Friends With Benefits (6 page)

As soon as his fingers settled on the button of his pants, Angela scooted away. Once inside, she took the opportunity to stamp down her hormones and grabbed a couple of beach towels, as well as an ice-cold drink, and a paper fan, for herself. She already wore her bathing suit under her shorts and top, so she could jump into the pool if the impulse arose. She had a feeling the need to cool off may come sooner rather than later.

When she returned to the yard, she spotted his jeans lying across one of the chairs under the gazebo. Their pool provided enough room to do some lazy laps back and forth, as he did now, showing off his strength and grace in the water. Her body temperature began to rise as the sun and arousal beat down on it.

Connor came to a stop at the edge nearest her and propped himself up on his forearms. He swiped a hand through his wet hair and beamed up at her. “The water’s nice. Are you going to join me?”

Tough question. She’d never been in this situation before—alone at home with a sexy guy who was not her husband. What would people think? But it was only a swim, right? Her overactive imagination nagged at her, insinuating more and more.

The nice, handsome man taking a dip in her pool after performing manual labor in this heat simply wanted company. He probably felt uncomfortable swimming while she sat by the side watching him.

“Sure, why not?” Angela stood, stripped out of her shorts and top, and walked over to the ladder. More than the sun’s heat warmed her face. She hoped he’d believe the temperature had caused her skin to flush and not the images she had in her head.

Angela slid into the cool water and moved into the middle of the pool. As she swam, she kept a certain distance between them. She tried to look like a bored housewife indulging in an afternoon soak. She also realized the pool wasn’t quite big enough for her not to notice him. He seemed to take up lots of space.

“You have a nice property here,” Connor glided through the water toward her. Angela’s feet appeared to be glued to the bottom. “Everything is well situated. Lots of privacy.” He spoke as though he noticed the surrounding view—the half-acre lot with the string of lilac bushes dividing the yard from the lot behind them, the fenced in pool area with a large oak over in the corner, and the soon-to-be fenced deck at the back of the house. However, his attention remained focused straight at her.

Angela swallowed. “Ah…yes, that’s umm, one of the reasons we…ah, bought it.” She gauged how close he’d come. “It’s also why we’re building a deck and fence around the area for the hot tub. We’re looking forward to using it in the winter, but we want it enclosed.”

He swam close enough to brush the side of her leg with his own.

Angela stifled a small yelp as her heartbeat picked up. She angled away from him, making it appear as though she planned to swim to the opposite end. She dove underwater, kicking through the water to push herself a few yards. When she popped up, he was heading in her direction, his strokes lazy, his grin anything but.

She plunged below again, pushing farther away this time, finding this whole situation too tempting. God, why couldn’t this man be the surprise Tyler had arranged for her?

Angela told herself to get a grip. For heaven’s sake, the man was indulging in a swim to cool down and to wash the sweat off his body before he went back to work.

Within arm’s distance, he reached out and swept her wet hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear. His finger trailed down the length of her arm, before disappearing below the water’s surface. The Water God gave her a wicked grin and then spun around, swimming to the ladder. Leaving her feeling a tad bereft, he climbed from the pool and took the towel she had laid out for him.

Angela struggled to pick her jaw up off the water before her mouth filled and she drowned. The man wore only his underwear. She hadn’t even considered what he had on. She had assumed he hid a bathing suit under his jeans. Nope. He wore a pair of black briefs. A pair of sopping wet black briefs molded to his firm ass.

Connor stretched his arms over his head, twisting left to right, his spine snapping. She gulped. He rubbed his hair dry and shook it out like a dog. Then he took his sweet time rubbing the towel over his arms, his legs, and his hair-free torso. Finished, he looked over at her, gifting her with yet another naughty smirk.

“Thanks for the dip, but I’d better get back to work now.” He grabbed his jeans, pulled them on over his underwear, and sauntered away.

She hadn’t uttered a word throughout the entire show. She couldn’t. All she could picture were those wet briefs hugging his tight rear end.

