Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (8 page)

It was all rather embarrassing and thoughts of marriage didn't sit well in her mind.  Though she supposed that not all marriages were doomed from the beginning.  There had to be people who got married for the right reasons.  Who truly stuck together through thick and thin and stayed faithful.

She brushed the thoughts from her head as she unlocked the door to her house.

Her cell phone rang as she had started to prepare dinner.  She picked it up distractedly, without looking at the caller ID.  She clamped it between her neck and her shoulder as she continued to chop lettuce for her salad.

"Hello."

"Kimber," a masculine voice said. Though it was somewhat familiar, she couldn't quite place it.

"Yeah." She put the knife down on the cutting board and sat down at the table.

"It's Luke. I finally finished that song.  I was wondering if you were busy this weekend. If you might like to go out to dinner and a movie on Saturday night? Though please don't make me sit through anything even vaguely romantic. I've watched so many sappy romance movies on cable this past week for inspiration that I don't think I could take another one.”  He laughed.

"Um okay."

"Great. How does Saturday at six sound?"

"Sure."

She closed the store at five and it was only minutes away from home.  That would give her plenty of time to go home, shower and find something to wear.

"If you'll be kind enough to give me your address, I'll pick you up."

She gave him her address.  They said goodbye soon after.

She didn't let herself get too excited over the thought of her date.

She had been a little lonely since she'd walked out on Orlando two months before.  Though she didn't like to admit it, she was finding herself wondering what Luke looked like without
clothes on, picturing his well-toned chest.

She put thoughts of Luke out of her head as she finished her dinner preparations, chastising herself for thinking of what a guy she barely knew looked like naked.

So what if he was sexy as hell she thought?  From his voice, to those eyes that could melt the heart of any woman who let herself look into them for long enough.

They were bedroom eyes, full of the promise of what she was sure he was very good at doing in bed.

She sighed as she finished the dishes, retiring to her room with a newly out paperback thriller by one of her favorite authors.

She was hoping the book would take her mind off of Luke, off of sex.

Luckily it did.  As she went to sleep that night, her mind was on the twisted tale of the characters in her book.

Saturday came all too quickly.  She found herself standing in front of her closet after her shower, her long blonde hair wrapped in a towel.

She had no idea what to wear.

She figured casual would probably be best, though she wondered if jeans would be too casual.

She sighed, running her eyes over her clothes. She had nice clothes of course, a few pant and skirt suits since she'd been planning a career in business but she had always felt most comfortable in jeans. She was glad that she could wear what she wanted to work as she was the boss.

She pulled out a fairly new pair of jeans and finally decided on a sleeveless lavender blouse, with a matching cardigan.

She appraised herself in the mirror, adding a bit of gloss to her lips.

She knew she was pretty, enough people had certainly told her so, both men and women as she was growing up.  But she had always been a little defensive about her size.

She was 5'9, with long blonde hair and blue gray eyes, and while at a hundred and forty pounds she certainly wasn't fat, sometimes she thought she would have preferred being born as a smaller girl.

Well, she thought as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, at least Luke was tall, at least six feet. Orlando had only been five ten and with his wiry frame he'd barely weighed more than her which had driven her absolutely crazy.  She wouldn't have to worry about feeling so big next to Luke.

She figured he had to weigh two hundred pounds or close to it, though she could tell that most of it was muscle.

She scowled at herself in the mirror, thinking that it was going to be hard enough to keep her mind off of his body with him next to her.  And here she was, already thinking about it when he hadn't arrived yet.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear; one that never seemed to stay put no matter what she did with it, and walked to the living room.

She wanted to peek out the window at him, to see what he was wearing. But she figured that it would be rude to leave him standing on the porch in the cool spring air that sometimes still felt more like winter at night.

She held back a sigh of relief as she opened the door.

He was wearing jeans, with a long sleeved t-shirt and a light jacket over top. "You ready?"

She nodded, reaching behind her to the end table to grab her purse.

"You sure you’re going to be warm enough? It's still kinda cold at night."

"I'll be okay," she said, though she could feel the chill already through the light sweater.

He shrugged his shoulders, leading her to the beautifully restored cherry red mustang that was sitting in her driveway.

"Nice car."

"Thanks. I wish I could take credit for all the work of putting it back together myself but I gave up after a while. Had to have somebody else do it for me."

He went around the car, getting into the driver's seat.  She was grateful that he had left the car on, and the vents were pumping out hot air.

Damn her stupid female pride she thought.  She should have gotten over herself and brought a damn jacket.

"I hope you like Italian.”

"Sure," she said, as they pulled up in front of the small restaurant.

She loved the place.  Their spaghetti and meatballs was almost famous locally, but she didn't want to seem too eager.

She was trying to play it cool when her heart was thudding in her chest, and her palms were sweaty.  She felt like she hadn't been on a date in years.

