Chapter 17
“Touch me,Theo. I’ve been waiting to feel you all over me.”
His sexy assistant wound her arms around his neck and lifted on her tiptoes, offering her full, pouty mouth for his kiss. He captured her lips and licked into her hot, sweet mouth. She tasted like cinnamon candy and sex, and he wanted to devour her whole.
Her fingers weaved through his hair, stroking lightly and making him shudder. Theo kissed the side of her neck, nipping the cord there until he felt her knees go weak, then licked and sucked lightly as her throat tipped back and she cried out, long and low.
“I want to feel you, Theo. Make me feel you so deep,” she whispered. Theo’s hand cupped the back of her neck and tilted her head back to see her eyes. They were half closed with lust. Theo shuddered. She was his greatest fantasy come to life, and he couldn’t get enough, fast enough, deep enough to satisfy him.
He lifted her off her feet and pressed her into the wall. Her legs in those fucking pink high heels spread wide, notching her heat perfectly into his erection before settling tightly around his waist. Her fingers trailed down to his chest and teased him there.
“Need you,” she whispered in his ear. “Need to feel you inside me.” Her hands were driving him crazy, leaving little trails of fire on his chest and stomach. Her mouth was open and so sweet, teasing him with her little gasps and moans. She was hot and hungry, exactly how he fantasized about her.
She lifted her breasts and offered their heavy weight to him. Her sundress slipped to reveal the hint of her pink nipple over the top and he went feral. He lowered his head and licked a hot line down the curve to her nipple, standing up so prettily for him to suck and play with.
Theo shifted her against the wall and thrust against her, while she arched greedily, her damp panties the only flimsy barrier between them.
“Yes, take it, Theo. Take what you need,” she breathed and sucked his lower lip into her mouth.
Rooooroooooo
Theo’s eyes opened and instead of Amber”s hot, wet, sucking tongue, Theo felt a swipe across his cheek. His hand came up. ”What the...” he cracked one eye open and looked into the soulful eyes of his dog.
Rooorooooo. Puddin’s head went back, and she howled in pure ecstasy—the way she greeted him every morning.
”Get off me,” he said. She lapped his face again and panted her doggy breath at him lovingly. Theo reached down and adjusted his raging hard-on. His heart was still pounding, and he ached where he’d been pressed against Amber against the wall. Fuck. So much for that dream.
Pudding looked at him reproachfully and rolled over onto her back. She had never spent even a single night in the crate. That first night she had looked at him just as she was looking at him now, and Theo learned he was a pushover for soulful brown eyes.
”Come ‘ere, girl,” he sighed as he looked at the clock. 5:45 a.m., an ungodly hour to be awake, but he had been a runner all his life. Running was one of the only things that allowed him to stop thinking and just use his body.
Puddin’ moaned again, and he gave her what she wanted—the best belly scratch of her life—and thought about Amber at work yesterday. She had done something he’d thought impossible—change an event that had been the same since his grandfather was in office. And Theo was proud to admit, her ideas were good. Better than good.
Cade had thought so too. Theo had overheard him ask Amber to dinner. The relief he’d felt when she had refused had taken the wind out of him. He prided himself on his self-control and rationality, but the thought of Amber with Cade stirred unfamiliar feelings in him. Amber was free to spend her time with anyone she chose, of course, and Cade was a good guy, well-liked and successful. There was no need for him to feel the stab of jealousy about them together, yet Amber affected him differently than any other woman. She got under his skin and made him care about things he wouldn’t normally.
It was ridiculous. He had no claim over her and no right to feel any kind of possessiveness.
After a quick shower, Theo packed the groceries he had shopped for the night before and hit the road. He had no idea what he was going to face at Amber”s house, or if she”d even open the door, but he wasn”t kidding when he said he would be there at 6:30 a.m. to run.
The idea had come to him when he left her house after taking care of her when she was sick. She looked so despondent, telling him how she was afraid to take risks to go after what she really wanted. He was going to show her that she could do this one thing, even if he had to manhandle her into it.
It was going to be a challenge. He knew how stubborn she was, but when he put his mind to something, he always won. He took the stairs up to her apartment and knocked on the door. No answer. No surprise. He knocked again.
The apartment door across the hall opened, and Val, with her backpack on her shoulders, poked her dark head out and looked around suspiciously.
