Do not react! He didn't mean it like that. "Okay, well, in that case, have at it."
He frowned as he reached for the hubcap, quickly putting it into place with a light tap.
Meghan began gathering the various items like the maintenance book and the wrench. The shifter, whose name she couldn’t remember on account of being too darned nervous when he introduced himself, raised up to his full height. Oh lord! Tall. So gorgeous. She swallowed thickly. He bent over, picking up the damaged tire. His ass was meaty glute heaven. His dark blue shirt pulled tight across his broad back. Wow! Look away, Meghan. Look away right now, dammit!
Turning, she got to work packing the items away where they belonged. He was just closing the trunk when she finished. "Well …" She wiped her hands on her thighs. Her clothes were headed for the trash anyway. "That's that then."
He walked over to her. "All done." He smiled, breaking out a couple of dimples. This guy was too much.
“I can’t thank you enough. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come along just then. Those darned lugs were so tight. I knew what to do, I just …” Stop! Shut up! She was babbling again. “I really appreciate it.”
He smiled. “No problem! None whatsoever, I assure you." He tipped his head, his eyes glinting with … was he flirting with her? No way. Not possible. Guys like this didn't flirt with girls like her. She'd always been the nerd, and he was a jock-type. The jocks dated the cheerleaders, always the slim and trim popular girls. Never her.
“Well, I have to thank you profusely anyway, even if …” She noticed a smear of grime on his shirt. “Oh flip, your shirt …” Without thinking, she rubbed the tiny smudge, making it worse. "Oh no!" She covered her mouth with her hand for a second. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I did that."
He chuckled. A rich, sexy sound. It wasn’t fair that even his voice was delicious. A treat for the ears. “Don’t worry about it.”
"No, really. I'm sorry. Crikey, you were on your way out and now, not only have I waylaid you, but I've dirtied your clothing as well."
“It doesn’t matter. It’s just a shirt.” He shrugged.
The funny thing was, he looked even better with the smudge on his chest. And oh what a chest. She needed to stop this. Needed to get home. He was reminding her how long it had been since she'd had sex. Over a year. A long lonely year since her and Gus had broken up. She was still a little hurt over how the whole thing had gone down. She wasn't thinking about that right now. "If only I had some soda, I would try to get that stain out. My house is just around the corner—" She widened her eyes. Why was she inviting him over? It was fine because there was no way he would accept. "Come to think of it … I'm sorry, but I can't remember your name." She frowned, feeling like an idiot.
His intense blue eyes flared with shock. “Oh, quite frankly I'm hurt." He put a hand to his chest.
“It’s just when you came towards me, so huge and all that muscle." She shook her head. "For a second there I thought you might throw me over your shoulder and … and well …” What was she saying? Shut up, Meghan! “Never mind.”
The shifter's eyes crinkled around the edges, and his mouth twitched. He folded his arms across his broad chest. "No, I think I'd like to hear what it is you thought I might do."
She swallowed thickly, feeling confused. Was he teasing her or flirting with her or both?
"Um, well …" she widened her eyes. Her cheeks felt hot. Her whole body felt hot.
He chuckled. "It's Tide. My name is Tide, and I don't make a habit of throwing females over my shoulder. At least, not so soon after meeting them.” He winked at her. At. Her. Maybe he was flirting.
"Thankfully not." She laughed, sounding reasonably calm considering. "Um …" She was terrible at this. "Like I was saying, I live just around the corner. I would be happy to tackle that stain and … I could feed you. I have leftovers. Or I could just take care of that stain, and you could be on your way." She was babbling like an idiot. This wasn't her. She always held her shit together no matter what. It didn't matter the workload or the responsibility. Who was she kidding? She'd never been in this situation. A gorgeous shifter flirting with her.
Tide kept his eyes on hers. Why the hell had she asked him over? He was going to turn her down flat. If he ended up agreeing, it would be for the food and the stain removal. It would not be … for that. For sex. Her body reacted to the word. Her nipples pulled tight beneath the tight confines of her bra and her clit … Oh boy. Her clit decided it was all in, along with the rest of her girl parts.
His nostrils flared for a second. Even that was hot. His very pale blue eyes seemed to darken up, and he frowned.
Meghan waved a hand. “No pressure though, I’m sure you have somewhere you—”
“I’d appreciate it. I could do with a meal.” He rubbed his abs, and she had to work not to follow the movement of his hand.
Then she realized what he had said and sucked in a breath, sounding shocked. Don’t get excited. She reminded herself. He wanted food and for his shirt cleaned. Twenty minutes and he'd be on the road. Stop acting like a sex-starved cat in heat. The only problem was that she was sex-starved and Tide was just about the best looking guy she had ever laid eyes on.
“I’ll follow you,” he said ‒ and it wasn’t a question.
She nodded once. “Perfect.” Her voice sounded calm. Much calmer than she felt. Her heart raced as she headed for her car and got in.
