by Anthology
Hubba hubba.
The sight of his bare chest captured her attention surer than anything else until she felt like she was locked into a tractor beam. Her brain seemed to go into emergency shutdown mode. “Urmgh…” she gurgled.
Harlan paused at the edge of the pool, his head cocked to the side, beautifully muscled chest rising when he took a deep breath. “Are you sure?”
Nope, she wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
And there he went, reading her mind again. His grin turned positively carnal and he winked just before doing a backflip into the deep end.
There must be something wrong with her, she thought, eyes captivated and tongue swelling to fill her mouth when he broke through the water, droplets coursing down his collarbone and along the sweep of his pectoral muscles. She paused on the scattering of dark chest hair, the tip of the little brown nipple, before finally mustering the strength to look away.
It was wrong to feel any kind of desire for her manny. Wrong on a thousand different levels. He waved to her before being pushed under by an enthusiastic Beatrix.
And a few minutes later, she nearly passed out when Harlan stalked up the steps toward her, dripping wet, before grabbing a struggling Renee. “Trust me,” he whispered, seconds before taking the child with him into the shallow end.
“I don’t know if she can swim…” Olympia protested, then shut her mouth and watched.
She watched the two of them together, watched how Harlan kept his hands on Renee the entire time, taking her gliding through the water until she was squealing with delight. She kicked her feet when he held her on her belly, slicing across the shallow end to the amusement of his family. It was clear the little girl trusted Harlan completely.
Wow. It was too much. Olympia shuffled backward until she hit the brick wall of the house, hidden in the shadows, away from the giggles and screams of the impromptu pool party.
Her brain must have definitely gone into shutdown mode while she watched Harlan hand off Renee to Diane and Beatrix. It was the only logical explanation when she did nothing but stand there, eyes riveted to him as he climbed out of the pool a second time. When he took a step toward her, then another, put both hands around her waist and hoisted her up against him. Pulled her to him until she was pressed to his warm, wet body.
His breath practically steamed her lips just before he captured them with his own.
She knew she should move back, get far away from him, break his hold on her and tell him it wasn’t his place to touch her. But oh goodness, there was something so sinfully good about leaning against the hard body of a man. Having his arms around her in a protective shell.
She couldn’t move, not when he bit down on her lower lip, suckling it into his mouth. His fingers tightened on her shirt and he drew her closer still, capturing the air out of her lungs. Her lips parted with a groan when his hands slid their way down from her back to her behind.
The rest of the world faded away under his very skillful kisses. Olympia felt her herself drawn to him, urging him closer and wanting to wrap her legs around his waist. The wolf whistles from his brothers did not penetrate the haze. Harlan flicked his tongue across hers, tangling, dueling, and she wanted to eat him alive. She growled, drawing him closer, pushing for more despite the audience. Despite everything.
The multitude of reasons why this was a bad idea fell away, leaving only two good ones. His appeal. And her desire.
CHAPTER SIX
He’d hit the lottery.
It was the only thought in his head and he played it on repeat, savoring Olympia the way she deserved to be savored. Or trying to savor her, once the raging inferno of need driving him took a backseat to logic.
He broke off the kiss at the sound of his mother telling his sisters to keep the baby from watching. Wait… What was he doing?
His lips felt bruised as he stared down at Olympia, noting her dark eyes, the color on her cheeks.
“We’re continuing this later,” he said, low enough for her ears only.
Half of him expected her to chew him a new one right then and there. He was surprised when she nodded. “Okay.”
Okay? Okay!
Clearing his throat, he turned back to his family and played it off as nothing. “Mom’s meatloaf gets to me every time!”
Gil and Brett whooped their response and Harlan strove for normalcy when his insides were buzzing, alight. Olympia hardly looked at him for the rest of the evening. Through dessert, through a glass of cider, and through packing a sleeping Renee in the back of his car.
“They really liked you,” he told her softly after they’d spent the first half of the drive back to her house in silence.
“I’m glad. They’re a lot to take in…” Olympia trailed off. “I did my best. I really did.”
“But?” he pressed.
“But they’re…a pleasure. I mean it. I’ve never imagined a family could be like them.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is crazy.” It was said with mirth and affection.
She rewarded him with a smile. “Yes. Crazy and too much and over the top. Yet just enough, I think.”
“You will get used to them eventually. And you know you can’t take anything Aunt Philly says seriously. She loves getting in other people’s business. It’s one of her favorite hobbies.” He took the liberty of reaching across the space, taking her hand in his. “I had fun. Thank you for coming.”
There was a moment of hesitation on her part. A hitch. Then she took his hand, turning her palm up to his. “You’re welcome.”
The heat of her threatened to scorch him, and Harlan couldn’t help himself. He wanted. He wanted her more than he wanted to live to see the next sunrise. More than he wanted his next meal. It was saying something because as an optimist by nature, he lived for the excitement of a new day.
