“Don’t go.” Her voice was breathless, her hands clenched at her sides.
“You have your rules. I know them. One month, and then we walk away from each other with no regrets, no ties binding us to each other, and no further communication, right?”
She nodded. “And no romance.”
He knew why she was insisting on that. Romance meant emotions. Her mother had taught her that emotions meant disaster. “That’s too bad. You said companionship and conversation, too. I’m not here just to use you for sex.”
She gasped. Was that how her other men had treated her? God, he hoped not.
“Don’t think of it as romance if that word freaks you out. I respect you, Anita. I like you. I want to spend time with you. As much as I can with everything else going on in my life. Romance wasn’t on my mind tonight. I brought the wine because I wanted to reciprocate. The flowers made me think of you, and it made me happy to bring them to you. Is that so wrong?”
Anita shook her head. She was speechless for the first time since he’d met her.
“Do you have a vase for the flowers?”
“God, I don’t know.” At least she had her voice back. “Let me look.”
She started opening and closing cupboard doors until she pulled out a cut-crystal vase.
“Is that money stuffed inside?”
“Yeah. She thought it was funny or something.” Anita passed him the handful of twenties and a sticky note that said, Buy yourself some more flowers.
“She squirrelled away money?”
“All over the place. The cookie jar was crammed full.” She washed out the vase and unwrapped the flowers. “These are beautiful, Noah.”
He shrugged. “They’re wildflowers.”
“Wildflowers made you think of me?” She cleared her throat. “I think that’s lovely. I don’t like it. But it’s lovely.”
“Get used to it for the next month.”
“It’s supposed to be a fun fling.”
“Flowers can be fun.” He pulled a daisy out of the vase and traced the edge of the small white petals down her throat and along her collarbone. She shivered before a shaky chuckle escaped her lips. He caught her lips with his mouth and drank in her laughter.
And when the thought slipped through his mind that he could listen to her laugh forever, he knew he was in trouble.
Chapter Six
Noah wasn’t the only July guy to make her laugh. All her guys had, of course. She loved to laugh. Unlike Noah’s assertion, Anita didn’t think they’d been using her for sex. If anything, it had been the other way around, hadn’t it? She’d never thought about it that way before, and she didn’t like what that might say about her.
No, it had been mutual enjoyment. Of that, she was sure.
Most of them had been charmers. Of course, she’d known the charm was put on. It had been for her benefit while she was there, and they would be off charming someone else once she was gone. That was the way she’d wanted it. Fun to be with, great for sex, but not at all tempting to pursue further.
Noah was a different type of man from the others, but he wasn’t tempting, either. Not even with his bottle of her favorite wine and the handful of wildflowers…that reminded him of her. No. No man would tempt her. And that was the way she wanted it. She could handle some bottles of wine, bouquets of flowers, and candlelight dinners. Talk about fun. She could enjoy her month with Noah and leave with no regrets. She’d be going back to the life she’d worked hard to build for herself. No man was going to screw that up.
In the meantime, she’d get the house renovated and sold for enough money to keep her mother safe and secure. She’d paint a canvas or two and get the house cleaned out. And she’d spend hot, steamy nights with a handsome salvage man. There was no downside to that plan.
So Anita picked up the heavy vase of beautiful flowers. She didn’t do many still life paintings, but the urge to see those colorful flowers bursting from a canvas made her pause. Noah was waiting for her, though, so she said, “You’ll find some glasses in the cabinet on the end. Grab a couple and the bottle and follow me.” She led him out to the weathered back deck and set the vase on the table beside them.
“New pillows?” Noah commented when he joined her.
“You do pay attention.” She loved the wide stripes of turquoise and white. “I picked them up this afternoon. Hope they’re as comfortable as they look.”
“I did some research on this house after you left this afternoon,” Noah told her. “I found some old pictures that show a big porch here facing the lake. It must have been removed at some point, probably when it needed repairs, and the deck built instead.”
“I’d love to see the pictures.” In fact, there might be photos of the original porch in those albums she hadn’t looked through yet.
“Sure. I wondered if you would want to replace the porch while we’re doing renovations?”
She could picture a wide, welcoming porch with woodwork to match the gingerbread decorating the roofline. Wicker furniture facing the water. Children running up and down the stairs, screaming with laughter. Old folks in rocking chairs smiling indulgently. Sitting on a swing with a glass of wine and Noah beside her.
What? No. “Sounds expensive and probably not necessary.”
Noah shrugged lazily. “It would be the crowning touch to bring the house all the way back to its former glory.”
“All I want is for it to be in good enough shape to bring a good price when it’s sold.”
“Of course, but a beautiful porch to go along with that view would surely add value to the house.”
“Wait a minute. Former glory? Where did I see that term recently?” It didn’t take Anita long to remember. “It was on that Facebook post Ginny showed me. No wonder you want to convince me to allow you to add a porch to the front of the house. It will help your campaign, won’t it, Noah?”
