Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Xavier had told the truth about being able to dance.
May was impressed by his fast moves and his slow ones. Their slow dance had been cut short when Posy finally made it over to say hello, which had left May no choice but to step away from the hottest man in the room and turn her attention to the youngest Stanton.
May leaned back against the passenger seat of Xavier’s Range Rover, her skin still warm where his palms had flattened against her back, her nipples still tingling with awareness from the brush of his wool coat while they’d danced.
He hadn’t brought up kissing her again at the reception, which was for the best. Making out in front of her ex and his entire family would have been poor form. Now that they were driving down a dark road flanked by tall pine trees, however, her thoughts returned to the kiss she hadn’t yet received.
“I was thinking of driving up to the Bluffs.” Xavier slanted a glance her way. “Unless you wanted to go straight home?”
Not ready for the evening to end, she shook her head. “I haven’t been there since high school.”
“Damn. I have to take you now. What kept you away? Fear of heights?”
“Heights are fine, it’s falling from them that’s scary.”
He chuckled.
“The bad girls went to the Bluffs after school, so whenever I felt rebellious, that’s where I’d go. Then I realized it was just a ragged cliff edge which was not that safe, so I didn’t go back.”
“Did you go with your boyfriend?”
“No. I went with my friends. We would drink cheap wine and play music really loud.”
“Bad girl,” he growled, his tone approving. “I promise not to walk close to the edge of the cliff. But on a night like this”—he leaned forward to look out the windshield at the full moon—“I can’t not take advantage of the view. You can see every star in the sky from there.”
“And you like stars.”
“Love them. Even so, the view from the Bluffs is only the second-best view on the lake.”
“What’s the first?”
His smile turned devilish when he answered, “Skylight over my bed.”
Here came the heavy flirting. Teasing him, she asked, “Who says I’m going to your house tonight?”
“You do. Just waiting for another yes.”
Oh, he was smooth. Smooth and handsome and making her want to do a host of bad-girl things with him. At the Bluffs or at his place. Or both. She wasn’t picky.
Of the recent dates she’d been on, most had ended in disaster—William came to mind—and others had ended with fooling around, though rarely to her satisfaction. In short: It’d been a while since someone had curled her toes.
At the Bluffs, Xavier parked and shut off the engine. May stepped out of the Range Rover, bracing herself for the breeze. She wasn’t disappointed. The wind whipped her hair around her head and chilled her legs as it sliced through her dress like a sharp knife.
Before she could mention that she was freezing, Xavier draped his jacket over her shoulders. The material was warm from his body heat, infused with that piney scent she’d come to crave. It was masculine, grounding, and safe.
She let out a sigh.
His arm at her lower back, they walked to the edge of the cliff, but not too close. She doubted it was every star, but there were about a million of them out tonight, each winking their happy hellos.
A fat full moon glowed from the other side of the lake, lording over the hill of pine trees that gave Evergreen Cove her name.
“I never saw the man,” Xavier said, chin lifted as he admired the moon.
She followed his gaze up. “No?”
“Never. Where the hell is he?”
She leaned close and outstretched one arm. “You can sort of make out a face in the shadows and craters. If you squint, you can see a nose, a mouth, spaces for his eyes… Right there. See the shadow of a cheekbone?”
His breath dusted her face when he turned his head. “I see a cheekbone.”
She was suddenly nose-to-nose with him. So close that if she took one step closer to him, her breasts would be on his chest. Which sounded lovely.
“How the hell are we going to do this, May?” He drew his fingers along her chin before gently tipping it up. His eyes reminded her of warm honey, which was the consistency of her spine right now. He was so damn potent.
“Do what?” she whispered.
“Break your rules—hopefully all of them—and then make sure you walk away better for it.” He thumbed her chin, sincerity swimming in his eyes. “I don’t want to push you into anything you’ve sworn off. I mean, I want to. Badly. But not like that.”
She laughed softly.
“I respect you. You are allowed to stay your independent, incredible self without owing anyone an explanation, especially me.”
Her laugh faded. He respected her, wanted her to keep her independence. Didn’t want her to agree simply to fulfill his needs. She wanted to sleep with him more than before.
