Paper crackled on Casey’s end of the line, almost sounding like static. “I found a place that’s different from online dating. Every applicant is screened in person, videos are made, backgrounds checked …”
“And they cost a small fortune, right?” Jett stared at a particularly big crack in her ceiling. “And when you have a historic monument of a house that requires constant upkeep like I do, there isn’t a lot of cash left over at the end of the day.”
“Well, it’s something to think about.” Casey made a sound like a sigh. “I need to get ready to go to Mom’s so I’d better get going.”
“Give Mom a hug.” Jett pushed her hand through her hair. “Tell her I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
“Starbucks tomorrow morning?” Jett asked even though she knew the answer. She had coffee every morning with her sister before she went to her job as a bank teller.
Casey laughed. “Seven sharp.”
“See ya.” Jett punched the off button and rolled onto her side to look at the bedside clock. She was definitely having a lazy Saturday morning. Already ten-thirty and she was usually never in bed past six. Last night’s party had totally worn her out, and the four glasses of wine hadn’t helped.
“Henry.” Jett smacked her forehead with the heel of her palm. She’d forgotten that the repairman was due to arrive at any time. “Damn.” She tossed her blanket aside and scrambled out of bed. Her baby doll top slid from where it had bunched up around her waist, down over the matching silky black panties. She started toward the bathroom—she needed to get changed before Henry Johnson arrived.
The doorbell rang and Jett groaned as she grabbed her black shortie robe off the hook in the bathroom. So much for getting dressed. Her black hair was probably a disaster, her blue eyes bleary-looking, and her skin pale with no makeup.
What difference did it make? Henry wasn’t going to care what she looked like. The sixty-year-old man had seen her over the past couple of years in one state or another when he’d come to take care of fix-it projects as she needed them. One thing about having an older house was that there was almost always something that needed to be done.
She hurried down the stairs while she tied the robe’s belt. The champagne carpet was soft beneath her bare feet as she crossed the room to the front door and then opened it.
“Hi, Henry—” she started but then her mouth dropped open.
It wasn’t Henry who stood on her porch. Not at all.
In his place was a man so good looking that it made her heart beat faster. In a slow sweep of her gaze she took him in. A pair of well-worn Levis molded to his powerful thighs, a snug black T-shirt stretched across his broad chest, and a tool belt was slung low around his hips.
He had dark hair that was slightly wavy and was tall enough that Jett had to look up to meet his dark eyes. When she did she saw amusement in his gaze.
Heat flushed her cheeks as she realized she’d been staring. But what a delicious package he made, and if she wasn’t mistaken that bulge in his jeans was a good indication he was having the same reaction she was. She could just imagine what it would be like to have him in her bed, sliding between her thighs…
Jett’s cheeks grew hotter as he studied her, as if he knew what thoughts were going through her mind. Her nipples tightened and a thrill skittered low in her abdomen.
The man’s gaze traveled the length of her long legs to where her shortie robe brushed her thighs, then moved up to her slim waist before lingering on her breasts.
Ok, enough. Jett cleared her throat and their eyes met. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile so sexy she almost couldn’t catch her breath. It dawned on her lust-crazed mind that she had no idea who this man was and why he was on her doorstep.
“Can I help you?” Jett managed to get the words out even as she thought of all kinds of ways she’d love to help this man.
“I think I’m here to help you.” He leaned one forearm against the doorframe and she swallowed hard as she followed the line of his arm, over every well-defined muscle. “Are you Jett Sanders?”
Jett mentally shook herself. “Yes.”
“I’m Noah Johnson.” He extended his hand. “Henry broke his leg yesterday afternoon, so I’m here to help you…with whatever you need.”
Automatically Jett took Noah’s hand. When she did she almost gasped out loud at the physical sensation that shot through her. Whatever I need? Right this way, I have something in the bedroom that needs looking at…
She jerked her hand from his and tried to steady herself. “Is Henry all right?”
Noah gave a nod. “Dad’s a little banged up, but he’ll be okay.”
“I’m glad he’s fine.” Jett took a deep breath and stepped aside. “Come on in.”
Noah’s gut tightened as he took one more long look at the beautiful Jett Sanders. Her hair was ruffled and she looked like she’d just woken up. She was a sexy little thing from her slim ankles and smooth, long legs to that silky robe that didn’t hide how hard her nipples were. His cock ached and he was relieved that she hadn’t slammed the door in his face when she got a good look at his package while she was checking him out.
He pushed away from the doorframe and closed the door behind him as he watched the sway of her hips and the way her long black hair slid over her shoulders. She had killer blue eyes and he pictured how she would look on her knees, those eyes looking up at him as she went down on his cock.
Damn. He was here to do services around the house, not have the house’s owner service him. Although it was a fucking hot fantasy.
“I have a few repairs and odds and ends that Henry was going to do for me.” Jett glanced over her shoulder as she spoke then turned and led him into a living room with three large windows. She gestured to a couch and he saw three curtain rods and sets of drapes. “I need these put up.”
