According to the clock on the front of Coastal Savings and Loans, it was half past twelve and Beck was hungry. The cookies he’d shared with Gracie had been good, but they weren’t enough. He stopped at the Dairy Queen and picked up a burger and fries along with the news that Shorty Boudreaux’s oldest daughter had received a letter of acceptance from the University of Georgia.
Dominic, at the new wine and cheese shop, knew his inventory, but he was less than handy when it came to tools. The doors on his wine cooler needed to be adjusted, and he’d called Beck yesterday afternoon. Even dressed the way he was, he figured he could handle that.
While he tightened the last of the screws, he remembered his dad had planned to spend some time at the lumberyard today, and that assuaged some of his guilt for taking the morning off. Actually, it sopped up enough that instead of driving to the family business, he found his truck headed toward Sweet Dreams…and an even sweeter Tansy.
* * *
“Thought you closed at two,” Beck said walking in, the overhead bell jingling.
“I do.” Tansy stood behind the counter wearing a frilly, pale-green apron and rearranging cookies on a doily-covered plate.
“It’s a quarter after.”
“Really?” She glanced over her shoulder at the clock. Brushing back a curl that had fallen over her forehead, she shook her head. “Where did the day go?”
Beck flipped the sign on the door to read “Closed” and turned the lock.
Untying the apron, she stepped from behind the counter. He didn’t give her time to remove the apron or ask how the school party went before he took her mouth with his. When her lips parted, his tongue darted in, tasting her, devouring her. In an instant, his pulse had spiked, and he was breathing hard.
When they broke apart, Beck swore he must be having a heart attack. He leaned into her, his chin resting on top of her head.
“I don’t deserve this, Beck. None of it.”
“That’s bull.” Remembering the photo in his shirt pocket, he took a step backward and pulled out the picture of him and Gracie. “How about this? Pretty cute, huh?”
She took it from him and dropped right onto the floor. “What are we doing, Beck?”
Uncertain what was going on in her head, he went for honest. “Damned if I know, but I don’t want it to stop.”
Tansy swiped at tears with the hem of the apron she’d never taken off.
“You cryin’?”
She nodded and sniffled. “Yes.”
He lowered himself to the floor and pulled her into his lap. “You’re gonna get that pretty dress dirty.”
“I don’t care.”
“Take a deep breath, sugar.”
She did. Then she laid her hand on the side of his face. “Better,” she whispered. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Every inch of him went on full alert. “Are you sure?”
She nodded.
He swallowed. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”
“Well, I’m not a mind reader, so I guess I can’t answer that with one hundred percent certainty, but if you’re thinking I want you to take me to bed, then, yes, it does.”
He kissed her again, right there on the dining room floor, where anyone who might have been wandering by hoping for a chocolate-covered doughnut or a sugar cookie could see them.
More nervous than he could have imagined, he stood and scooped her up. Starting for the stairs, he stopped midstep.
“Sugar, I don’t have any protection with me. Didn’t think I’d need any, seeing as how I was spendin’ the day at preschool.”
“It’s okay. I’m on birth control.”
“Thought you said—”
“Emerson hasn’t touched me, Beck, not since that night. But he was unpredictable. As much as I love my daughter, I didn’t want to bring another child of his into this world.”
“Good enough.” His face tightened. “How ’bout we don’t speak his name anymore? I don’t want to think about him.”
“Me either.” She pulled his head toward her and kissed him till he thought he’d burst from wanting.
Upstairs, he headed for her bedroom. His first impression was cozy, comfortable with a little sass thrown in. The room fit her. Then it and everything else faded into insignificance when she removed her apron, her eyes on his.
Her shoes, high-heeled and very sexy, went next, and he was almost sorry to see them go. When she reached over her shoulder for her dress zipper, he shook his head.
“Uh-uh. That’s my job.”
Slowly, he turned her. He skimmed his fingers along the nape of her neck, brushed away her curls, and lowered his lips. One kiss after another along her neck and shoulders had goose bumps racing over her beautiful porcelain skin.
His fingers trailed over that same skin till he reached the zipper. He lowered it a couple inches, his lips and tongue worshipping her. Another slow inch, then another. When he uncovered the scrap of black lace she wore for a bra, he smiled and wondered if he’d find more of that black lace as he traveled farther south.
He did.
Driving them both crazy, his fingers traced over her hips, the dimples in her backside, up the curve of her spine. Then he slid the dress over her shoulders, and it puddled at her feet.
He turned her to face him, took in the passion-filled Caribbean-Sea eyes, the red, red lips, the tiny pieces of black lace. It had been so long—so very, very long since he’d been allowed to touch her like this.
And now, thanks to answered prayers, she would be his again. He could run his hands and lips wherever he pleased. He could pleasure her again.
“I’ve changed,” she whispered. “Having a baby—”
“Made you even more beautiful.” His hands and lips moved to her breasts and worshipped them. Sliding his fingers to her back, he released the clasp of her bra. One strap at a time, he slowly slipped it off and drank in the sight of her.
Palms on his chest, she said, “No more till I get rid of this.” She started unbuttoning his shirt, but her fingers trembled. “I’m all thumbs, Beck. I can’t believe how nervous I am. I feel like a teenager all over again.”
“Good. That makes two of us.”
Grabbing the tail of his shirt, he brought it up and over his head and gave it a toss.
She ran her hands over his chest, over those incredible, toned abs. “You’re beautiful, Beck. You were gorgeous before. Now? Whew!”
“Sweetheart, believe me when I say the feeling’s mutual.”
His own fingers clumsy, he made quick work of the rest of his clothes, then followed her down to the bed.
“I want to make this good for you, sweetheart. Special. But it’s been so long. I don’t know—”
“It’s already special, Beck. Take me. Please.”
And he did.
His hands, his mouth explored every inch of her. He thrilled to her soft sighs, to her cries of pleasure. And when her fingers trailed over his skin, he nearly came undone.
He’d dreamed of this, of having her here under him again.
When he entered her, Beck understood this Tansy was, in so many ways, the same young girl he’d loved when they’d been a couple. Except for that one night, no other man had touched her.
Her body had changed, become a woman’s, but inside, she was still his girl.
Familiar yet so new. So incredible.
Afterward, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, their breathing ragged. He traced his finger over her bare hip.
“Let’s take a shower.” He stood and pulled her up.
When she grabbed the sheet to cover herself, he tugged it from her hands.
“Uh-uh. Don’t hide from me. I love lookin’ at you, sugar.”
In the bathroom, Beck spied the old claw-foot tub she’d had reglazed and contemplated taking a long, lazy bath with her.
“I thought you’d probably get rid of the tub.”
“No way. It’s one of the best things about this house. I love to fill it full of bubbles after Gracie’s gone to bed and spend an hour relaxing and reading.”
“And that image will keep me awake for weeks,” he growled.
She laughed.
“But right now…” He wrapped an arm around her waist, turned on the water, and pulled her into the shower with him.
She gasped as the still-cold water hit her.
“It’ll warm up in here. Trust me.”