Too Hot to Handle

by Jennifer Bernard

  “I never really liked Superman.” Cassie eased off on her pace. She was a little out of shape from spending so much time under vehicles. And besides, she didn’t really want to lose Kevin. Just taunt him. “Superman always seemed so annoyingly good. I couldn’t relate. What about you?”

  “I liked Jughead.” He grinned at her. “And Veronica.”

  “Seriously, you were an Archie reader?”

  “My dad collected them. Kind of a nostalgia thing. I think they’re coming back, though. Holly makes Archie references now and then. Apparently there’s a TV show?” He shrugged his wide shoulders as he hopped over a rock. “I swear, I wouldn’t know anything about pop culture if I didn’t have a kid. Holly’s my lifeline. The hidden side benefits of parenthood.”

  She stopped dead in her tracks, nearly causing Kevin to trip over her. He caught her by the shoulders to steady them both. Then he shoved her behind him and scanned the trail. “What happened? Did you see a snake or something?”

  “A snake? God, no. Are there snakes out here?” She shuddered and edged closer to him. She wasn’t frightened of very many things, but snakes were at the top of that list. “I had no idea. I wouldn’t have come near this trail if I’d known.”

  “I don’t know if there are, but don’t worry. Superman is here to protect you.” He crouched down to inspect the trail more closely. “What scared you, if it wasn’t a snake?”

  “Oh, nothing.” She shot him an uneasy glance, hoping he wouldn’t push it. She hadn’t stopped because she was scared. She’d stopped because a shocking thought had occurred to her.

  What if Kevin was the right man for her?

  The thought was shocking because it felt so…non-shocking. Natural. As if everything fell into place as soon as it occurred to her. With Kevin, everything just…fit. As if it was meant to be. As if part of her had known it, on some level, for a while now.

  She realized that she was staring at him blankly.

  “What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

  His face. She loved his face. It had character, it had lines in all the right places, creases fanning from his eyes, a groove on the left side, due to the quirky one-sidedness of his smile. Then there was the scar that cut into his right eyebrow, the humor that always lurked in his gaze, along with a kind of steady intelligence.

  “Cassie, seriously, what is going on? I feel like I’m missing something here.”

  “I was just thinking…we’re surrounded by land right now.” She swept her arm in a wide circle, indicating the mix of birch, maple and pine trees in the surrounding woods. The trees were leafing out, and a heavenly, honeyed fragrance drifted from the tender new buds. Busy warblers flitted from branch to branch, chirping and rustling. The perfection of the moment sent shivers through her.

  As her words sank in, heat flared in his eyes. Followed by doubt. “Weren’t you worried about snakes a second ago?”

  “Snakes? No! Why’d you have to say ‘snakes’ again?” Indignantly, she folded her arms across her chest. His gaze followed the movement, lingering at the level of her sports bra. She felt her nipples rise in response to his attention. God, it took practically nothing to get her aroused around him.

  “Sorry to ruin the moment. But I have to admit this wasn’t exactly the land-based sex I had in mind.”

  “Okay, I’m open to other thoughts.” Liquid heat sparked deep in her belly. She wondered if it would be too obvious if she shifted her position and rubbed her legs together. Then again, was there something wrong with being obvious in this situation?

  Sex. She wanted to have sex with Kevin, and she had a really good reason for that.

  Because based on her past experience with sex, it would be somewhat disappointing, and then she would know that this crazy idea that Kevin was right for her would disappear back into the Land of Bad Ideas where it had come from. Yes, that was her reason. Her very excellent and logical reason.

  Kevin would conclude the same thing, and they could move past this particular phase of their relationship and settle back into being friendly co-workers.

  “To be honest, I’m not too picky, but an inside space would be a plus.”

  “Want to check out my new house-sitting gig? Hunter and Starly’s place?”

  He hesitated, and she read the conflict taking place under the deep green surface of his eyes. He wanted her. No question about that. On the other hand, what about his promise to Holly? What about his conviction that they couldn’t be simply casual? What about, what about…

  She stepped closer and cupped his erection in her palm. It responded with a jolt, nudging the heel of her hand. “Has anyone ever told you that you think too much, O’Donnell?”

