Chapter 4
Four
That deep, whiskey-smooth voice…
She turned, and there they were—those piercing dark eyes. He looked incredible, almost as delicious as he looked naked. His western shirt was forest green, silky, and unbuttoned at the top. A few black strands of chest hair peeked out. His jeans fit as snugly as she remembered, and he wore scuffed brown leather boots. She could see him on horseback, riding the range, the wind tearing through that gorgeous sable hair.
She looked away and huffed. “What are you, some kind of stalker?”
He shook his head, chuckling. “Can’t say I’ve done anything like this before.”
“How’d you get in here?”
“Some doormen can be bribed.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have a doorman.”
He gave a lazy half-smile. “Okay, you got me. Some horny women can be bribed.”
Horny women?
“Sheila.”
Her man-hungry neighbor had been known to be free with the passcode. Now Holly’d have to call management and get it changed again.
“That her name?”
“Did she have bleached blond hair and a voice hoarse from smoking?”
“That’d be the one.” He fingered his stubbled jawline.
Holly tried not to gape.
“Damn her anyway.” Holly continued her relentless search for her keys.
Cowboy gently pried the purse from her grasp and pulled out her keys. “This what you’re lookin’ for?”
She grabbed her purse. “Yes. Thank you, cowboy.”
He miraculously picked the right key and fit it into her lock.
“It’s Jack,” he said. “Jack Sherwood. No more cowboy.” He opened the door, picked up her portfolio and bag of groceries and waited for her to walk in.
Her nerves rattled as she entered. He followed her in and set the portfolio and groceries on her kitchen counter.
“Well, thank you for your help,” she said. “I can manage now.”
“Oh, no,” he said. “Not so fast. You haven’t told me your name yet, sugar.”
“Sugar’s fine.”
“The hell it is.” He walked to the door, shut it, and leaned back against it. “You left me that morning without even waking me to say goodbye. I thought we had a good time. I wanted to see you again. Why’d you pull a stunt like that?”
Holly’s heart raced. He’d wanted to see her again? This had to be some kind of sick joke. “It was a one-night stand, cowboy.”
“Jack.”
She sighed. “Do you understand what a one-night stand is? One night of mind blowing sex? I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept.”
“That’s not what I’m about.”
“Well, that’s what I was about that particular night,” Holly said. “I’m sorry if I upset you. Really I am. I was in a bad place that night and all I wanted was…” She closed her eyes and sighed again.
“You ever going to tell me your name?”
“I think it’s better to leave it—” She opened her eyes. “Hey! What the hell are you doing?”
Jack had grabbed her purse from the counter and fished out her wallet. He opened it and pulled out a credit card. “Holly. Holly S. Taylor. What’s the S stand for?”
“None of your goddamn business.”
“Susan?”
“No.”
“Sheila?” He gave a short laugh.
“Hell, no.”
He smiled a heart-stopping smile. “Sugar?”
Holly couldn’t help but return his grin. “It’s Solange, if you must know. It’s my mother’s name. She’s French.”
“Very pretty.” He replaced the credit card and handed the wallet to her. Her skin tingled when his fingers grazed hers.
“Listen,” he said. “You’re never going to convince me the sex wasn’t amazing that night. I know you felt it.”
She shuddered. His voice was like hot silk. “I n-never said it wasn’t amazing.”
“Truth is, Holly , nobody’s gotten under my skin like that in…well, ever.” He advanced toward her like a wolf stalking its prey.
She backed away, not paying attention to her whereabouts, until she found herself trapped against her own refrigerator. A fairy magnet dug into her back.
“When I saw you sitting in that class today, all fresh and beautiful, I was both ecstatic and angry at the same time. You know what I mean?”
“N-No.”
He placed his palms on the refrigerator, on either side of shoulders, trapping her. His scent drifted around her—cedar wood, spice, and male musk. She could inhale it forever and never tire of it.
“I think you do.” He looked above her head for a moment, as if composing himself, and then gazed back into her eyes. “When I woke up that morning and you were gone, I turned that suite inside out searching for something—anything—that would lead me to you.”
“I’m sorry—”
“I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.” He pressed his lips to her forehead.
She ignited. Blazes trailed over her skin from one little kiss.
“I dream about your nipples, you know that?”
She gulped. Moisture trickled between her legs.
“I dream about suckin’ them raw like I did that night. I dream of you suckin’ my cock with those sweet lips of yours. Then I dream about fuckin’ you hard and fast, and then makin’ slow sweet love to you.”
