by Tawna Fenske
What the hell is wrong with you?
But Ellie just laughed. “I don’t think it would be possible.”
She smiled again, eyes locked with his, those twin pools of blue shimmering with something familiar. His body buzzed with twin pulses of desire and affection as she sat beside him, damp and disheveled and so damn beautiful his heart turned to mush.
Her gaze dropped to his chest and she frowned. “Sorry about your shirt.”
There was a wet patch over his heart. Maybe it really had melted. “It’s fine,” he said. “It’s just water.”
“Let me throw it in the dryer for you,” she said.
Ellie scrambled to her feet before he could insist it wasn’t necessary.
He stood up and shrugged out of his plaid button-down. “Thanks.” He peeled off the white undershirt, too, folding both over his arm before handing them to her. “I appreciate it.”
Ellie stared at his chest for a few beats. “Good Lord,” she murmured. “How many hours in the gym does it take to look like that?”
Ty laughed, secretly flattered. “I have a lot of free time on my hands.”
She seemed to shake herself a bit then, and her gaze lifted to his. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ogle you.”
He took a deep breath, determined not to look away this time. “I’ve been ogling you in that wet dress for the last twenty minutes,” he said. “It’s a fair trade.”
Ellie grinned up at him like he’d just offered her a glass of wine and a foot rub. “Then it sounds like we’re on the same page.”
Before he could say anything else, she turned and scurried down the hall.
What just happened?
“Let me see if I can find one of my brother’s old shirts somewhere,” she called from the other end of the house.
“I’m fine,” he yelled back, then lowered his voice. “I probably need to cool off a bit anyway.”
He thought he heard a bubble of laughter from down the hall, but that was all. There was a clang, followed by the sound of a clothes dryer starting up. Ty grabbed a dry towel from a stack on the counter and dropped to his knees to mop the puddle closest to the fridge. When he finished with that one, he set the wet towel in the sink and repeated the process with another puddle and another towel.
Once he had the floor reasonably tidy, he grabbed a dish towel off the counter and dried his hands. Feeling awkward standing shirtless in her kitchen, he turned and headed into the living room. He was most definitely not thinking about Ellie taking off her dress down the hall. That was none of his business.
Get a grip, Hendrix.
He stalked over to the couch and sat down hard, figuring he was least likely to get into trouble here. Maybe he should pour them each some of the wine he’d brought, but that might be weird. Too intimate to go digging through her cupboards for a corkscrew and glasses. He should probably just wait right here and try not to do anything stupid.
A sound from the hallway made Ty glance up. His jaw fell open as Ellie strolled toward him wearing a pink robe that tied at the waist. The silky fabric covered her arms and came almost to the floor. She was perfectly decent, probably more covered up than any of the other times they’d met.
But his head started to buzz as his gaze lingered at the deep V between her breasts. Was she wearing anything under that robe? Or would one little tug on that silky belt leave her standing naked in her living room?
“That feels better,” Ellie said, rubbing a towel over her damp hair. She grinned at him then tossed the towel through an open door he guessed might be to the laundry room. She strode toward him, Ty’s gaze clinging to her like static on a balloon.
He should strike up some casual banter, but the only thing swimming up through the murk in his brain was, Are you naked under there?
He couldn’t say that. He hadn’t said it, right? It was possible his tongue wasn’t entirely under control.
“Music!” he blurted like an idiot. “We should turn on some music.”
Ellie looked at him oddly then nodded. “Sure. My iPod is right there next to you. See if there’s anything you like.”
Ty tore his eyes off her and fumbled with the iPod. Metallica? Guns N’ Roses? AC/DC?
“You like eighties metal?” he asked.
“I love it,” she said as she eased onto the couch beside him, close enough for Ty to feel the warmth of her thigh through the silky robe.
He didn’t know which he found sexier—that or her musical taste. A woman who liked to rock? That was ridiculously hot. Maybe hotter than a woman who sold sex toys for a living.
Christ. How was it possible for one woman to be so many things he found insanely attractive?
