by Lynn Rae
Her heart lurched at his matter-of-fact assessment. Her own mother had always been happy with whatever June had done and had expressed it in her carefree way. She supposed it had always been easy to look good when compared to her volatile brother.
“Okay, then how about in an hour? That way I can get my grandma home and settled for the evening. She’s got to be tired, and tomorrow we’re moving the last of her stuff, so I want her to be rested.”
Nate agreed, and again, his hand skimmed by her arm, and she was sorely disappointed he didn’t touch her. The ache of desire their low-level flirting had released surprised her. After he’d made her upset the previous evening, she’d thought she’d be immune. She’d never been one to fall for bad-boy behavior. Not that he’d been bad at all, just presumptuous.
“Do you want to go to that new place downtown?”
“The one with the cupcakes covered in about three inches of icing? Nope.” Nate shook his head decisively. “The diner’s coffee is good, but I’m there all the time. If I show up and sit down at the counter, they’ll start bringing stuff out from the back for me to cook.”
“So where? I don’t make very good coffee.” June’s deferral came out in a wheeze. She hadn’t meant to almost invite him back to her place. Talk about presumptuous.
“I have a new machine. It’s a Zojurushi Zutto.”
“Ah. Is that a good one?” He’d said it with such pride she couldn’t resist asking.
Nate nodded again, and this time he did touch her elbow. “It’s specially engineered and is the only five-cup coffeemaker that uses a cone filter.”
As he rattled off the information, June watched him. He was proud of his gadget, obviously, but he was also trying to impress her. Her belly fluttered, and she let it sink in that handsome Nate Sinclair wanted her to like him.
“This I’ve got to see. So your place in an hour?”
He nodded, grinned, and leaned his head her way like he was going to kiss her cheek, and then he stopped himself and drew back. “You should get going; your poor grandma’s been sitting there all this time while I bore you about coffee.”
June started and gave a guilty glance at the car. He was right. She assured him she’d see him in an hour, and before she could reach the car door’s handle, he was already opening it for her. She turned and sat awkwardly as Grandma Sinclair leaned toward him.
“What nice manners. Your mother must be proud.” She smiled broadly as Nate shrugged and gently closed the card door after June had her legs and feet tucked in their proper places. He leaned over and propped his elbows on the open window frame.
“See you later, Ms. Sinclair. Call me if you want some help tomorrow, you have my number. See you soon, Jonesy.”
June managed to nod sure her face flushed more than it had while she’d been carrying boxes earlier. He rose up and leaned against his truck as she stared at him too long. Grandma Sinclair’s thin hand waving at him in front of her face startled her out of her reverie, and she started the car and put it into reverse. He waved, smiled, and then had to slam on her brake when a car passing behind them blared its horn at her.
Well and truly embarrassed, June made great pains to check all the mirrors before she backed out and headed away; Grandma Sinclair called out goodbye to Nate as they left.
“You have his phone number, Grandma?”
“Sure do. I’ve still got moves.”
* * * *
June hesitated before pressing the button to grind up some of Nate’s coffee beans. Somehow, what she’d envisioned as a shared cup of coffee and potentially awkward conversation had turned into a lesson in proper brewing as they crowded into his small and spotless kitchen.
“Go on, grind ’em up,” Nate encouraged her.
“It’ll make that grindy noise.”
“That’s the sound of heaven in the morning.”
“But it’s four in the afternoon.”
Nate smiled and cupped his hand against hers as she grasped the grinder. He laid one fingertip over hers and depressed the button. She jumped when the machine whirred to life and pulverized the dark brown beans. He rocked the appliance back and forth as the blades spun, and June tried not to notice how close his hips were to hers.
“See, when you grind it fresh, all the aromatic oils are released, and it makes the flavor richer, rather than having them dry up and leach away like it does with pre-ground stuff.”