  “Not really, no.” His voice was strained. “I’m more of a ‘jump first, regret it later’ kind of guy. But I’ve been working on that. I have a feeling you’re a setback waiting to happen.”

  “Well, maybe.” She stepped closer, breathing in the heady aroma of good clean male sweat. “Or maybe we’ll get rid of all this sexual tension for good.”

  He reached for her ass and yanked him against her, pelvis to pelvis. Electric heat shot through her sex, wild and unstoppable. Her nipples peaked even harder, and she pressed herself against him. His scorching gaze swept across her, head to toe.

  “You sure about this?” His voice deepened to a growl. “Because everything changes once we go to bed together.”

  She nodded, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth. Wild thrills ran through her, making her skin tighten as if an electric storm was on the horizon. “Bring it.”

  20

  Since Kevin’s place was closer, they went there, after racing down Heart Attack Hill and into their respective cars. As soon as they were both inside his loft, with the door closed and locked behind them, he stripped off his clothes and headed for the shower.

  “I’m starting with a clean slate,” he told her. “And you’re invited too, though you smell amazing covered in sweat.”

  “Oh please,” she scoffed. “No one smells amazing covered in sweat. How big is your shower? Can it fit both of us?”

  “I’ve never tried, but this might be the perfect time to find out.” He took her by the hand and led her into the bathroom, where they looked at the shower stall and burst out laughing.

  “Yeah, maybe not.” She peered at the rickety frosted-glass panel that he hadn’t gotten around to replacing. “I like the theory, but in reality, I can picture my elbow going right through that door.”

  “Wait here. Please don’t go anywhere.” Still chuckling, the way he seemed to do so often around Cassie, he stepped into the shower and quickly rinsed off. He didn’t want to give himself time for second thoughts. This was happening. He wanted it to happen, more than anything. He was following his gut, the way he always used to before he’d become Cautious Dad material. They’d figure out the fallout later. It would all be A-okay.

  When he stepped out of the shower, Cassie was nude, behind a towel, which she was holding for him. All those sweet bare curves hidden behind terrycloth—he couldn’t stand it. He reached for the towel, but she forestalled him by wrapping it around him, pinning his arms to his sides. With a grin, she skipped around him and dove into the shower.

  “You can run but you can’t hide,” he called over the sound of the rushing water cascading over her. Behind the frosted glass, through the steam, her sexy silhouette made his imagination go wild.

  By the time she stepped out of the shower, he had a full-on, hard-as-rock erection, which he didn’t bother to hide as he toweled off his hair. She blinked water out of her eyes and stood dripping on the bath mat, all long legs and sleek skin, swelling curves and strong forearms.

  Funny thing to notice, forearms—but hers were truly something thanks to all the wrenching she did. He reached for one hand and bent over to rain kisses onto the corded tendons that ran between her wrist and her elbow.

  “There’s a lot of competition, but this part of your body might be top of my fav
orites list.” He turned her arm over to expose the inner skin, so fragile compared to the tanned outer surface.

  “My arms?” She sounded both confused and breathless. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. These are hard-working, kickass, badass arms. Sexy as fuck.”

  She giggled, so much more girly than her usual style. “You’re not a typical guy, are you? Aren’t most men all about the tits and ass?”

  Boom, his arousal rose another big notch up the dial. “Tits and ass, it’s good stuff. Not saying no to all that.” Especially hers, especially with shower water still running down her body. He put a finger under her right nipple. A droplet was tracing a curve around her breast and he caught it on the tip of his finger. He didn’t even touch her nipple, but even so, it tightened. “You are so fucking gorgeous. Your nipples make me want to cry. They’re like the perfect shade of coral, like the inside of a conch shell.” Delicately, he touched her nipple—so responsive, it hardened again. “And then they turn a kind of wine color. What’s that pink wine…rosé? Never got inspired to drink it, until now.”

