No Reservations (29 page)

He stood, bringing her with him.

You're right. I've been remiss.' He sat her on the edge of the tub and stood back, just looking at her. The air was cool, but the heat of the hot tub would keep them comfortable.

She was his happy ending. His slice of something far more than he'd ever expected to possess, to love, to wake up to and he'd lured her into his life and never planned to let go.

She hadn't had to stay in his life. Hadn't had to open her life and her condo in the city to him, didn't have to move in and accept his proposal. He'd come with more than his share of baggage and yet, she chose him. Chose to stay, chose to love him baggage and al and al throughout, she'd kept her head, remained a strong and independent woman with her own mind. It was so sexy it made him crazy. He hadn't been something she needed to do, hadn't been a reluctant burden she'd taken on. Katherine had chosen him and had become part of him in ways he couldn't even quantify.

Few people had such gifts.

'Nothing but you.'

Kate opened her eyes and looked into his. Took in the features of this man who'd come into her life like a seductive whisper and had managed to burrow under her skin and hadn't let go. Noble, more noble than he'd ever let on, but he was a good man. An honest man who loved his children and now her. Mischievous, sil y, intel igent, funny and gorgeous.

Not a bad way to spend the rest of her life.

His mouth found that spot just below her ear that brought her entire body to life, her hormones surged.

'Outside, beneath the ful moon, the rush of the ocean in the background and my naked, wil ing wife at my beck and cal . Sometimes a man has to just flat out admit when he's got it good.' He quirked a grin at her and she leant in to kiss him at the corner of his mouth.

You're such a surprise to me sometimes.'

He paused before kissing her again. 'Good. It's good to keep the mystery alive. When you're a hundred I'm stil going to fuck you. Just a warning. I should have said so before the wedding, in the interests of ful disclosure and al .' She wrapped her legs around his waist to haul him closer. Til hold you to that.'

His mouth on hers teased at first. Featherlight touches of his tongue against her lips as she opened to him.

Urgency rode her. She wanted more of him, didn't want the teasing or the seduction. Only wanted the hard and fast possession of cock in cunt.

'In, in, in, in. Now.' She urged him closer, her nails digging into his shoulders, widening her thighs to rub her pussy against his cock.

Impatient. I want to eat you.' He spoke, lips against hers, she took in the breath, the need and it sent a shiver through her. No. No. Fuck me. Please, please, please. I want you in me.'

He groaned, the sound raw against her mouth, til ing her with it. Stepping closer, he slid his fingertips through her, teasing for a brief moment around her gate and then moving to her clit, a quick side to side and then his cock was there, pressing inside, the pleasure so good it forced a loud moaning please from her lips.

There was nothing but the naked sky overhead, the way the sweat on her back dried against the blanket of cold evening air. His body forced the cold back, his skin radiating heat as much as the water did.

Once he'd seated himself ful y, her cunt wrapping around him, her calves holding him tight, he took a deep breath and raked his gaze over her face, over her features for the briefest of moments before settling back on her eyes. And then he began to fuck her.

No nuance. No seduction. No finesse. Just barely leashed sexuality, a man who owned his pleasure and loved to give it to her. He thrust hard and fast, his hands to either side of her hips, braced to keep the rhythm steady and intense, slamming into her body, but holding just this side of pain. Pleasure so intense it crawled over her nerve endings, built until she wasn't sure she could stand it. But she hovered, just shy of coming.

He groaned again when she brought her fingers to her mouth and then down between them. It didn't take much at al , just a soft touch, two strokes of her middle finger against her clit and she fel off the edge then.

Her body seized around his cock as she writhed, knowing he was close, wanting him to let go and fol ow her.

The sound he made, when he did climax, tore at her, sent little echoes of pleasure through her system that this man felt that way to be in her.

Holy shit.'

She managed a weak laugh as she wrapped herself in a towel and they headed back inside.

He grabbed her hand and brought her into a hug. 'I want that, every day for the rest of my life.'

You got it.'

They ended up on the bed, their legs entangled. 'You know that first time?' She rol ed and leant up on her elbow.

'First time?' The first time we were together.'

