“So stand up for yourself. It’s okay to have cold feet. And if you don’t want kids, tell him. Whatever you do, don’t let yourself get pushed into anything.”
Lena sighed. “See? I wish I was more like you. It’s just, I love Carl so much. I don’t want him to be hurt or disappointed.”
How many times had she heard her mother whine about that while growing up? Isabel Fields had to go to Tahoe to make Uncle Bill happy. She left Sydney with a neighbor on her eighth birthday because Uncle Teddy wanted Isabel in Italy for a modeling engagement. Or the time she’d skipped out on Sydney’s high school graduation because Uncle Freddy had tickets to a Vegas show.
Bleh. Men were distractions who got in the way of the really important things in life. Like friends and family. One thing she could say about the Warrens, they were at least loyal to each other. Not every mother acted like Isabel Fields.
She let Lena worry out loud while they scouted out the rest of the house. The yard, the pool and everything else checked out.
“So you think I should just tell him how I feel?” Lena asked her for the twentieth time as they finished with the house and stood by the car.
“Yes. Damn girl, just tell him—” She lost her train of thought as Derrick stepped out of a dark green SUV by the curb.
“Tell him…?” Lena looked over her shoulder, following Sydney’s gaze, and said in a low voice, “Oh, wow. See? What was I telling you before? You get all the hunks.”
Sydney closed her mouth, embarrassed to be caught staring. She drummed up a smile as Derrick joined them. “Lena, this is Derrick Warren. Derrick lives a few houses down from this one.”
Derrick gave Lena a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.” To Sydney’s unexpected relief, he didn’t linger on Lena’s curves but gave Sydney his attention. “Sydney, you haven’t returned my calls.”
She blinked. “Calls?” The man hadn’t said one thing after their encounter—encounters—last weekend, as agreed. Though she’d been annoyed he’d found it so easy to obey her stupid rule.
“I left a few messages on your answering machine.” The hard look in his eyes turned her knees to rubber. Good Lord, he looked like he wanted to spank her. And she wanted to let him.
She cleared her throat and ignored Lena’s fascination. “Oh, uh, I thought I’d turned that off ages ago. Most people use my cell phone.”
He smiled through his teeth. “I tried that before, but you’d never answer my calls. I thought the home phone would work better.” He glanced at Lena then turned back to Sydney. “Can I talk to you for a minute in private? It won’t take long, I swear.”
Lena smiled and winked at Sydney. “I’ll wait here. I need to call Carl anyway.” The turncoat.
“Fine. Come on.” She let herself back into the house.
Before she could say anything, history repeated itself. In one motion, Derrick slammed the door shut behind him, shoved her against it and covered her mouth with his in a mind-melting kiss.
After a few seconds, he pulled back and groaned. “Hell. I wasn’t going to do this yet. Fuck.” He muttered a few more choice words under his breath. “Sydney, when you’re done with work, I need to see you again.”
“B-but…” She had to take a breath. Damn, the man could kiss. “I thought we were getting each other out of our systems.”
He ground his erection against her. “Is it working for you?”
“Damn it. No.”
He nodded. “So your place or mine?” He pushed her suit jacket aside and rubbed her nipples until she moaned. “Which?”
“Mine.”I have no willpower.“But this is just…casual,” she said on a breath when he pinched her harder. “Stop doing that.”
“Why? You going to come if I don’t?”
She couldn’t think. And then he shoved his hand down her front, past her skirt and under her panties.
“Christ, you’re wet. Fuck, Sydney. I want you. All the time.”
She liked that he didn’t sound happy about it. “Yeah? Well I want you too.” She glared at him. “I can’t stop thinking about you coming inside me. So how screwed up am I?”
His grin melted something inside her. “Okay, you win. You’re more messed up than I am. But can I still fuck you later?”
Her laugh turned into a moan when he shoved a finger inside her. “Why not now?”
His eyes narrowed. “Your friend is waiting out in the car.” He looked to the left of the door through the dormer window. “She’s talking on the phone.”
