Wild Thing (10 page)

“I’m told it’s better if you just eat it.” He put his arm around her and sipped his coffee, but made no move to sample his own portion.

“Okay.” She cut off a piece, a little hesitant because she’d never been a pudding lover, but this stuff didn’t look like any pudding she’d ever eaten. She scooped up some of the apple compote and tried to get the whole thing into her mouth without dripping it on Hunter’s T-shirt. Sweet wine, apple, chocolate, and raisins flirted on her taste buds along with warm bread pudding. “Oh my God.” She couldn’t help but moan. “This is better than sex.”

Reclining in a deep slouch, Hunter pulled her closer to his side, balancing the plate on his flat stomach before tasting his rose-less pudding. “No. Not better than sex, but I’ll admit it’s close.”

“Yeah, well, speak for yourself. For me, this is definitely better than sex.”

Hunter’s nose brushed her temple. “That may be your experience so far; but then you’ve never made love with me.”

***

Hunter sipped his coffee and watched Toni demolish the dessert while he wondered what kind of idiots she’d slept with if she considered his bread pudding better than sex. He knew it was good, but damn, he couldn’t think of any food he’d eaten that could compare to great sex.

Toni ran her finger through the remnants of the port wine reduction. When she caught him watching, she reached over and slid her finger into his mouth. He really liked her. She was surprising and so refreshing compared to other women he’d dated. Her eyes widened before they darkened as he sucked her finger in, licking off the port and then nibbling the tip. When she tried to take her hand back, he caught her wrist and tugged her over, settling her on top of him. “There. That’s much better.”

“I’m crushing you.”

“No, you’re not.” He kissed her before she could say whatever she was revving up to. Catching her just as she opened her mouth, he took full advantage of her surprise. She straddled him, pressing her chest to his as he slid his fingers through her thick, still damp hair.

She’d used his shampoo, and the scent on her drove him wild. Their tongues tangled, vying for control. Her mouth waged war as her body relaxed and molded to his. He could kiss her forever. She wrapped her arms around his neck, settling on his lap, coming in full contact with his erection. All the air escaped his lungs, and she moaned before rocking against him.

Damn. He’d planned a nice slow seduction—a good dinner, conversation, a couple bottles of wine, dessert and coffee, sipping port, necking on the couch… but once she came in contact with his dick, she went from zero to sixty in under three seconds. Not that he wasn’t right there with her. He took her mouth the way he’d take her body if they both weren’t fully clothed.

She pulled away. “Hunter?”

“Yeah?” His hands went to her hips, holding her still because if she did any more rocking and rolling on his lap, he just might embarrass himself.

“I guess it’s time for sex.”

“What do you mean… time for sex?”

“We’ve done the wining and dining, dessert in front of the fire, nice music. Sex comes next, right?”

Warning bells went off in Hunter’s mind, and not just because she was straddling him and felt too good for words. “I cook for a lot of people. I don’t sleep with all of them. Sex wasn’t the reason I cooked.”

“Sure, whatever. But if you don’t want to have sex here on your couch, I think we should move. Not that I have a problem with having sex on the couch, if that’s cool with you. I mean the fire’s nice. I just don’t want to wait, and you seem up for it. So—”

Ignoring the niggling feeling that something wasn’t right, Hunter lifted her as he rose. He was probably making too much of it. Maybe it was a sign of inexperience or nerves. He swallowed her scream and tried to turn off those damn alarm bells as Toni wrapped her arms around his neck and her long legs around his hips. He didn’t think he’d make it all the way to the bed, not for the first time, at least, but the rug in front of the fire was nice. He filled his hands with her ass, cushioning her as he knelt and came down on top of her.

“Here?” She reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head.

“Now.” He grabbed the waistband of her shorts, since that’s where his hands were, and thanked God she wasn’t wearing underwear. She was already going to work on his shorts when he pulled her T-shirt up. She let out a laugh when her arms got stuck between them.

