Hot and Heavy (Some Like it Hot Book 2)

by Erika Wilde

“You did a great job, Cole,” she told him softly, sincerely. “With Jo and Noah, and even for yourself.”

  “That’s because I had a lot of people who helped me out along the way, your father especially.” Finished with his dinner, he swiped a napkin across his mouth and tossed it onto his plate. “I owe him more than I can ever repay for taking me under his wing after my father’s death. He’s the main reason I’ve done so well with my investigative business, thanks to the connections he set me up with in the beginning.”

  “He thinks very highly of you,” she said, wanting to reassure Cole of her father’s unconditional support.

  “The respect is mutual.”

  Which was the crux of her problem between her and the man sitting in front of her—that admiration was ingrained so deeply for Cole it interfered with the attraction between them. “Yeah, I know,” she said on a sigh.

  Long, silent seconds passed between them, until Cole cleared his throat and pushed his fingers through his thick hair. “Jeez, how in the world did we get on to such a depressing topic?”

  She hadn’t found their conversation bothersome at all, but rather very enlightening. In so many ways. She now understood the events that had shaped Cole into such a dynamic, determined man, one who was fiercely protective of those he cared about. She’d discovered a different dimension to his serious personality, and she liked knowing that there was a bit of vulnerability beneath his strength and diligence.

  The shrill ring of his cell phone on the kitchen counter was a welcome interruption, one Cole took advantage of by sliding out of his seat to answer it.

  He picked up the phone but didn’t connect the line. Instead, his gaze sought hers. “Looks like it’s Bobby Malone. I was expecting his call. I might be a while.”

  “Go ahead.” She smiled, understanding that business was a priority. “I’ll be fine.”

  Another ring echoed in the dining area, and he added, “Thanks again for dinner.”

  She didn’t miss the dismissal in his tone, as if he expected her to leave while he was handling the call. He picked up the MacGregor file and she watched him head down the hall to the fully equipped office he had at home. Just as he turned the corner into the room, he punched a button on the phone and answered with a curt, businesslike, “Sommers, here.”

  The rest of the conversation faded away as he moved deeper into the office, no doubt her presence already pushed to the back of his mind. Standing, she cleared the table and tossed out their trash, all the while debating whether to leave as Cole had indirectly suggested, or stay just to make the evening more interesting.

  A sinful grin eased across her lips. Given her two options—one being the kind of good-girl response she’d lived by for too many years, and the other calling to her newly evolving bad-girl tendencies—her choice was an easy one to make.

  The man had to come out of his office sooner or later, she reasoned, and then the night was bound to get very interesting.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Cole hung up his cell phone after talking to Bobby Malone and getting the information he needed for tomorrow’s meeting. With the incriminating evidence he’d collected on behalf of Sarah MacGregor, he was confident the little boy caught in the custody dispute would remain safe and secure with his mother—permanently.

  Feeling satisfied with the job he’d accomplished, he reclined in his leather chair, his thoughts drifting back to his earlier conversation with Melodie. With more ease than he would have imagined, he’d revealed the painful memories he’d shoved away long ago in lieu of the responsibilities and obligations he’d taken on at the age of twenty-one when he’d become guardian of his siblings.

  He couldn’t deny that it had felt good—had been an unexpected relief even—to share all that bottled-up angst. Lord knew he’d never allowed himself to express any bitterness over his mother’s actions to Jo and Noah because they’d both been through enough trauma with the divorce. Certainly, no other woman had taken the time or interest to coax him to talk about his childhood and teenage years. But Melodie had cared, in a way that had made it too easy for him to trust her with revelations about his past.

  A part of him wished Melodie was still there waiting for him. And immediately on the heels of that intimate thought came annoyance, that he’d want her there when he was a man who enjoyed and valued his privacy and solitary lifestyle. He’d never needed a woman around to entertain him or fill the silence that descended when he was home alone, and he wasn’t about to start now with his secretary.

  Besides, the evening had gone exceptionally well between them, better than he’d expected after last night’s tryst at the office. It appeared that things were back to status quo, right where they should be.