“Is this reverse psychology?”
“No.” He chuckled. “But that’s what I’d say if it were.”
“Not to burst your bubble, but I think I can handle kissing you good night and walk away intact.”
“You are in danger of a lot more than a kiss good night.” Serious now, he erased the space between them. “I have a feeling once our lips touch, both of us are going to want more.”
Too late. But what she said was, “Only one way to find out.”
Before she could blink, his lips were on hers. The softness of his beard tickled her face while the warmth of his tongue lit her on fire. Her heart hammered, her blood heated. The world fell away.
It was a good thing he hadn’t kissed her at the wedding because she would have lost herself in him—no matter who was watching.
This was the temptation she’d been avoiding for the past few years.
Now that it was happening, she could hardly believe it.
Kissing Xavier at the Bluffs had not been on her bingo card.
Their mating tongues were a promise of more to come. A promise of clothes being torn off one another as they stumbled through his house. A promise of moonlit, sweaty sex courtesy of the skylight in his bedroom.
The kiss was a premonition of the twisting of sheets and trying every position at least once. She’d kiss him anywhere and everywhere until he begged her to stop, and he’d kiss her until she begged him never to stop.
She raked her fingers up his neck and into his thick hair. She stood on her toes to deepen the kiss as her skin erupted in goosebumps. From the wind or from the kiss, she didn’t know which.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been touched like this—with such slow, deliberate care.
Like she was being savored. She had the passing, and slightly unhinged, thought that she would be perfectly content having sex here.
On the ground at the edge of the Bluffs, the wind whistling around them.
She wouldn’t care how close to the edge they came while they found each other’s.
His grip on her hips tightened, his hold borderline desperate. Was he thinking the same thing? That he wanted her as much as she wanted him? Why had they ever pretended to deny it?
They parted, mostly to catch their breath.
Chests heaving, eyes watering from the brisk wind, they stared at each other in silence.
A question lingered, unasked. Darkness hid half of his handsome face.
He grinned, the same grin she’d seen a thousand times from behind the bar at Salty Dog.
Only here, half in shadow, that grin was knowing. Intimate. Meant only for her.
Yes, they’d both realized what they’d been missing.
“Yeah.” He sucked in a breath before blowing it out again. “I’m not seeing any way out of this with our clothes on.”
She let out a throaty laugh. “I don’t either.”
He grasped the lapels of his jacket, still covering her shoulders. “Come home with me.”
“Okay.”
His dark, reddish eyebrows leaped. “Yeah?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. You were there for that kiss too.”
“I was trying to prepare myself in case you wanted to be practical.”
“Going home with you might be the smartest, most irresponsible decision I’ve made in years.”
“Today was a lot for you,” he conceded. “You handled it beautifully and looked beautiful while handling it, but I’m guessing it took a toll. I could be a gentleman and drop you off at home, but that feels like abandoning you after I promised to see you through the night.”
“You did agree to be my wedding date for the evening, and”—she looked at the moon—“it is still evening. I’m going to have to agree that you dropping me off at home would be abandonment.”
“Well. We can’t have that.” He lowered his head to give her another press of his lips.
Xavier drove home as fast as possible without putting them in danger. May had agreed to come home with him. And get naked.
It was a good fucking day.
He’d wanted to kiss her from the first moment he laid eyes on her at Salty Dog.
That was around three years ago. She’d come with Lisa, for whom he’d spared a perfunctory glance.
There had only been May, in a pair of tall shoes and short shorts.
Her curves—round hips leading to a nipped waist, full breasts, and small shoulders—had been a temptation he wasn’t sure he’d be able to avoid.
His only coherent thought had been that he hoped like hell she was single.
Once he realized they had friends in common, he saw her more often.
And while she had been single, she also wasn’t looking to date.
He grew more and more intrigued by her as time passed.
They had interests in common, and she had outsmarted him on more than one occasion.
Not only was she smart, but she was also witty.
No one made him laugh or made him as hot and distracted as May.
Smoking hot and really cool. His Achilles’ heel.