“I’ll get my shirt. You lose your shorts.”

“Deal.” Seconds later, he had the condoms out of his pocket and his shorts off. He threw his clothes over his shoulder and took a second just to stare. Toni was spread out in front of him, the firelight dancing on her pale skin. “You are a vision. I don’t know what part of you to kiss first.”

A blush spread from her neck and moved to her face, which surprised him considering her frank discussion about where and when they’d have sex. He decided to start where her blush had. Toni had a long, graceful neck, and when his lips touched the pulse point on the side of it, she blew out a breath and ran her hands down his back.

“Hunter?”

“Toni?” He nibbled on her earlobe.

“Do you think I could get on top?”

He stopped what he was doing and rolled over. “Sure.”

She lay on her side and did her own visual examination of his body. “It’s not that I didn’t like what you were doing. It’s just that you’ve already seen me, but I didn’t have time to explore you before you went and jumped into the river.”

He cringed. “I’m sorry.”

Toni ran her hand over him, her fingers tangling in his chest hair. “I didn’t say that to get another apology. I just”—she slid her leg over his as her hand moved south—“want to explore you too.”

His stomach muscles tensed as her fingers roamed over them. Hunter blew out a breath and sucked air back in when she reached for his erection, wrapping her fingers around it. She kissed a trail from one hard nipple to the other, her hand sliding down the length of him and back. He did his best to keep his hips on the floor when every instinct he had was to raise them. Her hair slid over his chest, tormenting him almost as much as her lips and busy tongue were. He gathered her hair, holding it, giving him a clear view.

The visual was one he was sure he’d see again and again in his dreams. Her breath on the sensitive head had him swallowing hard. He closed his eyes. So much for the lack of experience—Toni definitely knew what she was doing, and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. “Toni?” He hardly recognized his own voice.

“Problem?” She slid her mouth over him, wet, hot, and damn… her tongue traced the ridge around the head before sucking him in deep, her lips meeting her hand.

He thought he may have said no, but he was groaning too. It felt so amazing…

When Toni stopped, he wasn’t sure if he was thankful or not. He took a deep breath as she kissed her way back up his chest. “So, how do you want to do this? Do you want me on top or what?”

She wasn’t looking at him. Not his face anyway, and the alarm bells he’d been trying to ignore were louder now. He’d never choreographed making love before, never discussed it so technically. He pulled her on top of him, face to face, but she avoided his eyes. “Toni, what’s going on?”

“Nothing… other than the obvious. I guess if I have to tell you, I’m doing something wrong.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. What’s going on with you?”

“I’m trying to have sex. I mean, you set the stage, sex comes next, and well, I’m here…”

“Shit.” He rolled her off him. “I don’t expect you to have sex with me because I made dinner.”

“Do you just want me to finish what I started? I can do that.” She stroked what was left of his erection, and he pulled her hands away.

“No.” Damn. “I can’t do this.” He reached for his shorts, thankful he hadn’t thrown them far, and stepped into them, zipping the fly. He tossed her the shirt and went looking for the boxers he’d pulled off her earlier. “We need to talk, and when we do, I’d appreciate it if you would look me in the eye.”

Chapter 7

Toni sat on the floor butt naked and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. She’d thought things had been going fine until Hunter pulled a Dr. Jekyll on her. She slid the T-shirt over her head and caught the boxers he tossed her way before standing and anchoring her hands on her hips. “What is your problem? I thought you wanted to have sex. Don’t tell me it wasn’t part of the plan. I’m not an idiot.”

Hunter walked shirtless to the kitchen and got himself a glass of water. “Do you want something to drink?” He drank a full glass and poured more.

“No. I want to know what I did to piss you off. I held up my end of the bargain. I was just trying to make sure you got what you wanted. I don’t understand you. What did you want me to do?”

He came back to the living room and sat on the couch, shaking his head at her like you would at a dog that messed on the carpet and should know better. She pulled on the boxers and tried to control the urge to run. This was just great. She didn’t know where the hell she was or how to get back to the inn. She was trapped. With him.

