by Dorie Graham
“Hi.” Jack’s cool baritone sent butterflies scurrying inside her.
She clasped a handful of clothes to her chest. “Jack, hi.”
“I think I’ve made a wrong turn.”
“Where are you?”
He gave her a location just blocks away. He was practically at her door. She gave him directions. “But no hurry. Just take your time. I’m not ready yet.”
She hung up and tossed the phone aside as she dashed to the closet. What was she going to wear?
A beige suit hung toward the back. She grabbed it and threw it on, tugging the hem of the skirt down as far as it would go. The thing still seemed shorter than she remembered. She ran to the mirror and gasped at the expanse of leg the skirt exposed.
Tess.
Her sister had borrowed the outfit last month and damn if she hadn’t had the length altered. This would never do. With her heart thudding, Erin wriggled out of the skirt and top, then dug again into the closet. She pulled out a green dress she’d bought years ago. The fabric was soft but of good quality, and the cut classic, though the neckline scooped a little lower than she thought wise.
The ringing of her doorbell sounded and she tossed the dress over her head, then struggled to pull it down over her body without destroying her hair. Had it been this clingy the last time she’d worn it? The fabric conformed to her breasts, then skimmed down over her stomach to flare gently at her hips.
She grabbed her shoes before stopping again in front of the mirror to stare at her refection in alarm. Pink colored her cheeks and the green of the dress brought out the green of her eyes. She combed her fingers through her hair but couldn’t tame the wild look of it.
And the dress… Well, he’d certainly realize she was all woman. The bell rang again and she grabbed her purse. No time to change. It would be up to her to convey the professional attitude she needed for this discussion with Jack.
“YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL tonight.” Jack shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from touching Erin. They walked along the tropical garden outside the restaurant where they’d just eaten.
He wanted to take time to get to know her better and let her get to know him, but the woman looked so good it was all he could do to keep from jumping her. Had he been so remiss in his love life lately that all he could think about was how it had felt to hold her and bury himself deep inside her?
Her cheeks colored, a sight that sent his pulse speeding as memories of her, flushed and panting, in his bed flowed over him. She smoothed her hand over her hair. “I feel a little thrown together.”
“It’s a good look for you.”
“Thank you,” she said. “You look nice, too.”
She had refused his offer of wine earlier, so he had abstained also. He hadn’t wanted to push the romantic angle. They’d have time for that later. It was enough that she had let him take her out tonight.
He smiled at how her eyes had widened at the portions when their meal was served. She had dug into her roasted chicken, her face lit with pure pleasure. She was a sight as she savored each bite.
“Erin, thank you for agreeing to go out with me tonight. I know you were reluctant, but it was important to me that we have an official date.”
She stopped, her eyebrows raised. Then she carefully started walking again. “That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
He moved closer to her and couldn’t resist taking her hand. Warmth shot through him. “I understand this is all happening rather unexpectedly, but that doesn’t make it wrong.”
Her gaze softened and, to his relief, she kept her hand nestled in his. “I’m not denying there’s chemistry between us, Jack.”
“Good, because I want to explore this chemistry. Don’t you?”
She hesitated a long moment. “Yes, I do, but the timing is wrong. You see that, don’t you?”
“No.”
“It’s a conflict of interest.”
“How? I want you. You want me. Sounds like we’re both interested in the same thing.”
“You want me now. I want you later—after I finish the redesign of your home.”
He traced circles over the inside of her wrist with his thumb. Her pulse throbbed steady and strong beneath his touch. “You want me now.”
With a groan, she slid her hand from his. “It doesn’t matter. I have a serious work ethic. Metro Miami may be a fairly big place, but the design community is a close-knit group. The networking that goes on there can make or break a career. I’ve been on the fringes for a long time and recently I seem to be making some headway. I can’t be seen as anything but professional with this group if I want to get somewhere.”
He crossed his arms. “And this group, they’re people your family would approve of?”
“My family? What do they have to do with it?”
“Family is everything.”
She glanced away. “My family is an open-minded bunch. It isn’t usually a question of them accepting other people. It’s more whether other people will accept them.”
“So tell me about them. What about them might make them hard to accept?”
“My mother and sisters are all quite beautiful. You’d be as enamored of them as any male. It’s the rest of the population that tends to take issue.”
“You mean the female population?”
She shrugged. “What does it matter?”
“It matters because they’re who you are, where you come from. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without my family.” Or what theirs would be like without him.
“I’m sure you have a nice, normal family.”
He shook his head. Too many of his relatives tended to live short, sweet lives. How normal was that? “I don’t know that there’s any such thing. Mine comes as close as any I suppose. We still have our issues, as everyone does. You just deal with them.”
“Well, I’m dealing with mine.”
“How?”
She stared at him, unblinking, for a long moment. “I’ve made a conscious choice to build my own life.”
“Away from your family?”
“More or less. Both of my sisters had moved out of the apartment we used to share and the lease was up. I didn’t need such a big place all to myself. It made sense to move.”