With a whimper of frustration, and desperate to ease the ache between her thighs, Angela let her eyes drift closed as she slipped beneath the chilled water.

* * *

Connor smiled to himself. Judging from the way Angela had tried her best to escape him in the pool, all the while sporting the most fascinating shade of red-toned skin; she definitely found him attractive. Even before she got into the water, her hard little nipples poked against her top, giving her away.

Tyler had instructed him to push her. He enjoyed flirting. If only Cindy would stop pestering him. Couldn’t the woman take a fucking hint? Damn it. She’d come close to spoiling his mood today, but the dip in the pool and playing with Angela had worked to release the tension that built every time his ex intruded on his life.

His gaze moved over to the house. There was work to be done. God knew if he didn’t get it finished this weekend Angela would never see it built. And if any chance existed for him to spend some time here this summer, this tiny alcove would be put to good use.

Connor labored hard through the afternoon placing the boards onto the deck’s frame, piecing the white pine together like a big puzzle to create an intricate design. While he worked, he considered his next move. The pool seemed an ideal location for a more purposeful encounter. Thinking about the possibilities aroused him.

He wondered what Tyler got out of this. Sure, fulfilling a person’s secret desires had its benefits, and sharing had been fun in the past, but this was the man’s wife. What exactly was his end goal here?

Connor finished the day a few boards short. He could pick them up tonight, finish that piece in no time first thing in the morning and then start on the fencing. This was the best sort of job—when somebody else did most of the hard work, and he just had to bring it home.

After cleaning up his work area, he walked over to see Angela. Sitting by the pool, with her eyes closed, she appeared relaxed, perhaps sleeping, so he took the opportunity to check her out.

Without a doubt, she’d stand out in a crowd. Lying there, her body covered in a sheen of perspiration, he fought the urge to kneel next to her, to run his tongue up and down her stomach, licking the salty wetness off in luxurious strokes
.

She must have been out for a while. Her skin glowed with a light pink highlight from the sun. Her breasts filled her bikini top near to bursting, and her legs stretched out long and shapely along the yellow floral print cushion. She had a nice figure and silky-looking hair. Despite the sun shining down, she bore a carefree expression. What thoughts floated about in her head to put that little smile on her face?

He adjusted his erection behind the zipper of his jeans, and cleared his throat.

“Angela?”

Her eyes popped open. She jumped up, knocking her book to the ground. She bent over to pick it up, and Connor leaned down to retrieve it at the same time. They bumped heads.

“Ouch. Sorry.” She rubbed her forehead.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. You okay?” He squatted to look her in the eye. He reached out a hand, nudged hers aside, and rubbed his fingers over the softness of her forehead. “You looked so peaceful. I hated waking you, but I wanted to let you know I’m finished for today.”

“I’m okay.” Her eyes locked on his, widened a fraction. Her nostrils flared.

“I’m ready to head home, but I’ll be back early tomorrow. Before I leave though, I need to know what your plans are for the privacy fence.” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded husky.

“It’s no problem. I didn’t hear you come over.” She broke the connection and moved to stand. He let his arm fall away and stepped back. When she took the lead and wandered over to the work area, he followed behind, urging his cock to settle down while he watched the luscious cheeks of her ass swing back and forth in front of him.

“This looks fantastic, Connor. My husband will be so happy. You can certainly get lots done without the added distractions of a wife or kids to slow you down.” She peered up at him, her face bright red. “Sorry. I’m assuming you don’t have a family. I didn’t think to ask if I’m intruding on your personal time with anybody.”

“Not to worry.” He forced a laugh, back in control of his body’s reactions, somewhat. “No wife. No kids. I’ve been focusing on my career.” He gazed down at her. “It appears that you don’t have a husband either…at least for the weekend.”

She flushed a brilliant red and changed the subject. “So…the privacy fence. I think we wanted it to run across the back and up the side to about here. We want to block unwanted eyes from seeing us in the tub.” As she spoke, she walked around the deck. “Nothing too fancy. I think board on board, with lattice on top.”