He patted the couch beside him. At least now he didn’t look that angry. “Come here, and let’s talk.”

“You know, Hunter, I think we’ve talked enough. I guess I read you wrong. If you don’t want to have sex, that’s fine by me.”

He placed his water on a coaster on the coffee table and stood, coming toward her. “I don’t want to just have sex. I want to make love to you.”

She rolled her eyes.

He put one hand on her waist and one finger under her chin, lifting it so she had to look at him.

“What do you want from me?”

“I’ve wanted to make love to you since the moment I met you. I want to learn all about you. I want to know what you taste like, how it will feel when I’m inside you and you’re coming. I want to be able to look into your eyes and share that with you. That’s not having sex. That’s making love. Sex is the physical act. Making love is so much more.”

Toni thought it was bad facing a mad Hunter, but this version was downright scary. She stepped away and looked him square in the chest. “I… I… I don’t know if I’m…” Capable? Why did that sound so pathetic? And worse, why did it scare her so badly? She blinked away unshed tears. God, she was turning into a head case.

He moved closer and pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do anything until you’re ready.”

Jeez, what the hell was she in—a freakin’ Lifetime Movie of the Week? “Are you for real? Guys don’t turn down sex. What’s wrong with you?”

She took a chance and looked him in the eye. He smiled at her—that toe-curling crooked smile she was learning to like a bit too much.

“Nothing is wrong with me. You’ve just been sleeping with the wrong men.”

“Oh, and you’re the right man?”

“I guess you’ll find out when you’re ready. Just say when.”

“Yeah,
when
hell freezes over.”

***

As if Hunter didn’t feel like a total asshole already, that’s what his sister and Gina would call him to his face if they knew what a mess he’d made of the whole situation. Still, there was a big difference between making love and sex, and he couldn’t imagine a man not wanting to make love to Toni. She was beautiful, intelligent, and from what he could see, extremely passionate about everything but sex. To her, sex was something you did by rote, like brushing your teeth. He walked backward with her to the couch and pulled her down along with him. She tried to scoot out of his arms, but he had one wrapped around her waist. She couldn’t go far. “Tell me about your last relationship.”

“Relationship? I’d hardly call it a relationship—it was more like a series of dates. I’ve never had a let’s-go-steady-talk-everyday-and-see-each-other-every-weekend kind of relationship, if that’s what you’re asking. Hence the book my mother gave me. See? There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Did you break if off, or did he?”

“Do you have a hearing problem?” Toni stared him down, but he wasn’t about to give up. “I don’t know. I guess it was just a case of a mutual lack of interest.”

“The man must have been brain-dead.”

She ignored his comment and continued. “I hadn’t realized I hadn’t seen him in a while until I ran into him at the gym.” She took a deep breath and looked at him through the corner of her eye. “We exchanged nods.”

“You exchanged nods?” What the hell did that mean?

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“And you’d slept with him?”

Toni turned so her back was practically to him. He pulled her closer so she leaned against his side.

“I didn’t sleep with him. I had sex with him.”

He tucked her shoulder under his chin. “You had sex with someone who didn’t rate more than a nod?”

With an exasperated sigh, she turned to face him. “Now that I think about it, I guess I wasn’t interested in a repeat performance. If I had been, I would have talked to him. But…” She shrugged and shook her head. “No, it was definitely a case of a mutual lack of interest.”

Toni stared into the fire, her mind probably going a mile a minute. Was she examining her life? Her relationships or lack thereof? He wasn’t sure, but the expressions crossing her face told their own story. Her body tensed visibly as if she’d figured something out or maybe saw something in herself she wasn’t happy with.

“You know, just because I had sex with Mark doesn’t mean I sleep around a lot.”

Hunter reached over, squeezed her thigh, and wished she hadn’t given the creep a name. “If you’re dating men like that Mark guy, it’s no wonder you don’t make a habit of it.” He was thankful she laughed.

