Chapter Four-Bo
A nger, worry, and another darker emotion I didn’t care to name spread through me like wildfire as I walked back to the rental cabin, leaving Gloria sitting in my living room.
On my couch.
In my spot.
I should have been angry about the mess she made and the trouble she caused. But all I could think about was how good she felt in my arms.
All her soft curves, her damp skin naked and wet from the bath, felt divine pressed against me.
The weight of her.
That sweet scent.
Like cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa. I wanted to lick her to see if she tasted as good as she smelled beneath the layer of smoke that clung to her still dry hair.
Silly woman. Forgetting the flue. Causing all that ruckus.
The damage was nonexistent. Just smoke, and some ash around the hearth itself.
I’d come back to clean it later.
Right then, I was more concerned with the smell sticking to the curtains, area rug, and sofa, which was why I decided to air it out completely, despite the frigid temperatures.
I was still poking around the house, stopping to check out the things she brought with her. I could admit to myself I was hungry for clues about this woman.
I wanted to know more about her, and that was a fucking first.
I moved as unobtrusively as possible for someone my size, hoping to hear any evidence of a cat. When I didn’t see one, I frowned, worried that leaving the door open might have tempted the little beastie to leave.
Walking back to the cozy little kitchen with the green granite countertop I installed last year and the natural oak cabinets, I felt a sense of calm I had never associated with the place before.
Maybe it was seeing the box of cinnamon tea bags and ginger biscuits. Like just knowing they were hers, and that she was staying here, in a place I owned, did something to me. Made me aware of Gloria Desoto in a way I should not be thinking about, like at all.
Huffing a sound that was half-groan half-growl, I ran my hands through my too long hair and tried to control my wayward emotions.
Once I felt calm again, I tried to come up with a way to lure Frou-Frou— a ridiculous name for a pet —and grinned to myself when I spied a cannister of treats, and I grinned. It was the cat version of the same scrumptious for pets goodies I bought for Moose, which was a much more dignified pet name in my not so humble opinion .
This was nuts. If there was one word that encompassed my entire being, it was grumpy. I never went out of my way to help someone.
But there I was. Searching for a cat with an idiotic name who belonged to a woman renting my cabin against my wishes and without my authority.
I should demand that she leave right this instant. Take her ridiculous compact car and get the hell out of here.
But I knew myself well, and I sure as shit wasn’t going to make the luscious woman leave. Even though her staying was likely to lead to ruination.
Hers or mine?
That part was unclear. But still, I didn’t do affairs.
And I was not in the market for a one night stand. But I was also self-aware enough to know that trying to resist the temptation that was Gloria might damn near kill me.
Fuck.
I picked up the cannister of cat treats and shook it, hoping Frou-Frou would hear it and come running.
While I did that, I worked hard at trying not to picture my beautiful tenant sitting in the cabin where I worked and lived. Her gorgeous body was on my couch right now, with her bare ass cheeks touching the soft leather.
Of course, my cock got hard. I let out a groan as I adjusted myself over my jeans. My dick clearly not getting the memo.
I am not fucking my tenant.
Just then, an enormous cat with fur the color of marmalade hopped onto the counter with a pitiful meow .
“There you are,” I grunted, having already grabbed the cat carrier by the door.
I held my hand open and showed him the treats, and the handsome boy sniffed the treats, then glowered at me with pale green eyes before deciding I was safe enough. His soft chomping was loud in the quiet home, and I grinned at the absurdity of it all.
“You’re too manly to be named Frou-Frou, aren’t you, guy?”
As if he understood, the cat sniffed and glared some more. I shrugged, picking him up and putting him in the carrier, which also had a nice little travel kitty litter tray in the storage compartment beneath it. Grabbing some food and his water bowl, I headed back home.
“Hello?” I called out not wanting to startle her, but the confounded woman was not where I left her.
I frowned, placing the carrier on the floor while I went to search for her.
Soft singing reached my ears, and I paused just outside the bathroom. I recognized the tune, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas , but I had to admit it never sounded quite so good to my ears before.
Her voice wasn’t spectacular in that over the top Mariah or Celine way. It was husky and rich. Sexy, too.
“What the fuck are you doing to me?” I muttered and scrubbed my hand over my face.
“Bo? Is that you?” she called out, and I heard the shower turn off.
“Yeah, uh, you’re gonna have to stay put awhile, while the place airs out,” I replied, stopping short when she opened the bathroom door.
Holy. Fuck.
Still dripping from her shower and wearing nothing but my bathrobe, Gloria blinked at me slowly. Her warm brown eyes seemed to darken as she took in how near we were, and the little vixen licked her pink lips.
I wanted to duplicate the move with my own tongue, to claim her lips in a kiss that would leave no room for doubt about this attraction I felt growing between us.
But I didn’t. I fucking panicked, and I turned around.
“Sorry, um, what are you wearing?”
“Oh! I apologize, but I was covered in smoke, and I didn’t want to stink up your house or mess up the furniture,” she explained.
“No, that’s fine. I, uh, got Frou-Frou. Why the hell did you name such a badass feline, such a wimpy name?”
“Excuse me? Thank you for getting him, but I’ll have you know that is a fine name for a cat,” she replied saucily.
“It’s a terrible name, Slick.”
“No. Slick is a terrible name.”
“Do you not like it? Cause I’ll tell you right now I’ve got no problems with slick, Slick.”
I was back to facing her. Thunder roared in my head and my whole body felt as if it was drowning in desire for this woman.
“You don’t?” she squeaked, and my gaze was riveted to her plump mouth.
I shook my head, licking my lips and getting the perfect eyeful as she dropped her hands, and her borrowed robe parted, gifting me with tantalizing glimpses of soft, round flesh and pale smooth skin.
I’d never been so grateful for losing a belt in my entire life.
“Are you?” I asked, crowding her and lowering my head.
“Am I what?” she asked, our lips brushing across one another as she spoke in what I could only call a tease of a kiss.
Eyes wide open, my gaze jumped from those tempting lips of hers that were driving me wild to where I could see her pulse racing and her chest rising with the increased pace of her breath.
“Are you slick for me, Gloria? Is that luscious body of yours primed and aching the way mine is for you?”
She nodded, and I felt my entire body fill with this primal urge to shout a victory cry. Like I was some conquering hero or something just because this woman wanted me.
“Words. Slick. I need to hear you say it,” I growled.
“Yes, Bo. I-I’m so fucking wet right now. I want you,” she confessed, and that was about all I could take.
I clammed my mouth to hers and lost myself in the hazy flurry of lust and need that took over the second we touched.
I had no right to touch her. And really, I should have known better. But I was touching her now, and I knew there was no stopping what was about to happen.
I should stop. I should walk away now, before it’s too late.
Then she reached for me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing that insanely hot body to mine, and I knew there was no stopping us now.
She opened her mouth wider, sucking on my tongue, and I thought my cock was going to burst right through my pants.
Fuck. So good.
“Goddamn, Slick. You taste so fucking good. You taste like home.”
“You do too, Bo. Please,” she whimpered.
“Please what, Slick?”
“More. I need more.”
Fuck. Yes.
I did, too. And I was going to give her everything she asked for and more. I had no choice now. I touched her and everything in me was screaming that this felt too good not to be right.
“Hold on,” I commanded and picked her up off the floor, dragging that robe off her body.
“Where are we going?”
“The bedroom.”