“I thought you were okay with that.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Forget I said anything. Yes, it would be more historically accurate, and it would also be a great selling point. But I understand this entire renovation is going to cost you a lot of money. You don’t need to add to that. Never mind.”
Anita poured two glasses of wine and took a sip while she thought it over. “You’re right, of course. It would be a great selling feature. Aggie’s surprise money is helping pay for the work, so it’s not that big a deal. Go ahead. You convinced me.”
One side of his mouth quirked up. They relaxed into the lounge chairs again, and Anita sighed with pleasure. Good pillows were always worth the money.
“So there’s you and Carter and Beckett. Any other sons in Colburn and Sons?”
“Just the three of us.”
“And you don’t have any sons to pass the business to?”
“No. Twin daughters. Sarah and Hannah.”
“So you’ll have to update the business name to Sons and Daughters.”
“No. My girls have made it clear they’ve had more than enough old wood and rusty metal to last them the rest of their lives.”
“How old are they?”
“Seventeen.”
“They could change their minds. At seventeen, I wanted to be an actress.”
“Maybe.”
“Your brothers have sons?”
“No. Carter doesn’t have any kids. Never married. Beckett is a single father of a daughter, but he’s young enough to have more kids if he finds the right woman. Guess Carter could, too.”
“You’re not too old to have a son, either, you know.” She acknowledged the brief twinge of regret before she pushed it away. Children had never been a part of her life plan.
Noah shrugged and looked out over the water. The gentle slap of the waves was a pleasant background sound she’d miss when she was back home.
After gazing at the water for a few minutes, she remembered something else she wanted to ask Noah about.
“Your brother said something about a fiasco this morning. I think it had something
to do with the Facebook page. Or your campaign. I’m not sure. Do you know what he was talking about?”
Noah gazed at her over the rim of the wineglass. “Do you remember when we were eating ice cream yesterday?”
“How could I forget?” She took a sip of wine.
“The woman who came over to us? Helen Bradford?”
“Uptight. Way overdressed for a walk-up ice cream shop.”
“That’s her. Her husband, Ethan, is also running for mayor.”
“Oh. Your competition.” Ethan Bradford. She’d heard that name more than once since she’d gotten here.
“Right. Either Helen or one of her friends took a picture of us when we were…enjoying our ice cream.”
“You mean, when it was melting?”
“Our tongues all over each other’s ice cream.” His voice had dropped, the tone sexy as hell.
The sun was setting, but it was getting hot out here. “I remember.”
“They posted the photo of us on Facebook.”
Anita laughed out loud. “Oh. Sorry. That’s probably not funny, but really, that sour expression of hers. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”
“You’re right, but PDAs are frowned upon, especially during a campaign.”
“Seriously?”
“This is a small town, Anita. Bradford will use any and all angles to put me in a bad light.”
“So put the bad light on him.”
“I’d rather shine a brighter light on me.”
Yeah. Noah would do the right thing. She’d learned that about him already. “Of course, that would be the better way. Take the high road. I hope that works for you. Ginny sounds as if she’s got a good grasp on things.”
“I hope so. Both of us have jumped into the deep end without learning to swim.”
“You learn quickly that way.” She’d jumped in with both feet more often than she could count. “Have you seen the responses to Ginny’s post this afternoon?”
He winced. “No, I’m letting her handle that.”
“But you still should keep an eye on it. If you’re depending on a Facebook campaign to reach the voters, you need to keep up on the feedback and comments.”
“You’re right, and I will, but I don’t want to grab my phone right now.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. The touch of his lips sent shivers through her body. Other men had made that romantic gesture, but Noah was the only one who’d made it feel real. She didn’t want it to feel real.
Still, she liked feeling as if it were real, if only for the month.
“We’ll check it later.” She studied his profile as he looked back out over the water. Her hand was still cradled in his, propped on his bended knee. Firm jaw. Straight nose. Firm and straight, like the man. He’d given her an unexpected thrill when he’d demanded his own conditions for the fling. None of her other men had ever had conditions.
The fact that he had demands should have been enough for her to send him away. This was her fling. He was her July guy. But it really was their fling. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to have a say in what they did this month. It made her wonder why none of the other men ever had.
And that was enough thinking for tonight. Enough talking for now.
Keeping her hand in his, she rose from the lounge chair and tugged gently. He looked up at her and sent her a smile that could have melted her panties if she’d been wearing any. He rose and walked hand in hand with her into the house and into the bedroom.
…
Noah had only ever had sex with one woman. He and Charlene had fumbled their way through what was the first time for both of them, and over time, they’d discovered what they each liked. But this was different. Anita had enjoyed sex with over twenty men. Were they more experienced with the ways to please a woman? Had some been younger? Older? Probably both. Did it matter?
