Don’t get carried away, dude. Nick lowered his head slowly. He might have fooled Eva into thinking he was super-casual about kissing her again. Tough to stay chill, though, when she’d taken the initiative for the second time in a row.
Closing his eyes, he touched down on the velvet surface of her lush mouth. He barely stifled a groan. The sensation hit him with twice the voltage as the first time.
She’d asked him to kiss her. Couldn’t get more exciting than that. She welcomed him by parting those moist lips and inviting him to explore.
Cradling the back of her head, he held her steady as he accepted her invitation, dipping his tongue into her hot, sexy mouth… dipping in again, shifting the angle, going deeper. Ah, Eva.
Her enthusiasm fueled his as she kissed him back. Cupping her firm bottom, he urged her closer.
She fell right in with the program, molding herself to fit right…there. He shifted his hips, tucked his aching package between her warm thighs.
Her soft whimper sent heat rolling through his body and he trembled as desire gripped him hard. After months of craving her, he had her in his arms, ready and willing. If he didn’t stop now….
Heart pounding, he lifted his mouth a fraction from hers. “Eva…”
She sucked in a breath. “Don’t stop.”
“Don’t want to.”
“Good.”
“Have to.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lock it down. Heart pounding, he forced himself to put distance between them. Gradually he let go, stepped back and opened his eyes.
Hers were still closed, her dark lashes resting against her pale cheeks, her breathing quick and shallow. She swallowed and ran her tongue over her lips. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes. For now.” His voice was as tight as the fit of his jeans.
“Okay.” She slowly opened her eyes, revealing green pools shimmering with desire, an image straight out of his fantasy.
He tortured himself by zeroing in on her mesmerizing gaze. “Rain check?”
She cleared her throat. “No rain in the forecast for at least a week.”
“A week? Are you messing with me?”
“A little.” Mischief flashed in her smile. “Weather reports are notoriously wrong. It could rain anytime.”
He took a shaky breath, ran a hand through his damp hair, gathered his forces. “I suppose this isn’t totally my call. You did pay for my time.”
“So I did. But the contract was for twelve hours of manual labor.”
“It was.”
“Where we were headed just now doesn’t fit that description.”
That made him smile. “Let’s hope not. And I came prepared to do manual labor. I didn’t come prepared for… other things.”
“Is that why you called a halt?”
“Not exactly. We could… there are other ways…”
Her breath caught. “I get the picture.”
“The thing is, I promised to clear out your attic and dig up stones in your backyard. When I say I’m going to do something, I like to follow through. It’s a point of pride.”
“Are you suggesting we work first and have fun later?”
“That’s not my place. But it’s why I stopped kissing you. Bottom line, you’re the boss.”
“I respect your need to get this job done.” She shoved her hands in her pockets and surveyed him. “Even when certain parts of you are ready to party.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter.
“Can’t very well deny it.” He took a deep breath. “Your call, boss.”
Lifting her chin, she looked him in the eye. “Back to work we go.”
“Okay.” He started toward the box he’d left at the foot of the stairs.
“Wait a minute. Why isn’t that box dusty?”
He turned to face her. “When I fetched my gloves, I also brought a rag in so I could wipe off each box before I brought it down.”
“That’s brilliant. I wish I’d vacuumed the floor of the back porch before you started.”
“Guess you didn’t hear me doing that, either.”
“You vacuumed?”
“Just a quick pass. Went looking for a broom and found your vacuum. Hope you don’t mind that I used it.”
“Mind? You can deploy that vacuum any old time you take a notion. Now I’ll be able to go through those boxes without getting filthy in the process.”
“That was my thought.”
“Nick, I could kiss you. I won’t, though, because I respect your work ethic.”
He laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“But I can offer you a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll in a little while, when you’re ready for a break. How about that?”
“Sounds great, although I’m not sure hot coffee is in order.”
“Are you talking about the weather or—”
“The weather.”
“Ah. Ever drink it iced?”
“Love that in the summer.”
“Me, too. I’ll make some right now and stick it in the fridge to cool.”