No other woman had captured his attention as she did. It wasn’t the way she bossed him around, and it wasn’t how she pushed him away that made him want to get closer. It was the little things. The subtleties of her. How she finger-combed her hair behind her ears when she was thinking. How she bit the inside of her lip when she was working through a problem. There was a wealth of love inside of her waiting for the right person to claim it. Not love for the baby, because he knew she had that in spades. Romantic love. Sexual love.
What would he give to be the man who unlocked her heart?
When they arrived home, he unhooked Renee from the car seat and followed Olympia up to the front door with the sleeping baby in his arms. It was too much for his heart, the picture they made. The way his lady smiled when she opened the door, trying not to make any sound, and the comforting weight of Renee in his arms. This was it, his subconscious whispered. This was the woman he’d been waiting for. The child he’d been waiting for. The life.
The amusement he felt over the thought he kept to himself. Olympia would flip her lid if she heard him saying anything of the sort. She already found his flirtation frustrating at times, unwelcome at others, and entirely inappropriate most days. Or so she had told him repeatedly. Then again, she’d let him kiss her…so maybe there wasn’t as much hesitation as he thought.
He had a feeling tonight she might just change her mind.
“I’ll take her up to bed,” he whispered, gesturing toward the stairs.
Olympia held open the door for him, holding it wide. Making room.
The next ten minutes he spent fussing over the baby until he was sure she was tucked in safe and sound. It was funny, he thought. He’d felt responsible for his charges in the past. Responsible and loving, of course, because it was so hard not to fall in love with each one of them. It was different with Renee. Maybe it was her situation—something he could empathize with—or the adorable way she said his name. Ar-lan, without the H, her slight French accent putting the emphasis on the last syllable. It was about the damn cutest thing he’d ever heard.
Whatever it was, she was quickly wrapping around his heart with a stranglehold an
d he knew, even once Olympia decided she no longer needed his services, he wanted to be part of Renee’s life. Olympia’s as well if she would have him.
It would take a little convincing.
Tonight, he hadn’t anticipated lunging out of the pool to kiss her. Sure, it had been on his mind since he met her, but he hadn’t expected her to respond. He’d acted purely on instinct. In the water, he’d seen her standing, cloaked by shadows, looking joyful for the first time. And in her eyes, there was heat. Longing.
He’d reacted, and so had she. It was the response more than anything that drove him forward. The moans she made in the back of her throat. The way her fingernails bit down on his arms as she pulled at him…it was more than he could take.
Harlan finished with Renee and closed her door, making sure to keep it cracked open a little, just the way she liked it. Then he took himself downstairs to find Olympia.
She was sitting Indian-style on the couch, her feet tucked under her legs. She’d poured herself a glass of wine and, he was happy to see, there was a second glass waiting for him.
“You don’t mind if I stay for a little while? I’d hate to chug this down and get in my car. Drinking and driving is dangerous,” he said with forced lightness, grabbing his glass and sitting on the coffee table to face her.
“And who said the glass is for you? Maybe I wanted two,” she replied lightly.
There was something about the way she looked in the moonlight coming through the window, the play of silver on the dark strands of her hair. There were laugh lines around her eyes, carved from a life well lived and many happy moments. From the tips of her pink painted toes to the top of her head, and everything in between, she was beautiful. If only she could slow down and focus on the important things. Not things like of trying to impress her boss, a small and stout man Harlan had only met once and had taken an instant dislike to. Or securing a promotion she believed would make her happy.
“Well, they do say red wine is healthy for your heart.” He paused to take a sip. “I’m glad my family didn’t freak you out tonight. Really. The more I think about it, the more I realize it was a lot for you to take in.”
“Why would they freak me out?” From the way she wasn’t looking at him, he could see that they had a little bit.
“Because they are loud and odious and they have no social graces,” he answered. Then took a second sip of his wine, enjoying the way the warm liquid curled along his insides.
“I can see where you learned it from.”
“Ouch. Score another one for you. You always know how to put me in my place.”
She stared down into her glass, swirling the liquid around. “I’m not sure how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Don’t play ignorant, Harlan. We both know where the kiss was going. Where we both want it to go.”
Straight to his nether regions, he thought in a rush, a zap of electricity shooting straight there. His cock stirred and he forced his mind to the conversation instead. “You keep telling me you aren’t attracted to me.” Striving for ambivalent yet feeling the exact opposite, he leaned forward, elbows on knees and hands casually clasped.
“I’m not.” She shook her head. “I mean, I am, but it’s entirely inappropriate. We’re two different people. And you work for me.”
“Well, technically, I’m a freelance manny, which means I work as an independent contractor, not an employee. I’m free to take on other clients or walk out that door. Right now, you just keep my schedule so full I haven’t been able to fit in anyone else. And besides, I don’t see how we’re that different.”
Olympia swallowed a laugh. “Are you serious? I shouldn’t have to spell it out for you. There are a plethora of differences.”
“Then don’t think about it. I’d rather hear you tell me more about this attraction you feel toward me. Also I love it when you use big words.” A slow, wicked smile cut across his face.
In retaliation, her lips compressed into a mulish expression. “Why do I always get the impression that you’re laughing at me? This isn’t funny. I’m being serious.”
