by Jodi Redford
She dropped her focus to their linked hands for a long moment before meeting his gaze. “Life is precious, and sometimes short. The people you love could be taken away from you tomorrow. That’s why you have to let them know now what they truly mean to you.”
The strange sensation knocked in his chest again. These crazy weird feelings she stirred in him were completely not in his wheelhouse. He knew sex. He didn’t know this other thing that made his heart pound and his palms sweaty. And he was more than a little terrified of putting a name to it, because then he’d have to face the fact that what he felt for her went miles beyond anything he’d experienced with a woman before.
Shoving aside that perplexing and unsettling dilemma for the time being, he lifted her hand and kissed her fingertips. A shaky breath fell from her. “You’re not getting out of this conversation by distracting me with your sweet sexiness.”
“Mm, you think I’m sweet and sexy?”
“I also think you’re impossibly stubborn and certifiably insane.”
He scraped his teeth over the pads of her fingers. “Can’t accuse me of not being a well-balanced individual.”
Snorting, she tugged her hand from his grip. “Would you at least think about going to see him? I mean for real, not this BS you’ve been holding your brothers off with for the last twenty years.”
The last thing he wanted to do was dwell on his old man right now. “Only if you agree to go skinny dippin’ with me in the pool when we get back home.”
“Okay, that was completely random and out of the blue.”
“What? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since you pushed me in that day.”
“I attempted to strangle you, and the whole time you were thinking about skinny dipping?” She rolled her gaze to the ceiling. “Why does this not surprise me?”
“Did I mention I can hold my breath under water?”
A spark of interest lit in her eyes. “How long?”
“Long enough to get you to two orgasms. Maybe three if I take a power nap beforehand.”
“My God.” She stroked her chin. “So basically you’re telling me you’re a merman.”
“Can’t believe you didn’t figure it out till now. What with my love of diving into wet places and all.” He waggled his brows. “Especially yours.”
“Why do I have the feeling this is going to end up in one of your scenes?”
Huh. She might be on to something there. “Well, you are one hell of a sexy muse, darlin’. And just think of the research we could get up to.”
“I better at least get a big raise out of it.”
“Oh, you’ll be getting a big raise outta me all right.” Grinning, he flattened her onto the bed and rolled on top of her, grinding his hips lewdly.
Laughing, she pushed against his chest. “Okay, I’ll do it, you wicked merman.”
He nuzzled her neck, punch-drunk on her intoxicating sassy sweetness and the overwhelming emotions she brought welling to the core of his being. But like the problem of his dad, he’d think about all of that tomorrow.
Because right now? He had some intriguing wet places to explore.
CHAPTER NINE
Rumbling snores drifted into her consciousness. Cracking one eye open, she stared blearily at the big furry head camped on her pillow. Just what every woman dreams of waking up to—hellacious morning dog breath. Seriously, she did not want to know what the hell Hairy ate last night. Wrinkling her nose, she rolled over onto her other side. This view, on the other hand? Way less stinky, and a complete eyegasm.
Ford lay facing her, his features sleep-relaxed. His sexy scruff had filled in a bit more overnight, lending a roguish edge to his already ridiculous good looks. The man needed to come with a warning label—consume in moderation. Because she had a bad feeling even a Twelve Step program wouldn’t help her kick this addiction to him.
The butterflies in her belly stumbling around like they’d recently wrapped up a weeklong bender, she tore her focus from him and scooted out from beneath the sheet. Doing it without waking him challenged her contortionist abilities. Finally she made it down to the end of the bed and dashed to the ensuite bathroom, snatching her cellphone on the way. She locked herself in and cranked up the fan before ducking inside the shower stall. Yeah, maybe it was overkill, but no way did she want Ford to overhear her conversation. She punched the speed dial for Charlie’s number.
Her sister answered on the third ring. “You’re up bright and early. How did the wedding go?”
“Great. I’ll send you some pics.”
