Scorched (2 page)

Resigned Kasey forced herself out of her comforting cocoon of darkness and into the brightly lit kitchen of her home. She’d made a habit of leaving the light on in there so the gathering darkness wouldn’t shroud the place in gloom. Twenty minutes later with her clothes changed, hair caught up in a loose ponytail and dinner warming in the oven Kasey let out of deep sigh of relief.

“Nowhere to be, no one to talk to for the next twelve hours.” The thought always made her smile and gave her morale a small boost.

The doorbell rang right as the water boiled for the noodles. Startled she dropped the bag all over the counter and floor, cursing whomever dared interrupt her private time. Not bothering to pick anything up, she’d get rid of the idiot at the door then clean up the mess that had been the prep work for her dinner. Stomping her way to the front door, she threw it open prepared to blast whatever jackass ignored her No Soliciting sign and stopped dead at the vision in front of her.

“Uh,” she stumbled over a greeting.

Over six feet of lickable slightly familiar goodness smiled at her and held up two beers. “Thought it was time I met my neighbor.”

This was the guy living across the street from her? Shit, she really screwed up by not getting out in her yard more often. Then again he’d only moved in a few weeks ago. But Holy Taco night, Batman, this guy could have walked off the pages of one of her books. Fantasy and reality collided in her brain with a dangerous thud. “Neighbor?”

“Yeah, I live in the white house with the porch.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Look I know this seems weird, but you’re pretty much my only neighbor. I thought the least I can do is learn your name and offer to pick up the paper when you go out of town.” He shot her an adorable smile complete with twin dimples.

Heat exploded between Kasey’s thighs at the dimple sighting. Damn, this man was perfect fodder for her next hero. How could she resist finding out more about him? Her inner hussy snorted, “Yeah, research, sure that’s all you want him for.”

“I don’t get a paper.” Then wanted to slap herself. Good-looking men did not show up at her door every day. “I mean, thank you for the offer, but I read my news online.”

“Okay, then what if you offered to feed my cat if I wasn’t home?” The shining amusement in his coffee-colored eyes invited her to laugh along with him.

“Do you even have a cat?” Feeling more comfortable, Kasey leaned against the door, certain she’d have time to slam it in his face if he did something weird.

His husky laugh sent shivers down her spine and straight between her legs. “No, but I’ll head to the shelter this weekend if it means getting you to let me past the door.”

Stifling a laugh, she made the effort to wipe all signs of amusement from her face. “Look, I’m sure you’re a regular guy, nice even, but I don’t know anything about you. I have no idea if you’re as harmless as the Easter Bunny or a scumbag. I don’t make it a habit of allowing strange men into my house just because they have a cold beer and a killer smile.”

If anything his grin widened. “Killer smile, huh? I can work with that,” he teased, then grew serious. “I’m glad you’re a cautious woman. If more people were like you they’d be a lot safer.”

“I should tell you just in case my phone is programmed to dial 9-1-1 if I scream at it.”

He laughed. “I assure you I’m a perfectly respectable person. No arrests, hardly even a speeding ticket.”

“That’s a refreshing change,” she joked.

“So I’m going to set the beer down now and show you my ID. Okay?”

Not wanting to take a chance just on the remote possibility appearances were misleading and he turned out to be a new breed of rapist or serial killer, Kasey backed into the hallway keeping the thick door between them at all times. “Fine, just no weird stuff. I have mace, too.” A complete lie, but at least he wouldn’t think she was defenseless.

If her threat bothered him his handsome face gave no indication. With cautious movements, he lowered the two dark glass bottles to her porch then flipped out a worn leather billfold from his back pocket.

With a quick grab, Kasey snatched the worn leather case. “Skyler Brody.” A fast glance at the picture and the man in front of her assured her they were one and the same. “Well, then. At least you don’t look like a serial rapist. Come in, please, Skyler Brody. And thank you for the beer.”

And didn’t her crappy day just take a turn up.

* * * * *

The woman looked hotter than he’d imagined. With her curly red hair, sparkly green eyes and lush body, Skyler wanted nothing more than to rip her clothes off and fuck her right then and there.

“Thanks,” he said, and had to clear his throat. The images from last night flashed through his mind again, making him very grateful for the loose sweatpants he’d chosen to wear. “You’ve got a nice place here.”

She shot him a tentative smile over her shoulder as she led him deeper into her house. “Thank you. I like it here. It’s a quiet neighborhood where nothing much happens. Pretty safe for a woman living alone.”

The living room, which opened into the kitchen, gave the whole area a broad open feeling. With the wide plush couches, stone coffee table and large windows, Skyler immediately felt at home. Especially when he saw the huge flat screen television above the stone fireplace. “Wow, I really like what you’ve done with the place.”

She followed his gaze and laughed. “Yeah, my sister Kira is a buyer for that big electronics store. She’s always passing along her leftovers. This is the third new set I’ve had in the past year.”

His brother, Reed, would love hearing that. A woman who knew and understood electronics and all the other gadgets his younger sibling got paid to play with. He briefly wondered if he should try to introduce the two. Then shook his head. First Sky needed to sate his ever-growing need with his neighbor. Let Reed find his own girl.

“Must be nice, upgrading every time something new comes out,” he said, trying to find a way to ease into her nighttime activities.

Her shoulder lifted in a casual shrug. “I guess, but it’s a pain resetting everything else to match up to it.”

Deliberately he clinked the bottles in his hand and, as he’d hoped, her gaze went straight to them. “Hope you like Lone Star?”

