No Exchanges, No Returns

by Laurie Kellogg

  “I’ve never claimed to be perfect.” As she backed away, the silk sash on her robe loosened and hung from the belt loops.

  “You don’t have to. You just are.” He advanced another few steps and loomed over her, smelling of bourbon and the antiseptic soap he used at the office. “You give and you give, and you never ask for anything in return from anyone. Do you have any idea how envious Brianna is of you?”

  “Me? She’s tall and gorgeous and popular. Why would she be jealous of a dumpy little dwarf like me?”

  Standing barefoot, gazing up at him, she felt smaller than ever.

  “Because you’re good at everything she’s not. You’re creative and funny, you cook like Julia Child, and you have a heart as big as Pennsylvania. Your sister is jealous that you’re not just a pretty face to everyone.”

  All his compliments sent a hot flush into Casey’s cheeks.

  “Brianna has different talents.” Her sister was outgoing and articulate and could speak in front of thousands of people without getting flustered. “Talents I might’ve had, too, if I were pretty.”

  “You are pretty, Tinkerbelle. Maybe not in the classic way Brianna is. But you’re still beautiful. You’ve got the shiniest hair I’ve ever seen and eyes like two crystal blue puddles. Sometimes I swear I could dive right into them.”

  He lifted her and set her bare fanny on the cold granite counter of the island, causing her robe to fall wide open. She shivered at the sudden chill. The feral gleam in his eyes told her he noticed her nipples had tightened into two hard nubs.

  “If you had any idea how virile a man feels holding a pint-sized pixie like you, you wouldn’t keep knocking your lack of height. You make me feel like Hercules.”

  He pressed his lips to her forehead, and her stomach flip-flopped.

  “But unlike the son of Zeus, I’m one hundred percent mortal. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go up to bed. Right now.”

  If she were ever going to make love with David, this was her chance—before her stomach got any bigger than it already was. At five and a half months, she had a round belly, but at least her gut wasn’t large enough to get in the way.

  She swallowed hard and nervously licked her lips. Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “Maybe I don’t want what’s good for me.”

  Oh, dear Lord. She winced inwardly. Had she actually said that?

  “What happened to the woman who couldn’t sleep with her sister’s ex-husband?”

  “She realized you’re right. Brianna gave up any right to object when she divorced you.”

  He stared into Casey’s eyes and slowly shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

  “Don’t I?” She smiled and slowly slid her palms up his chest, flicking his shirt buttons open one by one.

  “No, you don’t. I’m not interested in getting romantic with anyone, Tinkerbelle. I’m still too raw from—”

  “Shhh.” She pressed her fingers over his lips. “I know. I don’t have any expectations.” She slid her robe off her shoulders and let it fall behind her. Bracing her hands on the counter, she thrust her breasts out at a level where he couldn’t help but notice her distended nipples. “Now, tell me. What do you want?”

  “I don’t think you really want to hear that.”

  “I do.”

  I want to....uhhh....” He gulped audibly and told her in the most graphic way a man could exactly what he wanted. Obviously he was trying to shock her into backing down, but his obvious discomfort in using such crude language with a woman only served to excite her more.

  “Really.” She chuckled. “So how does one go about doing that—rendering a woman incapable of walking, that is?”

  Desire flared in his eyes. “I’d start by ripping that nightie off you.”

  “You mean like this.” She stripped her nightshirt over her head and dropped it at his feet.

  His tongue traced his lip as he stared at her swollen nipples, wearing the look of man long denied sustenance. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”

  She sensually rubbed her round stomach. “Even with my potbelly?”

  “Especially with your belly.” The sincerity in his voice touched her.

  “So what would you do next?”

  “I would tease you until you came so hard you wouldn’t be able to speak.”

  Good answer. “I’d like that. Except it might not be as simple as you think. I’ve never had an orgasm before.”

  He gawked at her for a full ten seconds. Finally, he rasped, “Please tell me you’re not a virgin at your age.”