  Now, if only that reassurance would chase away the craving for something more that had settled deep within him after he’d kissed Melodie.

  Shaking off the desire trickling through his veins, he exhaled hard and ran a flattened hand over his bare chest. With his belly full from the dinner Melodie had brought him and his mind freed of the MacGregor case, he decided to resume where he’d left off right before his secretary had come knocking on his door. He’d left the hot tub turned on, and now the appealing thought of immersing his body in the heated water and letting the jets massage his taut muscles beckoned to him.

  He headed back out to the kitchen area, and, sure enough, Mel was gone…except she’d forgotten her purse, he realized with a frown as he spotted the black leather bag hanging from the chair. And then he saw a note on the table—or rather, a letter—penned in Mel’s feminine handwriting.

  Remembering the erotic details of the letter she’d read to him, his heart pumped hard in his chest with a mixture of adrenaline and excitement he had no defense against. Unable to resist the lure of what she’d left for him, he stepped closer and picked up the sheet of stationery to read the words she’d penned.

  I love the feel of water against my skin, so soft and silky as it glides across my breasts, so warm and slick as it caresses my stomach and cascades along my thighs. The trickle of water makes my nipples hard, and I like the way that feels, too. When I brush my fingers over the aching tips of my breasts I can’t help but moan at how sensitive they are, and how much I wish my hands were yours.

  If I can’t have you with me, I’ll have to do the next best thing. I imagine you touching my wet, slick body in needy places. Your hands explore the soft feel of my flesh between my thighs while your mouth and tongue add to the heated moisture on my skin. Slowly, you lick the droplets from my body, the softness of your tongue adding to the exquisite sensation coiling deep inside my belly, and lower, where your fingers stroke and push deep inside me.

  I’m so aroused. I’m so ready. Can you feel how much I want you?

  By the time he finished reading Mel’s fantasy, he was hard as a marble pillar. If that provocative letter wasn’t enough to drive him insane with lust, then the postscript she’d jotted at the bottom of the page certainly did the trick.

  Cole, I’m all wet and waiting for you. Come join me for a moonlight dip under the stars.

  He lifted his gaze from the come-hither words seducing his mind and spied her shoes, skirt, and tank top heaped on the floor by the open slider leading to his backyard. He shook inside, knowing exactly where she’d disappeared to and what her tempting note implied—she’d gone skinny-dipping in his Jacuzzi and was waiting for him to join her.

  Oh, man. He squeezed his eyes shut and sent a silent prayer upward for the strength to resist her seductive scheme, then headed out the patio door and into the darkness of night, intending to turn her offer down flat and send her home.

  Except he never anticipated that he’d be so mesmerized by the shadowy figure sitting in his hot tub, her upper body illuminated by the landscaping lights placed in strategic areas of his backyard. He stopped at the edge of the tub, relieved to see the straps of her black bra curving over her shoulders, indicating she wasn’t completely naked under the frothing water. She’d secured he
r hair in a haphazard pile on top of her head with a clip, and dewy moisture clung to the exposed skin of her throat and her chest, right down to where the water gurgled and bubbled at the cleavage revealed by her skimpy bra. The rising steam swirled around his jean-clad legs and heightened his awareness of how slick and warm her skin must be.

  Slowly, you lick the droplets from my body…Oh, yeah, he wanted to do that, and much, much more.

  She cast a sultry glance up the length of his body. “I take it you decided to join me?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, doing his damnedest to maintain a nonchalant attitude. “I don’t think that would be the smartest thing for me to do right at this moment.”

  She dipped lower into the water and swam across the short expanse of the hot tub to where he stood, causing a small wave of water to slosh over the side and splash onto his bare feet. Glancing up at him, she rested her arms on the rim of the tub and propped her chin on the back of her hands. “Maybe you ought to consider being a little impulsive. I’m discovering being spontaneous can be very liberating—and a whole lot of fun.”

  He didn’t bite at the bait she was dangling in front of him, though he was sorely tempted. “Being impulsive can also get you into a lot of trouble.”

