She was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen.
He wanted her even more now than he had before. But that wasn’t going to happen. Not tonight, at least. Although, if he didn’t get out of here in the next few moments he wasn’t sure his good intentions would hold up.
The chair creaked when he stood. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the shirt Lexi had dropped onto the cushion. Gently gathering her into his arms, he tugged it on over her shoulders and buttoned it.
Her eyes opened. She watched him with a languid appreciation that did nothing to cool the need pounding through him.
Lifting her up, he set her into the chair he’d just vacated. She smiled up at him, her body melting back against the wood.
Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her mouth. It was quick and chaste, although he didn’t want it to be. “Thank you for dinner,” he whispered against her skin.
He was halfway to the door when her voice stopped him.
“What are you doing?”
He didn’t turn to look at her. If he didn’t leave now he was going to lose his head and do something they’d both regret. As it was, his control was about to snap.
“Leaving.”
The sultry July air blasted across his naked chest. But he didn’t care. Losing his shirt was well worth the gift she’d just given him.
Besides, he desperately needed to cool off.
* * *
HE’D LEFT. Brett Newcomb had driven her crazy, given her the best orgasm she could ever remember and just...left. Without expecting anything in return.
She should be grateful to him for thinking clearly when she obviously couldn’t. So why was she angry?
All day she’d expected something. For him to call. Or come into the store. Something. But after days of seeing him everywhere, he was nowhere to be found.
Which only pissed her off more.
What kind of man did that and just walked away?
Lexi fought against embarrassment and guilt. She wasn’t the kind of woman who expected a man to be her plaything, but this was taking things to the extreme. She did expect to give as good as she got, and Brett hadn’t even given her the chance. He’d left while she was still overwhelmed from that orgasm.
Now she owed him. And that didn’t sit very well with her.
Although that was assuming he cared to collect.
Part of her worried that he’d left because he hadn’t wanted to finish what he started. That the moment he’d seen her naked he decided he was out, but was too much of a gentleman to leave her turned on and wanting.
Lexi groaned. Across the counter Mrs. Voss looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Maybe she had.
Pasting on a smile, she tried to pull her head back where it belonged—to her business. But she couldn’t quite stop the telltale blush from flaming up her cheeks.
Lexi worried everyone knew exactly what it meant.
A couple of times she’d contemplated picking up the phone and calling him but decided against it. If he didn’t want to see her, then she should be grateful.
Brett Newcomb was totally out of her league. Gorgeous, sexy, charming and worldly. He didn’t fit in Sweetheart. No doubt Brett was used to fancy restaurants, museums and everything else Philadelphia could offer that Sweetheart didn’t.
The only reason he could have wanted her in the first place was those damn chocolates. She should have known better than to tempt fate and get tangled up in his challenge.
And that was really what it came down to. Even with the boost of aphrodisiac, he’d still walked away.
So it was better this way. She didn’t want to see him again.
She didn’t.
Although going home wasn’t exactly appealing either. It was Saturday and all that waited for her was a lonely night with Little Bits, her skittish cat. She needed a distraction or she was going to drown in her own embarrassment.
If there was one thing she could count on in Sweetheart, it was that on Saturdays the local pub would be full of people watching whatever sport dominated the season. In the summer it was baseball, in the spring, basketball, although nothing compared to the frenzy of college football in the fall. That was just the kind of distraction she needed.
She refused to feel guilty when she locked the door promptly at six and walked out the back. Rarely did she actually leave after closing, but she’d earned a little R & R.
The walk to the pub was nice, the oppressive heat of the day finally easing off. The blast of sound that welcomed her when the door opened was comforting.
Someone hollered her name. Scanning the crowd she realized the place was packed. Gage, Hope, Jenna, one of her good friends and owner of the catering business in town, Aiden, an old school friend of Gage’s, and Clay, one of the guys Jenna often hired to bartend, were all crowded around two small tables they’d pushed together. Empty beer bottles and a demolished plate of nachos were scattered across the table.
Hope waved her over. All of the guys were staring up at the screens strategically placed on the walls so every seat in the house had a view of the action.
A groan rippled through the crowd. Clay swore, pushed his chair back and began arguing with the ref on the screen. “He was clearly safe.” He looked around for help. Everyone nodded agreement.
“Oh, hey, Lex.” Barely taking his eyes off the screen, Aiden grabbed a chair from a neighboring table, squeezed it next to his and waved her into it. His arm dropped casually over the rounded back.
She’d known Aiden for as long as she could remember. He and Gage had played football together. The boy had been a regular fixture at the dinner table growing up. Her mom had often lamented that she didn’t have just one growing boy to feed, but an entire plague of locusts.
But she’d secretly loved it.
And Lexi had nursed a secret crush on several of the boys her older brother had brought home, Aiden being one of them. Although she really didn’t know why. He was nice enough, but he definitely didn’t make her skin crackle.