“So, Dr. Phil, what broke up your last relationship?”

“I work a lot, and I’m gone for extended periods. She wanted a nine-to-fiver. She’s a nice woman, but I wasn’t who she needed me to be.”

Toni stared at him. “And you made love to her?”

He stared right back. “Yes.”

“Does that mean you loved her?”

“No, it means I cared about her.”

“Can you make love to someone you don’t care about?”

“No. And in case you’re wondering, I care about you, Toni.”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “I guess I care about you too. I was really upset when I thought you were dead.”

Hunter couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m glad.”

“You’re glad I was upset?” She moved away from him. “You think that was funny?”

He leaned over, gave her a quick kiss, and slid closer. “No, I’m glad you care about me.”

She broke eye contact. “Yeah well, this caring thing is new to me. I’m not sure I like it.”

He kissed her again, and this time she held on for the ride. She was sweet and innocent for a woman who purported not to be. He slid his lips from hers and toward her ear. “Ah, another first. The first time is always scary.”

He pulled her back onto his lap, sucked her earlobe into his mouth, and nibbled as she tilted her head, giving him more room. He wanted to explore her, inside and out.

He gave her ass a pat and wished he hadn’t tossed her the boxers earlier. “We better get to bed. We’re going to have to leave here by 8:00 a.m. to get to the inn in time for work tomorrow.”

She didn’t move off his lap. She turned her face so they were nose to nose. “What are we going to do in bed?” She was clearly uncomfortable, yet still direct.

Hunter held back a chuckle. He didn’t want to get slugged by her twice in one day. God she was sweet when she was completely out of her element. Her eyes got all wide. “We’ll probably lie down, talk for a while, watch the stars come out, cuddle up together, and sleep.”

“Oh.” She slid off his lap and stood. If he wasn’t mistaken, she looked a little disappointed.

“Something wrong?” He went to stir the fire, making sure it would be banked for the night before closing the screen. When he turned she was studying him so intently, she practically squinted.

“Are we going to make love?”

“I guess that’s up to you.” He hit the lights, put his hand on her lower back, and gave her a little push. “Come on.”

***

Toni was more confused now than she’d been at any other time today, and that was saying a lot. Hunter slipped his arm around her and led her to his room. What the heck was he up to? She’d never met a guy who after a few false starts didn’t just want to get off. He wanted to talk and cuddle? What was up with that? Not to mention all this talk of making love. She’d never known a guy to say the
L
word unless he was after something.

“I’ll find you a new toothbrush.” He switched on the lights in the bathroom, handed her one fresh from the dentist’s goody bag, and turned to leave.

“You don’t want to brush your teeth too?”

He shot a surprised look over his shoulder, and she took a second to drink him in. He was really beautiful for a guy. “I thought you’d want some space.”

“You do have two sinks. I’m not afraid of spitting in front of you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not worried.” He started brushing before passing her the toothpaste. He was the neat, squeeze-the-tube-from-the-bottom type guy. She squeezed from the middle. That was the way she’d always done it before, and she didn’t think now would be a good time to change. He’d have plenty of time to squeeze the toothpaste back into place after she left, but for now, she wanted to shake things up, as least as much as he’d shaken things up in her world.

Toni didn’t remember ever brushing her teeth in front of anyone—not a boyfriend or even a parent. She’d always been alone, though she chose to think of herself as the independent type. Even when she was little, she remembered coming home to an empty apartment, climbing up onto the counter of the bathroom to clean out her own cuts and scrapes from the playground. It was a far cry from the way Hunter cleaned her scrapes earlier. She couldn’t remember another time anyone had taken care of her.

“What are you thinking about?”

She spit and rinsed, cleaning out the sink while she did. There was nothing worse than spit stains in a sink. He rinsed his too and even wiped down the countertop. “Nothing earth-shattering. I was trying to remember if I’d ever brushed my teeth with anyone before or shared a bathroom.”