'How can I forget a knock on my hotel-room door while I'm attending a seminar and, when I open, it's you? That's pretty unforgettable.'

i knew you'd be there. I wanted to meet you in person. I wanted to fuck you. It was al I'd been thinking about for months. I signed up for the conference because you were there. I wanted you from the first time I heard your voice on the telephone.

And there you were, al sort of breathless when you saw me. Stayed so veiy professional and cool while we were in public and then I showed up at your door and you pul ed me inside and fel to your knees. You sucked my cock as I stood there, fil ed with wonder at the reality of you.'

Kate was quite certain no one in the universe saw her the way he did. It fil ed her with wonder, to be loved the way he loved her. 'So you set out to seduce me?' She grinned.

'Yes. I went there with the express purpose of getting you alone and naked. I had no idea then, what it would do to me.

How you'd change everything in my life. I just wanted you to know that even from the start, I've wanted you and I've done what I needed to to keep you.'

'That's so flattering.' She kissed him quickly. 'When I saw it was you, I did a little jump, just a little one so you couldn't feel it on the other side of the door.' She laughed at the memory, i hoped to God you were there to fuck me. I figured if you weren't, once your cock was in my hand, you would.'

He shook his head while he laughed. 'You're very devious. Thank God.'

'I didn't expect you.' She licked her lips. 'I didn't expect you or anyone like you. You were just suddenly there and I realised how much I never wanted that to change. I didn't even have the time to fight wanting to be with you.'

'I love you too.' He kissed her and pul ed her atop him again. Even as she protested that she couldn't possibly have sex again, he proceeded to show her just how very wrong she was.

The list came in, one item at a time, via text message.

Drop off dry-cleaning. Pick up eggs, bread and milk. MaU

birthday package to your mother.

And the last one, his favourite, the one that made him grin, then shift in his office chair to ease the sudden pressure: Think about eating my pussy until I can't even speak.

God, he loved that woman. Brandon shut down his computer and gathered up the armful of dry-cleaning he'd earlier hung on the back of his door. He'd already taken care of the birthday package and he'd stop at the store on the way home for the few groceries. He'd probably pick up some takeout Chinese, too, so neither of them would have to cook dinner or wash dishes.

Who wanted to waste time in the kitchen when he could be spending the night with his face between her thighs?

Just before he flipped off the light and shut his office door, his phone rang. It was the tril of an inner-site cal , which meant it was probably someone with a fire to put out. But damn it, it was already past five, he'd taken care of everything that needed to be done, and he was tired. Yet with a sigh, Brandon answered anyway.

'Hi, Brandon. This is Ed Daniels.'

Ed Daniels from Corporate, Brandon's boss. Hel , Brandon's boss's boss. 'Hi, Mr Daniels. What can I do for you?' 'I'm sorry to catch you so late.'

'Not a problem,' Brandon said, just barely gritting his teeth. He doubted Ed gave a rat's ass how late he was keeping him. Ed probably had nice, boring wife who wasn't waiting with a blindfold and a belt.

'I'm sure you've heard about the recent restructuring in our national hospitality division.'

Yes, sir, I have.' Brandon sat heavily, chest going tight.

He was about to get laid off, just months before his wedding.

'I'm not sure if you've heard about Chaz leaving us?'

Chaz Solone, one of the three heads of the Tri-County division. Brandon's boss. 'No, actual y, I haven't.' 'Wel , he is.'

Ed offered no explanation. 'We'd like to offer you the position.'

Brandon blinked and sat up straight. 'What?'

'We want you to take over for Chaz. You'd be overseeing al the units in his division. There's a lot of travel involved but the pay and benefits more than make up for it, I think. Are you interested?' Yes, of course.' Brandon cleared his throat.

'Absolutely.'

'Good.' Ed sounded firm. 'Chaz himself recommended you, and we just don't have time to go hunting around for someone to step in. You'd start at the end of the month, give you time to find and hire a replacement and get started on your own training. We'd aim to have you in place a month after that.'

'That's some timeline.'

Ed laughed. 'I'l have my secretary send you al the important documents on Monday. You can look them over, make sure you're stil interested, and get back to me. How's that sound?'