“Your shirt will be dry in just a few minutes,” Ellie said. “I hope it’s okay I threw my dress in there, too.”
“Fine with me,” he said. His voice sounded crackly, and he wondered what kind of a perv got turned on by the thought of his clothes tumbling around together with a gorgeous woman’s dress.
“I know it’s silly,” she said. “I should have just put on another dress, but that one was perfect for the occasion.”
Ty swallowed hard, wondering why there was no air in the room.
Ellie’s words echoed in his head, sinking through the layers. He looked up at her, not sure what she meant. “Perfect for the occasion,” he repeated as his brain tried desperately to keep up with the conversation. “What’s the occasion?”
She didn’t answer right away but just stared at him like she was choosing her next words carefully, weighing them in her palms like dumbbells. Then she smiled, and something clenched deep in his gut.
“The occasion,” she said, “is I planned to seduce you.”
Chapter Eight
Ellie held Ty’s gaze, fighting with everything she had not to blink or look away or hide under the couch like a big, fat chicken as she waited for his response to her bold declaration.
I planned to seduce you.
It was true, but so far nothing about this evening had gone right.
Ty stared like she’d just announced her intent to tie him to the bed and cover him with motor oil. She couldn’t tell from his expression whether he found that intriguing or horrifying.
She licked her lips, desperate to fill the awkward silence. “I know things got off to kind of a weird start,” she said. “I was planning to greet you at the door and hand you a glass of wine and make casual small talk about this article I just read about the differences between male and female orgasms, but them my kitchen flooded and now you’re sitting here shirtless on my couch and this is totally not how I saw this going, but I thought maybe—”
“Okay.” Ty set the iPod beside him on the sofa and reached out like he was going to take her hand. Then he stopped, resting both huge palms on his knees. “Just so we’re clear, are you just looking for a hookup, or were you thinking of something more, uh…” He stopped, frowning, and Ellie got the sense he was searching for a polite way to finish the same thought that had been ricocheting through her brain all week.
“I’m not after a boyfriend or husband or stepdad or anything remotely like that,” she said. “Just sex.” She tucked a still-damp lock of hair behind one ear and held his gaze with hers. “And I thought maybe you might be on the same page.”
In all her fantasies, she’d sounded like a cool and composed modern woman. Not like a crazy lady sitting here in her bathrobe with wet hair and a goose egg on her forehead from where she’d whacked herself on the cupboard trying to fix her own damn pipe.
Ty’s face told her maybe he wasn’t too concerned with her lack of finesse. Maybe he wanted the same thing she did.
“I want you,” he said. “But—”
Ellie winced. “I knew there’d be a but.” She wished the rejection didn’t sting this much. “How about we just pretend this never happened?”
“Ellie.” Ty put a hand on her leg, and she opened her eyes to stare at it. The sight of that massive palm cupping her satin-covered knee sent
a full-body shiver rippling through her. His thumb flicked the fabric aside to reveal a bare swath of skin. Sliding his palm to the side, he claimed that flesh, too.
Something about the deliberateness of his movements braced her to meet his eyes again. “We’re totally on the same page here,” he said in a voice so low she had to lean closer to hear. “I want you. I really want you. I figured the condom in my wallet clued you in.”
“Right.” Ellie nodded, still fixated on his fingertips making slow circles over her calf. She wondered if it was possible to have an orgasm just from a man touching her leg. At the rate he was going, it seemed likely.
“But I just used my only condom to fix your pipe,” he said. “So, unless you have a stash, we might need to call a halt to things for now.”
“Oh.” Relief sluiced through her, and she found herself grinning. “No problem there! I have tons of condoms. Thousands.”
“Uh—”
“Ribbed and flavored and extra-large and—” She stopped talking as his eyebrow lifted. Oh. “I don’t mean because I’m a raging hussy or anything like that.”
Ty smiled. “Hussy,” he repeated. “That was my grandmother’s favorite word.”