  She dipped her fingers into the heated, churning pool of water then playfully flicked the tips up at him, spraying his chest with tiny droplets. “I’m willing to take that chance.”

  He was so fucking hot, he was surprised that the moisture beading on his skin didn’t sizzle. “I’m not.”

  She didn’t seem at all deterred by his unwillingness to get in with her. “Did you like the latest letter I wrote for you?” she asked, her tone much too innocent.

  “What letter?” he replied just as guilelessly.

  “The one on the kitchen table.” When he didn’t reply immediately, she dampened her bottom lip with her tongue and went on. “Let’s see if I can re-freshen your memory. It went something like how I love the feel of water caressing my body and imagining your hands on my wet, slick skin—”

  “I remember,” he cut her off roughly, knowing he’d never be able to stand still while she recited her erotic letter to him while he listened to her seductive voice.

  An amused smile curled the corners of her mouth. “Ahh, you did read it,” she teased, then grew serious. “Every word is true, you know. Especially the last part.”

  Gradually, she stood, slowly straightening to her full height, and his mouth went dry as dust as he watched the rush of water shimmer down her body. The feminine curve of her waist ended where the water began, revealing more than enough slick skin to bring her written fantasy to vibrant life in his mind. She might have been wearing a bra, but the shiny, wet material edged in black lace clung to the full swells of her breasts like a second skin, doing nothing to hide her tight, hard nipples from his gaze.

  “I’m all wet and waiting for you, Cole,” she said huskily.

  An urgent need throbbed through him, settling bone deep and dredging up the arousal he’d been fighting to keep at bay. She was so damned bold. So brazen. So daring. It was an intoxicating combination that sent his senses reeling and pushed him to the limit of his control.

  If she wanted impulsive, he’d give her just that.

  He wondered how far she was willing to take this act of hers, and was prepared to go along with her charade until she decided she’d had enough, that he’d pushed her too far out of her comfort zone. He’d warned her last night that she was playing with fire, and she was about to see how it felt to get burned.

  To her credit, she didn’t look away when his fingers went to the waistband of his jeans and he un-fastened the top button. She continued to watch as he eased the zipper down over his bulging erection, her lips parting and her widening in fascinated awe. His blood heated at her undisguised reaction to him stripping, and he forced himself to maintain a cavalier attitude when he was suddenly feeling excruciatingly turned on.

  Hastily, he shoved his jeans over his hips, down his legs, and kicked the denim aside. He left his boxer briefs on—at the moment his underwear provided a much-needed barrier from her eager and very avid gaze. Hopping into the tub, he sat down on one of the contoured resin chaises, submersing his body up to his chest.

  He rested his arms along the rim of the Jacuzzi as Melodie slid into another chair and stretched her legs so they nearly reached his lap. She sank deeper into the water, and sighed in pure pleasure as spurts of air and bubbles rose all around her.

  “The massage jets feel great, don’t they?” he asked, knowing she was experiencing a full-body effect from the small, pulsating jets situated in the seat.

  She squirmed and laughed lightly, the sensual sound filling the moonlit night. “Umm, they even tickle in certain places.”

  The provocative image that flooded his brain nearly undid him, and by some miracle he was able to hold on tight to the reins of tonight’s seduction. “It feels even better against bare skin,” he told her, a deliberate dare in his tone. “You know, if you’re going to go skinny-dipping, you should do it the right way to experience the full sensation of those jets massaging your entire body.” Showing her just how spontaneous he could be, he shimmied out of his briefs and dropped them onto the cement with a wet plop, certain she’d be too timid to follow through on her end.

  Though her bright eyes flashed with an initial bit of hesitancy, true to her newly adopted impudent personality, she proved him wrong. Biting the edge of her bottom lip in her only show of modesty, she held his gaze as she slowly slipped the straps of her bra down her arms, then removed the piece of lingerie beneath the froth of water. She tossed the soaking wet garment onto the ground to join his briefs, but left her panties in place.