  She closed her eyes as he bent over even farther and touched his tongue to her nipple. Her warmth radiated through the fresh taste of clean skin. He couldn’t get enough of the way her flesh peaked under his stroking. It drove him mad, the pebbled hardness swelling against his tongue, the softness of the areola. He drew the plump curve into his mouth, feasting on her sighs and moans. Dimly, he felt her nails scratching up and down his back, urging him on, harder, faster. His cock throbbed with need.

  One of her legs wrapped around his, her pelvis pressing against his groin. “Weren’t you saying something about a bed?” she whispered in his ear. She tugged on his earlobe with her teeth. In response, he stroked the flat on his tongue hard across her nipple, then followed up with his fingers, pinching just hard enough to draw a gasp from her.

  “Holy shit, Kevin.” She gripped his shoulders. He felt a rush of wet heat against his cock. “That feels incredible.”

  He sucked on her neck, tracing a path of nibbles up the tendon to her jaw. “I could just eat you up, every bit of you.”

  “Not stopping you,” she gasped.

  He hoisted her up so both of her legs were wrapped around him and clamped his hands on her ass. He walked with her out the door, leaving damp footprints across the hardwood floor all the way to his bedroom.

  He had a king-size bed because he was a sprawler, and always seemed to end up with one part of his body dangling off the edge. But right now, that king-size looked just about perfect for the amount of romping he wanted to do with Cassie. He hadn’t made his bed this morning—he’d intended to do it as soon as he got back from running. It was the usual tangled mess of navy-blue sheets, with the duvet halfway onto the floor.

  With her still clinging to him, arms locked behind his neck, he set one knee on the edge of the bed. Before he could go any farther, she let go of her grip and dropped onto the mattress with a bounce. She leaned back on her elbows, her glorious breasts with their wine-coral nipples calling to him like twin sirens. Her skin glowed like pearls against the blue of his sheet.

  She rolled over and over, sprawling across his bed, as if she were making snow angels in his sheets, or posing like Marilyn Monroe against velvet.

  “Sheets, just like you wanted,” she said with a wink. “Anything else you have in mind?”

  “Just you and me, babe. You and me and maybe a condom.” He crossed to his nightstand, his penis bobbing almost painfully as he walked. He found a condom and quickly ripped it open. Their time was ticking away, and if he didn’t get inside her before too long, heads were going to roll. Or explode.

  He was so throbbingly hard that he struggled to get the condom on. He’d always hated the things, but never again would he take a chance until he was one hundred percent sure he was on the same page with a woman. He’d learned his lesson, thanks to Sylvie.

  He felt Cassie’s foot trace a path up the back of his thigh, and turned around. Why’d he have to think about Sylvie at a time like this? Ancient fucking history. This was now, and Cassie was a completely different type of woman. She wasn’t a selfish person who put her partying above everything else.

  Not that Cassie didn’t like to party. They had met at a bar, after all. And here she was, rolling around on his sheets like some kind of nude model.

  “What’s going on?” Cassie asked softly.

  And that was another thing. Cassie cared about other people. She might act like she didn’t need anyone, but she adored her brothers, and she’d essentially sacrificed years of her life to look after her mother. If she became a part of his and Holly’s lives, she wouldn’t flit away at the first sign of trouble.

  Or would she? Hadn’t she left Jupiter Point after problems with a boy?

  “Just…thoughts,” he said. Fuck, none of this mattered now. This was sex, pure and simple. No need to torture himself.

  “You’re overthinking again, aren’t you?”

  He fisted his latex-covered cock, which was just as hard as before he’d started thinking. “Maybe a little, but don’t worry, I’m putting this guy in charge now. And he has a few ideas about what to do with this incredible naked woman in my bed.”

  Questions still lingered in her eyes, but she smiled anyway. “If he’s anything like the rest of you, he has all kinds of good ideas. I’m all ears. Okay, not all ears.” With a smirk, she let her hand wander to her own pussy.

  He licked his lips, since one of his ideas had to do with tasting her just there. He came to her, straddling her body, her legs nestled between his knees. She squirmed a little, a delicious little twist of her body that made his mouth water.