“So how far away did you move?”
“What does that matter?”
“You’ve run away.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What is wrong with wanting to walk my own path? I see them. I talk to them. In fact, I’m having lunch with my sister and my mother tomorrow afternoon. We’re planning my oldest sister’s bridal shower.”
“That’s great. I’m happy to hear that.” He pursed his lips. Though he preferred not to discuss his own family, he couldn’t resist the urge to get her to talk some more about hers. “Tell me about them—your mother and sisters and anyone else.”
“I’m not sure what you want to hear,” she said. “My oldest sister, Nikki, is a veterinarian. She has her own practice. My other sister, Tess, owns a nursery. And my mother…well, she’s an artist, though she…may be retiring soon. She’s spent a lot of her time traveling all over the world.”
“They don’t sound so unusual.” Except that she’d failed to mention their not-so-normal sexual-healing capabilities. Did that mean that was at the root of her discontent?
“I guess they’re not.” She shook her head. “Except… Well, they have some unusual beliefs. They’re into the whole metaphysical scene.”
He straightened. “And you’re not?”
“I fail to see what all this new-age-woo-woo fuss is about.”
He should tell her. He should admit right now that he’d heard all about the McClellan women and their magic touch. “Erin, I—”
“I mean, they actually believe they heal men by sleeping with them. Can you imagine that? How nuts can you get?” She raised her hands in surrender. “There you have it. The dark secret of my family. They’re crazy. Stark raving lunatics.”
“Why do you say t
hat? I’ve been looking into the metaphysical scene and I find a lot of it quite interesting.”
Her shoulders heaved and she looked suddenly tired. “To each his own. I just don’t need to be around all that craziness. I need a more…normal grounded-in-reality kind of life. I’m tired of people looking at me askance because I’m one of them. I could never…do what they do—that whole sexual-healing thing. That isn’t what I want in a relationship.”
Guilt filled him. “There are worse things to build a relationship on.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Do you know that men still seek out my sister, Tess? She’s settled with Mason. They seem to be living that elusive happily ever after. She’s not looking for a new relationship, yet men still seem to come out of the woodwork to woo her. Maybe not as many as before, but she still gets the occasional guy.”
She shuddered. “It’s creepy. They hear about her from a friend of a friend—Tess has more friends than you can shake a stick at—then they approach her all hopeful and expectant. I think I would truly lose it if that happened to me. Thank God nobody knows me. I’m the younger sister, the forgotten one. Believe me, in my family I’m a bit of an aberration, like the redheaded stepchild, only I’m the blonde.
“I get that from my father, whom I’ve seen pictures of but have never met. We each have different fathers, you know—my sisters and me. Maggie, our mother, never stayed with one lover for more than a few months at a time. Somewhere along the way she decided to have the three of us, or so she insists. I’m thinking at least one of us had to be an accident, possibly all three, though she would never admit it—just moved us along from lover to lover, house to house. Nikki hated it every bit as much as I did, but Tess is so much like her—”
She stopped, her eyes round. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know where all that came from. I tend to talk when I get nervous.”
“No problem.”
“The point is that I am nothing like them, especially Tess and Maggie. Nikki wasn’t so crazy about the “gift” until she met Dylan and now she’s fine with it—with him. Me…” She took a deep breath. “I just can’t condone the whole sexual-healing thing. If ever a man came to me wanting me to sleep with him and heal him, I guess I’d have to laugh. The whole thing is really crazy. Don’t you think so, Jack?”
He stared at her for one speechless moment. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?
“You were okay last night, weren’t you? I mean after we…you know?” Her gaze pierced his, seeking, searching for whatever truth he might hide.
Why would she ask that? Should he tell her he’d been ill? It didn’t seem to matter. He’d woken up this morning with more energy than he’d had in months. Judging by the way she’d attacked her food, she hadn’t suffered any ill effects.
“Jack? You okay?”
“Fine. I woke up today feeling like I could conquer the world. Haven’t felt that good in I don’t know how long.”
“Really?” Her gaze darkened in that way that melted his insides. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy to hear that. I slept like a rock myself.”
He tamped down on the little voice that whispered he was lying by omission. His illness last night didn’t have anything to do with Erin. Besides, what if it had something to do with his heart? He’d have to check with his doctor, but for now he wasn’t ready to tell her about his condition.
A cool breeze brushed over them. He faced her. “You seemed upset when you left.”
“That wasn’t like me at all last night. I can’t imagine what you must think of me. I swear that I have never come on to anyone like that, especially not a client.”
“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a very long time. I want you to do my condo, but if the whole client thing is an issue, then we can always delay this job. Or I can find someone else.”
“That’s entirely up to you. I won’t hold you to that contract and I’ll return your deposit if that’s what you want.”
“No, that isn’t what I want. But I want you to be comfortable working with me and…” He took her hand again. “I want to be with you.”
“Jack—”
“We’ll be discreet. I don’t know anyone in the design circles except for you. I want to get to know you, Erin. I want more nights like last night and I don’t see why we have to wait until you’re finished with the redesign on my house.
