Blue Colla Make Ya Holla

by Laramie Briscoe

  A tiny yowl from the floor brought reality crashing in on them. The kitten clearly felt like she had been ignored for long enough and began to climb his pant leg, one needle-like claw after another.

  Caroline pulled back from the kiss, gasping, her damp lips parted and her eyes wide.

  “Why?”

  He blinked at her, his brain unable to process anything because all the blood in his body was still rushing south. Bending to scoop up the kitten wasn’t easy since he was stiff as a damned poker. “What the hell does that mean? Why?” he repeated to her as he rubbed the kitten’s chin. It immediately began to rumble out a purr that could shake the windows.

  Caroline pinned him with a hard, assessing stare. “Do you want me, or do you just feel sorry for me?”

  He dropped his head, his chin resting against his chest. “I feel a lot of things right now, Caroline. And I imagine most of them are going to send me back out for another jog in the rain…but not a damn one of them is pity.”

  Chapter Four

  ‡

  Caroline awoke from a night of lust-fueled dreams. Well, they hadn’t all been lust fueled. Some had involved the tiny kitten that had saved her from making a mistake of epic, disastrous proportion. Kissing Boone—no, she corrected. Being kissed by Boone, because he’d very clearly been the one in charge of everything, including her, had been an eye-opening experience.

  Holy hell! That boy could kiss! Man. He was a man. Not a boy. He’d made that abundantly clear. In seconds, he’d robbed her of the ability to think, much less speak.

  His strong arms had closed about her, his hard body pressed against her. Just remembering the heavy ridge of his erection pressed against her belly made her hot all over again. Then he’d done that thing…pulling her hair. Not enough to hurt, just enough to put her where he wanted her. Oh yeah. Boone was a full-grown man alright, and there was no going back to seeing him as anything else.

  Sitting up, she caught a whiff of Boone’s cologne. He hadn’t let her sleep on the couch, insisting that she take his bed. Not that smelling the intoxicating scent of him on the sheets had helped her out with all those naughty dreams. Forcing herself to get out of the bed, she rose and quickly straightened the covers before walking out into the living room.

  The apartment was empty. A note on the table told her Boone had taken the kitten to the vet. Caroline hoped the little thing would be okay. She’d snuck in a few cuddles during the night. It was the rumble/purr/growl combo at impossible decibels that sucked her in. It was irresistible.

  Leaving the note on the table, ignoring the little voice in her head pointing out just how thoughtful he was, she headed for the kitchen. She’d just poured a glass of orange juice when she heard the door open. Glancing up, she caught her reflection in the microwave door. Yeah. That was not her best look. Nowhere to hide, Caroline simply hung her head.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” he said.

  She glared at him. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those morning people?”

  “This isn’t morning,” he replied. “It’s practically lunch time.”

  She glanced at the clock. It was only half past nine. “You are,” she said accusingly.

  He chuckled again as he pulled the kitten from the small box he’d used to transport her in. “You’d never make it in the army, baby.”

  “What did they say about her?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “Worms. Fleas, though she’s been treated for both now. The eye infection is a little worse. There’s ointment in the box…three times a day,” he said as he placed the kitten in the makeshift pen he’d created for her.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To sand and paint a countertop. The grand opening is in three days.”

  Caroline stared at him. He was seriously going to act like nothing had changed? Like he hadn’t kissed her senseless in that very same kitchen the night before? “That’s it? You’re just going to leave me here and go to work?”

  *

  Boone took in her disheveled appearance. Her hair was crazy from tossing and turning all night, hopefully because she’d been thinking about him. She was sleepy-eyed and grumpy, her yoga pants and sweatshirt askew. It shouldn’t have been sexy, but then it was Caroline and she was never not sexy to him.

