As
Ellie pulled her little car in front of the funeral home, she saw Finn sitting
on one of the two wide wicker rockers on the front porch.
Her face reddened, and she took her
time shutting down her engine, collecting the thirty scraps of paper covered
with notes from her Tidy Whitiez conversations, and getting out of her car.
What was it with this guy? Did he have
radar? Did he somehow scoop her thoughts from the air and know that she’d been
thinking about him?
About having sex with him?
She climbed up the porch steps. “What do
you want?”
He sat forward on the big wicker
chair. His short hair stuck up in all the right places, as if he’d combed his
fingers through it in frustration, but that only gave it a sexy, bedroom look.
He’d ditched his suit in favor of jeans and a gray T-shirt that showed off his broad
shoulders and those gloriously sexy tattoos.
Her breath stumbled. Or maybe she sighed
with disgust at her own weakness. Sure, he was great-looking. But did her
artist’s eye have to notice every detail? Especially after her thoughts while
talking to her Tidy Whitiez crew?
“Is that any way to treat a guest?”
The smart move would be to get away
from him. Yes, an affair seemed logical, given how attracted she was to him and
how much she needed a distraction right now. But there were other issues to
consider. Particularly the fact that they were enemies, fighting for the same
customers.
“You’re not a guest. You’re the
competition. You stole the Wojak funeral.”
“I’d sold her a package months ago.”
He glanced at the glob of sticky notes in her hands. “What’s all that?”
“The results of hours of
conversation.”
“With?”
“Staffers for my adult diapers
campaign.”
“You’re trying to get adult diapers
elected to public office?”
Damn it. It was the struggle of a
lifetime not to laugh. And maybe that was the biggest temptation of all. He didn’t
just turn her on. He made her laugh.
“It’s an ad campaign.”
“So you’re hawking adult diapers?”
She grimaced. “Yes.”
“This is exactly why I came here.” He
chuckled.
“To make fun of me?”
He shook his head. “No. To hear
something that would make me laugh.”
It was one thing to joke around. It
was another to insult her. “You’re laughing at my job?”
“No. I’m just laughing at the
absurdity of life.”
“Great.”
No matter how he prettied it up, he was
laughing at her. Despite her very rational arguments for having an affair with
him, that brought her back to planet earth. She unlocked the door to
McDermott’s and went inside.
He followed her. “Hey, come on. Don’t be
mad.”
“Just shut up. Go home.” How had she
ever thought sleeping with him would be a stress reliever, when he was the
biggest producer of her stress? Especially when she’d told him to go home but he
was still following her up to her apartment.
She tossed her purse on the old glass table,
her gaze colliding with his broad shoulders beneath his gray shirt, and she
almost groaned. He had the trimmed, toned body of a warrior. The sexily mussed
hair of a man who liked to take life easy. The strong, chiseled face of a Greek
god. And a voice that could melt butter. She had to forgive herself for being
attracted to him. But that didn't mean she would let him stay.
She raised her gaze to meet his. “I’m
not mad. I just want you to go away.”
“After the way you just sized me up?” He
grabbed her arm, spun her to him. “I think you lie.”
His lips were on hers before she could
even form a reply. At first she stiffened, but the reality of her life closed
in on her. It had finally sunk in that her dad wasn't getting any better. And
Finn was offering a way to forget, if only for a few minutes.
He rolled his tongue along her
bottom lip and everything inside her went nuclear. Heat exploded low in her
body and roared through her. This was what she wanted from him. The heat. The
intensity. She didn't just need to forget her troubles. She wanted him. And he wanted her.
And if only for a few minutes, she was
taking what she could get. Even if that was only one long, delicious kiss. She
caught the back of his neck and pulled him closer.
As if she’d taunted him or challenged
him, he deepened the kiss. Gliding his tongue along her lips again, opening her
mouth so he could dive inside. Sweet sensation exploded in her mouth. The
scratch of his tongue. The taste of peppermint.
Desperate, needy, she pressed closer,
feasting on his mouth, cruising her hands down his neck, shoulders, and arms,
feeling the strength in the corded muscles, taking what she craved. Any minute
now, he’d break away or she’d push away, and he’d leave in a huff…or maybe
teasing her. She would be fine. They
would be fine. She just wanted two minutes of pure pleasure.
His hands slid from her shoulders down
her back, pressing in when they reached the swell of her bottom. Heat shot
through her, scorching her, ramping up the needs swelling inside her.
His hands roamed up again, tracing her
spine, filling her with liquid heat, but instead of stopping at her shoulders,
they raced around and found her breasts. Her nipples pebbled to aching life, straining
to get into his hands, but meeting the soft lace of her bra.
She groaned.
“I love this dress. Let’s take it off.”
That woke her up. Instead of stopping
they were going further?
He stepped back, swiveled her around,
and unzipped her dress. Before she had a chance to say stop, he turned her back
to him and slid his hands under the shoulders of her simple black sheath. With
one quick shove from him, it puddled to the floor.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, she
stood before him in a black bra and panties, exposed, vulnerable.
He chuckled as he whipped off his T-shirt.
“You’re a closet underwear junkie. I like that about you—you’re never what I
expect. You’re always better.”
The word “stop” died on her tongue. “Every
girl likes to be pretty.” She said the words slowly, finally understanding why
he tempted her so much. He wasn't just gorgeous. He had a way of making her feel beautiful. Even when they were
arguing.
He put both hands on her waist and
nudged her to him again. “You are the prettiest.”
“Oh, now you’re just lying.”
He skimmed his lips along her neck.
“Never.”
That made her laugh out loud, then
his lips nibbled behind her ear, and her laughter died. Heat flooded her and
became an ache at the apex of her thighs.
Were they really going to do this?