Theo had met the teen when she had stopped by Amber”s apartment the morning Amber was sick. She had shown up looking like death to check on her friend, and when she found him, she’d panicked, thinking that Amber was going to get in trouble for not showing up for work and told him the whole story. Val was so sick she could barely stand up straight while they talked, so Theo had sent her back to bed with a promise that Amber’s job was safe, but she had given him some very valuable insight into Amber first.
Val’s version of Amber was one he was still coming to terms with. Instead of being frivolous with her time and money, she had been shouldering the weight of another family, paying bills that stretched her own already thin finances even more. And all in secret.
His perspective had been shifting ever since, and combined with Neal’s shitty criticism, had morphed into a profound respect for her in stark contrast to the facade she painted for everyone else. With the exception of Johnny. He’d definitely noticed she was more herself with him than anyone else.
But he wasn’t stupid. He knew Amber wouldn’t appreciate him knowing about something she kept hidden, even from her family. She had too much pride for that. So he had taken the stack of bills she had hidden in her couch of all places, and ordered her a new air conditioner and not said a word. It was the least he could do.
”Are you coming or going?” Val said, squinting at him.
He looked down at the groceries. ”I”m here to pick Amber up for a run.”
“Shoot. My bus is coming, or I would totally stick around to watch this disaster go down. Good luck,” she called, running down the stairs.
Theo pounded again and suddenly a very growly, very scary-looking Amber answered the door. Her hair was tangled around her shoulders, and she wore an oversized black KISS T-shirt that fell to the top of her thighs—no shorts in sight. Theo took a deep breath and steeled himself. He was here to prove something to her. He wasn”t here to wonder what she wore to bed at night.
”What?” she said, rubbing her eyes sleepily, which was one of the most adorable things Theo had ever seen. But he knew better than to show a sign of weakness.
Brusquely, he pushed past her and walked to the kitchen with his groceries. ”It”s six-thirty.” He checked his watch. ”You were supposed to be up and ready. We”re running today.”
“The hell we are,” she said, yawning. “You can run. I’m going back to bed.” She leaned against the door with her hands behind her back, looking deliciously rumpled and sleepy, as if she’d spent a long night being thoroughly fucked. An image from his X-rated dream flashed through his brain and Theo scowled.
“I told you I’d be here.”
“And I told you, I”m not a runner. Pick another dare.” She rolled her eyes. ”Do you want me to streak across the village green? I’ve totally done that before, but I’ll do it again. Do you want me to sing karaoke at the gala? I”ll do that too,” she offered smugly. “But I don’t run.”
”You”re running,” he said evenly. ”I”ll give you ten seconds to get into your bedroom and put on whatever you need to run in, or I”m going to help you.”
Her chin lifted. ”You wouldn”t.”
He gave her his best stare, the kind that could make a criminal tremble back in his prosecuting days. ”Try me. Ten...nine...”
She straightened up slowly, thrusting out her breasts, a gleam of challenge in her eye.
“Eight...seven...” Theo slid a hot gaze up and down her barely covered body, and a flare of lust shot through him. He held her gaze with a silent dare.
Her hands went to her hips.
“Six . . . five . . . four . . .”
She smiled smugly. “I have a better idea,” she said, tugging up the hem of the T-shirt so that it danced at the cleft of her thighs. Theo’s mouth went dry. “Let’s compromise. Come to my bedroom, and I’ll show you something you’ve been thinking about since that night at the lake.”
He shook his head. He wasn’t unaffected. He just wanted her to prove to herself she could do something more.
Her eyes narrowed just as he said, “Three...two...one.” She bolted from the door, but he rushed her in two long strides and tossed her over his shoulder. His palm landed on her bare ass, and he took a moment to learn its shape. Round, supple flesh. His question was answered: she didn’t have anything on except for panties under the shirt.
“Now you’re just copping a feel. Put me down!” she whined and pounded on his back with her fists. Theo grinned.
“Stop fighting or you won’t like what I do,” he said cheerfully. He headed toward her bedroom while her bare feet kicked in the air.
“Don’t you threaten me.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, lifted his shirt, and nipped his back with her sharp little teeth.
“Ouch.” He winced and gave in to the temptation, landing one hard slap on her ass on his way to the bedroom.
”No, you didn”t,” she gasped, arching back and trying to cover her ass with her hand.