Holly writhed under his steady and scalding gaze. Her nipples puckered against her bra. Want—pure, raw want—screamed through her.
His mouth closed over hers. The kiss was gentle at first, tiny licks around the corners of her lips, his tongue like smooth cream. Then he probed with slightly more force and her lips parted. Again, he was gentle, even as he sank into her mouth and kissed her with a slow hunger. It was sweet and sexy at the same time. Nothing like the frenzied passion of their first kiss, but incredible all the same. A soft groan left his throat and vibrated into her mouth, giving her chills.
Holly was vaguely aware of Jack fumbling with the buttons of her blouse and pushing her bra upward. Her ample breasts fell gently against her chest.
His lips left her mouth, and she sucked in a much needed breath. He trailed moist kisses over her cheek, her neck, down her chest, across the swollen flesh of her breast, until he caught a nipple between his teeth.
She couldn’t stop her shriek.
He looked up. “Too much?” His word hummed against the wrinkled flesh of her areola.
“God, no, but—”
He took the nipple again and tugged. Lightning flashed to her core and she jerked backward, the magnet digging farther into her flesh.
He let her nipple go with a soft pop. He stood, touching his forehead to hers, his hands cupping her breasts and his fingers gently kneading the tight buds. “Let me back in your bed, Holly.” His voice was husky, primal. “ Please .”
Oh, she wanted to. The thought of another night of unbridled passion with cowboy—no, Jack, what a perfect name for him—sent ripples through her.
But another one-nighter wasn’t possible. That wasn’t who she was. Jack didn’t want her for the long haul, and who could blame him?
She pushed him away and ducked under his arms.
“Sugar?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, standing next to the door. “I really need you to go now.”
“Holly—”
“Please, Jack.”
He walked toward her and smiled. “That’s the first time you’ve called me by my name. I like that.”
Why was he so damned sweet? How was she supposed to get rid of him when he made her skin tingle and her heart race?
There was one way.
“I’m forty, you know.”
His eyebrows arched. “No, I didn’t know. You don’t look a day over thirty.”
“So you can see the problem.”
“What the hell problem are you talking about?”
“Well, clearly I’m a lot older than you are.”
He shook his head, his eyes wide. “You really think I give a rat’s ass about your age?”
A prickle of defensiveness speared into Holly. “How old are you anyway? Thirty-two? Thirty-three?”
There went the lazy half-smile again. The one that made her heart go pitter-pat. “Twenty-nine, actually.”
“Dear God.” Holly’s body thudded against the wooden door.
“What?”
“What do you mean ‘what’?” That’s a difference of over ten years!”
He let out a chuckle and then said in an exaggerated drawl, “I done figured that out. Even a cowpoke like me knows how to cipher, ma’am.”
“Stop making fun of me.”
“Why not, Holly? You’re bein’ silly.”
“Silly? You’re young. You’re…well, I’ll just say it. You’re freaking hot. You can have anyone you want.”
“Right now, I want you.”
“What about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, I’m pretty sure I’ll still want you. And the next day.”
“And after that?”
“Christ, Holly. You want a fuckin’ commitment here? It’s not going to happen, at least not yet. I’m attracted to you. I’m hot for you. I’m so damned hard right now I think I could cut through diamonds. I’d like to get to know you—inside and outside the bedroom. If that isn’t enough for you, well, maybe I should go.”
Now he was talking sense. As much as she desired him, wanted him, nothing could ever come of it, for reasons she wasn’t ready to tell him or anyone else.
“That’s right. Go.”
“Look—” He gripped her shoulders.
His touch sparked a shiver between her legs.
“I spoke quickly. I don’t want to go. If you don’t want to go to bed, I can accept that. But can we talk? Have a drink? Or a cup of coffee? We don’t have to stay here if you’re not comfortable. We can go to a bar or a coffee shop.”
Her body was on fire, and she was tempted to spend the evening with this handsome stranger—for that’s what he still was, a stranger. However, it couldn’t lead to anything good, and she’d just be heartbroken when it ended.
Holly had already experienced enough heartbreak for this lifetime.
“I’m sorry, Jack. Just go. Please.”
“Aw, damn, sugar. Why won’t you let us get to know each other?”
“Because…” She cleared her throat. His dark beauty left her breathless. He was a sweetheart and he deserved the best—better than she could give, anyway. She gulped in some courage. “Because I have nothing to offer you, that’s why.”
“I disagree.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I’d like to change that.”
She opened the door and looked at the floor. “I’m sorry.”
Tears stung the inside of her eyelids as he walked away toward the elevator.
He didn’t look back.