"Oh boy," she mumbled as she put her key in the ignition. The ‘leftovers,' as she'd put it, were a tiny scraping of lasagna she should've just thrown away. Not enough for her and certainly, not nearly sufficient for a big man like Tide. She didn't have any bread. Maybe there was something in the freezer, but she doubted it. Meghan had planned on ordering take-out. Thing was, she'd asked Tide to come over on a whim. She hadn't really expected him to take her up on her offer and now he would be expecting food. What would he think when he found out she had none to give? He might think she had some ulterior motive.
Chapter 2
Tide followed the red taillights of Meghan's vehicle, and within a few minutes, they pulled into a long driveway. It was gravel but smoothed out flat. Trees lined each side of the drive. Her house was beautiful. It had big windows and a wrap-around porch. It overlooked large grassy fields with the mountains as a backdrop.
She parked in a big red barn to the side of the house, and he pulled in behind her. She got out of the vehicle, her back straight, glancing his way. Meghan was an interesting female. This was indeed an unexpected turn of events. She was attracted to him. Her scent had given that away a time or two and yet, he wasn't sure if she had really invited him for the food or something more. Tide sure as fuck hoped it was for more.
He climbed out of his vehicle, and they headed to the front door. "Your place is amazing."
She smiled. “Thank you. I love it. It’s just a pity that I don’t get to spend as much time here as I would like.”
“Oh?” He raised his brows.
Meghan nodded as she unlocked the door. "I work crazy hours, sometimes seven days a week, so," she shrugged, "I'm not here as often as I would like." She switched on the light, continuing into the living room.
Somehow he'd expected something more sterile. Not this. ‘Country chic,' as he'd read in a magazine once. Florals, soft tones with more modern finishes. It was warm and inviting.
“Come on in.” The keys clanged as she set them in a bowl on the middle of the dining room table. “Let’s put some stain remover on that shirt and then I’m going to take a really quick shower if … Oh!” She managed her shock well. Her eyes widened as they landed on his naked torso before shooting back to lock with his. “You didn’t have to take off your shirt,” she shook her head, “but … um …”
Flustered! Awesome! She definitely wasn’t immune to him. “I thought it would be easier this way.” He handed the garment to her.
“Right, let me sort this out.” She turned away from him. Again, this was different. Ty
pically, females would eyeball the fuck out of him. Their eyes would turn all greedy. Their breathing would become louder, so much choppier. Aside from a slightly elevated heart-rate … nothing.
“Can I help you with that?” He sidled in next to her. Watching as she smeared some or other chemical on the stain.
"That's okay." She shook her head. "I've got it." Using a clean cloth, she rubbed on the mark for a few seconds before hanging the shirt carefully over a chair. She was either avoiding looking at him, or he really didn't do it for her. Such mixed signals. He had no idea what she was thinking. It intrigued him. "Right, that needs a few minutes to work its magic." She touched his shirt, glancing at him. "I'm going to order us some pizzas. I'll jump in the shower while we wait. I won't be ten minutes and …”
Tide frowned. “I thought you had leftovers.” He clenched his jaw to stop himself from grinning.
"Yeah," she nodded, "I do, but take-out might be better. We don't have to get pizza, we could get Chinese or Thai or a couple of burgers." She bit down on her lip like she was trying to keep herself from saying anything else. And what a plump lip it was. "On me of course. I wouldn't expect you to pay after you changed my tire and I ruined your shirt."
Maybe he really was just here because she felt bad about the stupid shirt. There was only one way to find out. “I’d really like to try your leftovers. Is it food you cooked yourself?”
She nodded. "Yes, but I think that—"
“Sounds really good to me.” He headed for the refrigerator. “Is it in here?”
“Well, um … yes but …”
He opened the door, and a laugh burst out of him. He turned back to her. "How do you even stay alive?" The fridge was empty. Okay, aside from milk and a few bottles of condiments, it was empty. There was a single Tupperware on the middle shelf.
“I eat breakfast at home and most other meals at work, so—”
Tide reached for the container, taking it out.
“I don’t think that …” Meghan let the sentence die as he pulled up the lid.
Tide looked over at her. “I take it that these are the leftovers that you promised me?”
Meghan blushed, and she blushed hard. It was evident even under all the grease. "That's why I suggested getting a—"
"We don't need takeout." Tide put the Tupperware back in the fridge and slammed the door.
“Why not? I thought you were hungry?”
"I'm not hungry." He shook his head, taking a step towards her. Meghan took a small step back. Fuck, but this female intrigued him. Her pupils dilated, and he scented both nervousness and excitement on her.
“You’re not?” She frowned, her voice had a breathless edge. Finally!
“No, and you didn’t invite me here for leftovers.”
He watched her throat work. “I guess I didn’t. I mostly invited you here to clean your shirt.”
He choked out a laugh. It was deep and husky. Totally giving away his level of attraction to her. So fucking sweet and lush. "Forget the damned shirt. I know you don’t give a shit about my shirt either.”
“Of course I do,” she blurted.
He raised his brows.
"I do … I really do, but,” she swallowed hard again, “it's also not the reason I invited you here."
“Why did you invite me then?” He took another step towards her and this time she stood her ground.
“I don’t know, I guess …” She cleared her throat. “Why did you come? You said it wasn’t for the food and I know you don’t mind the stain. You said so yourself, so why are you here?”
"Oh, I came for you, Meghan … only for you."