June didn’t mention that when she bothered to make coffee, she used pre-ground, whatever was cheapest, and she had, on occasion, drank instant coffee with no ill effects.
Satisfied with the size of the grind, Nate lifted his hand from hers and pulled the coffeemaker closer. It was a compact piece of equipment, and as he explained its inner workings, June faded out, riveted by the way his arm muscles moved.
“Okay, now how much coffee per serving?”
“I don’t know, you tell me, Mr. Barista. Or is it Mr. Baristo?”
Shaking his head with a laugh, he handed her a measuring spoon. “One heaping scoop per cup of water. So five.”
She obediently measured out the required amount, and the intense aroma of coffee grounds filled her nose. Maybe he was on to something with this freshness idea.
“And then, we pop the filter back in, check the water, and you press the Go button.”
Playing along with her initial reluctance, June hesitated and gave him an inquiring look.
“Come on, it’s not complicated, and it doesn’t make a grindy noise.” He grasped her hand and again directed her finger to the proper button. With a click, the machine blinked to life, and there was nothing to do but wait. What would they do while they waited? The last time she’d been at loose ends in a kitchen with him, they’d shared a hot kiss.
Feeling warm at the recollection, she shuffled her feet so she wasn’t quite so close to him. They’d had a misunderstanding before, and she didn’t want to tarry down that path again. Judging by how good his kiss was, they were compatible, but she wasn’t in the mood for meaningless coupling with a young man who was going to be leaving soon. She was slow and steady and needed order, and it seemed Nate thrived in a more unregulated environment.
“It’ll be ready in a few minutes.” Nate watched her with a knowing grin. Was he thinking the same things? Hard to tell.
“So, Jonesy, what are your plans for the rest of the summer?”
June blinked and glanced away from his frank gaze. She could go on and on about how her days were portioned out, how she was worried about her grandmother transitioning from her apartment to the assisted-living facility, if her brother was going to create problems once he finally had to move out, but such anxiety-filled matters didn’t seem to belong in this snug and tidy little kitchen as an attractive man smiled at her. “Nothing much.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re color-coded and noted all the way into February or March at the very least.”
June pretended to be offended as she huffed and shook her head. He was right; she actually had most of the next year plotted.
“Uh-oh, did I say something stupid again?”
“No, of course not. You’re not stupid.” At his skeptical look, June decided a friendly pep talk was in order. “You keep track of all those recipes and orders as they come in. I couldn’t do that without a huge spreadsheet. And you know how to make fancy drinks and keep drunken people from tearing up your mom’s bar. I don’t even know how you take those ingredients from Simple Market and create something delicious. Smart. Very smart.”
Nate’s smile faded away as she talked, and she worried she’d offended him somehow. She wanted him to be in a good mood before the coffee was done.
“You think that?”
“I know it. You’re lucky, Nate. You’ve found your talent, and you get to use it every day. And it happens to make other people happy. All I can do is keep track of things: kids, appointments, packed boxes, whatever.”
June didn’t want to sound like she was having a low moment, because she wasn’t. She
was enjoying spending time with him and smelling the rich coffee aroma as it brewed. Here, she wasn’t worried about her brother banging on her door and bellowing about some injustice he’d suffered. Nate narrowed his eyes and reached out to grasp her hand.
“What button are you going to make me push now?” she asked as she warmed up at the friction of his skin against hers.
Chapter 12
“No buttons,” Nate assured June in a soft voice as he tugged her his way. The coffeemaker hissed as he slid his hand up her arm to her shoulder and cupped behind her neck. Just that little bit of contact with her felt so good he worried he was going to pull too tight, or grip her small body too hard. He was through with this fake coffee-making session.
“I’m about three years younger than you, right?”
June nodded.
“I know you’ve got a lot going on in your life. And your brother hates me.”
June swallowed and nodded again.
“I know I kind of botched it up before.” Nate drew a deep breath and forced himself to lean closer to her. It was strange how resistant his body was to doing the things he most wanted. “In spite of all that, I’m hoping you’ll give me another chance.”