  “No, of course not.”

  “But you’ve never....not even by yourself?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve tried. I’ve even gotten close. But I’ve never been able to get all the way there. Maybe I’m not capable of—”

  “Believe me, you’d come with me, sweetheart.” He glanced down at his taut fly that had to be causing him considerable discomfort. Bending, he scooped her nightshirt off the floor and tugged at his inseam as he straightened. “Now that you’ve had your fun....”

  Oh, no. She hadn’t even gotten started.

  He jerked his head toward the stairs and tried to hand her the nightshirt. “Go on up to bed before I forget you’re my sister-in-law.”

  “Ex sister-in-law,” she reminded him and pushed his shirt off his shoulders.

  Shifting his hips, he pulled his hands out of his sleeves, looking tortured. He dropped their clothing on the counter. “Please, Casey, what the hell do you want from me?”

  For starters, she wanted to touch every one his bulging muscles. And then—

  “You want me to tease your nipples until you scream for mercy?”

  The man was a darn mind reader.

  He tweaked both of her stiff peaks between his fingers. She gasped and wiggled in ecstasy on the smooth countertop.

  “Is that what you want?” he challenged, in a heated tone that said he was still trying to dissuade her.

  “Yes,” she moaned and arched her back, squirming as he squeezed them a little harder.

  “What’d you say?” His fingers stilled. “I didn’t quite hear you?”

  “Yesss! Pleeeease.” Don’t ever stop.

  He gently rolled her nipples back and forth between his fingers and kissed her, tasting of tomatoes and red onions from his salad.

  “You know we shouldn’t do this,” he murmured into her lips.

  “I don’t care.” She threw her head back, reveling in the feel of his lips nibbling their way down her neck to her breasts. He sucked hungrily on one, and every bone in her seemed to melt as he gradually lowered her to the counter, making sure her robe was spread under her back. Despite his gallantry, the thin silk provided little insulation from the cold stone.

  He stood between her knees, her bare feet dangling, and teased her nipples while he watched her writhe naked on the island.

  Easing one finger into her slippery heat, he gently stroked her and whispered, “Is this what you want, sweetheart?”

  Did other women get so wet? It was downright embarrassing.

  “Come on, let me hear you say it.”

  “Yes! Yes, darn you.”

  “Or maybe you’ll like this even better.” He smiled and bent forward, flipping her knees over his shoulders.

  When his head dipped between her legs, her whole body flushed with mortification. No one had ever done anything like this to her. The moment he flicked his tongue inside her, she ceased to care how she looked, sounded, or how drenched she was.

  She grabbed his hair, wantonly pressing his mouth closer. “Ohmygosh, that’s good. Don’t stop. Don’t ever, ever, EVER stop!”

  “You taste so good,” he mumbled into her.

  Her hips rocked wildly while her heels beat against his back. With every lap of his tongue, her excitement spiraled higher and higher until finally she reached the peak and shattered in a blinding blaze of white light.

  She choked out a cry of pleasure and shudder
ed uncontrollably, drained and sobbing, “Thank you so much. It was even better than I imagined.”

  No one had ever made her feel so incredible. No matter what the future held with David, this night would be worth it.

  ~*~

  What a spectacular woman.

  David stared down at Casey, awed by the eager way she’d responded to him. Judging from the speed at which she’d come, the guys she’d slept with must have been selfish clods.

  Guilt welled up in his chest as his conversation with her father echoed through his head. I promise, Arch, I’ll take good care of her. Oh, yeah, he’d ‘taken care of’ Casey all right. He’d never seen a woman get so excited or look more satisfied.

  I’m sure, Archer’s voice reverberated in David’s memory. If there’s one thing I can count on, it’s your integrity. I don’t know a more honorable man. Casey’s musky taste on David’s lips chased every bit of integrity from him.

  Honor be damned. As Paul had said, she was an adult....and she’d asked for this.