Why did he have to be so damn good looking she thought?  And so much a gentleman?

He'd opened the car door for her and stood back to hold the door for her as they went into the restaurant.

Orlando had never been much of a gentleman, only holding doors for her when he thought it would impress someone.

Stop it she told herself.  No more thoughts of Orlando and what a jerk he is.  Though you always secretly knew it didn't you?  And no more thoughts of Luke naked or you're going to drive yourself absolutely crazy, calm down Kimber.

She took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly.

She felt herself start to calm as they were seated by a perky teenage waitress and dinner was pretty nice.

They talked a little about his song writing and the store.

She noticed he left a generous tip for the waitress, further confirming his appearance as a gentleman.

But damn, he looked like such a gloriously bad boy. She felt her thoughts slip uncomfortably back to sex as they left the restaurant.

The drive to the theater was silent.

They decided on a horror movie that was newly released, one that Kimber had been looking forward to seeing.

As they entered the darkened theater, she noticed that the theater had the air conditioner on. She almost immediately felt gooseflesh rise on her arms.

They took a seat in the middle of the theater, away from the noisy teenagers in the front and the couple who was taking advantage of the darkness to paw each other in the back.  He noticed her shivers and said softly "I don't know why they have the air conditioning on. You'd think it was summer instead of barely spring. Take my jacket."

He draped it over her shoulders. She could smell him on the lightweight material, a mixture of his musky cologne and cigarette smoke, though he hadn't smoked since they'd been together. She'd never seen him light up when he was leaving the book store.

His car hadn't smelled like smoke either, it had smelled like the cherry vanilla air freshener hanging from the mirror.

She put her musings aside as the movie started.

The movie was good, it you happened to like slasher movies, which Kimber did.

He draped his arm lightly across the back of her chair; though not close enough to touch her.

When the movie was over, they filed out of the theater with the rest of the crowd, walking slowly to his car.

His jacket was still resting over her shoulders.  She pulled it down and put her arms into it as they neared the car, as the night had grown chillier if anything.

She didn't know what to say on the short drive back to her house. Would he ask her out again she wondered?  Should she ask him in?

When they reached her house, he walked her to the door.

She handed his jacket back to him. "Thanks. I had a nice time."

"So did I.”  His hand brushed hers as he took the jacket from her.

He leaned down and gave her a brief kiss, a brush of the lips really.  She felt herself aching for more.

"I'd love to see more of you."

Damn she thought.  If that didn't carry a double meaning.  But hell, she'd wanted to see more of him since he'd walked into the store that day soaked from the rain, looking sexier than any man had a right to.

"That'd be great."  She didn't found herself leaning up to give him a kiss that was not brief and that left her completely breathless though she'd initiated it. Oh, but he knew how to kiss she thought. With his mouth open slightly, though his tongue never left his own mouth.

She felt weak in the knees at the thought of what he could do with his tongue, with the way he'd made her feel with nothing more than his lips.

"Ah, I'll call you.”  He briefly took her hand.

"Yeah.” She still felt slightly dazed.

He waited at the bottom of the steps until she had unlocked the door and entered the house.

She flipped the light switch, standing at the side of the window, watching while he drove away.

She saw him light a cigarette then, as though maybe he was as excited over their brief encounter as she was.

He stopped in the store the next day, telling her that he had to go away for a while. He would be gone for two weeks.  Though she was disappointed, he promised he would call her as soon as he returned and that they would go out again.

He gave her a quick kiss on the way out since the shop was empty and her heart soared. Oh what was she getting herself into she thought? The last thing she needed was to get involved with someone as good looking as Luke.  The really good looking ones were always the worst. They always had other women after them and invariably their heads were turned.

Take it one step at a time Kimber she chided herself.  At least you didn't hop into bed with him on your first date, like you did with Orlando.  Though she had been rather drunk at the time.

Chapter 14

The two weeks passed quickly.  Luke came into the shop right before closing on Saturday night.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi.”  Her heart started to beat fast.

"I know it's rather short notice, but are you free for dinner tonight?"

"Um sure."

"Great. I'm gonna go outside for a cigarette if you don't mind. I've been trying to quit. I have been doing pretty well for a while, running around like crazy; but I find myself really needing one right now."

He took her hand briefly, giving her a warm smile.

"No problem. I need to take a quick look around before I close up anyway."

He went out the door.  She could see him through the window, leaning against his car as he lit a cigarette.

As she looked at him, Kimber found herself getting distracted.

Why oh why did he have to ooze sex appeal from his very pores she wondered?  Why was she letting him get to her?

She shook her head at herself as she turned the open sign on the door to closed. She made a quick walk through of the store, stopping to replace a book here and there on the shelves. She took a deep breath as she grabbed her purse from behind the counter, setting the alarm quickly as she switched off the lights.