“Um, is there a reason you’re whispering like you’re being held in a hostage situation? Should I alert the authorities? No, wait, Chuck Norris. Can always count on him to get shit done.”
“No, goofball.” Although, that was totally true about Chuck Norris. She nibbled her thumbnail and stared pensively at the bathroom door. “I think I might be in over my head with something that even Chuck can’t help me with.”
“Damn. Now you’re scaring me. You, uh, didn’t follow through with your threats of killing Ford, did you? Because with you both in Texas and me here in Michigan, it might be a stretch using me as an alibi.”
Might as well blurt it out. There was no delicate way to say it. “I slept with him.”
A pregnant pause followed her confession. Just when she was about to ask Charlie if she was still there, the distinct sound of her sister’s muffled chortling drifted through the receiver. She narrowed her eyes. “Are you laughing?”
It took forever for Charlie to sober up. “I’m sorry. I know this is probably your worst nightmare come true, but are you remotely surprised? To be honest, I was expecting it to happen way sooner than this.”
“You’re not helping matters at all by pointing out stuff like that.”
“I know. Will it make it worse if I ask if the sex was amazing? Because I’m dying to know.”
Her whole body heated at the memory of the last couple of days. “I’m not answering that, you nosy brat.”
“Ooh, it must have been really amazing.”
Mother of all understatements. “I spent almost three whole minutes this morning watching him sleep. That’s...normal, right?”
“Oh, dear.”
“Now you’re scaring me.” Snuffing a groan, she slid down onto her butt and leaned her head back against the cold tiles. “Please tell me I’m not completely doomed.”
“Hate to break it to you, but it sounds like love. I know you, sis. You don’t fall out of it easily. And before you bring up Russ, I don’t believe for one second you were ever in love with him.”
Well, she’d never watched him sleep. That was for certain. “What the hell do I do now?”
“For starters? Tell Ford how you feel.”
Yeah, she knew that was the next logical step. But the mere idea of freeing the words was quite possibly the most terrifying thing she’d ever contemplated. A million times scarier than throwing caution to the wind that first night and sleeping with him. She didn’t have to doubt Ford’s desire for her. Love, though? She wasn’t even sure it was in his vocabulary.
Would uttering those three scary as shit words immediately put him on the defense and running for the hills? What would it ultimately mean for their working relationship? Could they even go back to the way things were before?
Ugh. This is why you don’t sleep with the boss. But deep in her heart, she knew if she had a time machine she still wouldn’t change the last few days. He’d given her so much more than just a crap-load of orgasms. He’d given her laughter, happiness, and yes, even this queasy, nerve-jangling, loop-di-loop rollercoaster of emotion banging around in her heart was a gift of sorts. He’d pulled her out of her safe little comfort zone. Shown her that handing over control didn’t have to be horrible. In fact, it was pretty damn awesome. Especially if she happened to be tied naked to a porch post.
Snipping that memory short before it could do her in, she sucked in a deep breath and expelled it slowly. “I’
ll think about it.” Oh jeez. Now she sounded like Ford. The stubborn bastard really was rubbing off on her.
After chatting for another minute or so they said their goodbyes and she scrolled through her pics for a shot to send Charlie. There wasn’t a single one that didn’t have Ford in it. “God, I do have it bad for the jackass.” Grumbling, she picked the most flattering one of them together and winged it off.
A few seconds later Charlie’s response pinged. TELL HIM!
The butterflies starting up a new kickboxing match, she clicked out of her message box and dropped the phone into her lap. She likely would have sat there like a bump on the log all morning if the faucet didn’t start dribbling on her head. Shoving to her feet, she shook the water from her hair and stepped out of the stall. She grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. On the plus side, the leaky faucet took care of what most likely had been an epic case of bedhead, but now she looked like she’d just qualified for a wet T-shirt contest. Tugging the sleep tank off, she fumbled blindly for the fan switch and then the door knob. She glanced toward the bed. Both Ford and Hairy appeared to be sawing logs. She tip-toed to the door.