“No brothers or sisters?”

She shook her head, avoiding his eyes, and dried her hands on the towel. “Nope. I’m an only child.”

“What about your parents?”

She put her toothbrush in the holder next to his for the morning. “They divorced when I was a baby. I guess one of them must have taught me to brush. I don’t remember.”

Hunter threw his arm over her shoulder and led her to bed, pulling down the covers. “I used to dream of having a bathroom to myself. I had to share with my sister and two brothers. The place was as busy as a one-hole outhouse at a keg party.”

The big bed faced a wall of windows. She climbed in and scooted over. “Don’t tell me you had an outhouse.”

He slid in beside her and pulled her into his arms. “No, we had indoor plumbing and everything.” He hit the lights, and the room went dark.

Toni didn’t know what to do with her hands or how to lie there, especially since Hunter lost his shorts before joining her in bed.

Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, he’d scooted down to her level with his head close to hers and pointed to something in the sky. “That, right there, is Pluto.”

“Ah, an amateur astronomer.” His naked body pressed against hers, his heat radiated through the T-shirt and boxers she wore, and he was discussing a planet? Or was it a star? She didn’t know if Pluto was the planet that had recently lost its planet status, or maybe it was Uranus. She swallowed the laugh that always followed the word Uranus and did her best to stay very still.

He slid closer, and her hand hit something. She didn’t need to be Einstein to figure out what that something was, especially since her hands were at her side. God save her from gorgeous, naked men who didn’t want to have sex.

“I bought this place for the windows. I can look at the stars all night and not feel closed in. Look—the moon is a waxing gibbous.”

She was still picturing what was lying against the back of her hand. “Huh?” She totally missed that last part.

“The moon. It’s almost full.”

His upper body was plastered to hers, and his erection twitched against her hand as his foot slid up the inside of her calf. They were still cheek to cheek and would be nose to nose if she turned her head toward him to speak. She tried to control her breathing. “You’re a show-off.” Controlling her breathing wasn’t working very well. She sounded breathless. God, this talking crap was better than foreplay, or maybe it was foreplay.

“And I thought you’d be impressed.” The rumble of his words traveled through her body. She was impressed all right—impressed, horny, scared, but mostly horny. Hunter was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen up close and personal, and if he was for real, he was nice, and in his own way, sweet and considerate. He also smelled amazing, like pine, fresh water, and a scent that was all his own. He lay naked against her with his erection rubbing her hip. How the hell was she supposed to carry on a conversation? He thought they’d talk and then to go to sleep? Sleep was
sooo
not happening. “When.”

Hunter turned to look into her eyes. “When what?”

“You told me to just say
when
. I said it.”

“You want to make love?”

More talk? She wanted to roll over on top and have her wicked way with him, but that’s kind of what she’d done before, and he’d shot her down. She didn’t think she could deal with that twice in a lifetime, no less on the same night. Taking a deep breath, she tried not to sound as nervous as she felt.

“I’m not sure I know how to make love. I’m guessing it has something to do with eye contact. Since you say there’s a difference between making love and sex, I gotta wonder if it’s like the difference between fresh-squeezed orange juice and frozen. Fresh is preferable, but frozen isn’t half bad, and it lasts longer, which is a plus in the sack. So—”

Hunter kissed her. He didn’t tell her what the difference was. He just rolled on top of her and silenced her with his mouth. She couldn’t complain though; the man was a hell of a kisser. He wasn’t a wet, sloppy kisser like most guys she’d tongue wrestled with. No, his kisses were full frontal assaults in the best possible way. He didn’t just kiss with his mouth; he used his whole body. His hands roamed her breasts, her sides, the tender flesh of the inside of her elbows, behind her knees, all the while tongues tangled, parried, played. For other guys, kissing seemed to be something they did because they had to—like tagging first base on their run toward second. But not Hunter, he wasn’t going anywhere fast. He paid more attention to kissing than most guys did to the ninth inning of the seventh game of the World Series.