“That’s much less important. If you can tell me that’s what you truly want, then I’ll do my best to leave you alone, but you have to tell me honestly that you don’t want me. Can you do that?” he asked.
Her gaze again met his and a sense of well-being settled over him. A small smile played across her lips. “No, Jack, I can’t.”
His smile matched hers and his body hummed with anticipation. “So does that mean I get a good-night kiss when I take you home tonight?”
The curve of her throat captured his gaze. He imagined kissing her there, his mouth watering for the taste of her.
She stopped and turned to him. “Why don’t you take me home and find out?”
8
HEAT COURSED THROUGH Erin as Jack pressed her to the wall and kissed her neck. How they’d made it back to her apartment was a blur. One minute they’d been walking after sharing a civilized meal and the next they’d been falling through her door on top of each other.
She should stick to her guns, revive her plan to give up men. But Jack wasn’t just any man, and all her well-thought-out intentions flew out the window when he was near.
His mouth skimmed over her collarbone, then up her neck, sending awareness shimmering through her. Hell, she’d known in the restaurant she wouldn’t be able to protest. He hadn’t been ill last night. The thought sent happiness and desire flowing through her.
Had she found the one man she could be with?
She tugged his already unbuttoned shirt from his pants, then slid her hands up his abdomen, over his chest, her fingertips alive with the feel of warm, hard muscle beneath them.
“I want you, Erin,” he said, his voice rough with desire.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body so close to his, his heart thudded against her breast. His mouth found hers and his tongue greeted her with hungry strokes. For long moments she stood mesmerized by his kiss, her body drinking in the feel of him so near, his scent wrapped around her and his hands stroking her, holding her close.
Then he traced his mouth down her throat to the neckline of her dress, where he kissed the slight swell of each breast visible there while he caressed her through her clothes. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands to the wall behind her.
He drew back, his eyes dark as he slipped his hand under her dress, pushing the hem up her thigh. “You’re so beautiful.”
She reached for him, tugging him close for another kiss as he cupped her bottom, cradling her in his palm. She kissed him long and hard and deep, savoring the feel of his tongue, his teeth, his lips on her while he continued to touch her, his fingers tracing along her thigh to the edge of her panties, then beyond, until he stroked the folds of her femininity, coaxing the wetness from her. Her heart thrummed in her ears and her sex pulsed.
Moaning, she shifted and he slipped two fingers deep inside her. He stroked her with a restraint he hadn’t had before, and she moved against him, silently pleading with him to not hold back. He broke the kiss to whisper in her ear. “Baby, come for me. I’ll give you whatever you want, just let me love you.”
“Yes, Jack.” She gripped his arms as he thrust his fingers repeatedly into her.
Heat coiled through her, and her clit throbbed as she moved her hips in sync. “Oh…Jack.”
“You feel so good.” With his free hand he reached up under her dress to cup her breast. He kneaded her, then tugged aside her bra. With every thrust of his fingers, he circled her nipple with his thumb, working it into a hard point.
Sounds of pleasure tore from her as the heat swallowed her. Then his mouth was on her throat and the first ripple
s of orgasm washed over her. Gasping, she strained against him, then gripped his shoulders and let the sensations take her. She came in one long wave.
He withdrew his fingers to spread her wetness over her clit, working her tender flesh until she writhed against him. The tension coiled through her. He took his time, fondling her with devoted attention to her every gasp and whimper. When she caught her rhythm again and ground into him, he took her cue, increasing his efforts. She came again, the pleasure so intense she cried out with it.
He dropped to his knees before her, stripped off her panties, then shoved her dress up. He draped her leg across his shoulder, then laved her with gentle strokes of his tongue.
She inhaled a sharp breath and tried to move away from him, the sensations too intense. “Oh, no…wait.”
But he held her fast and licked along her folds before delving his tongue into her heat. When she moaned, he withdrew to circle her clit. The fire again burned through her. She pressed her hands to the wall once more as the tension reached an almost unbearable level. Gasping with need, she rocked against him as she climaxed for a third time.
He moved up her body and she welcomed his lips on her as he kissed her with hungry desperation. His desire coursed strong and wild through him, energizing her in a way she couldn’t have been otherwise. She unzipped his pants, then slipped her hand around his hard cock. The pleasure flowing from him stole her breath as she stroked him, his heat and silky hardness an enticing mixture.
A boldness she’d never known gripped her and she pressed him to the wall and met his gaze. “It’s my turn. I’m going to eat you up.”
A stifled moan was her only answer as she pulled him free of his confining briefs and knelt before him. He buried his fingers in her hair as she went down on him, savoring the exquisite feel of him. Never had she enjoyed pleasuring a man like this.
His excitement caught her up and held her captivated as she explored every delectable inch of him. When she took him into her mouth, his pleasure was so intense it shot through her to her own sex, making her wet and swollen and needy all over again. She loved him with her mouth and he moved against her, the sounds straining from him urging her on, increasing her desire.