“Seriously entertaining.”
He expected her to be more than a little snippy with him. It was a surprise when she grinned, charmingly, and held out a hand for him to take. “I’m not good at this, especially when it’s something I think I shouldn’t do. Why can’t I seem to heed my own internal warnings and stay away from you?”
His eyes widened. “You feel like you need to stay away from me?”
“Yes. Maybe.”
In response, he lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed them, his gaze holding hers, the tip of his tongue flicking out to graze her knuckles.
“Jeez, what are you doing to me?” she breathed. Unable to look away.
It pleased him more than he could admit when a little tremor of pleasure shook her. “I’m not just good with children. I want to give you a little preview of my other skills. I’m very handy with my tongue when I put my mind to it.”
He noticed the moment her eyes darkened, desire flaring to life.
“Come upstairs.” Still holding his hand, she got to her feet and took him with her. Then finished her wine on an afterthought, as if bolstering her courage. “Come upstairs with me and try not to make this awkward.”
“Me? Awkward? I would never.”
“We have to be quiet so we don’t wake Renee.”
She walked beside him up the stairs and along the hallway, trying not to feel cherished as she continued to hold his hand. He could tell she was uncomfortable with the idea of real intimacy. Uncomfortable with the idea of being intimate with someone who was so unlike her.
It was the way she moved—uncertain, vulnerable—that made him want to whisk her away and protect her. His fingers were gentle on her and with every step they took toward the bedroom, he could feel her growing annoyance that despite her resistance he’d managed to worm his way into her life.
He didn’t take it personally. In fact, it was a good sign. A very good sign. It meant there were cracks in her armor and she was working on letting him in. Maybe it was his optimism talking. Either way, they moved together into her bedroom and she closed the door behind him with a snick.
“All right. You have me here.” He shuffled until they were facing each other, her back to the door. Both quiet. Breath stilled in his lungs. “What do we do now?”
“Something I’ve never done before.” She stepped forward and pressed herself against him. Harlan wouldn’t have said no, not even if there was a gun to his head.
When her mouth moved up to meet his it was hot, branding, taking him under her spell. He opened to her and let her take control of the kiss. But only for a moment, until he felt her self-confidence blooming.
He’d been there for her for nearly a month. Now it was time to take something back. She’d held the red flag in front of the bull for too long, he thought hazily, his arms pinning hers and leaving her unable to escape. It was a damn good thing she didn’t want to.
He was helplessly trapped in the kiss and the hunger between them, the emotion, the passion, the thrill of finally having her where he wanted.
“I’ve barely been able to contain myself,” He whispered as he ripped his mouth from hers to trace his lips across her forehead, down her cheeks. “Be with me or don’t, but this is your last chance to back out, Olympia. I won’t be able to stop again. Not when I’ve wanted this for so long.”
She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “And what if I told you to get out? To take your hands off of me? What if I say I’ve changed my mind?”
“Please don’t.” He ran his fingers up her spine. Into her hair. It was both heaven and hell to touch her like his, stroking her in such a foreign yet familiar way. There was a wild, reckless freedom about it and he pushed the last of his questions, worries, and doubts from his mind.
“Then I won’t,” she told him with a wicked grin.
Game. On.
It was all he could do to ke
ep his hands off of her hot, smooth skin after that. She bit down near his neck and he nearly went wild with the sensation. Whispering half-crazed demands of each other, they stumbled their way to the bed.
He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think for wanting her. His lips skimmed over hers and he was delighted when she murmured, “Don’t ever stop touching me.”
Her wish was his command and Harlan filled his hands with her curves. His blood rushed and surged beneath his skin, a primal response when her breath caught and she quivered against him. He fell on the bed and pulled her on top of him, sliding his hands along her legs, groaning when he grabbed a handful of her supple rear.
Olympia bit down on his earlobe and nearly halted his progress, his fingers tugging at the material of her shirt. He managed to get it over her head, going to work on her bra and tugging impatiently at the thin fabric.
“I need to see you.”
He fumbled with the rest of her clothes until she was naked in front of him. A vision. There was a faint sheen of light on her skin, illuminating creamy curves, ample breasts, supple thighs.
Her head dropped back when he plunged his finger into her. “Dear God.” She fell forward to bury her face in his neck, shuddering around him. “Please.”
Now she was the one begging him. Lust drove him forward and he fixed his mouth on her throat, driving her wild while she whimpered and shook. She felt impossibly good. Softer than anything he’d ever felt. When he found her mouth again it was by instinct, and he swallowed her sobbing breaths.
His free hand he used to cover her breast, which his mouth, hot and hungry, soon replaced.
“What about you?” She sounded half mad, tugging at him.
“I can’t stop now.” No way he could stop.
“No, I’m saying you have too many clothes on. Take them off.”
His erection strained against his jeans and now that he’d tuned into it, they were painfully tight. “Good idea.”
She pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it aside, then used her mouth on his chest while her hands dived to his zipper.