Not the way Brett did. Her body clenched tight on the rush of need that blasted through her. Damn, all she’d done was think his name and she was in trouble.
Blowing out a breath, Lexi was grateful when the waitress came by and asked what she wanted to drink. Her stomach rumbled loudly, but she declined food. The diner was bad enough. Nothing the pub offered could be labeled healthy. She’d have a beer or two and then head home for dinner.
When a commercial finally broke the tension of the game, Aiden turned his attention to her. “Can’t remember the last time you stopped by the pub to watch a game. What’s up?”
Lexi shrugged. From across the table Gage’s eyes traveled pointedly to where his friend’s hand played with the ends of her ponytail. With a sheepish grin, Aiden shrugged and stopped the motion.
The display of big brother aggression bothered her more than Aiden’s mindless fingers. Aiden had no real interest in her, and Lexi knew it.
Out of nowhere, the back of her neck began to tingle. At first she thought it was because of Aiden, but she realized the game had come back on and his focus had returned to the screen. His hand was curled around the side of her chair and she’d been completely forgotten.
Slowly, Lexi turned to find the source of the sensation.
And collided with an icy stare.
“Aw, sugar,” she breathed.
Hope was the only one who seemed to hear, raising a single questioning eyebrow.
Lexi snapped her head in a quick gesture.
Brett was the last person she’d expected to see at the pub.
8
HE KNEW THE moment she’d walked in the door. His entire body had reacted. The scent of her, sugar and cinnamon, wafted to him on the breeze she let in with her. It overpowered the yeasty smell of beer, sweat a
nd leather.
He’d spent the entire day visiting business owners and had come into the pub to talk to McCallum, the owner, about the potential for adding a pub to the resort, one he could own and run. But it had quickly become clear he wasn’t talking to the man today. The place was hopping. He’d stayed because it was the most people he’d seen in one place since he’d arrived. And everyone had been friendly.
Whether it was the beer, good-natured rivalries or just the joy of competition, Brett didn’t know. But whatever it was, he wasn’t ignoring the opportunity.
Lexi had been on his mind all day. He’d planned to stop by her store later. This morning he’d stopped at the drug store and bought a box of condoms. The clerk behind the counter had stared at his purchase for several seconds before ringing it up.
Brett had never felt so much like a naughty teenager, not even when he’d been a naughty teenager. He had the distinct impression that everyone in town would soon know that he’d purchased condoms. He wondered if there was a pool going for who he intended to use them with.
And whether Lexi was leading the pack.
Brett’s teeth crunched together when a guy he hadn’t met waved Lexi over, grabbed her a chair and then draped his arm around her shoulders.
And she didn’t seem to mind. Brett waited for her to cast the encroaching arm away, but she didn’t. Nor did she fuss at the guy when his fingers started playing with her golden curls.
Anger punched through him. Although he wasn’t sure if it was directed at the guy or at Lexi.
It shouldn’t have mattered. They didn’t have an understanding and she could see whomever she wanted. But not in front of him, dammit. That was taking things too far.
His eyes bored into the back of her skull, daring her to turn around and look at him.
How could she have responded to him so passionately last night and be snuggled up against another guy today?
Lexi shifted in her chair, glancing quickly behind her. Brett knew the moment she realized he was there. Her dark eyes widened and her chest rose on a quick intake of breath.
He couldn’t hear the sound, but he remembered the rough rasp of it. A golden burst of desire flickered deep in her eyes before she snapped her head back to the group of people she was with.
That wasn’t going to cut it.
Making excuses to the men he’d been sitting with, Brett grasped the slick neck of his bottle and ambled across the room toward Lexi and her friends.
Standing behind her chair, he waited until Gage Harper noticed he was there. “Evening. What can we do for you, Newcomb?”
Lexi’s back stiffened and her chair squeaked as she shifted.
“Thought I might join you. Haven’t had a chance to introduce myself to everyone.”
Gage’s expression darkened, but he was too Southern to refuse him. Brett had quickly learned how to use their hospitality to get what he wanted. They were too polite for their own good. Gage offered introductions. When her brother reached her, Lexi cut him off. “Brett and I met at Mama and Daddy’s the other night.”
The soft tinkle of her voice was a spark to tinder. Spinning a nearby chair around, Brett hemmed her in. She was caught between the asshole who’d had his hand on her and Brett’s open knees.
She tried to ignore him, carrying on a conversation with her friends about some new product the soap store was planning on selling. Something about preventing wrinkles, not that Lexi had any to speak of.
For his part, Brett paid attention to the game, interjecting where he could.
And he touched her. His finger flicked up the exposed underside of her arm, right in the crease next to her body. She jerked and nearly spilled her beer.
The guy, Aiden, glanced distractedly away from the game. “You okay?”
Lexi murmured a response.
Brett waited and then he did it again, this time finding the sliver of skin where her shirt had ridden up from the waistband of her jeans.