“A chance at what?” Her kind eyes met his, and a flush glowed on her cheeks. Just thinking about how she’d tasted, how she’d made those soft, little sounds and moved against him was driving him insane.
“One more chance at a kiss. That’s all.”
“Just a kiss? That’s all you want?”
He nodded, lying to the universe with every move of his head.
“What about what I want?”
“Anything you want.” Please don’t say “let’s be friends.” It would be a fitting punishment for saying the same thing to Heather just a few days ago, but he didn’t want to hear it from June.
She opened her mouth as if to speak, her pink lips mesmerizing him. “You go first, and then I’ll tell you what I want.”
Now that he’d gotten the green light, Nate was stymied by how to proceed. He wanted her, he wanted to feel every inch of her naked body sliding against his, but closing that final distance for a kiss was impossible. “Sounds fair.”
She licked her bottom lip, just a touch with her tongue, and his mind unglued. His arms coiled around her body, and he drew her to him as she let out a little sigh. Better than before, that’s all he could think as he sank into her mouth, gathering in her warmth and softness with every move of his lips. Her hands came up and clutched at his shoulders as she responded to him. He was hotter than a grill top within seconds, pushing his hips against hers, straining to arouse her as much as he was.
She slid one hand into his hair, and the touch of her fingernails against his scalp sent him into orbit. What was it about her? Her slightest touch made him shaky, and he’d never been so awkward with a woman in his life. Not even his first kiss in fifth grade with Mary Gregg had mattered so much to him.
She drew away first, regarding him from beneath half-lidded eyes as she glanced over his face, even as her thin arms tightened their grip on him. She was strong.
“What do you want, June?”
“Not coffee.”
“Cookies?”
“Nope.” She leaned up to brush her lips against his. He stifled a groan, and his groin contracted with heat.
“We should go out on a date,” he blurted it out. Something about the formality of it struck him. He wanted to be with June and have it be on her calendar as something she was looking forward to. Inviting her here for coffee was lame, an amateur move.
“A date?” Faced with her disbelieving tone, Nate felt he had to respond even though the pressure of her breasts against his chest was almost too much to bear.
“Yes. We spend time with each other, plan on it. Not some random meeting that turns into something else.”
“Like this?” Now she was teasing him. How could she concentrate on humor in a situation like this?
“Right. This isn’t a date.”
“So, you wanted a kiss, and now you want a date.” June paused and considered him before leaning up to his cheek to whisper, her soft nuzzle sending his nerve endings into spasms. “I’ll go out with you, but I don’t have my planner handy for setting up a date.”
“Right, have to have the planner.” God, now she ran her hands along his chest, and he wanted to lean back and close his eyes as she went to work on him. “So, what did you want to do next?”
“If I remember correctly, I have another hour and twenty minutes free on my calendar. Then I have to be going to pick up my Grandma and finish moving the last of her things.”
“Could I help?”
June shook her head and kissed his chin. Unable to resist the proximity, he returned the caress on her smooth cheek, inhaling her musky scent overlaid by a hint of freshly ground coffee. More delicious than anything he’d ever cooked. “It’s just last-minute stuff, and she might stay there tonight, so I want to keep it low-key.”
Understood. Nate wondered how her moody brother was going to deal with the loss of his cushy housing arrangement. Probably not well. Deciding those thoughts were best considered at another time, he refocused on the woman in his arms who was rubbing her fingers along the back of his neck. “So, Jonesy, about this hour and twenty minutes you have…”
“How happy can you make me with the clock ticking?” Her quirked eyebrow and soft tone almost distracted him from what she’d said. Implied. Whatever. All his testosterone thundered in at her challenge.
“Really, really happy.”
“Then that’s what I want.”