“Sure.” Noah stopped in front of the couch. “What else do you have?”
“A few things other things.” She didn’t avoid his gaze as she spoke. “There’s a hole in the wall behind the laundry room door where the door knob went through. It needs patching and I also need a new doorstop.”
“Got it,” Noah said as they walked through the house and she pointed out the laundry room.
“The master bathroom’s faucet is leaking.” She gestured for him to follow her up the stairs and he sucked in his breath as he caught sight of a nicely rounded bottom clad in silky black panties beneath the robe.
Noah adjusted his cock while she had her back to him. He was going to have to hurry through these repairs and get out of her house before he lost his ever-lovin’ mind.
She stopped at the head of the stairs and pointed toward a door. “That’s the master bedroom.” She cleared her throat. “Just go through there to get to the bathroom.”
He swallowed past the ball lodged in his throat as he reached the top of the stairs and saw that the tie on her robe had loosened, revealing her cleavage and the smooth skin of the swell of her breasts, just short of exposing her nipples. He wondered if she was trying to kill him on purpose.
“Last thing,” she was saying as he struggled to rein himself in. “I need these pictures put up.” She showed him several framed photos. “I can never get them to look straight so I decided I might as well let Henry take care of it.”
Noah got close enough to Jett that he could smell her light perfume. A mixture of flowers and musk that suited her perfectly.
Her robe slipped completely apart as she spoke and his cock went rock hard when he saw the sheer and tiny thing that was a poor excuse for a nightgown. Her nipples were large, her breasts full through the sheer black fabric.
“Oh.” Jett gave a little gasp when she saw him staring at her breasts again and discovered her gown was open. She hurried to tie it, her red cheeks telling him she hadn’t realized she was giving him a show.
And it had been a hell of a show.
“Is this what you do all the time?” She rushed through the words like she was trying to think
of something to say to cover up her embarrassment. “Fix things?”
“I own a construction company.” Noah rested his hand on the stair railing. “I’m helping out my dad until he’s back on his feet.”
“Where do you want to start?” Jett said.
How about you showing me anything that needs to be fixed in your bedroom. I’d be glad to start there. Noah groaned inwardly. He had to get rid of these thoughts and get rid of them now.
“Wherever you’d like me to,” he said.
Jett’s robe started to slip apart again. “I suppose you can start with hanging the drapes.”
“You’ve got it.” He started toward the stairs. “Just need to get my tools and I’ll take care of it.”
“I’ll be in my bedroom.” Jett backed up, in the direction of the door to the master bedroom. “I need to shower and get dressed.”
Just her words gave Noah plenty of vivid fantasies to dwell on as he nodded and headed down the stairs.
Excerpt…Taboo: Alluring Stranger
Jaymie Holland
Available Now!
Late for her IM time with Seth, Stevie climbed onto the mattress of her four-poster bed. She loved instant messaging with him—made her feel a little closer to him.
She set the glass of wine she’d poured herself onto her nightstand then hurried to boot up her laptop. A flare of excitement caused butterflies to swoop in her belly. Seth was always on time and never made her wait.
His picture on the online dating site was so hot. It showed him on the beach wearing sunglasses and nothing but a swim suit which showed off his tanned muscular frame, from his broad shoulders to his tapered waist and athletic thighs. His hair was sandy blond but she wished she could see his eyes rather than them being hidden behind the sunglasses.
She signed into her instant messaging account, and sure enough, Seth was online.
Hi, babe, Seth typed before she had a chance to say hello first. She loved it when he called her babe.
Stevie couldn’t help a smile. Hey there.
Let’s do something different tonight, he typed. I want to see you on webcam.
More butterflies flipped in her stomach. Webcam… She touched her hair. Did she look all right? What if he didn’t like what he saw? She wasn’t perfectly slender and beautiful. Would that be a turnoff for him?
She’d never seen him, other than the picture, and she really wanted to.
It’s time to take our relationship to the next level. The message flashed across the screen and she nodded to herself.
Well, he had to see her someday and might as well be sooner rather than later. She reached for her wine and took a long swallow, feeling the heat of the alcohol flowing down her throat and into her stomach. She definitely needed something to bolster her courage.
She took a deep breath, set her glass aside, and typed Okay.
Almost at once a ringing noise startled her as it came from the speakers on her laptop. At the same time a screen popped up via IM, asking if she wanted to accept or decline a video call. Stevie bit the inside of her lip then pressed accept.
A light at the top of her screen came on indicating she was on webcam. She could see herself on the screen, but she could barely make Seth out in his video stream. His outline was fuzzy and his features shadowed.
“Hi, Stevie.” Seth’s voice came over the connection rich and deep, surprising her. She hadn’t realized they’d be able to talk out loud instead of typing.
“Hi.” She felt a little jittery as she responded. “I can’t really see you.”
An audible sigh and he said. “Sorry. I guess my webcam isn’t working right. I’ll have to take it in to get it checked out or replaced. We can still chat, though.”
“No fair.” Stevie watched her image as she spoke. “You get to see me.”