She locked the door, noticing that her hands shook a little as she did so.

Damn, she thought.  If you're this bad before you've been to bed with him, how are you going to act afterwards?

He opened the car door for her. She caught a look in his eyes briefly that made her think that he'd been thinking about going to bed with her as much as she'd thought about going to bed with him.

Oh boy, she thought as he started the car. This should be an interesting night.

"So. What sounds good?"

She blinked for a minute, having to remind herself that he was talking about food. "Um, I don't care really. I'm not picky."

"Ah, a woman after my own heart. You wouldn't mind if we stopped for takeout then would you? I just stopped at home for a few minutes to drop my stuff off.  A quiet night at home sounds really good right about now. That is, if you don't mind?"

"Um sure.” Then she wanted to kick herself.

She was sounding like a nervous teenager again, and since at twenty-four she was far from a teenager and had been running a business for four years now that did not sit well.

He pulled out onto the street, and spied a fast food drive through up ahead. "If you don't object to greasy burgers and fries. . ."

"Sure.”  Though she didn't eat fast food often, and tried to eat healthy; she did indulge in fast food now and then.

"I'll bring you back for your car later.”

In the excitement of seeing him, she'd almost forgotten about it.

"Okay."

Kimber figured she really needed to stop answering him in one word sentences, or with uh and um or he was going to think she was a blithering idiot.

They pulled up to the drive through.  The line was short.  Both ordered burgers and fries and sodas.

"Good. You don't drink diet soda. I had a girlfriend that did. She was so skinny, she didn't need it. It drove me crazy."

He seemed lost in his thoughts for a moment. Then he glanced at her, having placed his soda in the cup holder. "Sorry."

"It's okay."  She gave him a weak smile. "I never liked the taste of diet soda. I don't drink soda much at all really, but diet always tasted rather gross to me.” She let out a nervous laugh.

"I agree," he said, with a quiet laugh of his own.

The only sound in the car was the radio for several minutes, until he pulled up in front of a small house with a well kept yard.

He turned the car off and came around to open her door for her. "Home sweet home."

She stood nervously beside him as he unlocked the door, wondering what his house would be like.

She was pleasantly surprised.  He flicked a light switch that illuminated a small but relatively tidy living room, with a large, expensive looking stereo system set up in an entertainment center above the TV.

There was a desk in the other corner, covered with sheet music and a closed laptop.

There was only a hint of the smell of cigarettes in the air, an air purifier plugged in by the wall that led to the small kitchen.  A light scent of strawberries drifted out from an air freshener.

She followed him to the kitchen where he handed her her food at the table. He dug into his food quickly. He devoured his burger in a few bites, only slowing down when he got to his fries.

"Sorry." He wiped a drip of mustard off his chin, as he took a sip of his soda. "I didn't get a chance to stop for lunch. I only got back an hour or so ago, but I really wanted to see you."

She felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She ducked her head as she dipped a fry into the ketchup that she’d squeezed onto the lid of the burger container. "It's all right."

He sat back and patted his stomach after he’d finished his food. "Much better. And now, not to be rude again, but I've been on the road most of the day and would really benefit from a shower."

She gulped. “Okay."

He took her hand, leading her to the couch. "I'll leave you in control of the remote."  He handed it to her, his hand lightly brushing hers.

She almost jumped at the contact, already thinking of him in the shower.

Shit, I really need to calm down Kimber thought.  Or I’m going to find myself sneaking into the bathroom, and spying on him in the shower.

She turned the TV on, not really interested but wanting to do something rather than sit there and look at the walls, thinking of him naked in the shower.

She heard the shower start a few minutes later and turned the volume up on the TV.

She was almost squirming in her seat. The TV was so loud that she almost didn't hear his cell phone when it rang.

"Shit," she said, as the shower was still going.

What should she do?  Let it ring, or call out to him, she wondered.

She breathed a sigh of relief as it stopped.  She cursed under her breath as it rang again.

He came out of the shower then, wearing nothing but a towel.  And damn if his chest didn't look better than she’d thought it would.

"I thought I heard my phone ring."

"Yeah," she said weakly, tearing her eyes away from his naked chest.

He looked down at himself and seemed to realize for the first time that he was half naked before her in his living room. "I guess I should get dressed, shouldn't I?"

He turned, but then the phone rang again. "I guess it must be important."

As he turned to reach for it from the desk where he'd plugged it into the wall charger, the towel slipped. She caught a glimpse of his butt, still slightly wet.

She swallowed, feeling her throat grow dry.  She wanted a cigarette so bad she could taste it, though it had been a short lived habit for her, one she'd taken up for a while in college. She could see him talking quietly into the phone in the kitchen, holding the towel with one hand as it was now trying to fall off completely.

She found herself almost reaching for the cigarettes he'd left on the table; the tension was so thick in the air.  She pulled her hand back when he returned to the living room.