  “Oh, wow,” she said with a gasp of startled surprise that held unmistakable nuances of delight. “You’re right. It does feel incredible, like a hundred tiny fingers gliding over my breasts.” She paused for a moment, her voice dropping to a husky pitch as she added, “But it’s not nearly enough to satisfy the ache between my thighs.”

  His breath left his lungs in a harsh exhale and the heat of arousal gripped him like a vise.

  Without warning, she swam across the short distance separating them, keeping her naked upper body cloaked in the swirl of eddying water as she neared. While male instincts urged him to reach out and grab her, he remained motionless, too curious to see what she’d do first, and how far she’d go in her pursuit of seducing him.

  His jaw clenched as she shamelessly straddled his lap. Her knees grazed his hips and her slender thighs settled on top of his, searing his nerve endings with the mindless feel of her sleek, wet flesh caressing his. That wholly feminine part of her was inches away from the thick erection straining upward along his belly, and he thanked a higher power that she’d opted to leave her panties on, which helped to keep him honorable.

  With effort, he kept his gaze on her face, flushed from the steam rising from the water and a feverish anticipation he could see glowing in her eyes. “Comfortable?” he drawled, his wry tone contradicting the tension and hunger building steadily within him. The muscles across his shoulders and arms bunched as he struggled to keep his hands planted on the rim of the hot tub.

  “Very.” Smiling too sweetly, she grabbed his wrists, brought his hands to her breasts and pressed his palms against her soft, pliable flesh. Her nipples instantly hardened at his touch. “I’ve imagined you touching my wet, slick body in needy places, Cole,” she said, her trembling voice drawing him into her fantasy.

  And she clearly wanted her fantasy to become reality.

  Her heart beat wildly beneath his hand, and he could only guess how much courage her words and actions had cost her. With her responsive, heavenly breasts nestled in his palms beneath the churning water, he stared at her sexy, luscious mouth, her lips so full and soft and irresistible—beckoning for him to kiss.

  Damn, but he wanted her. More than he ever thought it was possible to crave a woman. He swallowed
hard. If he crossed this intimate boundary with her, he’d be stepping beyond the point of no return. But he was only human, a normal, hot-blooded man who could only take so much teasing before he gave in to the kind of blatant temptation Melodie presented. So, he made the conscious decision to throw caution to the wind and deal with repercussions later.

  Cursing his own weakness, he took a huge leap into the fire and captured her mouth with his. He parted her lips with his tongue, sinking deep, claiming her hungrily, ravenously. She expressed her need just as eagerly. Pushing her fingers through his hair to hold him close, she matched his desire stroke for erotic stroke.

  Beneath the heated water, he kneaded her breasts in his hands and rolled her stiff nipples between his fingers, a purr of pleasure escaping from her throat. Smoothing his hands lower, he traced the curve of her waist, the feminine flare of her hips, and dragged his flattened palms along the outside of her thighs to the crease of her knees. Her skin felt impossibly soft, so amazingly silky, and the need to kiss her elsewhere, everywhere, overwhelmed him.

  Breaking their kiss, he buried his face into the curve of her neck and nudged her chin up with his jaw so he could suck her soft, sensitive flesh against his teeth. She shivered, moaned, and tilted her head back to allow him better access. He licked the droplets of water from her skin in long, slow laps of his tongue and reveled in her uninhibited response to his teasing caresses.

  Unexpectedly, she lifted up on her knees, bringing her lush breasts out of the water so that moonlight kissed her pale, wet skin, giving him his first glimpse of her fully naked chest. The crests of her tightly puckered nipples were at eye level for him, and the sight sent his arousal spiking like a fever as he waited for her to make the next move.

  Tangling her fingers into his hair, she tugged his head back. Their gazes locked, hers dark with raw, honest passion and a heated yearning that begged him to have his way with her. Enticingly, erotically, she arched into him and brushed a velvet-soft nipple against his lips, coaxing his surrender, tempting him to sin. Unable to refuse something he wanted just as badly, he opened his mouth wide and drew her into the damp, heated depths, shuddering when she moaned, long and low. He suckled her greedily, tugged gently with his teeth, and used his tongue to lick and soothe and excite.