A spark of sadness lit his eyes for an instant, but he spoke again before Ellie asked about it. “I would never think of you that way,” he said. His palm clenched tighter around her knee as his fingertips stroked her calf. “And I’d never judge you for knowing what you want.”
Ellie laughed, wondering if she should just shut the hell up and kiss him before she killed the mojo completely. “I’ll be right back.”
She scrambled off the couch and raced down the hallway to her bedroom. She kept her Madame Butterfly stash in a locked cabinet to prevent Henry from stumbling onto it and mistaking the Tickle Me Pretty for a cat toy or something like that. She fumbled into the back of her jewelry box for the key, then jammed it into the cabinet lock and yanked the door open. As she pawed through her big box of condoms, it occurred to her how long it had been since she’d done this. Where did she even start? There were so many options.
Lubricated condoms, lambskin, pineapple flavored, condoms dotted with pleasure nubs—
She grabbed the biggest handful she could manage and scrambled back to the living room, spilling condoms as she hustled back to where Ty sat waiting on the couch with a funny little smile on his face. His gaze moved to her hand as she opened her fist and dropped at least two dozen packets onto the sofa beside him.
He stared at them for a moment, then looked up with a hint of alarm. “I’m flattered by your expectations, but I should probably let you know that I have to be back at work by Monday.”
Ellie shifted her weight from one foot to the other, conscious of her robe slipping open in front. She reached up to pull it closed, then stopped herself. If the next few minutes went the way she hoped, covering up was beside the point.
“I grabbed some of everything,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
“This.” Ty reached up and pulled her in to straddle his lap. She let her legs fall open as she came to rest with him centered between her thighs. Her robe parted, slipping off one shoulder. She started to reach for it, but Ty caught both of her hands in one of his.
“So beautiful,” he said, planting a kiss on her bare shoulder. He was miles away from her breast, but somehow that simple, nearly-chaste kiss sent fiery rockets of lust to every nerve ending in her body.
Ellie shivered, conscious of the bulge of denim pressing into the junction of her legs. She wondered if she should have paid more attention to the condoms she’d grabbed. It was clear they’d be needing the extra-large.
Before she could blurt something awkward about that, Ty’s mouth found hers.
Then he was kissing her with a delicious heat that made her toes curl into the couch cushion. She dragged her hands down his bare chest, thrilled to discover he felt even better than he looked. The muscles were taut and silky, with the faintest dusting of hair in the center. She traced a fingertip over the Johnny Cash tattoo, wondering about the story there.
Then she forgot all about it as he deepened the kiss, sliding his hands up her sides to graze the edges of her breasts through heated satin. Ellie gasped and ground against him, conscious of the delicious friction at her core.
Ty seemed to read her thoughts because his fingers found the edges of her robe and gave a soft tug. Ellie sucked in a breath as the robe fell open, and he shoved it the rest of the way off her shoulders.
She held her breath, waiting. How long had it been since any man had seen her like this?
Ty broke the kiss and smiled up at her. “You’re beautiful, Ellie.”
He was looking at her face when he said it, though his gaze dropped after. Ellie tried not to grimace. Breastfeeding and childbirth had taken a toll. But when Ty lifted his gaze to hers again, the heat in his eyes had gone from a slow burn to blazing.
“Jesus,” he growled. “You’re so fucking sexy.”
A shuddery thrill raced through her, and Ellie leaned back a little on his lap. “Please touch me,” she murmured. “Everywhere. Hurry.”
She didn’t have to ask twice. Hell, she probably didn’t need to ask at all, given the hunger in his eyes. His mouth found her nipple, and she gave a startled cry as he devoured her, sucking and nipping and making her squirm with pleasure.
“Ty,” she gasped as he moved to the other side, devoting as much attention to that breast as he had to its twin. Ellie squirmed, feeling a bit like a teenager dry-humping on the living room sofa. She wriggled against him, surprised by the tingle of pleasure building inside her. Jesus. They weren’t even naked.
