But even as she thought the words, she knew she was a liar. The dampness of her undies and hum of pleasure still vibrating in her blood proved that.