  “Stay still,” he told her. “I need to look at you. And taste you.”

  He licked her nipples again and it was like coming home. Except now they were hotter, spicier somehow, more flushed with blood. He gorged himself again, then licked his way down the valley between her breasts, across the trembling muscles of her belly, to the nest of curls that, oddly enough, echoed Cassie’s personality. Bouncy, beautiful, silky.

  He parted her legs with his head to make space for his mouth, then dragged his tongue across her clit. She gave a soft cry and jolted toward him. He felt the hard rise of the little kernel of flesh rolling against his tongue. It was absolutely intoxicating to him, especially when she gave those little moans and whimpers, and twisted her hips to get closer.

  Her flavor was so addictive, more like a drug that shot adrenaline-like into his bloodstream. She slid across his tongue, slippery and so tender, every bit of her soft and luscious as some kind of wild fruit. He danced his mouth across her clit, kissing and nibbling with his lips. He curled his fingers in the soft hair adorning her pubic mound, tugged lightly, just enough to stimulate, not harm.

  “Jesus, Kevin! This is insane. You’re driving me literally insane.”

  “Good. That’s what you’ve been doing to me since I first met you.” He growled the words against her sex. Nibbled. Tugged. Stroked and licked until she burst into a wild climax, her heels digging into his mattress. She let out a long, low wail. The sound shivered up his spine. He wouldn’t be surprised if that alone could make him come.

  But of course he wanted more. He wanted inside. He rose up, his lips and mouth tingling madly. He ran his tongue across them, lapping up the last delicious traces of her flavor.

  She reached for his cock and wrapped her hand around it. “I want to taste you too,” she said lustfully, “but right now I’d get a mouthful of latex. Next time, wait for that condom, would you?”

  Next time…he liked the sound of that. “You got it, darlin’. But for right now, let’s keep it simple. My cock. Your pussy. I think that’s about all we need here. You ready?”

  She gave a strangled scream of mock-frustration. “If I was any more ready, I’d be a puddle on the floor.” She ran one leg up his thigh, so sexy, and that was all the invitation he needed.

  He set the swollen head of his shaft at he
r juicy entrance. Even that contact felt so good that he groaned. Then he pushed inside, her channel opening for him, her slick inner walls embracing him as if that was exactly where he belonged.

  Oh God—the heat, the tightness, the wild joy of connecting with her like this. He braced himself over her, arms trembling with the effort of not exploding right away. He wanted this to be so good for her, he wanted to ride a second wave of orgasm with her.

  He thrust, deep and thorough, with the sense of leaving no bit of her un-pleasured. He watched her closely, noting every micro-expression that crossed her face. The way her eyes went hazy as he stroked, the way she bit her lip, the flush that came and went in her cheeks. Her sighs, her whimpers, the hot scent of arousal, even the hint of sweat mingling with it—all of it spun around him like an enchantment. He could do this forever, living for each sign of pleasure he elicited from her. It felt timeless, with no beginning and no end, just the two of them utterly wrapped up in each other, their bodies joined like two elements combining.

  God, where were these crazy thoughts coming from?

  Right behind those came other, cruder thoughts. Fuck, this is good. Damn, it feels good to be inside you. I’m going to come so hard, like a nuclear bomb.

  Sadly, those were the thoughts that actually came out of his mouth. Or something like them, anyway. He heard some “fucks” spilling out, and a “baby, you’re so hot,” and maybe a few “Jesuses.”

  Typical guy stuff, probably.

  She didn’t seem to mind, but then again, she was Cassie, and he’d heard the kind of language she used while she was wrestling with an ornery valve or a fuel line.

  This was Cassie, who would fix cars and swear like a sailor and make goofy faces and turn him on with nothing more than a flick of her hair over her shoulder, and oh God…

  “I’m going to come,” he warned her in a growl. “Can’t hold back any more.”

  She arched up against him in an eager thrust. “Do it. Come. Fuck me, Kevin. Fuck me good.”