He had re secured the towel, and said to her with a chuckle "You'd have thought the world was ending. It was my cousin. She'd heard some sort of ridiculous rumor that the song I'd written was for her favorite pop diva of the moment and couldn't wait to hear all about it."

"Oh." She wouldn’t look at him.  Her face felt like it was on fire. She hadn't blushed this much since she'd been caught by her then stepfather making out with her boyfriend in her brothers' tree house at the age of fourteen. "Maybe I should go." She started to get up.

"Kimber. Hold on a minute. Let me get dressed and I'll take you to your car."

"No.” She grabbed her purse. "I can walk."

She had to get out of here or she was going to pull that towel off of him and force herself on him she thought.

"Damn. I screwed up coming out here like this didn't I?" He was apologetic, crossing his arms over his chest, as if she hadn't already seen enough to haunt her dreams for nights to come. "I thought. . . With the phone ringing like that that it might be something important. My parents or something with my cousin. She has diabetes and there's always the worry that you know. . .  Shit."

She found herself wanting to comfort him, he looked so upset. But she knew where that would lead.  If she so much as touched him, there'd be no going back.  Especially if he wanted her a fraction as much as she wanted him.

"It's not you Luke." She looked at her shoes, wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans. "It's me."

"Damn.”  He started to reach a hand towards her, then stopped seeing the look on her face. "Kimber." She found herself dropping weakly back onto the couch.

She reached out a hand, softly brushing it over his face.  Then she was kissing him.  His eyes drifted closed as her mouth demonstrated to him how hungry he'd made her.

She kicked her shoes off as his hands fumbled with the buttons on her cardigan.

The towel, having finally given up the fight, lay discarded on the floor.

He took her hand and led her towards the bedroom.

As he flicked on the bedside lamp, she rid herself of the rest of her clothes. Then she lay back on the bed, almost shaking with anticipation.

He rummaged through the nightstand, knocking some papers to the floor in his haste.

He looked at her a few minutes later and sat on the bad empty handed. "Damn. I thought I had condoms but I don't. I could go to the store?"

"Shit." She bit her lip.

She'd given up taking her birth control pills since she'd split from Orlando.  Not that she’d remembered to take them half the time anyway.  Though it hadn't really mattered.  He'd always had an almost laughingly large stock of condoms on hand.

What were the chances that she'd get pregnant the one and only time she'd had sex without protection she thought?

Before the consequences could play out in her head, she looked up at him. She saw the blind passion in his eyes, and felt what her body wanted so urgently.

She pulled him down with her to the bed, kissing him as she whispered in his ear. "Next time."

All thoughts of pregnancy flew from her mind as he entered her.

He tried to go slow at first, but she found herself gripping his buttocks, pulling him more fully into her.

He kissed her, his tongue probing her mouth. She pulled away as she felt the rush of climax nearing, finding herself biting lightly into his earlobe, her nails digging into his back.

She cried out his name. His movements slowed, as if he wanted to bring his own climax more slowly.  She moved her hips in rhythm with his, not wanting the moment to end.

He finished with a quiet groan several minutes later and gave her a kiss which made her head spin.

He moved off of her, propping his head on his hand as he looked at her with a cocky grin.

"Damn," he said. "And I thought I'd done something wrong by coming out in only a towel Boy was I wrong.”

She felt herself blushing again and turned away from him. "I guess you're irresistible.”

"I know that." He brushed a hand over her hair, tipping her face up to his for another earth shattering kiss. "Just didn't realize I had quite that effect on you.”  As he turned she could see the fingernail marks that she'd left on his back.

Damn, she thought to herself as she looked at the marks, thinking that maybe it had been a good thing that she hadn't let him go to the store.  She'd probably have drawn blood if she'd had to wait for him any longer.

He shook a cigarette out of the pack beside the bed.  She almost shook her head when he offered one to her.  Then she changed her mind and stuck it in her mouth, letting him light it for her.

It did calm her nerves some, of which she was glad.

He was so sexy in the soft light from the bedside lamp.  She found dirty thoughts threatening to cloud her mind again.

He dropped his cigarette into the covered ashtray, leaning over to offer it to her, and his arm brushed lightly against her breast.

She felt a little thrill go through her.

"I suppose I should take you back to your car now." He sighed.

"If you don't mind, I could stay?"

He gave her a sexy grin. "I'd never decline an offer of a beautiful woman sharing my bed for the night."

She snuggled into his arms and he pulled the covers over them. "Do you need me to set the alarm?" he said sleepily several minutes later.

"No.” She was half asleep herself. "The shop's closed every other Sunday.  Luckily tomorrow happens to be one of those Sundays."

"Good.” Soon she could hear him breathing the even breath of sleep beside her.

She went to sleep with a smile on her face.  He'd been better in bed than she'd imagined, and damn the consequences.