  Of course, if David were any kind of gentleman, he’d carry her upstairs and make love to her properly on a nice soft bed. Regrettably, the sight of her stretched out naked on the kitchen counter, her legs parted for him like an erotic buffet, didn’t inspire a speck of chivalry.

  He wanted her right here, right now, damn it. The faster the better.

  Yanking down his fly, he released his erection from its denim prison and groaned.

  She lifted her head and gasped, staring at his stiff penis. “Holy-jamoly.”

  He chuckled. “Thanks.”

  “You’re a lot bigger than any other guy I’ve ever seen.”

  “Pity for you.” He peered at her sideways. “Exactly how many naked men do you recall seeing in your thirty-four years?”

  “Uhhh....three? Except I only slept with two of them.”

  “Ahhh, I see.” He smiled. For some inexplicable reason, her shortage of experience pleased him immensely. “That’s a real cross-section of American male anatomy. You should think about writing a book on the subject since you’re such an expert.”

  She sat up and slapped his chest. “You can be such a jerk sometimes.”

  “Yes, but I’m the same jerk who made you come for the first time.”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but he gathered her close and cut off her words with a long, deep kiss that started her squirming against him again. She smelled so good—like a summer garden.

  Cupping her breasts in his hands, he stroked their plump rosy tips with his thumbs. Her pregnancy had made them swell to a size that made his mouth water.

  She mewled her delight while he slowly licked and sucked them each in turn. He lowered her back to the counter and spread her legs wider, whispering, “Now relax while I show you what you’ve been missing out on.”

  He balled up his shirt and her nightgown, tucking them under her hips to take the stress off her back. Gritting his teeth, he maneuvered her fanny to the edge of the counter and buried himself inside her silken sheath.

  A long moan of pleasure escaped her, nearly sending him over the edge. Her body felt incredible squeezed around him.

  “Oh, David, you feel so good inside me.”

  “Not too big?” The rasp in his voice distorted his chuckle.

  When he began to move, she moaned again. “Oh, no.”

  “Hold tight, sweetheart.” He wrapped her legs around his waist and pumped his hips, gradually increasing his tempo to a frenzied rhythm, kneading her soft bottom and thrusting faster with every stroke.

  He ached to pound into her deeper and harder but didn’t dare risk it—not with her five and a half months pregnant. She felt so good. He wanted it to last all damn night. Sadly, as long as it had been for him, that simply wasn’t going to happen.

  Just when he knew he couldn’t wait another nanosecond, her flesh convulsed around him, sucking his life force from him in the most soul-shattering orgasm he’d ever had.

  At her shriek of joy, he threw his head back and made one final plunge into her velvet heat, shuddering as the intense pleasure spread from his groin to the most distant points in his body.

  “Oh, Tinkerbelle,” he groaned, splaying his hands over her belly. His heart swelled at feeling his child deep inside her. “You’re so damn special.”

  His knees felt like putty as he stepped back from her. She was so beautiful lying there sated, swollen with his baby, and his seed glistening in her pubic curls.

  Her eyelashes slowly lifted, and she smiled up at him. “My sister’s a fool to let a man like you go.”

  He swallowed hard. He didn’t want to think about Brianna right now. In the entire year he’d slept with his ex-wife, he’d never felt like this. Admitting that to himself made him feel as guilty as hell. Inasmuch as he intellectually knew Casey and he hadn’t done anything wrong, he couldn’t help feeling as if he’d cheated on Brianna.

  “The only thing your sister was a fool about was marrying me in the first place.” He yanked his shorts and jeans up. “You were right about me. I wasn’t the husband I should’ve been.”

  The closeness he’d just shared with Casey was the kind of intimacy he’d always wanted with a woman and had never found. As tempted as he was to tell her how phenomenal it had been, his divorce was way too fresh for him to think about spilling his guts or making any life-altering decisions.

  “I think I’ll take a dip.” Before he did or said anything stupid.