“Love it, actually. My favorite brand. I’ve got some beer mugs in the freezer if you’d like one.”

“That would be perfect.” He handed the bottles over and then crossed the room to sink into one of the dark brown couches. “This furniture is great. Mine’s nowhere near this comfortable.”

Besides being perfect for an afternoon nap, the width of the cushions would be ideal for a little one-on-one action as well. Too easily he could picture Kasey naked, one smooth pale thigh thrown over the back of the couch while the other rested on his shoulder. Her bare wet cunt would gleam in the light of the fireplace. With slow, easy movements Sky would then use one hand to gently open her folds while lowering his head—

“Here we go.” Kasey’s cheerful voice shattered his wonderful fantasy and caused his cock to throb in painful awareness.

He quickly grabbed a pillow to cover the tent poking up between his thighs and carefully took the frosty mug from her. “Thanks.” He took a fast sip, hoping to cool the need burning inside him.

One look into her bright green eyes and he knew anything short of burying himself balls-deep inside her wouldn’t work. Time to lead the conversation where he wanted it to go.

“You’ve got what, two bedrooms here? That’s what I have, but I turned the front one into the master bedroom and use the other as a home office.”

Her eyes widened at the news. So, he mused, she didn’t know his bedroom looked directly into her office. It made last night’s encounter all the more erotic.

“Ah, no…I mean yes. I have two bedrooms, but the master’s in the back of the house with my office in the front. More room and better light when I work on the weekends.” She twisted her hands nervously in her lap while color rose on her cheeks.

“You do a lot of work from home?” He pushed, wanting to know more about this stunningly beautiful woman fate dropped into his lap.

“Yes… I mean no.” Her eyes skittered away as she groped blindly for the frozen mug on the coffee table. After a healthy swallow she set the drink down and took a deep breath, which he couldn’t help but notice did lovely things for her breasts. “I’m an accountant for a local furniture store. My day job, I guess you could call it. I work or write at night from home.”

“A writer,” he said thoughtfully. The more he played it in his mind the better sense it made. Since his injury he’d watched her sit at her laptop every night, sometimes typing away for hours, lost in whatever she’d created. “That’s got to be more exciting than crunching numbers.”

Kasey smiled. “You have no idea, but until I build up a bigger fan base, I’m stuck with the dreaded day job.”

“Would I have read any of your work?” If he hadn’t then he’d be on the internet tonight ordering everything she’d ever published.

Again her cheeks pinkened. “I doubt it, not unless you read Romantica.”

“Romantica?” What the hell was that? Some new chick romance?

“It’s romance for women just a little hotter than usual,” she explained, her eyes looking everywhere but at him.

Hotter than usual? How hot had they been before? Maybe he’d been missing out by dismissing romance as nothing more than wimpy men and whiny women. He was so heading to the nearest bookstore tomorrow. Then the most brilliant, erotic idea came to him.

“I read somewhere writers have to do tons of research to get their stories right. You do that?”

“Oh yes,” she agreed with a fervent nod. “Readers are very intelligent and they know when you’re trying to put something over on them.”

“So you do most of your research here?” Come on, honey, he mentally cajoled, take the bait and put my cock out of its misery.

“Depending on where the plot takes me, but yes, I can do just about everything I need from my office.” He watched her, judged her body language as relaxed and open. Right where he wanted her.

“I might have seen a bit of your research last night through my window,” he said, his voice low and husky at the memories of Kasey pleasuring herself. “I wondered if it would be more accurate with a live test model. If so, I’m at your disposal.”

“You saw!” Kasey jumped to her feet, ignoring the empty mug that had fallen over in her haste. “I can’t believe this. I didn’t think you were home.” She covered her face with her hands and moaned. “This is humiliating.”

Having heard enough Sky got to his feet and crossed the room to her. With gentle movements he tugged her hands down and stared straight into her embarrassed green eyes. “I’ve never seen anything hotter or sexier in my life. I came so hard watching you I saw stars.”

At his admission silence settled between them while he let her absorb his words. A few minutes passed before Kasey finally spoke, her voice hesitant and unsure. “You liked watching me?”

He used one finger to gently tilt her chin up. When their eyes met he said, “I loved watching you touch yourself. Seeing that sweet bare flesh made me hungry to taste you. I’ve been waiting for you all day, dying to slip my tongue inside you and fuck you until you scream and beg for my cock.”

She said nothing, shock immobilizing her, and just stood there with his finger under her chin and blinked those big innocent-looking eyes at him. Thinking he’d pushed too far, too fast, Sky dropped his arm and backed away. “Look, I’m sorry if I got out of line. Like I said seeing you last night pretty much blew my mind and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Uh, I’ll just let myself out.”

He turned to leave when a soft hand at his shoulder stopped him. He looked down and his body blushed while his heart did a weird flip.

“Give me a second to catch up,” she asked softly. “You may have been thinking about me all day, but this is the first moment for me.”

“Should I say I’m sorry again?”

She shook her head and red curls sprang from her loose ponytail to frame her delicate heart-shaped face. “No, I kind of like the idea of you seeing me.”

“I’d like to see a whole lot more. I’d love to touch and taste a whole lot more as well.” He was honest, not sure how much more pressure his poor dick could take. One touch and he’d blast off.

“Why don’t we start with a kiss and go from there,” she offered with a shy, hesitant smile. “It may be just like kissing your sister.”

“I don’t have a sister,” he whispered before leaning down to cover her lips with his own.