“Don’t stop,” she gasped as she arched her hips to feel the rough scrape of denim against the softness of her core. Stars sparked behind her eyes, and Ellie cried out as Ty dragged his teeth over the underside of her breast.
“Oh, God,” she moaned. “I think I’m going to—”
A blast of music burst from the speakers, making her freeze.
“John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt! That’s my name tooooo…!”
Ellie blinked as a chorus of children’s voices filled the room. Disoriented, she looked around, wondering if this was a bizarre dream and she was about to wake up with her nightie bunched around her hips and her eye mask tangled in her hair.
“Your iPod,” Ty said, sliding his hand from her breast to the couch cushion. “I think you put your knee on it.”
Sure enough, he extracted it from under her knee, holding it up, the display showing the cover of one of Henry’s favorite kids’ albums. Behind her, the music continued to blare.
“Whenever I go out, the people always shout, there goes John, Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah…!”
Ty clicked the stop button with his thumb and gave her an awkward smile. She stared at him a moment, then blew a lock of hair from her eye.
“Be honest with me,” she said. “Is this the worst seduction attempt in the history of sex?”
Ty laughed and tossed the iPod aside. Before Ellie had a chance to be embarrassed, he reached for her again, sliding his hands to her ass to hold her against him. “You’re perfect, Ellie.”
A rush of affection bloomed in her chest, and Ellie fought the urge to tell him. To confess that she felt a whole lot more than simple lust.
This is just sex. She pushed those thoughts aside. No falling for him.
“Where were we?” he murmured, before planting a trail of kisses between her breasts. “If I’m not mistaken, you were seconds from coming.”
A flutter of excitement rippled through her, and Ellie nodded, amazed that he’d noticed. It’s not like they were familiar enough with each other’s bodies yet to pick up on cues. “It’s been a while,” Ellie murmured. “I might have a quick fuse right now.”
“Good,” Ty said, kissing her again. “Because if it’s okay with you, I’d like to make you come at least a couple times tonight.”
Ellie shuddered a
gain, then groaned as Ty bent to suck her nipple into his mouth. She groaned and gripped the back of his head, so turned on she couldn’t see straight.
“Ty,” she gasped. “I want you. Please. I need more.”
Grinning, he drew back and shifted her off his lap. Ellie curled her legs up under her as he shucked his jeans with impressive efficiency. He tossed them aside, then stood there gloriously naked and hard.
“I think we can make that happen,” he said.
Several of the condoms had slipped into the space between the couch cushions, and Ellie made a mental note to find them all before Henry came home.
Quit doing chores in your head.
She growled and grabbed a condom, tearing it open before Ty had a chance to suggest they move to the bedroom.
There was something so sexy, so forbidden, so deliciously passionate about doing it right here on the sofa.
Also, she was pretty sure she couldn’t wait the thirty seconds it would take to walk to the other end of the hall.
Reaching up, she slid the condom over him, relieved to see she’d managed to grab one with a more generous size—the condom, not his cock, though holy-mother-of-hell he was huge. She swallowed hard, wondering what it would feel like.
She doubted she’d have to wonder long.
“You’re so fucking hot,” he growled, dropping back on the couch and pulling her onto him.
His cock nestled against her, so close to her opening that just the tiniest shift would have him inside her. Arching her back, she ground against him.
Ty reached up and pushed her hair back from her face.
“You set the pace, El,” he murmured.
But Ellie didn’t want to go slow anymore. Angling up on her knees, she reached down and positioned his cock where she wanted it. Then she drew him inside, hesitating there with the tip of him clenched tight at her opening.
“Jesus,” he hissed between his teeth.
Emboldened by his pleasure, Ellie sank down hard, crying out as he filled her completely. So deep.
The man was huge.
She took him in, crying out at the delicious friction against her core. The heat in his gaze, the spice in his aftershave, the salt of his skin—everything about this was giving her sensory overload. Pleasure flew at her from all angles, zapping her like lightning bolts, filling her ears and sizzling her skin.