  Sometime during the night, as he’d lain awake hornier for her than he’d been as a sixteen-year-old kid, he’d realized that she had no idea. Somehow, over the course of her marriage, her asshole of an ex-husband had whittled her self-esteem down to nothing. It didn’t surprise him. William had always been a bully, picking on anyone weaker than him. He’d apparently found Caroline’s weak spot and had hammered away at it until she was just lost.

  All the things Lucy had said to him at the bar had run through his mind on a loop. He wanted Caroline, but how she saw him wasn’t the only obstacle. How she saw herself was going to be the biggest hurdle.

  “What should I do instead, Caroline? Is there some reason I should stay here with you?” As he said it, he moved toward her, backing her against the door of the refrigerator. Their bodies were barely more than a breath apart. “Give me a reason to stay.”

  She licked her lips nervously. Her breath was coming in soft little pants. She was nervous, yes, but he knew there was more to it. Placing his hands on the freezer door, on either side of her head, he leaned in. But he didn’t kiss her mouth, as badly as he wanted it. Instead, he placed a gentle kiss on the end of her freckled nose. “Just one reason,” he urged.

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  She shivered softly. “You don’t really want me, Boone. You want the me of twenty years ago…I’m not that girl anymore.”

  “I’m not that kid anymore, either. I’m a grown ass man, Caroline. I’ve done things you can’t even imagine…things I’d never dream of telling you because I couldn’t stand to see how you’d look at me once you knew. I know what I want. I don’t need you to make that decision for me.”

  She started to protest, to say something else, but he was done talking. It was getting them nowhere. She didn’t think he wanted her? He’d give her all the proof she could handle.

  With a slight shift of his weight, the space between them ceased to exist. He pressed his body against hers as his mouth settled over hers. Their first kiss had been gentle, but the second one was something else. He didn’t seduce. He took.

  Sucking her lower lip between his teeth, he nipped it hard. She let out a startled cry, and he swept his tongue into her mouth. Bold, demanding. With every glide of his tongue against hers, with every scrape of his teeth, he showed her just how much he wanted her. Pressing his hips against her, feeling the softness of her flesh cupping his raging hard-on, neither had any doubt just how much he desired her.

  Boone had stopped thinking. The point he’d been trying to prove was lost in the storm. His hands roamed over her body, sliding beneath the hem of her sweatshirt and encountering soft, warm skin. He didn’t stop there but continued his journey until he could cup her bare breast in his hand. The soft weight of it in his palm coupled with the temptation of her pebbled nipple was too much.

  Gripping the hem of her shirt in his other hand, he tugged it upward until it bunched beneath her arms. But her perfect breasts were completely bared to him. Pulling his mouth from hers, he took just a moment to savor the glorious sight before dipping his head and tasting each one. Closing his mouth over the hardened peak, he sucked gently, then teased with his tongue. But when he used his teeth, scraping against the sensitive tip, she screamed.

  His Caroline. His quiet, well mannered, always well behaved Caroline let out a scream that was worthy of any one of the thousands of pornographic fantasies he’d ever had about her. Sliding his hands over the generous curves of her hips, cupping her ass in his palms as he finally tasted the sweetness of her skin, it was literally his dream come true.

  Her hands clutched at his shoulders, holding onto him. One slid into his hair, holdi
ng his head in place. It was a small victory, but it was enough.

  Pulling away from her, he rose up. Looking her directly in the eyes, he said it firmly, leaving no room for doubt. “I know exactly what I want…and it’s you. Nobody but you.”

  She stared at him for a few seconds, her eyes wide, pupils dilated, breath ragged. Then her chin lifted, and she offered him a slow, sexy smile. “Show me.”

  Boone didn’t waste a second. Picking her up, he tossed her over his shoulder and headed straight for the bedroom.

  *

  Caroline was too stunned to protest. Before she’d even realized what he intended, he’d tossed her over his shoulder and was packing her off. The only time William had ever picked her up had been on their wedding night. He’d carried her over the threshold and then complained that his back hurt. It had been a mood killer to be sure.

