EVEN BEFORE SHE SAW THE inside Katie knew Jess’s place would be gorgeous. Perched on a small rise that overlooked the city, the single-story house was certain to have a dazzling view from the back patio. She left her car parked in the circular drive and walked through a paved courtyard to reach the massive front door.
To her right a three-tiered Mexican fountain gurgled. To her left a sculpted mesquite tree’s feathered leaves rustled in the breeze. No doubt about it, Jess had done very well for himself. Even the doorbell was classy—a deep-throated chime that sounded extremely masculine.
Jess answered the door dressed in a snug white T-shirt and jeans. Safety goggles hung around his neck. “Hi! You made good time.” He held the door open.
“Traffic was moving well.” And she might have broken a couple of speed limits on the way over. So what? She still wasn’t going to bed with him, even if he had manly sawdust on his T-shirt and smelled of freshly cut wood.
In high school he’d worked at Home Depot after class and on weekends. Consequently she’d hung out at Home Depot a lot. She’d forgotten that the scent of sawdust and lumber had once been an aphrodisiac.
He closed the door after she walked in. “I hope you don’t mind, but your show inspired me to get back to a project I kept meaning to finish. I just have a little more to do. Come on back to my shop.”
“I can do that.” Lured by her Home Depot memories, she looped her purse over her shoulder and followed him through a tiled entry. To the right was a sunken living room filled with cushy leather furniture and sleek wood accent pieces.
He turned left and took her into a state-of-the-art kitchen with granite counters and stainless-steel appliances. “Want something to drink? I have both hard and soft.”
He was toying with her by throwing out that line, but she didn’t take the bait. “Thanks, but I’m good.” She wasn’t a soda drinker and she didn’t dare have alcohol. Her resistance was already eroding at an alarming rate.
Judging from what she’d seen so far, his master bedroom would also be impressive. She visualized a king-size bed, lights on a dimmer switch, sheets with a three hundred thread count. One step into a bedroom like that and she’d be mattress diving in no time.
“I bought this house primarily because of the wood shop.” He opened a door off the kitchen.
One whiff of that shop and Katie was aroused. In the Home Depot days she’d almost gotten Jess fired when she’d dragged him behind a stack of plywood and French-kissed him. But he’d looked so sexy using one of the power saws that she’d been overcome with lust.
The shop was almost as big as her living room. A table saw took up one corner, and the workbench stretched along an entire wall. Tools hung on a giant Peg-Board above it.
Sawdust and curled ribbons of wood littered the floor, and a belt sander sat on top of a slab of wood propped on metal sawhorses. The wood was about eighteen inches wide and four feet long.
“It’s a bench for the entryway,” Jess said. “I want it to look rustic, so I may just rub it with oil and call it good.”
Katie pretended great interest in the piece of wood, because otherwise she was liable to demonstrate great interest in the woodworker. She ran her hand over the silky surface. “Mesquite?”
“Yeah. A huge tree. A guy in the neighborhood was determined to cut it down. I tried to stop him, but when I couldn’t convince him to leave it, I bought the wood. I have more in the back.”
“Pretty grain.” And she had a thing for men who worked with their hands. Years ago she’d loved watching Jess in the lumber department, a pencil behind his ear and a tape measure hanging from his belt. He’d handled the store’s table saw like a pro.
This shop vibrated with Jess’s personality. It was his space, and he’d invited her into it. She’d never been so aware of another human being than she was of Jess right now—his steady breathing, his voice, the scent of his skin. She avoided looking at him for fear her eyes would betray her.
Instead she examined the wood more closely. “This isn’t a bench yet, though. I thought you said you were almost finished.”
“I am. The top is planed and sanded.” He pulled the safety goggles over his head and tossed them on the workbench. “All I have to do is attach the legs. Want to help?”
“I don’t know anything about carpentry.”
“You don’t have to. I just need another pair of hands.” Once he’d crossed to the thick slab, he picked it up and turned it over.
She shouldn’t have watched him do that. It made his muscles bulge, and nobody could display muscles better than Jess.
“I’ve tapered the legs.” He picked one up from the workbench.
“So I see.” Talk about phallic symbols, that bench leg would definitely qualify.
“So now I have to push them into the holes I’ve bored out in each corner. I could use someone to hold the top. You know, steady it.”
She sincerely doubted that. “Okay.” After laying her purse on the workbench, she started back toward the sawhorses.
“You might want to ditch the jacket, too.”
She glanced at him, convinced he was up to his ears in ulterior motives. “Oh, really?”
“Or not.” He shrugged. “Your choice.”
Helping with a construction project would be easier without the jacket. She took it off and laid it on top of her purse. Just because she was going along with his little scheme didn’t mean she had to follow it to its logical conclusion. She was still in control. Mostly.