She gasped, and her mouth fell open for a second or two. "Oh! Oh, I see."
"I have this thing about not touching a female unless she asks me to." He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets to prove a point and stepped right into her space, looking down at her.
Her eyes were wide. Her face had gone from full blush to pale in an instant. He knew he hadn't misread this whole thing, but Meghan wasn't his usual stag run type of female. A one-night stand might not be for her. It wasn’t for everyone.
“Also, you need to know that I’m just passing through, so …”
"I'm not looking for a relationship." She shook her head, her gaze moving to his chest. At long fucking last her eyes turned a whole lot greedy.
“How would you feel about one night?”
Her gaze lifted back to his face. “One night I could do,” her voice was timid. “I would really like it if you touched me.” Her chest rose and fell in quick succession.
“Good because I would like nothing more …” He touched the side of her arm just to test the waters. A female would normally be all over him by now. Not this one and he loved the hell out of it.
She pulled away. What the fuck? Shook her head. What the all-ever-loving …? “I really must shower, I’m—”
"Don't worry about that. I think you look sexy as fuck." He hooked an arm around her middle and pulled her against him.
"I really should …” Then she registered what it was he had said. “Oh, you do?"
"Yes, most definitely and I'm going to dirty you up a whole hell of a lot more so there’s no need for a shower."
“Oh, I see.” She was struggling to catch her breath.
“And you’re going to put so many damned stains all over me, I may never get them out.” He maneuvered her so that her back was against the refrigerator.
“That would be bad.”
He chuckled as he nuzzled into her neck, tasting a bit of grease but also a whole lot of female, and she was fucking delectable. She gave a startled yelp when he nipped her flesh. Right where her collarbone and her neck met. It quickly turned into a moan that sent a shock of need straight to his cock. "I'm going to make you feel so good," he mumbled against her skin.
“You will?” Her voice was filled with awe.
"Yes, you’d better believe it." He cupped one of her breasts and just as he expected, it was plump as fuck. She moaned again as he brushed his thumb over her tightening nipple. Receptive and needy. His favorite combination.
Then he captured her lips. Human females loved to kiss, and Meghan was no exception. She dove straight in, her arms threaded around his neck. Her lips smacked, and her tongue dueled with his. Her little fingers dug into the tops of his shoulders, and her hips rocked. Tide doubted she knew she was even doing it. His cock loved the attention, the rub of her body against his.
He slipped a hand between her legs and cupped her sex through her pants. Meghan's eyes sprung open, and she moaned. The scent of her arousal tripled. She broke the kiss though, and he pulled his hand back.
"I really should shower and shave and stuff. I'm not …" She shook her head.
“You’re perfect.” He kissed her again, gently cupping her again. Using his thumb, he rubbed over the area where he knew her clit would be.
She pushed out a deep groan that had desperation written all over it.
Keeping his touch really soft, he continued to rub on her clit through the layers of clothing. He broke the kiss. “I’m going to undo your pants.”
"Okay." She was full on panting at this point.
“And your top.” He was feeling a bit desperate himself. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her tits. Fuck!
“Yeah, okay.” Her eyes were glassy. Rub, rub, rub. He kept stroking her through the material. Her hips rocked.
She was something alright. Tide had seriously lucked out. Thank fuck he'd taken the alternate route. If he were to take a guess, he'd say she hadn't had sex in a really long time. He planned on making good on his promise. Meghan was about to have the best night of her life. Tide kissed her again. She tasted just as good as she felt. The little noises she made had his groin tightening.
This wasn’t happening!
Yes, it was.
Oh, good god, this was happening. Please let this not be a dream. She had a feeling that this was about to become the best night of her life.
He seemed to really like her boobs. Like, make that love. She'd always been a bit self-conscious. They were huge and well, gravity was a thing, and mass played a significant role and Newton had this law … She moaned when he sucked on her nipple. It wasn't gentle or playful. It was serious. He was serious. A zing of pleasure mingled with a hint of pain had her crying out.
It sounded like he said ‘So receptive’ against her flesh before sucking on her nipple some more.
There was the sound of a zipper going down and a tugging on her pants. Flip, oh, flip! They were her pants, her zipper. She hadn’t noticed him undoing them.
She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing for the hundredth time that she’d trimmed her bush. Wishing even harder that she’d worn sexy underwear.
“You okay?”
She’d been so busy worrying about … stuff down there … that she hadn’t noticed him stop.
“Yes,” she squeaked. “I just really need a trim … down there, that is.”
His eyes flared with understanding and then narrowed into hers. "Listen to me, you are one hell of a sexy female. I'm seriously fucking turned on by you, and I don't care about a few smears of grease or a bit of fur. Do you understand?"
“Yes,” a whisper.
“Good. I’m going to make you come now.”
Oh shit! Oh Hell! "Okay," she squeaked again.
She held onto his biceps. They were huge and firm like the rest of him. The refrigerator felt cool at her back. Tide kept his beautiful blue eyes on hers as he slipped her pants down to about halfway down her hips, leaving her underwear in place. His gaze softened. “You look frightened.”
Dragon Prince (The Bride Hunt Book 6) Page 2