'Sounds good.' Brandon sat back in the chair, his eyes closed, until Ed said goodbye and hung up. Then he replaced the phone in its cradle and gave a slow, one-two fist pump in the air.

Yes!

A new job would mean a lot of things could change. For one thing, he could pay off his col ege debts sooner. For another, this more important, Leah could stop feeling like she was 'keeping' him. And Brandon had to admit that more money and a fancier title wouldn't exactly make him feel too shabby, either.

He dropped off the dry-cleaning as ordered, and, while the woman behind the counter had no idea why he was grinning like an idiot, she laughed along with him as she fil ed out the pickup tag. Then he went to Wegman's, where he loaded the cart not only with the items on the list but a bouquet of fresh red roses, an extra loaf of fresh French bread, a hunk of wasabi cheese, some grapes, and a package of Leah's favourite mint-chocolate cookies. Then he hit the prepared-food area and grabbed a couple containers of everything else she liked, too. She'd scold him a little for going overboard, but so he'd eat it for breakfast. And lunch.

After he was finished eating her, Brandon couldn't help thinking with yet another grin as he flung the bags into the back of his car. His prick was already trying to stand at attention. He could already taste her, smel her, hear the sound of her breathing change as she got closer.

He couldn't wait.

'Hey, asshole.'

It took him a second or two to realise the voice was directed at him, but when he turned to face it, Brandon recognised the man right away. 'Hey, Dickweed! What's up!'

Darren Weedman, also known as Dickweed, grinned and pumped Brandon's hand. 'Haven't seen you in for-fucking-ever man. What've you been up to?'

Brandon ran down the short list, including work and ending with '. . . getting married in a few months.

'No shit. You? Real y?' Darren clapped Brandon's shoulder. 'Good for you. I got married last year. Worst fucking thing I ever did.' Brandon raised a brow. 'Yeah?'

Darren's grin didn't falter. 'Nah, I'm shitting you. Hey, let me take you out for a beer. Celebrate.' 'Nah. I should real y get home.' 'C'mon, dude. It's been -'

'Forever, right.' There'd been weekends spent with Darren and other of their friends that Brandon was half-glad he couldn't completely remember, but he was a good guy for al that. And he hadn't seen him in a long time. 'Sure. Why not? One beer.' 'Great. I'l text some of the other guys, see if they want to hang. You stil see Chris and Jerry?'

'Oh, yeah, saw Jerry last week.' While Darren tapped out messages to other people, Brandon pul ed out his phone to send Leah a text. He already knew she'd been planning on getting her nails and hair done after work today, so an hour or so shouldn't be a problem.

Ten minutes later they were at some dive bar with sports on the big screen and hot wings on the table. Beers al around, lots of congratulations and a bit of good-natured ribbing. Some of the guys already knew about the engagement, of course, since Brandon stil shot hoops with them or had them over to watch a game. But the more Darren drank, the more Brandon remembered why it had been so long since he'd hung around the guy.

'Seriously, my old bal and chain . . .' Darren shook his head. 'Fucking on my ass, dude. Al the flicking time. About everything. What about your old lady? She try to tel you what to fucking do every single second?'

Brandon's phone hummed from his pocket with a reminder of Leah's earlier text messages. 'Yeah. Pretty much.'

'Dude,' said Darren. 'Dickweed,' Brandon answered.

And though most of the guys razzed him when he got up after a single beer and a dozen wings, Brandon only grinned and refused to let them rile him. He was going home to get laid. The rest of them were probably going to spend the night with Mary Palm and her five sisters.

'Later, guys.'

He headed out into the dark parking lot, his col ar turned up against the cold that at least had kept the groceries in his trunk fresh. He came up alongside a guy leaning against the brick wal in front of where Brandon had parked. Guy was peeing, the splash of urine loud in the night air.

Gross.

'Hey ..." The man turned, his eyes going wide as he tucked his dick back in his pants.

It was Mike, Leah's ex. Brandon had thought they were done with that douche, who'd final y stopped cal ing her about a month after Leah and Brandon got together. Now here he was, a pimple that needed squeezing. 'Dude,' Brandon said.

'Go away.'

Mike sneered. 'Saw your engagement announcement in the paper.' 'You're not invited.'