Anita turned to face him, and Noah knew it didn’t matter at all. He was the one with her now. He was the one she was smiling at. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, the dim overhead light making the strands shimmer. She began to unbutton his shirt, brushing her fingertips over his skin. Her lips followed her fingers down his chest, and his body hardened. He slid his fingers into her hair and murmured her name.
She glanced up at him with a smile. He tugged her close and crushed his mouth to hers. He couldn’t seem to get enough of the taste of her. Of the smooth press of her lips. Of her scent and heat. For an indulgent moment, he buried his face in her hair the way he’d dreamed of earlier, the silky strands tickling and teasing him.
He captured her lips again while he walked his fingers down to her hips and reached the hem of her shirt. He slid his hands beneath the stretchy fabric and found her warm skin. He hummed with pleasure, and he felt her lips curve into a smile. It wasn’t nearly enough skin. He grasped the hem of her shirt and tugged. She stepped back to make enough room to slip her arms out and pull it over her head. The shirt went flying over her shoulder.
He’d known she wasn’t wearing a bra, but when he saw those beautiful breasts bared for him, he let out a long, appreciative sigh. She smiled that knowing smile, and this time, he didn’t mind it. She made short work of the rest of his buttons and tossed his shirt in the direction of hers.
Anita stepped into his arms, and when her bare breasts met his chest, he was in heaven. He wanted to savor the sensation of skin on bare skin, his hands on her smooth back, but she was already rubbing her eager hand along his zipper. He was as hard as he’d ever been beneath her palm. Maybe he’d been foolish to think their first time could be slow and sweet. Not much about Anita was slow or sweet.
The need whipping through his system had him digging a condom packet out of his pocket before kicking off his shoes and shucking his shorts and underwear. He tossed the condom on the mattress. Her gaze on his, Anita shimmied out of her skirt and revealed she was bare underneath. She grinned and opened her hands as if to say ta-da.
He laughed, swept her up into his arms, and carried her the few steps to the bed. She shrieked and joined in with his laughter. He tossed her onto the mattress. He looked down on her for a moment before joining her there, straddling her. Rubbing against her.
“I can’t remember the last time I laughed during sex.” He swept his hands along the swells of her breasts. So soft. “Hell, I don’t remember ever laughing during sex.”
She brushed her hands up his thighs until she reached his erection and gave him a long, hard stroke that made him gasp. “I told you, Noah. Fun.”
Fun. Not emotional. That’s what she meant. He knew that’s the way it would be, should be between them, but he didn’t know any longer if that’s the way he wanted it to be. Still the fire in his blood was beginning to burn away thoughts of anything but burying himself deep inside her welcoming body.
He gently cradled one of her breasts in his hands and leaned over to take the perfect nipple in his mouth. She arched beneath him as he suckled one, then the other. He hadn’t tasted her anywhere near enough when she surprised him by grabbing his shoulders and rolling him onto his back. She straddled him now.
“I like this view,” she said.
“The view is great from this way, too.” Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, hiding most of her pretty breasts, but the nipples peeked out from between the strands like a gift. She picked up the condom packet and ripped it open. After giving him a few good, long strokes with her hand, she rolled the condom over him. He groaned as she rubbed her wet heat over his erection. The blaze within him rapidly grew into an inferno.
Nothing wrong with fast and hot. He flipped her back over again and kissed his way down her body. She wriggled beneath him, clutched his wrists, but she didn’t pull his hands away. Instead, she watched him intently, her eyes dark, intense. When he licked her, she threw back her head and gasped out his name. He held tightly to her hips as he teased her slick flesh and flicked her clitoris with his tongue. She cried out again, and he smiled as she proved his theory that she’d be noisy during sex.
Noah wished he could last longer, but it had been three years, after all. Their eyes met as he rocked over and in her. The intensity of the moment must have been too much for her, because she closed her eyes and turned her head. He cupped her jaw and brought her back to face him. He caught her mouth again as the tension built until he exploded inside her.
They both breathed heavily in the aftermath. He brushed her heavy hair back, tracing his fingers over her face. She closed her eyes again but didn’t move her arms from where they were still wrapped around his waist. How did someone have sex without getting emotionally involved? He didn’t understand.
He rolled off her. The bathroom was upstairs, and he was afraid if he left the bed, she’d be up and dressed and ready for him to leave by the time he got back down the stairs. So he removed the condom and dropped it in the trash basket beside the bed.
If he were smart, he’d get dressed and go home right now, but he knew he wasn’t going to. Just because she didn’t feel anything for him now, didn’t mean she might not with time. They had four weeks to be together. They’d be working side by side on the house. He’d take her out to dinner. He’d show her he was different than all those other guys who didn’t care about her enough to get to know her. Because if they’d gotten to know her, how could they have let her go?
Noah knew he was crazy to be thinking this way. They’d only known each other a couple of days. But the attraction couldn’t be denied.
The July Guy Page 7
