She rested her arms against the chest she’d been daydreaming about all morning. Itwashard. And hot. And the light dusting of hair that covered it was so soft. Softer than she’d imagined. She knew that because she couldn’t still her fingers. They smoothed over his pecs, ran back and forth in an almost unconscious effort.
All the while, he stared at her, his eyes dark with lust, his breath sweeping across her lips. And then, before she could blink, before she could push away or tell him to put her down, he inched his face forward. Slowly. So slowly there was absolutely no excuse for her allowing it to happen. Yet she did. She didn’t say a damn thing as she waited for Nash’s lips to touch hers.
And when they did, she lit up like a firework.
She melted against him, opening her mouth for his seeking tongue, whimpering when it touched hers. His answering groan sent shudders through her, and she matched him stroke for stroke. Nash clutched her closer as he worked her mouth over with his own. He reached down and gripped her ass, lifting her higher and closer to him. The move did nothing to disguise the hard bulge pressing against her stomach, and she’d never been more desperate to feel anything in all her life.
This man fried her brain, made her lose her mind. Death by sexual tension. While she’d wanted desperately to know what it felt like to have his hands on her, she wasn’t sure the reality of that was such a good idea. Until her last breath, she’d never be able to erase the memory of Nash’s long, thick fingers clenched tightly around her side, his other hand gripping her ass so hard, she’d be surprised if she didn’t end up with finger-shaped bruises. And she couldn’t even bring herself to care.
Just as fast as the kiss began, he pulled away, set her down, and stepped back. He locked eyes with her—his so hungry and full of want, she could barely breathe—and brushed his thumb across his swollen bottom lip. He looked like a man desperate for her. Like he wanted to devour her right there in her kitchen, hideous cocks as witnesses to the whole sordid affair.
“I— Um…” she said, her tone husky thanks to the impromptu make-out session.
“Well, aren’t y’all cute!” a voice called from the front porch. “Hope I’m not interruptin’ anything.”
Rory pried her gaze away from Nash’s hypnotizing stare and toward the front of the house.
Edna stood on the other side of the screen door, waving a handful of mail in greeting, her eyes positively gleaming. “I swear, Rory, I haven’t seen Nash toddlin’ around you since you used to babysit him and Nat when they were knee-high to a grasshopper!”
The words might as well have been a bucket of ice water to Rory’s libido. What the hell was she doing? Allowing herself to entertain this nonsense with Nash. Allowing him to kiss her and get her all worked up. Hell, she’d practically writhed in his arms, desperate to get closer and rub herself all over him. Had, in fact, been closer to coming from that mere activity than she’d ever been with Sean.
It wasNash,for heaven’s sake. Her pseudo-business partner. Her youngest sister’s best friend, not to mention that he was eight years her junior. She had absolutely no business even thinking of him as she had been, let alone kissing him.
And she’d best remember that.
What kind of woman had Rory turned into? Hiding and ducking out of obligations simply as a means of avoidance. She did not avoid. She faced shit head on and dealt with whatever needed dealing with, and then she moved on.
Or…at least she did with all things excepting Nash King.
It’d been nearly two weeks since the infamous cock fiasco and subsequent kiss, and she’d managed to avoid another run-in with him. Her cheeks heated at the memory of the incident. How his naked chest had felt under her questing hands. How he’d groaned into her mouth the moment their tongues had touched. How he’d clutched her to him as if he’d needed her even closer. How thick and hard he’d felt against her.
That was just about enough of that. Her naughty imagination was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.
She shook those thoughts from her head and read Nash’s latest text.Never took you for a coward.The twelve before had all been some variation of,Are you bailing on me?
Bailing? No. She wasn’t bailing. When she gave her word, she meant it. And despite having agreed to this arrangement with Nash by basically playing chicken with Mac, itwasthe smart thing to do. If Rory had any hope of spending her days doing something other than working for her daddy, she needed to go after this dream that had lain dormant for way too long. And working beside Nash, building up her portfolio, was exactly how she was going to do it.
She just… Well, she just needed to get her damn hormones under control so she could be in the same vicinity as him and not be tempted to jump his bones. Again.
She blew out a deep breath, typed out a reply, and hit send.
Nothing cowardly about spending the day with Gran. Work will have to wait.
With a smile, she dropped her phone into her purse. See? That bought her another day. And she wasn’t lying—she and Granweregoing out today. Never mind that Rory had just shown up unannounced and insisted on a lunch date with the woman. Tomorrow, she’d be at town hall, so no excuse needed.
“Ready, Gran?” Rory asked.
Gran huffed, clutching her purse in her lap, her seat belt already buckled. “I’ve been ready since you yanked me outta my rocker and demanded we go to lunch.” She sniffed, tipping up her nose. “I’m missin’ my stories for this, so you better make it worth my while. You’re just damn lucky my cheap bastard of a son finally signed up for a DVR.”
Rory snorted. Gran was never one for mincing words, even when—especiallywhen—it came to her son. “So sorry to pull you away fromThe Young and the Restless, but you can get all caught up on Victor’s latest scheme soon enough. Besides, wouldn’t you rather spend some quality time with your granddaughter?”
Gran hummed, shooting Rory a look out of the corner of her eye as Rory traversed the side streets toward their favorite lunch spot. “We have lunch once a week with the rest of the girls, and that’s it. You’ve never once changed that schedule, so don’t think I don’t know there’s some ulterior motive goin’ on here.”
Rory’s smile slipped from her face as she pulled into a parking space in front of the café in the Square. While, true, shehadgrabbed Gran so she wouldn’t be lying to Nash about keeping her distance, that wasn’t the only reason. Ever since Rory was little, her gran was the one person she could talk to about anything. And she hadn’t taken advantage of that nearly as much as she should’ve in the past several years. And the truth was, she couldreallyuse it. Especially now.
“Gran,” Rory said, reaching out and resting her fingers on the silky-soft skin of her grandma’s forearm. “I don’t want you to—”
Gran cackled, her eyes alight with mischief. “Damn, Rory, you folded fast as a cheap lawn chair.” She patted Rory’s cheek a little harder than necessary. “You know I’m happy to get outta that house whenever I can. And I love spendin’ time with my granddaughters…even you,” she said with a wink.
