“Right.” He rolled to his side, giving her back her freedom. Well hell, this was awkward. What was the protocol for having sex on a floor with a woman he’d just met? Did he thank her? Slip out the back door? Leave her his number?
Man, he’d fucked this up. He’d been thinking with the wrong head. It was something that Taylor men had a huge problem with. Just ask his brothers, who’d all had more than their fair share of drama thanks to the opposite sex.
He watched her as she scrambled to hook her bra and couldn’t help but admire her pale curves. She was built exactly the way he liked, from her ample breasts to her rounded hips. Damn, if he wasn’t careful, he’d be hard again. He decided to make himself presentable as she threw her dress back over her head. The phone kept ringing.
“You don’t have an answering machine?” he asked, curious.
She glanced back at him, looking like a startled deer. “Um, not yet.” She ran a hand through her mussed hair. “The bathroom is just across the hall if you need it.”
And then she rushed from the room, leaving him half-naked and confused as hell on her floor. Had he just been dismissed? Well, didn’t that just beat it all?
Kassie tried not to run from her office in search of the phone. It was the perfect excuse to get her away from him, before she did something stupid. Like hyperventilate. Because she didn’t do things like that. Kassie Ryan had a ton of bad habits. She was perennially late. She loved French fries. She could never have just one margarita. She was a mess. But she wasn’t the girl who had sexual encounters with men she’d just met. On her floor.
Except, now she was. Just when she’d thought she was getting herself together, finding her way in the wake of her painful breakup with Adam, she went and fucked the guy who was measuring her office for tile flooring.
Oh my God.
She checked out the caller ID as she picked up her cordless with shaking hands. It was her best friend Elle. She took a deep breath and answered, trying to sound as normal as possible.
“Hello?” She peeked back around the hallway to see where Jax had gone, but there was no sign of him. He was either in the office or the bathroom. Or maybe he’d taken pity on her and ducked out before she’d have to face him. No, she couldn’t be that lucky.
“Kassie?” Elle’s familiar voice sounded concerned. “Is everything okay? You sound like you were just running a marathon.”
“No,” she hurried to say. “I mean yes. You know I never run anywhere unless I’m being chased by a knife-wielding assailant.”
“Which hopefully doesn’t happen too often,” Elle quipped. “So what’s going on? I tried your cell first, but you didn’t answer. I was beginning to think you were ducking me.”
“I was…” she trailed off, considering her words. Best to just get it out in the open, she reasoned. Maybe Elle would have some advice for her. “I was having sex.”
“You wish. Come on, Kassie. It’s Adam, isn’t it? Did you see what he posted on Facebook? I was afraid you would, so I tried to call you first.”
The mention of her ex startled her. He hadn’t exactly taken their breakup easily. She didn’t blame him, really. She’d had the ring on her finger, the destination wedding planned, the dress. It had all been months away, just around the corner. Then she’d realized she couldn’t go through with it. Not with Adam, anyway.
She frowned as she heard the bathroom door close and lowered her voice. “What? Was it about me? No, never mind. Forget I asked that.”
“So you didn’t see it?”
“No, Elle, I unfriended him months ago.”
“Which means you were serious?”
“Yes.” She stole another peek around the corner, feeling like a stalker in her own home. “I was serious.”
“Shut up. Who is it? You’ve only been there for like a month.”
“Some guy I met.” Kassie winced. “This morning. I know, I know. I’m crazy. He could have been a mass murderer or something.”
“Is he hot?” Elle asked, being her typical self. Leave it to Elle to only be concerned about his looks.
“Very,” she said before she could stop herself. “But Elle, he’s in the house. I don’t know what to do. I don’t do things like this.”
“Correction. The old Kassie didn’t do things like that. The new Kassie can do whatever the hell she wants.” Elle stopped for a beat. “Was it good?”
Good didn’t even begin to describe what had just happened.
“Amazing,” she admitted.
“Then what are you waiting for? Go get back on that dick. Now.”
“Elle,” she groaned, but her friend had already hung up. Her protest met with nothing but the dial tone. Which meant that she was once again alone to face Jax.
The bathroom door creaked open, followed by the sound of booted footsteps. Kassie rounded the corner, knowing she couldn’t keep hiding forever. He stopped about a foot short of her, his expression unreadable. She wished he weren’t so impossibly gorgeous. It made her embarrassment that much worse.
“Hi,” she said, her brain completely fleeing her as his gaze pinned her to the spot. Oh, clever, Kassie. Clever.
“Hi.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, drawing her eyes back to the sexy anchor tattoo on his forearm. It fit him somehow. All she could think in that moment was pirate. And then, God help me, I want more.
She forced herself to snap out of her lust-induced fog.
“Sorry about—”
“Do you want—”
They both spoke simultaneously, then stopped. Kassie inwardly grimaced. Could this be any more awkward? “You go first.”
He nodded. “While you were on the phone, I took all the measurements I’ll need. I’ll throw together a quote with my suggestions for the reno and we’ll go from there.”
So he was back to business again. She tried to force her mind into normal mode but it was difficult. “That sounds acceptable,” she forced herself to say, all too aware of him.