He tucked the leg under one arm. “If you’ll hold on here—” he paused to demonstrate “—then I’ll screw it in.”
She grasped the wood where he’d indicated. “Don’t think I’m not onto you, Jess. Your whole approach is transparent as hell.”
“What approach? I’m putting together a bench for the entryway.”
“Sure you are.”
“You’re the one who said all this had sexual significance.” A smile twitched the corners of his mouth as he positioned the tapered end of the leg in the hole nearest her.
“No, that was the Yoda guy.” Their bodies nearly touched. She imagined she could hear his heart beating. Or maybe it was hers, going faster with every second he stood beside her.
Then he began twisting the leg into the hole. He’d created a tight fit, and working the leg in soon had him breathing hard. Katie had nothing more to do than hold on, yet soon she was breathing hard, too. Even though she knew his intentions, knew he was using the subject of her program to taunt her, she was turned on anyway.
“One down, three to go.” Jess pulled up the hem of his T-shirt and wiped his sweaty forehead. “No air-conditioning out here,” he said with a smile.
She barely heard him. Instead her brain was still processing that sneak peek at his six-pack. She’d never seen Jess naked. Suddenly that seemed like total deprivation.
“You can stay right there for the other corner,” he said. “But you don’t have to grip quite that hard.”
Glancing down, she noticed she was clenching the slab of wood as if it would save her from drowning. “Right.” She loosened her death hold.
Jess picked up another leg to the bench and positioned it over the hole. “I think I’m making this too difficult. Let me see if I can ease it in gently. Coax it a little.”
Katie swallowed. Her best bet would be to close her eyes. Apparently she was into risk-taking, because she kept both eyes wide open.
He tested the leg one way, then turned it slightly and worked it down about an inch. Then he pulled it back out and tried a different position. “Maybe I should get some K-Y jelly,” he said.
“Hey, cut it out.”
He gazed at her as he bore down on the leg. “What?”
“You know what.”
“I can’t imagine what you’re talking about.” He held her gaze as he thrust downward in one swift movement.
Heat washed over her. “Your cute little game isn’t going to work, you know. I’m tougher than that.”
“I’m sure you are. Considering your radio show and all.” He walked to the workbench and got the other two legs. “Okay, let’s move to the other end.”
She wasn’t tough. As he worked the third leg into position, she ached with longing. She wanted those strong hands peeling off her clothes, stroking her body, urging her thighs apart. Then she wanted exactly what he was pantomiming as he shoved the leg into its socket.
“I’ve drilled the holes so the legs come in at an angle,” he said. “When the bench is right side up, the legs will be spread to provide stability.” He started working the fourth leg in.
“Mmm.” Where were those snappy comebacks when she needed them? Thinking up snappy comebacks wasn’t easy when she was picturing herself with her legs spread as she took his personal phallic symbol right up to the hilt.
“Angles are important. If you can get the right angle, all sorts of good things happen.” His biceps stood out against the sleeves of his white shirt as he shoved the leg into place.
Her panties were drenched.
“Now let’s turn it over.” He glanced at her. “You can let go now, Katie.”
“Oh. Right.” A red haze of desire blotted out all her fine plans. She wanted him right here, right now, and to hell with playing hard to get. But she vaguely remembered he had some fantasy about a bed. Too bad. In this shop surrounded by tools and sawdust, she’d give him anything he wanted.
After flipping the bench over, he set it down on its new legs. “Should be pretty sturdy. Let’s see.” He straddled it and sat down.
She barely managed to swallow the whimper that rose in her throat. If he stayed like that and unzipped his jeans, she could—
“Try it out. Let’s see if it’ll hold both of us.” His eyes were dark and unreadable as he patted the wood in front of him.
“That’s okay.” If she got that close to him, she might lose what little bit of restraint she had left. “I’m…wearing a skirt.”
A hint of a smile touched his mouth. “I didn’t say you had to sit the way I’m sitting.”
No, he hadn’t. She’d been the one assuming she’d spread her legs and sit astride, opening herself to all kinds of possibilities.
His voice was low and sensual. “Come sit with me, Katie. Help me test the bench.”
Like a moth to flame, she edged closer. “How do you mean that?”
“How do you want me to mean it?”
Desperation drove her. “What if I…asked you to unzip your jeans?”
“Depends on the reason. I’m not in the mood for oral sex.” His dark eyes held her captive.
She gulped. “Neither am I.”
“I see.” Without breaking eye contact, he reached in his back pocket and pulled out a foil packet. “How about something involving this?”
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. “I thought…I thought you were determined we’d end up…on a bed.”
“We will.” Still holding her gaze, he laid the condom in front of him and reached for the top button of his jeans. “But I’m willing to start with a bench.”