“Give me another forty-five minutes and I should have most of it downstairs.” That would allow him extra time to digest what he’d previously eaten and be ready for… whatever.
“Should I come and get you?”
“Please.”
“Then I’ll make that coffee before I go back to sorting through the trunk.” She turned and headed for the kitchen.
“See you soon.” He tugged his gloves from his back pocket and paused, his gaze following her retreat, his body responding to the seductive sway of her hips as she walked away.
She paused in the doorway and turned, catching him in the act of ogling her ass. “Gotcha.”
He couldn’t finesse it. “I’m a guy. Guys look. It’s in our DNA.”
“Gals look, too.” She stared at the telltale strain against the zipper of his fly. “For the record, I like what I see.”
He flushed. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“You’re welcome.” She sashayed into the kitchen and out of sight.
Whew. Charley used to kid him about his tendency to bite off more than he could chew. Mostly the comment referred to the amount of food he ate or the scope of the heavy lifting jobs he volunteered to handle.
Did starting a romance with sexy, spirited Eva, a woman determined to remain single, fit in the same category? Probably.
Sexual frustration and the pride of accomplishment drove him for the next half-hour. He loved a job that worked his muscles until they ached. Took his mind off a different sort of ache in his privates, although that had subsided to a low hum of discomfort.
He was down to only six boxes when he picked up a lightweight one with yellowed tape across the top and ODDS & ENDS written in black on one flap. As he shifted it to wipe dust off the bottom, the tape gave way and the flap popped up to reveal red satin material. Eva would be tickled if he’d come upon the seductive outfits she’d hoped to find in the black trunk.
Eager to show her, he damn near bonked his head a second time on the doorframe. He clattered down the stairs to the second floor. “Eva! Think I found something!”
The screen door banged. “What?”
“A box came open.” He rounded the curve of the stairs.
She gazed up at him. “And?”
“There’s something in red satin lying on top.”
“Yay! Fingers crossed this confirms that she had a sex life, after all.” She held out her arms for the box.
He handed it over. “I figured you’d want to know about it right away.”
“You figured right.” She carried the box into the living room, set it down on the carpet and knelt beside it. “I’ve been reading the journal she kept for the months leading up to her wedding.”
“Oh, yeah?” He followed her in and hunkered down beside her. “Interesting?”
“Illuminating. She was a sensual woman, which was so obvious to me during the time I knew her. She’d virtuously saved herself for Gerald and she could hardly wait for her wedding night. I’d hate to think she died a virgin.”
“Um, yeah.” Nick coughed.
She glanced at him and smiled. “Are you uncomfortable with this subject?”
“Sex? No, ma’am.”
“Your cheeks are as pink as they were when Ellie Mae talked about you during the auction.”
“It’s not the subject matter. It’s the individual connected with the subject matter. I have a hard time imagining… in fact, I’d rather not imagine Miss Barton… getting it on.”
“She wasn’t always a little old lady.” She turned her attention to the box and folded back the flaps.
“But that’s how I knew her. And unlike you, I didn’t have conversations with her that revolved around the subject.” As Eva delved into the box, he glanced away. Maybe he shouldn’t stick around for—
“Oh, my goodness.” Eva’s voice vibrated with excitement. “Look at this.”
He looked and immediately regretted the impulse. The red satin nightgown she held up was a combination of satin and mesh inserts. The inserts had been strategically placed to highlight significant portions of a woman’s body. The juicy parts.
“Nick, you’re bright red.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t stay here while you sort through the box.”
“Maybe not.” She sounded amused.
“I’ll just go back to what I was doing.”
“Excellent plan.”
He took the first set of stairs like his tail was on fire. Great aerobic exercise. The second set was tougher to keep the same pace, but he arrived in the attic panting. It wasn’t just visualizing Miss Barton in the nightgown that had him by the short hairs. He’d quickly derailed that train of thought.
But he couldn’t erase the image of Eva holding up that red satin number. He was half-crazy with wanting her as it was. If she ever wore something like that, he’d go out of his ever-loving mind.