“Darlin’, I wouldn’t plan to go out there like that unless you’re intendin’ to give my brothers one helluva wakeup call.”
She nearly jumped out of her skin at Ford’s rumbly voice. Pressing a hand over her heart, she pivoted to meet his heated gaze. “I thought you were asleep.”
“Good thing I’m not.” Humor and a healthy dose of possessiveness lit his expression.
She’d forgotten about Zander and Colby. Went to show how brain-addled she was. Apparently this is what massive amounts of hot sex and being in love did to her. “My top got soaked. I was going to grab another from my room.”
He stacked his arms behind his head. “Got a better idea. How about you come back to bed?”
“Not on your life, pal. I can barely walk as it is.”
“Really? And I went easy on ya and everything.” His expression smug, he tossed back the covers and climbed from the bed. He was so disgustingly sexy and gorgeous at eight in the morning, it kind of made her want to punch him. Pausing for a minute to stretch, he gave her a smoldering come-hither stare.
“Still not happening.”
“Damn.” Dropping his arms, he strode toward the maple dresser. “I’ll get you something to wear in the meantime.” He fetched one of his white V-necks and passed it over. She tugged the garment on over her head and checked to make sure it covered her panties. He gave a low whistle. “You are hot as hell. Not sure I trust my brothers seeing you like this. To be on the safe side, maybe I should tie you to the bed all day.”
He would have to bring up the ties. Now she couldn’t stop thinking of the naughtiness they got up to yesterday. She brushed her hair forward over her shoulders. Fortunately the strands were long enough to cover her wayward nipples. The darn things had a habit of standing at attention at every inconvenient and awkward opportunity. “Did you forget we’re supposed to go out to the Tebow Ranch today? How can we do that if I’m tied to the bed?”
“Ah, yes.” He slid his hands to her hips, the lazy glide of his fingertips a maddening tease. “Still, might look into seeing if the McCoys have any rope I can borrow. Could come in handy later.”
Oh Lord. She’d created a monster. Although, she couldn’t exactly take credit when the sinful devil had been this way probably his whole damn life. His hand started to creep under the shirt and she swatted it away before bee-lining for the door, leaving his evil chuckle in the dust of her hasty retreat. A quick peek toward the couch confirmed that Colby was beginning to stir. No sign of Zander. Likely he’d claimed the twin bed in the loft. How he’d fit on the thing would remain a mystery. Apparently there was no such thing as a Beckett brother beneath six foot two. Would be interesting to know if their father was equally blessed in the height department.
She snuck into her room and rummaged around for a pair of PJ bottoms, her brain still stuck on musings about their dad. Particularly the rocky relationship between him and Ford. There’d been no further talk last night about repairing the rift. Once Ford had gotten her naked the focus had stayed on sexier things. No doubt that’d been part of his dastardly plan to avoid the subject. But today would be another matter. She wouldn’t let him off so easily.
Despite his efforts to conceal his hurt, she’d seen through his front. She couldn’t stand by and let him continue to build his wall and assume he was a disappointment to his father. And if the man did think that of his son? Well, she had a thing or two to say to set him straight there. She didn’t care if it’d amount to her butting her nose in where it didn’t belong or stepping over the line. There were just some things she couldn’t abide. And God knows she had no problem speaking her mind. Too bad it didn’t come as easily voicing what was in her heart.
Grimacing, she tugged on her cotton lounge pants with the skiing polar bears and then made her way out to the living room. Ford had put on some jeans and was parked on the couch with Colby. They broke off in the middle of whatever they’d been jawing about as she shuffled toward the kitchen and passed them both a wave. “Good morning. Coffee will be ready in a bit.”
A few seconds into the task, Ford joined her at the counter. “Darlin’, I seem to recall you tellin’ me the other day that you’re on vacation. I can make the coffee.”
“No, I want you to spend time with your brother. I’ve got this. Now scoot.”