She wanted him so much she was quivering. He held her captive with his gaze as he slowly unzipped his jeans and pushed down his briefs. He was fully erect, and the sight of his thick penis brought a moan of anticipation to her lips.
Putting on the condom with the ease of a man who’d done it countless times before, he silently held out his hand.
Her breath came in short, quick gasps as she put her hand in his. The heat in his eyes flared as his fingers closed around her wrist and he drew her toward him.
“Step over the bench,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”
Yes, he had her. She was his to command so long as he was willing to let her slide down onto that glorious piece of equipment. As she straddled the bench, only one barrier remained—a pair of very wet panties.
Still holding her wrist with one hand, still looking into her eyes, he slipped his free hand under her skirt.
“I should take those o—”
A sharp tug followed by a ripping sound told her that finishing the sentence was unnecessary.
As he caressed her, his voice was husky. “You’re so ready for this.”
“I guess…I’m not so tough.”
“Thank God.”
She closed her eyes as his clever fingers worked their magic. “Don’t make me come. I want—”
“I know. Me, too.” He scooted closer and slid both hands under her bottom. “Brace yourself on my shoulders. When I lift you, wrap your legs around my waist.”
“Are you sure?”
“You used to be a cheerleader. You can do this.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you.”
He smiled. “Katie, with all the adrenaline flowing through me right now, I could lift a car. Ready?”
“More than you know.” Clutching his shoulders and looking into his eyes, she moved in concert with him until—oh, joyous heaven—all that lovely length and circumference was deep inside her, filling her to the brim with its bounty.
Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly. “At last.”
She was stunned by the perfection of it. In the past sex had been fun, even satisfying sometimes. But she’d never felt this ultimate connection, as if she’d found some vital part of her that had gone missing. Being locked with Jess this way seemed essential to a complete life.
His eyes were still closed and his expression reflected pure bliss, but maybe he looked that way whenever he found himself buried in a warm vagina. What she considered incredible and unique might not register that way for him. And that could be dangerous.
He opened his eyes. “Katie, this feels so good.”
“Uh-huh.” Do you say that to all the girls?
“I’ve been a damned fool.”
That didn’t sound like something he’d say to everyone. “You have?”
He kneaded her bottom. “I could have had this on prom night.”
She allowed herself to savor the moment. After all these years of hurt and anger, she wanted to remember he’d said that. Yet it wasn’t in her nature to flaunt a victory. “You didn’t have a wood shop then.”
“I had a backseat.”
“It’s okay, Jess. Water over the dam.”
“I know, but I wish—”
“Shh.” She leaned forward and kissed him gently. “Let’s not spend time on regrets. Let’s enjoy what we have right now.”
“All right.” He brushed his lips over hers. “But I have a confession. It’s about the bench.”
She cradled his head in both hands and nibbled on his bottom lip. “I know the whole bench thing was designed to seduce me, if that’s what you mean.”
“No, not that.” He paused to kiss her again. “I mean, yes, it was, but I’ve never had sex on a bench before. I didn’t stop to think how…restrictive it would be.”
“Oh.” And here she’d thought he’d remembered her Kama Sutra tip of the night and wanted to run a test. “Well, I like it here. Wood shops turn me on.” She rubbed her breasts against his T-shirt.
His breathing quickened. “We’re not leaving. But you could lie back on the bench.”
“We can make it work this way.”
“But I can’t thrust. And I—”
She hit him with a Kegel.
“Whoa.”
“Did you like that?” She squeezed her muscles again.
He groaned in obvious delight. “The Kama Sutra tip.”
“Yeah, baby.” Holding his head, she gave him an openmouthed kiss and thrust her tongue deep as she began a series of rhythmic Kegels.
This was turning out much cooler than it had sounded in the book. She could totally direct the action. Each time she squeezed those muscles around his stiff penis, they both got a charge.
Jess kept a firm grip on her bottom, his fingers kneading in time with her Kegels. Her climax hovered, ready to sweep down and wash over her trembling body. She moaned, reaching for it.
Jess wrenched his mouth away and leaned his forehead against hers as he gasped for breath. “Are you close?”
She gulped for air and kept squeezing. “Very…close.”
“I’ve never…this is so wild.”
“But good.”
“God, yes. So very good. Kiss me again. Hard.”
She plunged her tongue into his mouth as the first spasms danced through her body. Then her orgasm descended like an avalanche, tumbling through her writhing body with such force that Jess exploded with her.
They clung to each other, each swallowing the other’s cries as they shuddered and quaked in the grip of a shared climax. Their first shared climax. The thought whirled past at first. Katie was too dazed for it to register, but then the thought circled back around and settled over her, warm and soft as cashmere.
She needed to be careful, though. Jess likely didn’t place as much importance on such things as she did, which left her vulnerable. But not long ago he’d called himself a damned fool. Maybe he wouldn’t be a damned fool a second time.