This time the only reaction he got was a hissed, “Stop that.”
Her brother turned hard eyes in his direction. Brett sat perfectly still, staring up at the screen.
She scooted her chair away from his, but thanks to lover boy, could only get another inch or two.
For thirty minutes he kept it up, driving them both crazy. If the fire alarm happened to go off at that moment, Brett wasn’t sure he’d be able to get up and run. That’s how hard he was. It was a good thing that his position, wedged slightly behind Lexi, managed to hide the evidence from everyone. Although if she’d cared to look it would have been obvious.
But she didn’t.
The more she ignored him, the more determined he became to get a reaction out of her, an acknowledgement that something had happened between them. He’d made her come, dammit. With his mouth.
And she’d liked it. He knew she had. Even now, her body quivered wherever he touched. It was the only outward sign that his presence affected her at all.
That and the beer she kept tipping back, downing two bottles in quick succession.
Standing, she spun in front of her chair. Her gaze nailed him, burning brown. “Excuse me.” She waved her hands, pushing him back.
He gave her room, wondering if she was going to run. Instead of heading for the front door, she walked to the dark hallway tucked beside the long bar.
Brett followed her.
* * *
BRETT WAS WAITING for her, leaning against the opposite wall, when she emerged from the ladies’ room.
He startled her. She’d needed a few minutes away from him, to clear her head. The air freshener that badly masked the scent of bleach had done the trick. For the first time since she’d turned around and found him watching her, Lexi had felt on solid ground.
But there he was, waiting to set her off-kilter all over again.
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Why?”
Without answering her, Brett pushed away from the wall. The kiss came out of nowhere, blindsiding her and leaving her senses whirling.
Her back bounced against the wall and his hands moved over her fiercely.
Lexi had enough brainpower left—just—to pull away. Turning her head, she stared over his shoulder. At least no one could see them, back in the shadows of the hallway. Until a commercial came on and someone else decided they needed to pee.
“What are you doing?” she asked again, only this time her voice was completely breathless.
“Kissing you.” His mouth trailed over the line of her jaw and up to her ear. He found the sensitive spot just behind and sucked.
“Why?”
“Because I want to. Because I didn’t like watching that guy put his hands on you. Because we have unfinished business.” Brett pulled away, staring down at her with sleepy eyes.
Her body responded immediately, melting into a tiny puddle. But the rest of her raised a single eyebrow in challenge. “Do we? What is this, payback?”
Brett’s mouth tightened. “Hardly.”
“You walk out, I don’t hear from you all day, and suddenly you expect me to melt into your arms?”
“Is that what this is about? I didn’t call so you’re having a snit?”
“Pitching. We pitch snits here in the South. And, no, I don’t care if you call me or not.”
Cool blue eyes darted around her face, touching her mouth, chin and cheeks before meeting her gaze squarely. He shifted, bringing his body tight against hers, and whispered, “Liar.”
And then he was everywhere. Hands and mouth teased. His leg wedged between hers, rubbing against her aching core. She was a liar. She wanted him, possibly more than ever before.
Her hands fisted in his hair, tugging his head back so that she could run her tongue up the side of
his neck. He drew a ragged breath through his teeth.
“Do you know how hard it was to walk away from you last night?”
Lexi hadn’t realized just how much she needed to hear those words until he’d said them. They were a balm to her wounded soul, healing hurts that he hadn’t even caused.
This man wanted her. With the kind of passion that had him pinning her against a wall in the back hallway of a bar. That knowledge was heady and liberating.
Especially because she wanted him, too.
Tugging at the elastic holding her ponytail, Brett ran his fingers through her hair, scraping it away from her face. “I don’t have a lot of control left, Lexi.”
His mouth claimed hers again, devouring her with a kiss laden with sensuality and temptation. And Lexi surrendered.
She’d been in McCallum’s enough to know where the supply closet was. Fumbling behind her, she found the knob and yanked the door open. She dragged him into the open space with her.
The door clicked shut, closing them together in the darkness. A single tiny rectangular window was the only source of illumination. She could have pulled the light cord that dangled somewhere in the middle of the room, but didn’t want to let him go long enough to find it.
It was his turn to ask, “What are you doing?”
“I would have thought that was obvious. I’m seducing you in a broom closet.”
Apparently it was all the suggestion he needed. Brett whirled them around. The door reverberated against their combined weight.
Her shirt disappeared over her head. Her bra quickly joined it. His mouth found the bend in her neck where it joined her shoulder. He pulled a heavy breath in and held it. “You always smell so good.”
A brittle laugh wheezed out of her laboring lungs.
Tonight, Lexi refused to be the only one naked. The tight T-shirt he’d worn soon joined her clothing on the floor. She reveled in the feel of his chest beneath her palms. For a guy who worked at a computer, his body was remarkably well honed.
She's No Angel Page 9