  Boone didn’t seem to think her weight was much of an obstacle. He moved swiftly, offering her a prime view of the well-defined muscles of his perfectly sculpted ass shifting beneath faded denim. He kicked the bedroom door closed behind them and then dumped her on the bed. He was on top of her before she could think. His hungry mouth was everywhere, stoking the fire he’d lit inside her.

  His hands roamed, stripping away clothes with an ease that would have alarmed her if her brain were still functioning. Instead, she could only feel, lost in a whirlwind of sensation and need.

  Her shirt vanished, her pants followed, and a tiny part of her brain inched toward panic. She was completely naked before him, no protection, no armor. It was broad daylight, and every flaw was on display. But the rational part of her brain was clearly not in control. Instead of reaching for the covers or hiding from him, she just gave herself over to him, to the skilled heat of his hands and the play of his mouth on her skin.

  His hands coasted over her thighs, parting her legs. Callused fingers touched her intimately, sliding over her cleft, teasing, taunting, and then slipping inside her. Each stroke, every subtle movement had her aching for more. But he refused to hurry, refused to rush toward the finish she so desperately wanted. Instead, he coaxed her along a slow, steady climb.

  “Boone, dammit! You’re killing me,” she finally managed.

  He only chuckled in response. “But what a way to go!”

  “More,” she said, her voice pitched somewhere between a plea and a demand.

  A slow smile spread over his face, and he slid lower on the bed, pressing hot kisses over her ribs, down to her navel. Just as he dipped below it, the roughness of his beard teasing her skin and spiking her desire ever higher, the front door slammed.

  “Boone! Caroline!”

  It was Lucy.

  Boone dropped his head onto her and against the soft flesh of her belly and uttered a filthy word.

  He rose up quickly, though, as Lucy began making her way through the apartment. “Do not move,” he said. “I will get rid of her, and we will finish this.”

  Caroline watched him walk away, the door closing softly behind him. Naked, shivering in the cold without him there to distract her, reality intruded. One word kept flashing in her mind, over and over. Mistake. Reaching for her discarded clothes, she dressed quickly before she could talk herself out of it.

  *

  Standing behind the couch, hiding a raging hard-on from his big sister, Boone wanted nothing more than to kick her nosy ass out the door. But Lucy was never cooperative. If she thought he wanted her to leave, she’d dig her heels in and he’d never be rid of her.

  It was a treacherous balancing act. Every second he was away from Caroline allowed her to think, which only increased the likelihood of her changing her mind and leaving him in his present, miserable state. “What are you doing here, Luce?”

  She pulled a face at him. “What? I’m suddenly not welcome?”

  “Luc, you never let yourself in without knocking.”

  “I did knock. And I don’t want to know what you were doing that you didn’t hear me!”

  Boone prayed for patience. “Lucy, you put Caroline in my house because you wanted us to be thrown together. Interrupting whatever it is you think is going on kind of defeats the purpose.”

  “Not necessar—good god! What is that?” Lucy screeched as she pointed at the small box and the kitten that was attempting to climb over the top of it.

  “That would be a cat.”

  “That is not a cat,” she said. “It’s like someone shrunk a werewolf mid-phase.”

  Boone didn’t argue. The fact was, it did look kind of like a werewolf. Cute and fluffy it wasn’t. But Caroline was. And she was naked in his bed, or she had been until his damned sister showed up. “She’s malnourished. Her fur will come in and she’ll fill out once we get enough food in her. Don’t you have a bakery to run?”

  Lucy leaned forward and gingerly picked the kitten up by the scruff of its neck. Its body went limp and compliant, but it had murder in its sickly eyes. “No. It’s definitely not a cat…and I can’t believe I’m saying this, because it is as ugly as homemade sin, but bless its little heart!”

  Boone watched Lucy cuddle the kitten, scratching its chin. Earlier indignities were forgiven, and the kitten began to purr loudly. If purring could ever be labeled as aggressive, that cat would have accomplished it. He also accepted the fact that he was never getting laid.

