He leaned forward, captured her lush lips and thrust his tongue deep. He wanted to consume her. Their mouths mated as their bodies slid together in a desperate dance, both of them reaching for completion. Carson felt the explosion start at the root of his cock, rocket up the shaft and out the top.
Tipping his head back, he yelled her name as he pumped his hips hard. Lily’s fingernails scored his upper arms and she screamed. Her inner muscles spasmed hard, trapping his cock in a silken vise, prolonging his orgasm.
Lily shuddered and fell forward. Carson enfolded her in his arms, holding her as aftershocks shook them both. He’d never had this kind of release before. For a second, he’d thought the top of his head would come off.
As sanity returned, he was very aware of where they were. He hadn’t shown very much finesse. He’d all but ripped her clothing off her and fucked her, and in the front seat of his truck, no less. So much for waiting until the time was right and setting the stage with silk sheets and flowers.
A bead of sweat rolled down his temple and he heaved a sigh. Not exactly the romantic interlude he’d promised her, but he couldn’t regret it. Making love to Lily was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Their connection was more than just physical. It went much deeper.
Lily stirred in his arms and he nudged her chin up so that she was looking at him. She shot him a sleepy, satisfied smile. “Hey, beautiful lady.” He brushed a lock of her brown hair off her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Wonderful.” Her inner muscles tightened around him and he groaned and laughed at the same time.
As much as he wanted to stay like this, he knew they had to move. Someone could come along at any time. For all he knew they were on private property. “We’ve got to move, sweetheart.”
She mumbled something he couldn’t make out, but began to shift position. Carson helped her sit up and held the condom tight as he slipped out of her. He immediately missed the warmth of her body against his. Grabbing a tissue from a box on the console, he removed the condom and cleaned himself up. He pulled up his boxers and zipped his jeans.
As he rummaged around the truck for his shirt, he noticed that Lily had been busy as well. She had her slacks on and was shaking out her blouse. Reaching out, he took it from her and helped her put it on. Then he buttoned it. When he was done, he looked at her.
Her skin was flushed, her hair tousled and her eyes bright. “I didn’t plan for our first time to be in my truck, but I’m not sorry it happened.”
She stared into his eyes for the longest time and he began to wonder if maybe she did regret it. That notion made his gut clench. Finally, she smiled at him. “I’m not sorry either.”
He leaned over and kissed her swollen lips. This time it was gentle, with none of the earlier desperation. Even though he’d just had one hell of an orgasm, he still wanted her.
He forced himself to release her and then tugged on his shirt. He took the time to button the garment and tuck it in, more to give him time to settle than anything. When he was done, he started the truck, backed out of the sheltered woods and got them back on the main road, headed for home.
Chapter Nine
Lily could hardly believe how much her life had changed in such a short span of time. Two weeks ago she was living her calm, normal life working at the shop and writing in her spare time. Now a lot of her time was taken up with Carson—either thinking about him or actually being with him.
A week had passed since their shopping trip and it was Wednesday once again. They’d spent the rest of the day together last week. As if their frantic lovemaking in the truck had released all the pent-up sexual tension between them, the rest of the day had been almost low-key.
They’d made love again, but this time in her bed and very slowly. Carson had lingered over every square inch of her body, touching and tasting her everywhere. And she’d gotten to do the same in return. Her favorite moment had been when she’d taken him into her mouth, showing him that her talent didn’t just extend to hot dogs.
They’d had supper several more times and talked daily. They hadn’t made love again, but Lily had plans to change that. She smiled as she carried her empty coffee cup to the sink. It was already lunchtime and she’d written the morning away. Unfortunately, Carson hadn’t been able to get today off, but she was hoping to see him later tonight. She had her outfit all picked out and laid on her bed. It was time to try her hand at a striptease and finally use that can of whipped cream that was languishing in the back of the refrigerator.
In the meantime, she had a half hour to change and meet her friends at one of their favorite restaurants downtown. Both Emma and Annabelle had been insistent. They’d barely talked in the past two weeks, which was unusual for them.
Her plans for later tonight dominated her imagination as she changed her clothing, pulling on a pair of brown corduroys and a cream-colored pullover. It was early October and the air had a slight nip to it. Not that Lily minded. She loved this time of year.
She grabbed her purse and car keys and hurried out of the house. Luck was with her when she reached the downtown shopping district and found a parking spot just down from the restaurant. Her friends had already arrived. Annabelle and Emma walked toward her as she climbed out of her car.
Lily slung her purse over her shoulder and locked up before giving them a quick wave. She’d known both ladies for several years now. They’d met at a business function and had quickly found that they enjoyed each other’s company. From there, friendship had blossomed. She felt lucky to have them in her life.
“Hi.” They waited for her on the sidewalk as she fed money into the parking meter.
Annabelle stared at her and Emma tilted her head, peering at her quizzically. “What?” she asked. Was her makeup smudged?
“I’m not sure.” Annabelle continued to stare. “There’s something . . .”
“You look different somehow.” Emma shook her head. “I can’t quite pinpoint what it is.”
