She tipped her head to the side, a tiny smile flirting at the edges of her mouth. “Such as?”
He had nothing, really. But he took a stab at it anyway. “The Night ThatDidHappen?”
“Ugh.”
“Okay, fine,” he admitted. “That’s not my best work.”
“True.” She fiddled with the top snap on his shirt. “How about Best One-Night Stand in the History of All the One-Night Stands Forever and Ever?”
“I love it. But it might be a tad long. Also, it’s seven months later and here you are in my arms. Our first night is disqualified as a one-night stand.”
“A Hookup to Remember?”
He scoffed. “Now you’re insulting the wonder that is us.”
“Best New Year’s Eve Ever?” She popped that top snap. “Our First Night?” The second snap gave way. She pressed her lips to the slice of bare chest she’d revealed. “The Night We Could Never Forget?” She popped two more snaps as she rattled that off.
He tipped up her chin and kissed her again—a deeper, hungrier kiss than the one before.
When she dropped back to her heels, she pretended to sulk. “You are ruining my concentration. My brain doesn’t work when you kiss me like that.”
He bent just long enough to scoop her high in his arms. “It’s okay. Right now, let’s skip the thinking and get down to the action.”
She laughed and grabbed him around the neck. “Wait a minute. We should clear the table first. I’ll do it—after all, you cooked.”
He eased her feet to the floor. “Let me help.” He swept out an arm. Dishes, spoons and glassware crashed to the floor. Slim, snoozing by the fireplace, let out a whine of surprise, followed by a giant yawn.
“Jameson!” Vanessa shrieked as he scooped her up again. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Yeah?” He growled the words against the velvety skin of her throat as he lowered her to the just cleared table. “Wait’ll you see what I do next.”
She sighed as he kissed her. And then she moaned. And before he finished making dessert of her, she screamed his name over and over again.
That weekend, he took her away—not too far. Just to a family-owned cabin in the mountains a few miles from town. They picnicked in the wildflowers of his favorite secluded meadow and swam buck naked in the icy creek formed by a hidden underground spring.
Saturday night in bed after a couple of satisfying bouts of enthusiastic lovemaking, she stacked her hands on his bare chest and closed her eyes. “I could lie here like this forever.”
He combed her hair back from her temples with his fingers, catching a random swatch of the thick, silky stuff and slowly wrapping it around his hand. “Don’t get too comfortable. I’m edging up on feeling frisky again.”
With a big, fake groan, she rolled off him and snuggled up to his side. “You are insatiable.”
“Are you complaining?”
“No way.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He ran his palm up the velvety skin of her back and fiddled with her gorgeous, wildly tangled hair some more. “One more time with you always seems like a great idea. But a gentleman never wears out his welcome.”
She reached up, touched the side of his face in a tender, slow caress. Her fingertips skimmed his short beard, skated higher to brush his bare cheek.
He pulled her close enough to kiss the end of her nose. “You seem thoughtful.”
“Well, I want to ask you something, but maybe it’s too personal...”
He caught those fingers, brought them to his lips and bit the tips, lightly. “Nothing you could ask would be too personal. Go for it.”
“You said you were married...?”
Damn. Finally.