  Just because Casey was willing to get involved with him in the privacy of his home, didn’t mean she would ever consider having a romantic relationship with him out in the open for all the world to cast judgment on.

  ~*~

  It was a shame she didn’t have a bigger mouth. Casey snorted to herself the next morning, scrubbing the kitchen’s granite-topped island. Then she could’ve stuck both feet in at once.

  As usual, she’d opened her big yap without thinking, wanting only to let David know how wonderful he was. Only an idiot would mention a guy’s ex-wife right after he finished making love for the first time since his divorce—especially on what should’ve been his anniversary.

  The guilty look on his face had been enough to tell her it was the worst thing she could’ve said. Then his sudden need to go take a swim alone had clinched it.

  The whole incident had obviously made him feel dirty. Clearly, he’d only made love to her because he’d been depressed over his anniversary and had too much to drink to handle the sexual tension crackling between them.

  At the sound of David’s footsteps on the stairs, she transferred the hot cheesy eggs she’d scrambled from the skillet to a plate.

  “I thought I smelled coffee,” he said, wandering into the kitchen. He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Thanks. I really wish you wouldn’t get out of bed just to make me breakfast. I can grab something quick at the coffee shop on the way.”

  “Something quick—meaning a doughnut or Danish?”

  His abashed expression said pastry was exactly what he’d meant. “I could get a bagel.”

  She knew a lot of afternoons he didn’t get a chance to eat lunch. “You need some protein to hold you through the day.”

  While he poured himself a cup of coffee, she buttered the English muffin she’d toasted and placed it on the plate before sliding it across the counter to him.

  The very same counter he’d made love to her on only hours ago.

  Her cheeks flamed at the memory of the shameless way she’d squirmed naked and eager for him. In the light of day, it seemed so sordid.

  He sank onto the stool and swallowed the vitamin she’d placed next to his orange juice. “Aren’t you having any breakfast?”

  “No. If I try to eat this early, I’ll just get sick.”

  A heavy silence hung over the kitchen, and David kept his eyes focused on his plate. It would seem he felt just as uncomfortable.

  Finally, she couldn’t take the awkwardness between them a moment longer. “Listen....about last night. I’m
sorry I—”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, Tinkerbelle. I’m the one who should be shot for taking you in the kitchen the way I did. You deserve better than to be treated like a quick lay.”

  There was no reason for him to feel badly. He’d tried to talk her out of it and told her he wasn’t capable of giving her anything more than raw, down-and-dirty sex. In fact, it had excited her to no end to have him want her so desperately that he’d taken her right on the spot. She’d been stupid to hope their lovemaking would’ve changed anything.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You made it clear what you were capable of offering. I shouldn’t have pushed you into something you—”

  “You think you pushed me into that?” he sputtered. “I went to the bar last night because I knew if I came home I’d do exactly what I did. Believe me, what happened was completely premeditated.”

  “Premeditated?” He made it sound like a criminal act.

  “Yes, as in carried out with lust and forethought. All I’ve been able to think about in the last week was getting inside you. I’ve been obsessing about it.”

  “David, I know last night wasn’t a good idea. You’re not ready for a relationship and I’m, uhh....”

  What was she? Raring to go at it again if he so much as blinked at her? She cleared her throat and started over. “After what happened between us, I think you’ll agree it’s best if I move to Mattie’s.”

  He slammed down his coffee mug, making her flinch. “Damn it, Casey! Would you quit thinking about moving out? We’ve scratched our itch for each other. Can’t we just be two mature adults and chalk last night up to a mistake that doesn’t need to be repeated?”

  She knew he regretted it, but hearing him call something so beautiful a mistake still stung. “So you want to simply pretend last night never happened?”

  “No. I don’t want to play any games,” he mumbled past a mouthful of eggs. “I just want us to accept what happened and get beyond it.”

  “How can we if you’re hiding out in your study or spending your evenings in the bar because you’re afraid to come home?”