“And you are even more beautiful than your pictures.” There was no mistaking the sound of appreciation in his voice and she felt heat rushing to her cheeks. Maybe she did look okay to him.
She reached over and picked up her wineglass off of the nightstand, and took another drink, and felt herself relax a little more. She’d always been somewhat of a lightweight so it never took much to make her mellow.
Stevie set her wine glass aside. “I love the sound of your voice.” She bent her knees, resting her laptop on them as she scooted up in bed, a pile of pillows behind her back. His voice had an almost erotic edge to it. Sensual and seductive. Not like he was trying, but more that it came natural. “You need to get your webcam fixed soon, though.”
“Promise.” She saw his outline nod. “How was work today?” he asked.
“It was all right.” Spent the day daydreaming about you. “The market is so slow right now that houses aren’t moving very well,” she said. “But my friend Kerri stopped by the office and ordered me to go out on a girl’s night Saturday to a new club downtown called Spotlight.”
“Good for you,” he said.
“What about you?” She cocked her head. “How was your day?”
“Was in court all day for a particularly heinous trial for one of my clients,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s going to be a lengthy trial. It’s not pretty.”
Stevie tilted her head to the side. “Being an attorney must be challenging, especially when you practice criminal law.”
“It does have its own set of challenges,” he said. “And of course it has its ups and downs.”
“How’s your mom?” Stevie shifted her position on the bed. “Last you told me, she was doing better after getting home from the hospital.”
“She’s up and moving about with a walker,” Seth said. “When I took her to the doctor’s yesterday, he said her heart sounds great.”
“I’m glad.” Stevie smiled. “I worry about my parents, but they’re doing well.”
“You don’t seem to be too spoiled for being an only child,” he said in a teasing tone. “Although I would love to spoil you. And I will if you let me.”
“If you could make it out to San Diego, that would be good enough for me.” Stevie shoved her hair out of her face. “You are so far.”
His tone grew serious. “I’ll make it happen. Just give me a little time.”
“Okay.” She smiled then took a sip of wine. “Good things are worth the wait, right?”
“It’s not easy for me.” His tone grew a little more serious. “I wish I could see you every day. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she said quietly as she set the glass aside again. “It’s the same for me.”
After they had talked for hours about work, family, friends, everything that was going on in their lives, Seth said, “You and I had both better get some sleep.”
Stevie glanced at the clock. Midnight. “We’ve been talking for four hours straight.” She shook her head. “Where you are it’s three a.m. How are you going to make it through the trial tomorrow?”
“I’ll be thinking about you,” he said.
Stevie felt warm all over as he said the words. “I’ll be thinking about you, too.”
“One last request.” His voice grew even lower, more sensual. “What kind of lingerie are you wearing?”
Heat burned Stevie’s cheeks. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.”
She shifted on the bed. “Just a bra and panties.”
“What color?”
“You really want to know?” She pushed her hair out of her face as she looked at the screen. “White.”
“Let me see.”
Stevie’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.” Seth’s voice had a wicked edge to it. “I’ve always loved seeing women in lingerie. I want to see yours.”
Stevie hesitated. “I don’t know, Seth.”
“Come on.” She could almost see the sensual smile he must be wearing. “It’s just lingerie.”
One of her fantasies was to have people watch her having sex with a man. Not that she thought she’d really do it, but it was a h
ot fantasy. Being in front of Seth wearing almost nothing sort of played into it, except she wouldn’t be naked.
Stevie took a deep inhale then exhaled. Why not?
She climbed off the bed and stripped out of her jeans and blouse. Cool air brushed her bare flesh and goose bumps pebbled her skin. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said as she arranged the webcam so that she saw herself in her panties and bra in the image, and knew that he could see all of her, too.
Her whole body burned hot and she hoped she didn’t look red from head to toe. White and beet red couldn’t be an attractive combination.
“Mmmmm… Nice,” he said. “Now turn around.”
Still unable to believe she was parading around in her underwear for him, she did as he said and turned until she faced the laptop again.
“Thank you,” he said. “But this time slower.”
“You don’t ask for much, do you,” she stated.
“Not at all.” Again she could hear a smile in his voice. “Now turn.”
Her skin didn’t feel quite as hot. He’d already seen her once—what was another little turn?
This time she moved slowly and wondered if she should have tried a strip tease earlier. Maybe next time.
Would there be a next time where he would want her to show off her lingerie? That was probably a given.
“Love it,” he said when she had turned completely around. “You are so hot, Stevie.”
More heat burned her cheeks. He made her feel sexy and beautiful.
“Do you have any other types of lingerie? Any other colors?”
Stevie left her jeans and T-shirt on the floor and slipped onto the bed in just her bra and panties. Not like it mattered, now, after she’d just given him a little peep show.
“Other colors?” She shrugged. “Just beige and black.”
“I love black,” he said. “Wear black tomorrow.”
Stevie bit her lower lip. That meant he did want a repeat, and the thought sent a thrill through her.
Sold Page 11
