The porch he’d brought her to was lovely, with a small table and two chairs across the way. Well-tended plants hung from the ceiling and flourished in pots on the wood floor. She couldn’t help but wonder why Elliott brought her there rather than inside. Was it to keep some sort of distance between her and his life?
“You’re abnormally quiet,” he said softly, idly sliding his hand up and down her thigh.
She snorted. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“How I didn’t get to touch you.” It was a new thought, but a true one.
A squeak escaped her when Elliott tugged her braids, pulling her head from his chest over to his bicep. His nostrils flared before he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Lips lingering against her skin, he said, “You definitely did.”
Her fingernails traced a slow trail down his abdomen, scritching over chest hair as they headed south. He must have known what she was doing, but he played along when she shoved her other hand in his waves and said, “You need a haircut. This is long andprettyhealthy, but...”
The tip of her pointer finger swiped the head of his cock, and Elliott inhaled sharply.
“Maybe you can cut it soon,” he said huskily.
“Really?” She wrapped her fingers around his crown and squeezed gently while tugging.
Fern got no answer but a hiss and a kiss. Shifting onto his side, he urged her onto her back while she explored his length, down to his balls and up again.
She settled into a rhythm, working him with varied pressure and a quick flick of her wrist here and there. As he curled over her, she had to stretch out her arm to keep hold of his cock, but the awkward position was worth it when he slid his thick fingers under the band of her bikini bottoms and swiped over her mound.
“If I take these off”—he snapped the thin strap over her hip—“will you let me touch you?”
Twirling a lock of his hair between her fingers, she caught his gaze and nodded.
“Good,” he growled, all commandeering and sexy, before a glint of panic flickered in his eyes. The old Elliott returned, and he said, “Just because I— I don’t think we should— Yet?”
Was he nervous? Is that what was happening? He was the strangest human being she’d ever met. Lifting her free hand to his face, her other pumped him hard while she checked, “You want me naked, but you don’t want to fuck?”
“Yeah.” A sheepish smile bunched his cheek beneath her palm, and she had no choice but to pull him down for a smoldering kiss.
When she’d finished teasing his tongue with hers, she whispered, “Do it.”
With the strong, practiced hands of a potter, he tore her swimsuit off and made her come in no time while she did the same for him.
Leaving her lounging in the cool shade, tickled by a warm breeze, Elliott slipped inside, and Fern zoned out. Eyes closed and body humming with happiness, she basked in the chirps and buzzes of nature.
He returned in gym shorts and a T-shirt, his hands full of things, prompting a wave of awkward shame to crash into her. She was naked,practically in this man’s backyard, having a little meditation sesh, while hestood there fully freaking clothed. And she had no idea what was going on between them. She didn’t need a relationship, not even a friends-with-benefits-ship. She was starting a new jobtomorrow.There were bigger things to focus on. God, she was a mess.
“I brought you clothes. Come here.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, the rough pads of his thumbs slid between her thighs, and her thought-spiral stopped.
Fern gasped, aroused and overcome with shyness in tandem. Her nipples acted accordingly, one tensing to a hard peak, the other remaining a soft hill. She let him coax her legs apart, curious to see what he had planned.
When he started washing her with a warm cloth, her shyness dissipated, and arousal was all that remained. He wassoconfusing: attentive then restrained, commanding then uncertain, caring then—no, he was always caring.
At some point he dropped the washcloth, and his finger found her clit, drawing a quick, light circle, as though he was testing the waters. She wriggled, humming in approval.
“Again?” he asked, but already had an answer as she grasped the hem of his shirt to pull it off.
12
Elliott gets questioned.
Elliottseriouslyregrettednottaking Fern inside his house during the few short hours he had her undivided attention. Her scent could have beeneverywhere, instead it was confined to his back porch. They’d napped out there until early evening. He woke before her, disentangled from her body, and dashed inside to toss together a couple caprese sandwiches. They ate, then she asked for a ride to her car at the Lodge. He’d almost begged her to spend the night but managed to let her go without making a peep.
In the morning, Elliott stretched beneath the quilt on his back porch, sniffed the air, and frowned. Then he flipped onto his stomach, shoved his face into the pillow, inhaled, and smiled. Although he’d hated letting her leave, his ill-behaved bear was happy with her scent all over him and the daybed. The beast seemed fair-tempered that day.