Lily shrugged even as she felt her cheeks heating. “I haven’t done anything different.” Now that was a fib. The last two weeks of her life had been very different.
“You look happier, better rested. You’re even carrying yourself differently when you walk.”
“That’s it,” Emma agreed with Annabelle’s assessment. “You’re giving off more of a sensual vibe.”
“It’s a man, isn’t it?” Annabelle was the quietest of the three, but she was a very astute woman. “Have you been seeing someone?”
Lily inwardly cursed her friends. “Yes. No.” She felt flustered now. “I don’t know.”
Emma laughed and hooked her arm through Lily’s. “It’s a man, all right. Come and tell us all about it.”
As they started walking toward the restaurant, Lily found herself wishing that her cell phone would ring and she’d have to run to the shop to handle some problem. But a floral emergency wasn’t likely, at least not one her staff couldn’t handle.
Annabelle must have sensed her unease because she paused as she held the door of the restaurant open. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. No pressure.”
The knot in Lily’s stomach began to relax. “Okay.”
Emma squeezed her arm in understanding and the three of them went inside and settled at a table in the corner. Lily knew the restaurant’s soups were incredible, their home-baked breads and rolls to die for. She ordered the vegetable soup and a turkey sandwich on rye bread, then tugged at her sweater and stared out the window as her friends ordered their lunch.
She saw Carson immediately. With his broad shoulders and blond hair, he easily stood out on the sidewalk. He was with two other men, both tall and good-looking, and they were walking this way. The bottom dropped out of Lily’s stomach.
“Lily?” She swiveled back around to face Annabelle, praying the men would keep on walking by the restaurant but somehow knowing they wouldn’t. “Are you okay?”
Grabbing the glass of water the waitress h
ad placed on the table in front of her, Lily gulped too fast and then started to choke and sputter. Emma thumped her on the back and Annabelle just looked concerned. Lily felt like a total idiot when she placed her glass back on the table. “I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “Just went down the wrong way.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” The words came out a bit harsher than she intended and both women just stared at her. Sighing, she rubbed her forehead. She could definitely feel a tension headache brewing. “I’m sorry. I’m just not myself today.”
“No problem.” Emma patted her arm. “We all have days like that. It’s allowed.”
Before Lily could think of something to say to ease the tension, the door of the restaurant was pulled open, letting in a draft of cool air and the sounds from the street. She didn’t even need to look over to know that Carson had just entered with the two other men. They were also going to come over to their table. There was no hope for it. The two men he was with were Mike Sloan and Tucker Martin, Annabelle’s and Emma’s husbands.
What should she say? How should she act? She wasn’t exactly ready for the world to know they were seeing each other. Her fingers curled into tight fists and she forced herself to relax. She didn’t need to say anything really. Just be polite and keep things simple. A sense of calm descended upon her.
Mike saw his wife immediately and started toward the table. Tucker was only a step behind him, his eyes on Emma. Lily glanced at Carson, not quite able to read his expression. She glanced away and took a slow breath, trying to calm the pounding of her heart.
“Hey, honey.” Mike leaned down to kiss Annabelle before addressing the rest of them. “Ladies.”
“What are you doing here?” Annabelle’s cheeks were flushed with pleasure.
“We’re just picking up some lunch to take back to the job site. Tucker’s working on the electrical and Carson is checking out the place so he can give me a quote on the landscaping.” Lily knew that Mike’s company had recently begun renovating an apartment building in the downtown area. She’d known he would be working with Tucker because Emma had told her. It should have occurred to her that Carson would have a hand in the landscaping. After all, the three men had done business before.
“Lily.” Her gaze flew to Carson. Was it just her imagination or was there an edge of anger to his voice?
“Hi, Carson.” She smiled at him and then greeted Mike and Tucker as well. She was glad when Tucker asked Emma a question because she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She didn’t even hear the question, she was so caught up in her own worries.
“You ladies enjoy lunch.” She jerked her head up just in time to see Mike turning away. Tucker was already on his way to the lunch counter to pick up their order, but Carson was still standing beside the table, watching her.
She thought he might say something and she tensed. Instead, he just nodded curtly to them and followed Mike. He didn’t even turn back to look at her. She knew because she watched him.
Feeling her friends’ eyes on her, she plastered a smile on her face. “Our order is here.” Saved by the waitress. She took a bite of the sandwich, but it tasted like sawdust in her mouth. Forcing herself to chew, she swallowed and picked up her spoon to try her soup. She could tell that both women wanted to question her, but they held their peace. Gradually, the conversation moved to safe topics.
Lily was never so glad to see a lunch end. The food was as good as always. It must have been. Her friends had raved about it. To her, it had all been bland and tasteless and it now sat like a lump of lead in the pit of her stomach.
Usually she cherished the time with her friends, but today she felt raw and emotional. She sensed that her actions had hurt Carson and that hadn’t been her intent at all. She’d just been caught off guard and hadn’t known how to react. She’d make it up to him later, she promised herself.