They’d flirted, but she’d always look away rather than hold his eyes. He’d pour her a drink and consider asking her out, and she’d promptly excuse herself or mention a date she had “this weekend.”
He’d been confused until he’d learned about her no-hot-men rule, which, while flattering on some level, was the worst news a guy could get.
As long as she thought he was “hot,” she wouldn’t date him.
He’d settled for flirting, being friends, and hanging out with her at parties.
He’d looked forward to teasing out another of her gorgeous smiles every time their paths had crossed.
Flirting and friendship had been enough, or so he’d convinced himself. Until tonight, when he’d realized that flirting and friendship weren’t enough. Kissing her had shown him what he’d been missing, and he was ravenous for more.
He helped her step out of the Range Rover and then raced for the house. He unlocked his front door and gestured for her to go in ahead of him. He dropped his keys on the table and flipped on a lamp, uncharacteristically nervous.
May Glenfield. In his house. In that dress.
It was what he’d wanted for as long as he could remember.
He’d thought on the drive home about how he’d handle this moment. Whether he’d offer her a nightcap or ask if she wanted to sit on the dock for a while. He’d decided to play it by ear. Now that they were here, he just wanted to kiss her again.
And again.
He slipped the chain strap of her purse off her wrist and set it next to his keys. Then he smoothed his hands over her shoulders, down her arms. Keeping his eyes on hers, he kissed each of her hands, pleased when she simply watched him, a curious half-smile on her face.
“I really like this dress.” He gripped her waist and squeezed gently.
“But you have this golden-yellow romper. Off the shoulder. Super short shorts.” He caressed her curves, down to the tops of her hips and back up to just under her breasts.
Her mouth opened as she sucked in a breath—hopefully because she was so turned on, she couldn’t stand it.
“It’s my favorite thing you’ve ever worn. ”
“I haven’t worn that in a while.”
His voice was rocky when he said, “I know.”
She moved his hands to her breasts, pressing them there. He thumbed her nipples over the material of her dress. When her mouth dropped open in pleasure, his hard-on stirred to life. It hadn’t been far behind this evening, and now that they were alone, he didn’t have to hide it.
She shot her tongue into his mouth, warm and eager. He unzipped the back of her dress and slid it off her arms. Semi-sheer gray lace encased two of the most beautiful nipples he’d ever laid eyes on, dark in color and visible through the material.
He pulled the lace aside and dropped his head, suckling one nipple into his mouth. She moaned in his ear, her short nails raking along his scalp. His cock entered steel-rebar territory.
He shifted his attention to her other nipple.
“Yes,” she breathed. Followed by “Xavier.”
A thrill of desire shot up his spine like the lit fuse on a stick of dynamite. He gathered a fistful of her dress and dragged the backs of his knuckles along her bare thigh. “Might ask you to keep these boots on.”
“Sounds good to me.”
She trusted him. Which made him feel ten fucking feet tall.
He bent at the knees, slid his hands down her back, and cupped her round ass. “Lace bra, lace panties,” he said as he walked her backward toward the stairs. “Is this your usual, or were you planning on showing them to me tonight?”
“Sexy underwear makes me feel sexy.”
Which didn’t answer his question.
“You make everything look sexy.” He’d let her have the out. She was here, she was toying with the collar of his shirt, her eyes twinkling with mischief. She could say whatever she wanted, and he wouldn’t argue.
“Upstairs.” He released her.
She turned, gathered her dress in both hands, and clomped up the steps in her heavy boots. When he caught up to her—not hard to do since he was taking the stairs two at a time—she was lingering at the mouth of his bedroom.
He took in the image—undressed to her waist save that see-through bra, the skirt of her dress bundled in her hands, the boots, and her teeth gently resting on her bottom lip. Moonlight streamed in from the windows and skylight, highlighting her curves and curls.
May, moonlit and flushed, looking at him like he was hers. He’d catalog this memory for eternity.
“Second thought.” He scooped her against him. “The boots gotta go.”
“I thought you liked my boots.” Her voice held a teasing lilt as she grabbed the placket of his shirt and towed him toward his bed.
“I love the boots,” he said. “But I want you completely naked. Now.”