He flashed her a grin, seemingly at ease as his dimples reappeared. “And I was thinking we should do this the right way. Can I take you to dinner?”
She stared. A hot guy with a conscience? She had to have stepped into some kind of alternate reality. But still, she didn’t want a guilt date. “You don’t have to feel obligated.”
“I don’t.” His slight Southern drawl was more pronounced. “I’m single. You’re single. We’ve got great chemistry. Why not?”
True, the chemistry was undeniable, but she had a list a mile long of reasons why she should not even look at another man for the next few months. Especially not a man who had heartbreaker written all over his handsome face. “I’m not really dating right now,” she hedged.
He raised a brow. “I’m not either.”
Maybe she’d misread his interest entirely. What the heck did that mean? He wanted to sleep with her again? “I’m not really into, um, no strings attached either. Despite what just happened. That was a complete aberration.”
His grin deepened. “I see. You’re afraid.”
His words rankled. If there was one thing she didn’t like, it was being told that she was afraid. Kassie Ryan wasn’t afraid of anything. Not even leaving her stable relationship and impending wedding to move to another state and start all over. “I’m not afraid,” she denied, even if maybe, deep down, she knew he was on to something.
“Good. I’ll swing by tonight, then. How does seven sound?”
It sounded like a very bad idea, mostly because she didn’t think she had the willpower to go to dinner with the man in front of her and not want to sleep with him again. She swallowed, unwilling to allow him to see how he affected her. “Sounds great,” she lied.
“See you at seven.” He winked. “If you don’t mind, I’ll drive.”
Chapter Two
Kassie was still getting ready later that night when the doorbell rang. She froze in the midst of applying her mascara. He was here. Already. She hit the home button on her cell phone,
turning it on to see the time. He was fifteen minutes early. It figured that she’d find a man who was early to her late. Making a face at herself in the mirror, she took stock of her appearance. Not bad. She guessed she’d have to make do.
She snatched up her phone and descended the stairs, wearing a pair of high heels that were one of the few reminders of her former life. They were spiky, sexy and more expensive than a month’s worth of grocery bills. She hadn’t been able to part with them. Her dress was similarly designer and sleek. She wanted to impress him, show him that there was more to her than the sloppily dressed woman who’d rear-ended him that morning. And more than the out-of-control sex fiend who’d all but jumped his bones.
She winced, her face heating up at the thought. This morning in her office hadn’t been one of her finer moments. It wasn’t that she regretted her hasty actions, but that she hoped he wouldn’t expect things of her that she wasn’t ready to give. After Adam, she had a pretty healthy appreciation for distance and spending time working on herself. The last thing she wanted to do was make a fresh start only to lose herself in another man.
He rang the doorbell again as she reached the bottom of the stairs. With a deep breath, she grabbed her purse and then clipped to the door, opening it. Her heart tripped over itself as she saw him. Dear God, did the man clean up well. If he’d been model-handsome in his jeans and simple tee, he was lethally good-looking now in a pair of black pants, matching cowboy boots and a crisp white shirt. His hair was just a little wet, his scruff of that morning gone. And he smelled completely amazing.
“You’re early,” she said, the only coherent sentence to come to her mind. Damn it, the man did things to her capacity for speech that weren’t fair.
He grinned. “My mama told me that the early bird gets the worm.”
Kassie found herself smiling back at him. He had that kind of effect on her. “Are you comparing me to a worm?”
“No,” he drawled, “just making a bad metaphor.”
She laughed. “Bad metaphors happen to good people.” As an editor, it was one of her top mantras.
The dimples were back. “Don’t tell me you’re an English teacher.”
“I’m not.” It occurred to her that they were doing things entirely backward, getting to know each other after they’d already been at their most intimate. “I’m actually a content editor for a publishing company.”
“I didn’t know there were any publishing companies here in Atlantic.” He stepped back as she joined him outside and turned to lock her front door.
“There aren’t,” she agreed. “I telecommute.”
“Nice gig,” he said easily as they walked in time to the black Jeep Wrangler waiting in her driveway.
The top and doors were removed. It suited him, but she wasn’t exactly how much it was going to suit her hair. “It’s not bad. It beats the hustle of the city.”
“City?”
“New York.” She cast a sidelong glance at him, unable to resist. He was too damn tempting for her own good.
“Now that explains a lot.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The driving skills,” he elaborated. “I’ve seen the bumper guards and the way your cabs drive. No wonder you rear-ended me. You probably thought I was going to beat you to a parking spot.”
He was teasing her, she realized by the grin on his mouth and the light tone of his voice. She supposed she’d earned it. “Very funny,” she said without heat.
When she reached the Jeep, she discovered that it was also lifted. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised. The tires were twice the size of the ones on her sad-looking car. How the heck was she going to get up in there?
“I’ll give you a hand,” he offered, apparently reading her mind. One of his large hands clamped on her arm, the other on her ass. She supposed she could complain about the placement, but the cow was kind of already out of the barn on that one. And besides, she had to admit that she secretly liked the possessive feel of his touch. He boosted her into the passenger side with ease.