  Caroline was undoubtedly fully dressed and compiling a list of all the reasons what they’d been about to do was a bad idea. Since turning around and beating his head against the wall would undoubtedly raise questions, he just leaned over onto the couch and placed his head in his hands.

  “You’ll thank me later,” she said.

  He looked up at Lucy as if she’d grown two heads. “Thank you for what?”

  She smiled. “Delayed gratification.”

  He shook his head wearily. “I am not talking about my sex life with you…and my gratification has been delayed long enough, dammit!”

  “Not yours, dumbass! Hers. You’ve wanted Caroline forever. Let her want you for a while. It’ll be good for her.”

  “I won’t survive it,” he said sadly. “It will literally be the death of me.”

  Lucy walked over to him then, the kitten batting playfully at her earrings as it snuggled against her neck. “Boone, she’s got no job. She’s got no place to live except here with you. Let her get on her feet before you try to put her on her back.”

  “I hate you,” he said.

  “For being right?”

  “Yes, dammit. Now give me my cat and get the hell out,” he demanded grumpily.

  “It won’t take long,” Lucy said. “Send Caroline down to the shop. I’m about to take one of those obstacles out of her way by giving her a job.”

  Boone took the kitten, and of course, its claws sunk into his hand. Why the hell not? Everything else about his day had just gone to shit. “Fine. I still hate you.”

  Lucy kissed his cheek. “I know. Deprivation makes you grumpy. But I hear it does wonderful things for your character. And your hand strength.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  Lucy laughed as she gave the kitten a scratch on top of its puny head. “I have a teenage son. You think I don’t know what you all do and how often? God above. The only time his hand is out of his pants is when he’s using it to stuff his face. I just hope and pray he washes in between!”

  Banging his head against the wall was looking more and more like the better option. “Please leave before you give me any more mental images that will haunt me forever.”

  Chapter Five

  ‡

  Caroline entered the bakery. She’d managed to shower, the coldest one she’d ever taken in her life, and had dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt stolen from Boone. It was her own guilty secret.

  “I am not coming to work for you. I don’t need charity!”

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “You do need charity! You’re homeless for the love of god! But offering you a job, that isn’t charity. You’ve helped me here in the b
akery before, and you can do the work. I’ve just landed a contract to supply desserts for the University Arts Center. Every reception, every gala, every concert and art show for the rest of the season. Seems their other supplier went belly-up. Now the bigwigs will be noshing on my cupcakes while they hobnob.”

  It would be a godsend. Working with Lucy was always a good time, even though working in the bakery was akin to torture. Her arms ached just thinking about it. Still, she needed the money, and she needed the distraction from the disaster of whatever was going on between her and Boone. “How much does it pay?”

  “Ten bucks an hour for twenty hours a week. If it picks up when wedding season hits, we’ll go to forty hours. No benefits other than my lovely company…or do you have a better offer?”

  Caroline picked one of the pink aprons off the pegs on the wall and put it on. “What first, boss?”

  “First, you’re going to help me box up these meringues…and while we’re doing that, you’re going to tell me exactly what I interrupted upstairs.”

  “Oh, no,” Caroline said, washing her hands at the small sink. “That is not a conversation we are ever going to have.”

  “Come on!”

  “He’s your brother!” Caroline protested.

  “Yes, and you’re my best friend, and you haven’t had good sex in—have you ever had good sex?”

  “I didn’t have it this time!” Caroline protested.

  Lucy frowned. “That asshole! Let me guess…he was in a hurry!”

  Caroline rolled her eyes and prayed for strength. The lack of boundaries was beginning to be an issue. “No. Nothing was hurried. Nothing happened. Nothing had a chance to happen because you just let yourself into the apartment!” She was half shouting by the time she’d finished explaining something she hadn’t wanted to discuss anyway.

  Lucy cocked her head to the side. “So are you upset because you almost slept with him, or upset because I interrupted before you could actually sleep with him?”