* * * *
His sunny bedroom was small and had a lot of books. Cookbooks. That was the only coherent thought she had before he was kissing her again and nudging her back toward his neatly made bed. A tremor of nervousness flickered through her, but when he cupped his hand around her cheek and gave a little groan as they embraced, it disappeared in a bolt of lust. This was going to be good. She knew it with the same certainty that berries were tart and snow was cold.
One of his hands had made its way under the hem of her shirt, and the friction of his calluses and scars against the skin of her waist made her jump and shiver.
“Sorry, I know they’re rough—”
“I like it,” she reassured him. If he slowed down or started a conversation, she’d lose her courage and become embarrassed by how much she wanted this. She was buttoned-down June Sinclair, responsible and trustworthy, not some gasping woman pulling at a beautiful man’s shirt in the middle of the afternoon. She’d just met Nate a few days before, and now she was in his bedroom? She just didn’t do things like this. But she was, and he was helping her along.
In a smooth motion, he ran his hands up her back and under her shirt all while he nibbled on her neck. The combination of sensations buckled her knees, and June fell out of his arms and right onto his bed with a bounce. She let out an involuntary oof and stared up at him, sure he was going to laugh and call the whole thing off.
Instead, he squinted and followed her down, propping himself over her as he gave her a quick kiss. Too far away, too much space between them. She wanted the pressure of his body so she wouldn’t get distracted by the book titles barely visible from the corner of her eye, or how his comforter was smooth against her skin. He stroked under her shirt again, and somehow he had it up and over her head in one coordinated motion. She wasn’t that graceful when she got herself dressed in the morning.
Not thinking about all the other women he’d so skillfully disrobed over the years, June wriggled against him. The first time was always awkward; she wasn’t sure what to expect, didn’t know what he liked or didn’t. As Nate breathed his way down her neck to press his open mouth across her collarbones, June reminded herself this was both a first and only time. She shouldn’t be anticipating sex with Nate Garner on her upcoming planner pages. He murmured her name against her skin, and her brain skidded away from the future and crashed right back into the present.
/> She clutched her hands into his shirt, and he must have thought she wanted it gone, because he shrugged out of it even faster than he’d removed hers. Momentarily awestruck by the muscles and dusting of hair on his chest, she didn’t realize he’d eased her bra off until she felt the rough skin of his palm cupping under her breast.
“Oh, I’m not…I’m small,” she quavered an apology, or explanation, like she did every time. Nate stopped staring at her breasts and peered at her.
“They’re beautiful. Shaped like a juicy, ripe pear.” He took a breath as he contracted his fingers around her flesh, and she stifled a groan as her nipple tightened in pinpricks of sensation. He lowered his mouth and as his warm, wet tongue traced along her puckered flesh, she moaned and pressed her head against the bed. He sucked and breathed, and she lay there with her muscles quivering.
It could have been thirty seconds or three hours. She was completely disconnected from her internal clock. His warm, smooth skin rubbed along hers, the hair on his arms tickling as he held her close to continue his attentions. With every lick on her sensitive flesh, her legs relaxed and loosened, and she pushed her knees up so his body was framed by hers.
He whispered against her skin; she thought she heard “sweet,” but her panting made it difficult to be sure what his assessment was. He squeezed around her waist, and her stomach jumped. He made a soothing noise and kissed her belly button as he worked at the button and zipper of her trousers. He pulled at them and slid off the edge of the bed as he rolled them off, kneeling on the floor between her legs. He grinned at her, a flush on his cheeks, and his hair quite mussed as he tossed her pants toward the wall. Nate leaned her way while running his fingertips up the insides of her thighs. It tickled so much her legs jerked up.
Nate crawled back onto the bed, pressing kisses to her knees, thighs, belly, and breasts as he made his way back up to her lips where she welcomed him with relief. He settled his body over hers, pressing a jean-clad knee between hers as he playfully took her mouth. Her heart hammered, and again, she circled her arms around his big shoulders.
