And then there was Cal. Bad gossip could hurt his business too. Not to mention the bad example it would set for Cheyenne. She was going through a lot all ready with her mother getting married. She certainly didn’t need to find out her father was having a secret affair.
Jolene opened her purse to get her cell phone so she could text Cal and tell him she wouldn’t be coming. But in her nervous state, she’d left her cell phone on the dresser in her room. It was probably for the best. She needed to tell Cal face to face.
After making sure no one was around, she got out of her car and quickly cut through the side yard of Mrs. Wrigley’s rental house. Luckily, Mrs. Wrigley hadn’t been able to find renters for it yet. Jolene hurried across the backyard, then through the hole in the hedges.
Emma’s pink house was completely dark. She had to wonder if Cal had had second thoughts too. Still, she tapped softly on the back door just to make sure. Before she’d even lowered her hand, the door swung open and she was pulled inside and pushed up against a wall by a hard muscled body.
All the reasons for why this was a bad idea fled beneath the on slant of Cal’s hot lips. He kissed her like she was a glass of water and he was a man dying of thirst. He kissed her like he’d missed her.
She knew how he felt. She felt like it had been years, not just a few days, since she’d tasted the heat of his mouth and felt the wicked strokes of his tongue. And his hands . . . she loved the way his hands greedily ran over her body. Her waist. Her hips. Her butt. Then back up the way they came.
He tugged at the tie of her sweater, and when it fell open, he slid a hand inside the opening and covered her breast. Her breath caught as she enjoyed the gentle squeeze of Cal’s strong fingers. He released her breast and his hand slipped behind her back to flick open the hooks of her bra. When it returned, Jolene lost all her breath as he shaped her breast to his calloused workingman’s hand.
While her knees went weak and her heart thundered, he kissed his way down her neck. His breath fell against her ear in a ragged exhale as he brushed over her hard nipple with his thumb.
“You are so damned hot.”
She didn’t know if it was his praise or his thumb that had tingly warmth spreading through her body and pooling between her legs. Getting caught was no longer a concern. If the entire town showed up on the doorstep, she wouldn’t care. All she cared about was staying in Cal’s arms. For the first time in her life, she felt like a desirable woman.
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the living room. She had thought the house was completely dark, but she’d been wrong. A fire blazed in the fireplace and lit candles lined the mantel. In front of the fire was a mattress covered in pretty flowered sheets.
Cal had made them a cozy lover’s nest.
She would’ve exclaimed over his efforts if he hadn’t set her on her feet and kissed her again. Her sweater slipped to the floor, followed by her bra. Then his hands skated over every inch of her bare skin as if it was the most precious thing he’d ever touched. Beneath his rough calloused hands, she felt precious and special. He pulled from their kiss and dipped his head to her breast. The heat of his open mouth on her nipple had her knees giving out. He held her firm as he worked his magic with tongue and teeth.
When she was nothing but limp bones and a puddle of lust, he lowered her down to the mattress and finished removing her clothes. Once she was naked, he stepped back and looked at her. She should feel shy and embarrassed. And her cheeks did flame with heat. But it wasn’t from embarrassment. It was from the exoticness of being completely naked while an extremely attractive man stood above her getting ready to do wicked, wicked things. She had never felt sexy in her life, but she felt sexy now with the firelight dancing over her body. The obvious erection bulging out the front of Cal’s jeans said she was.
His breath rushed out on a groan. “Damn. If the men of this town knew what you werehiding beneath those prim and proper business suits, Miss Applegate, they’d be busting down your door.”
She looked straight into his pretty hazel eyes and bit her bottom lip. “You don’t need to bust anything, Mr. Daily. All you have to do is knock.”
His eyelids grew as heavy as his breath. “I’m one lucky man.” He unsnapped his western shirt with one jerk and slipped it off his broad shoulders. Her breath hitched.
No. She was the lucky one. And with each article of clothing he removed, she got luckier and luckier . . . and hotter and hotter. In the flickering light of the fire, he allowed her to look her fill. She didn’t know if she would ever get her fill of looking at Cal. He had a perfectly proportioned body: broad shoulders, wide chest, trim waist, muscled legs. Even his feet were perfect—not too wide or too long. The only thing out of proportion was his erection. It was big. And a little intimidating. But when he joined her on the mattress, any misgivings she had about how they would fit together were swept away beneath his skilled foreplay. As he caressed and kissed his way over her body, he watched her intently as if gauging what she liked and what she didn’t.
There was very little that she didn’t like. He seemed to know exactly where and how to touch her to give her the most pleasure. The soft tug of his lips on her nipples. The rhythmic stroke of his fingers between her legs. The gentle brush of his tongue against her hot center. Everything he did seemed to send her to a new level of need.
“Cal,” she moaned as he licked her most sensitive nub. “Please.”
He gave her one more flick before he sat up and reached for the condom by the side of the mattress. When he returned, he didn’t get on top of her. Instead, he stayed on his side and pulled her to face him. He kissed her long and thorough as he lifted her leg over his hips so she was nestled against his hardness.
“What are you—?” She cut off when he slid deep inside her.
The fit was deliciously snug. But things got even better when Cal started to pump his hips in slow, steady thrusts. He leaned back so he could slip a hand between them. As his hard length stroked her inside, his finger stroked her outside. The feelings that cascaded through her body were like nothing she’d ever felt before. What made it even more sensuous and erotic was that Cal never looked away.
In his eyes, she saw a beautiful woman completely consumed with passion. A confidant woman who held nothing back as she went tumbling over the edge of an intense orgasm. An orgasm that seemed to go on and on and on. Before the last tingle faded, Cal released a low, husky groan. Watching him find release was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. She tightened her leg around him and met each thrust until he finished and fell back on the mattress with a satisfied sigh.
She knew exactly how he felt. She’d never felt so satisfied. She wanted to snuggle up next toCal’s perfect body and enjoy the content feeling. The only thing that kept her from it was the conditions Cal had made sure she understood. No strings. No attachment.
She sat up and awkwardly tried to get off the mattress.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She turned to him. In the firelight, he looked like a beautiful bronze statue. One that had come to life just for her pleasure. “I’m leaving.”
He sat up. “Why?”
“I thought that was what you wanted.”