Connor nodded in understanding, then bent down and picked up his toolbox. When he spoke with Tyler tonight, he’d double check with him.

“Sounds good, and that’s easy enough. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then. Maybe you’ll have coffee waiting for me when I get here?” he hinted, before making his exit, adjusting his jeans once more.

Chapter Five

Tyler dialed his home number and listened to the phone ring four times before Angela answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, baby. How was your day?” He was anxious to find out her thoughts about Connor, but he controlled the urge to broach the subject so soon.

“Good. How about yours? How’s your mom?”

“She’s fine. She says hi. I took her out for dinner tonight. As expected, she wouldn’t let me pay. Oh, and she’s finagling for grandbabies. Again.” For the last three years, this particular topic had been a constant theme for both their mothers. Although he and Angela did plan to add to the family headcount, they were in no hurry. Their parents had two grandchildren each already.

Tyler’s mother puttered around her kitchen in the background. The tinkle of cutlery knocking against glassware echoed down the hallway. From his perch on the spare room bed, he leaned over to push the door closed so she wouldn’t hear anything he said. He’d be scolded if she discovered what he was up to. For extra measure, he stood and walked over to look out the window while he continued the conversation with his wife.

He picked up on Angela’s sigh over the phone line. “I’m not ready for a baby yet, Tyler. I want to get settled in this house first.”

“You and me both, hon.” Eager to find out about her meeting with Connor, he turned away from the view of a small pond and a walking path in the park across the way. He’d been watching a young couple pushing a stroller. “So, what did you do today?”

“Oh, you know. Some work. Then I sat out by the pool. Read some.”

He’d have to dig harder. “Anybody call?”

“Nope.” Crap.

“But…”

He perked up. “But what?”

“We do have a new resident on the street.”

“Cool. Anybody interesting?”

“A man, about your age. He came by to introduce himself today.”

Tyler grinned. “What’s he like?”

“Oh, you know…tall, kind of good-looking.”

Kind of
good-looking? Tyler knew his wife would be no different from all the other women who flocked to Connor in school. “Did you talk to him for long?”

“Yeah, a while. He’s single, does carpentry.”

“Really? Maybe I could get him to help me with some stuff around the house.”

“Um, yeah. That might be a good idea.” Tyler smiled, picturing her struggle for words. “I think he might be interested. I could ask him. I guess.”

“You know honey, if he’s single, and handsome, maybe we could…?” He tested the water. If the rest of this conversation went well, he’d give his friend the green light.

“We could what?” He detected a hitch in her breathing.

“We could invite him to play with us.”

“You mean—”

“That’s exactly what I mean. Why don’t you flirt with him a little, see if he’s interested?” No response came through the phone though he could hear each breath she took.

“But—”

“Angela, honey, I think this would be the perfect opportunity to indulge in your stranger fantasy.”

He listened to her breathing for what felt like full minute. “How far?”

“As far as you want. Flirt with him. Play around if you’re comfortable with it.” He paused. “And, if you want to have sex with him, I think maybe you should. I only wish I could be there to watch.”

She gasped. “I can’t…but…you don’t even know this man.”

“Angela, I trust you.”

“Did you set this up, Tyler?”

Shit, he needed to dial down his eagerness, or she’d catch on. “Go with your gut and your desire, honey. You can tell me all about it over the phone afterward.”
The idea of a play-by-play excited him.

“I don’t think I can do it without you here.”

Her whisper spoke to his heart. She wanted to do it, but nerves and guilt held his wife back from taking what she wanted, what he offered to give her.

“Are you attracted to him, Angela?” Silence filled the line. “Honey, you still there?” He could hear tiny inhalations, and then a slight gasp.

“Yes. And…yes.”

“Baby, I’m giving you a green light here to have some fun. I trust you. I’ve told you before I’d do anything to make your fantasies come true, sweetheart.”

“I don’t know.”

“If you’d prefer to wait until I get home, that’s fine. I’m not going to push you into anything. I’ll be back late Sunday afternoon. Invite him to dinner. We’ll go from there.”