After her friends had both extracted her promise to meet them again next week for lunch and to call them if she wanted to talk, she hugged them both and headed back to her car. She might take them up on their offer soon if she couldn’t figure things out on her own.
She knew she was acting irrational. On one hand, she knew she had fallen in love with Carson. On the other, she wasn’t sure their relationship would last. She did know they couldn’t go on this way much longer. Soon, she’d have to lay her cards on the table and let the chips fall where they would.
But not tonight.
Tonight she just wanted to relax and enjoy her time with him. A little voice in the back of her head told her that it might not be as easy as that. “Of course it will be,” she answered herself aloud as she drove home. “What man doesn’t want sex with no strings attached?”
The little voice whispered that Carson wasn’t like most men.
• • •
Carson was in a foul mood by the time he knocked on Lily’s back door at seven o’clock. He’d gone home after work to shower and change, but it hadn’t improved his temperament. Truth to tell, he’d been in a nasty mood all afternoon—ever since he’d met Lily at the restaurant and she’d acted as if she barely knew him. He knew it shouldn’t hurt. Knew he should have expected it. But that didn’t change the way it made him feel.
For a brief moment he’d been tempted to drag her out of her chair and kiss her senseless in front of everyone there. He’d refrained. Barely. The only thing holding him back was the thought that he might lose her if he did.
He snorted. He didn’t have her now. Not really. Sure, they were sleeping together, but he wanted more than just sex. A lot more. Determined, he pounded on her door again. He heard the sound of her footsteps hurrying toward the door and then it was tugged open.
Lily appeared flustered, her hair was tousled, her cheeks pink, and she was wearing a pale blue bathrobe that covered her from her neck to her feet. The silky material was belted tight around her waist, and she clutched at the lapels with one hand. She was also wearing more makeup than she usually did. Her eyes were dark and smoky. Her lips a deep red.
Carson almost forgot he was angry with her, she looked so delectable. He wanted to strip off her robe and see what, if anything, she was wearing beneath it. As she stepped away from the door to let him in, the material parted. She twitched it back into place, but not before he’d had a glimpse of a long, shapely leg.
The door closed behind him and he could hear the clock on the wall ticking in the silence that lay between them. The sound of their breathing was unusually loud. His boots thumped heavily on the floor as he strode to the table and pulled out a chair. “We have to talk.” He motioned to the chair and she stared at him quizzically before padding to the table. As she sat, he caught a whiff of fresh flowers and soap and knew she wasn’t long out of the shower.
He pulled out the chair across from her and lowered himself into it. Lily didn’t look at him right away, so he took a moment to soak in her presence. When she raised her head, cocking her stubborn chin at an angle, he was struck once again by her sheer loveliness.
Slowly, Lily released her death grasp on her robe and laid her hands flat on the table. “I’m sorry about what happened at lunch today. I know I hurt you and that wasn’t my intention.” She stared at him, her eyes sad. “I just didn’t know what to say or do. It caught me off guard.”
Well, hell. Carson raked his hand through his hair and sighed. It was impossible for him to be mad at Lily. He was the one who’d started this game, but he’d been playing by her rules. It was time for them to change. “I know.” And he did understand. He didn’t like it, but he understood. “Look, Lily. This isn’t working out like I’d planned.”
“Oh.” Just one word was all she said, but he could hear the hurt in her voice.
“I know that this was supposed to be all about helping you with the list.” He grappled with the right words to tell her how much she meant to him. How much more he wanted from her.
“Yes, it is, and I’m going to hold you to your promise.”
He
r cheeks were flushed, her eyes steady. What the heck did she mean by that? He sat back and waited for her to continue.
“There are still several items left on the list.”
Carson racked his brain, running through what they’d done versus what was on her list. “We’ve had phone sex and I blindfolded you as I stroked you with a rose.” Those reminders were having a definite effect on his body. His cock was stirring to life. “We shopped for sexy lingerie and had sex in a public place.” Granted, it had been a secluded spot, but he felt it still qualified.
“We have.” Her voice, low and husky, made his balls tighten. “But there were several more items on the list.”
Those particular items were burned onto his brain. He’d dreamed about them both. “A striptease and the whipped cream,” he all but growled. He stared hard at her collarbone, left bare by the open neck of the robe. He allowed his gaze to wander lower, all the while wondering just what the heck she had on beneath it. Was she naked or wearing some of her sexy new lingerie?
She nodded.
He shook his head. “Lily.” They had to talk first.
“No.” She jumped to her feet. “Don’t say anything. Just come with me.” She held out her hand and he found it impossible not to take it. Maybe this was better. She was obviously wound up too tight to talk and he was as horny as hell. He’d make love to her so hard and long she wouldn’t be able to say no to him when he told her that he wanted more from their relationship.
Determined, he got to his feet. He sensed her nervousness, but for the first time since this had started, he did nothing to alleviate it. He wanted her totally aware of him as a man. He wanted her to be cognizant of what she was doing, what she was offering him. This was no longer a game, but a fight for his life. He had a feeling in the pit of his gut that it all came down to what happened tonight.
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