“Damn, I do love when you go bossy on me.” He waggled his brows. “Maybe I’ll let ya use the rope on me later.”
Her mind having a field day with that mental image, she didn’t immediately notice she’d overfilled the filter and spilled grounds all over the coffee pot. Cursing, she snatched a couple of paper towels to clean up the catastrophe.
“Well, I see you’ve got everything covered, so I’ll just skedaddle back to the living room.” Returning her squint with a wink, he pushed away from the counter and ambled out of sight.
Oh sure. Fill her brain with intriguing sexiness and then leave her with the mess—literally. Shaking her head, she topped off the water reservoir and hit the brew button. A second later the machine gurgled, announcing it was doing its thing. The sound of booming male baritones drew her attention and she wandered to the kitchen entry. Zander had abandoned the loft and was currently engaged in a heated debate with Ford and Colby about Houston’s odds of making it into the playoffs this year.
Obviously their height wasn’t the only genetic trait the Beckett males shared. None of them possessed an indoor voice, whatsoever. Still, they seemed to be getting along way better than last night. Looked like the couch cushions were safe for the time being.
Having no brothers of her own, it was fascinating observing Ford, Colby, and Zander. Almost like watching a nature documentary on the strange, mysterious social habits of gorillas. Only the gorillas in question were loud, baffling creatures adept at throwing out football terms that sailed right over her head.
She journeyed to the fridge and inspected the contents for breakfast fixings. Cereal or a muffin usually suited her fine. But with four people to feed, it gave her an opportunity to indulge her Betty Crocker side. She gathered the package of bacon and the ingredients for waffles and searched for the necessary equipment to whip up her specialty. Thankfully the kitchen came with everything imaginable, including a state of the art food processor that trumped hand mixing any day.
Midway through beating the waffle batter, she was distracted by the Beckett men trooping into the kitchen. Colby was the first to reach the coffee pot. After topping off his mug, he leaned over her shoulder and eyeballed the progress on their breakfast. “Pancakes?”
“Nope. Stuffed waffles with strawberries and cream cheese.”
Colby slashed a look to Ford. “Better marry this woman before I beat ya to it.”
Although she knew it was only a joke, she couldn’t resist glancing in Ford’s direction. His odd expression didn’t give away much. Impossibl
e to tell if he was contemplating that run for the hills, or whether or not he should forgo cream in his coffee.
Her thoughts shifted to Charlie’s text, and the uncertainty in her chest expanded to a whole new level. Tell him. How could she when it might very well ruin everything? Better to keep the L word out of it. If all she could have with him was incredible, earth-shattering sex, it was still better than the vast majority of relationships she’d been in. She could be happy with that. She’d have to be happy with that.
Ignoring the heaviness in her heart, she returned her concentration to making breakfast. At least it was one thing she could count on not ruining.
CHAPTER TEN
“You’re taking this whole not leaving my side thing I bit far, don’t cha think?” Giving his brothers a droll look, he hit the lock release on the Yukon.
“We told ya what the terms are. Stickin’ to ya like glue until you agree to see the old man.” Colby dropped his Stetson in place as he reached for the rear door handle.
“Fine. But you pain in the asses are sharing your seat with Hairy.”
“Not a problem. Hairy loves us better than you and wants to spend time with us anyway. He told us so.” Zander scooted in after the dog and leaned down to accept his sloppy kiss.
“Stop making out with my pooch. And love you better than me? In your fucking dreams. He knows who buys him the good jerky.” He helped Kait into her seat, using it as a prime opportunity to grope her ass before giving her a smooch. After securing the door, he crossed to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel. A few seconds later they were on their way.
The drive into downtown Kerrville gave him some time to lollygag since Colby and Zander kept Kait entertained with stories of their misspent youth. Every once in a while her sexy, husky laugh would roll free, making him smile. He’d always been a sucker for that laugh of hers, and his addiction to the sound only seemed to be getting worse. Hell, he was becoming addicted to every damn thing about her.