She settled in, looking at him. He was standing too close for comfort. Their eyes were almost level. “Thank you.”
He winked. “That was as much for me as it was for you.”
He spun on his heel then, leaving her to watch him as he skirted the front of the vehicle. Naughty man. She already liked him far too much. He grabbed a handle on the roll bar and hauled himself into the driver’s seat in one fluid motion. She decided that she had to take the wind out of his cocky sails. Just a tiny bit.
“What happened this morning doesn’t mean that you can play grab-ass with me whenever you feel like it,” she told him, even though she’d already decided that he could probably touch her whenever he felt like without a single complaint from her.
He gave her a slow look as he buckled his seat belt and then slid his key into the ignition. “I’m not playing, Kassie.”
She swallowed. He seemed, for all of his good looks and ready charm, to be a serious man. After all, he wouldn’t have had to take her to dinner. He didn’t owe her anything. He didn’t even know her. If he did, he’d probably be running like hell in the opposite direction. She had a feeling she was heading into deep waters.
“Maybe you should be,” she said at last, trying to warn him away. She was damaged goods. Plagued by a healthy fear of commitment. And she always chose the wrong men. Even in high school and college. Something about him told her that he could be the right kind of man. In the right circumstance, that was, and for the right woman. Which wasn’t her. No way. Not happening.
He shook his head as the Jeep roared to life, his penetrating gaze still on her. “I don’t think so. I’m too old for that.”
Too old? Just how old was he? She wanted to ask, but held her tongue. Skipping the detail-gathering process of dating was turning out to be quite awkward. So she simply buckled her seat belt too.
“I’m thirty-three,” he said, smiling. “Your face is too easy to read.”
It was? She frowned at him. How had he known what she’d been thinking? “That was a good guess.”
“Sure it was, darlin’.” And with that, he backed out of her driveway, heading back onto Main Street.
She realized she didn’t have a clue where he was taking her.
Jax hadn’t even gotten to the damn restaurant yet, and he was already stiff as hell. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he cruised down a narrow back road that led directly to the bay. She looked amazing tonight, wearing a red dress and matching heels, her hair loose and flowing around her shoulders. He caught a whiff of her perfume and stifled a groan. If he was going to make it for another few hours without ripping off her clothes and fucking her like the animal he was, he’d have to distract himself. He tried to think about anything other than the sight of her long, silky legs in the seat next to him.
And then he stole another look at her from the corner of his eye. Shit. Distraction wasn’t working. Because she was all he could think about. The wind was in her hair, her luscious breasts peeking from the neckline of her dress. Cupping her ass to give her a boost to get into the Jeep had been a killer. He never should have touched her, because the moment he had, he’d been instantly rigid, filled with thoughts of their morning romp, ready to go another round.
Down, boy.
He liked Kassie, or at least what he’d learned of her thus far, and he didn’t want to scare her off. With the way she kept trying to warn him that she didn’t want to date, it was apparent that she’d been burned by someone in her not-so-distant past. He’d have to take it easy with her, bide his time. He knew what it was like to have battle scars, thanks to Mandy.
He reached the parking lot of his favorite restaurant, an eclectic place right on the water called Lucky Jay’s, and glided into a space. “Here we are,” he told her. “I hope you like crabs.”
The eastern shore of Maryland was famous for its blue claws, and locals and tourists alike couldn’t get en
ough of them. There was nothing like cracking some crabs over a few beers, and Lucky Jay’s had some of the best in town. His family had been going there for so many years that they always got a table the moment they walked in, regardless of wait time. Sometimes, it paid off to be a Taylor.
“Love them,” she told him, unbuckling her seat belt.
He undid his as well and hopped down from the Jeep to go help her from her perch. What a hardship. He tried to hide his grin as he stopped alongside her and offered his hand. “Don’t worry, this time I won’t play grab-ass. You have my word.”
“Thank you.” She put her hand in his and heat shot straight to his cock. Damn. This was going to be a long night.
They walked side by side into the restaurant, and he even did his mama proud by holding the door for her. She preceded him inside, and they headed past a dozen or so diners-to-be who were waiting for a table to open up. The pretty blonde hostess smiled when she caught sight of him.
“Jax, how are you?” she asked.
He didn’t miss the look that Kassie shot his way. It was assessing. She was wondering exactly how he knew the other woman. He decided to keep her wondering.
“I’m good, Janelle,” he said warmly. “How are you?”
“Great.” She made a face. “Other than that I’m at work. What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping for a table out on the deck.” He’d love to watch the sunset over the harbor with Kassie, show her one of the many reasons why he loved this small coastal town and this restaurant both. He could well imagine that life here was something of an adjustment after living in the blur of New York City.
Janelle glanced down at her seating chart. “You’re in luck. One’s open now.” She turned to give a directive to the young waitress waiting at her heels and then glanced back at him. “Macy will take you to your table.”
“Thanks, Janelle.” He grinned at her, all the better to keep Kassie on her toes.
“Only the best for the Taylor boys,” she said, smiling right back.
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