“I could open with you. If that’s okay, I don’t want to bother you or anything, but—”
He pressed a finger to my lips. “What did I say about not bothering me? I asked you to stay because I want you here, and, since I own the place, you can stay there all day if you’d like. I just didn’t want you to be bored.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“I’m never bored with you.” I let my hands drift down his torso, tracing the hard planes and ridges I’d memorized at this point. “Watching you in action is sexy.”
“Is that so?” His finger wandered down my spine and left goose bumps in its path. “Come with me.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bathroom. “I tried to remember what shampoo you used.” He nodded toward the shower caddy in the corner. “When we were in the tub, I wasn’t paying all that much attention.” He flashed a devious grin over his shoulder. “And didn’t know which of you it was for, so hopefully I picked all right. You have towels behind the door, and I don’t know if you wanted to unpack anything, but I cleaned out a couple of drawers in my dresser. It’s only a few days, but…”
Joe trailed off, his smile now shy as his eyes darted around the bathroom.
“You did all that for me?” I wrapped my arms around his waist. For a man who described himself as aloof when it came to women, he sure knew how to pay attention. I liked to think that was because he only paid attention to me.
“Of course, I did. I told you I want you here. I can make you breakfast, and you can sit at the bar with me this morning. How does that sound?”
Joe was all man but had this adorable vulnerability. The sweet sincerity in his eyes was disarming and irresistible.
“Being with you sounds amazing, and you make a fantastic breakfast.” I kissed his chin. “I’m ready when you are.”
“I’ve been ready all morning, waiting for you, baby.” He ground his hips into mine with a devious grin. A tiny gasp escaped me at howreadyhe was.
“What time do you have to open?” I whispered against his neck as I peppered kisses along his jaw, giving his Adam’s apple a lick when I saw it bob along his throat.
“We open early today.” His voice was strained as I moved my lips down his chest and dropped to my knees.
“Well, not like we have to worry about traffic to get there, right?” I gazed up at him with hooded eyes. “Only a quick walk downstairs.” I licked my lips and met his heated gaze. “I’ll wear my glasses next time.” I pulled down the waistband of his shorts, and Joe grunted a curse when I took him in my mouth the second he sprang free.
Joe made me feel beautiful, sexy, and brazen in a way I never thought I could be. I was high off the groans erupting from his throat and the way he gripped the back of my head, twisting his fingers around a fistful of my hair and pulling hard when his length poked the back of my throat.
There was no time to get creative on a time limit, but I sucked and licked and enjoyed every inch of him until he pulsed down my throat.
Joe’s darkened gaze slid to mine as his chest heaved up and down. His hand cupped my chin, his features a mix of shock and elation, as if I’d just given him the greatest present of his life.
He lifted me up from the floor, devouring my lips with a passion that made my head spin and my heart pound. I was breathless and dizzy when we broke apart.
“I may trap you here.”
I cupped his cheek and gave him a soft kiss.
“And I wouldn’t fight you.”
29
Joe
“Hey,Joe, who’s the new girl?” Mr. Milano, a long-time resident of Ocean Cove and regular since I’d opened The Beach Pub, nodded his head to where Caterina pounded on the keys of her laptop at a table next to the bar. For the past couple of mornings, she’d planted herself there while Dominic and I set up, and she hung around most of the day.
“Her name is Caterina, and she’s staying with me.” I didn’t add ‘for a few days’ because I hated remembering it. When he’d asked me about her, I realized I had no idea what to call her. We weren’t friends. I guessed we were dating, but calling her my girlfriend didn’t seem right, even though the thought of her with someone else made me want to crush the glass I was drying into tiny shards. I watched her brow crinkle, her eyes fixed on the screen and nothing else. My girl in my place. Maybe girlfriend wasn’t completely inappropriate. Our time together since she’d come to stay with me was the happiest I’d ever been, if a bit bittersweet. I wanted her and wantedusenough to figure out some kind of plan for what would happen after she left. But no matter what happened when she went home, our bubble would be broken, and things wouldn’t be this easy again.
“Hmm. I see.” I turned to Mr. Milano’s snicker.
I set the glass back on the shelf behind the bar. “What do you see?”
“You got it bad. Whatever you’re doing, your eyes follow her. Can’t say I blame you. I wasn’t always this old. The beauties don’t come for me like they used to.” He chomped on a piece of toast, his wistful gaze fixed on Caterina. “She’s a knockout. Good for you, kid.”
“Thanks.” My gaze once again gravitated toward Caterina. She looked away from the screen for a moment and caught my gaze. A smile ghosted her lips before she turned back to the screen. “Yes, she is.”
I motioned for one of the waitresses to come over and refill his coffee. Mr. Milano liked to sit by the bar and chat up Dominic and me whenever he came in. He’d regale us with his glory days and what the shore had been like back when he was our age. He was a lifelong bachelor but often had nieces and nephews visit him during the summers. Whenever my mother got on my case about being alone, my mind always wandered to him. If that was my path, I was all right with it. I never thought I was missing out on much—until a week and a half ago.