”I did,” he said, rubbing the spot lightly. Amber had the best ass he’d ever seen. Round and plump and perfect. “And I”ll do it again. You”re not going to get out of this. We”re running.”
”Put me down!” she squealed. He reached her bedroom and tossed her down on the bed, where she bounced up onto her elbows and stared him down. He read the desire in her eyes and the mischief, but he wasn’t going to be derailed by any of her nonsense.
”I”m not a runner. I told you, but I know how to do other things well,” she said, reaching for him. He stepped away from the bed.
“Then we”ll walk until you become one,” he said patiently.
”I don”t like walking.”
”Then you”ll run.” He opened her drawers and pulled out a pair of shorts.
”I”m not wearing that.” She had dropped the femme fatale act and was pouting now. Theo sensed victory, but he kept his face impassive.
”You have another ten seconds to get dressed or?—”
“Or you’ll spank me again? Maybe I’ll take all day.” She leaned back on her elbows again and crossed her legs. He caught sight of purple panties.
“Or I will get you dressed. And Amber?” Her lips pouted in that way of hers that made him want to swoop down and cover her sweet little sex-kitten mouth with his, but he forced a scowl on his face. “You won’t like what I pick out for you.”
He could see her brilliant mind mulling it over.
“Fine,” she said in disgust, “but this is going to be no fun for you because you”re going to see how awful I am, and I’ll just slow you down.”
He stared her down.
Her hands went to the hem of her shirt, and she raised an eyebrow. ”Usually, when I take my clothes off, the other person looks happier about it.” She dragged the shirt up, and just as it hit the top of her ribs, Theo turned around quickly and left. He wasn”t a saint; he was already trying his best to keep his hands off her luscious body, and he didn”t know how much longer he could hold out.
Ten minutes later, Amber came back out into the living room, her face scrubbed and her hair in a ponytail.
”Here,” he said, handing her a banana, ”eat this before we go.”
“I hate bananas.” She wrinkled her nose, but took a reluctant bite, and he shuffled her out of the apartment before she could give him anymore strip teases.
”How far are we going?” she asked suspiciously, as they stretched on the steps outside her building. “I have to work today, and my boss is a real asshole.”
He shot her a look. ”Very funny. We”re running two miles today.”
“Two miles?” Her mouth dropped open. ”I don”t think I could walk two miles. How about I ride my bike? You have to ease me into this deal. Nice and slow. But I bet you wouldn”t know anything about that.” She smirked.
”Aren”t you the one that told me I excel in everything I do?”
She snapped her mouth shut.
They started off easy. The sun was rising, hazy and humid already. Theo did his best to keep his eyes straight ahead, instead of on the bouncing curves in Lycra next to him. He kept a steady pace until she had a hard time talking to him.
”I need a break. Let”s sit down here on this bench,” she gasped, pointing to the end of Main Street. Theo looked at his watch. He had spent the night researching a popular 5K program, and he had all of his stops planned for her.
”A little bit farther,” he coaxed.
She bent down with her hands on her knees, huffing and puffing, but she let him bully her into another respectable few yards.
They did an easy loop around the village, through the green where people were fishing in the canal and passed moms running with their kids in strollers. He was proud of Amber, although he wasn”t ready to give her any praise. He knew she”d stop if he did, but she kept up and eventually stopped complaining. He had a feeling that had more to do with not having any breath to spare.
Back up in her apartment, she dragged herself to the shower with a limp wave of her hand. ”Shower. Bye. See you. Later,” she said, panting.
Theo grinned and made his way to the kitchen. He found the blender in the same spot he had left it, took out all the glass containers of lettuce, apples, celery, carrots, spinach, kale, and seeds he had brought over, and got to work.
Fifteen minutes later, Amber padded out of the bathroom in a short colorful kimono robe. ”Oh,” she said in surprise, ”I thought you went home.”
”Drink this,” he said, handing her a tall glass of green juice.
She looked at it, then at him, as if he had betrayed her. ”You made me run, and you”re making me drink that? What did I ever do to you?”
He laughed, something he realized he did often with her around. “This isn’t part of our dare. It’s just good for you. Drink this and I”ll make you an omelet.”
She looked like she was going to dig her heels in, but then a sly look crossed her face. “Fine,” she said, “but I want you to do something for me.”
”What?” he asked warily.
She marched over to her giant work bag and pulled out a file folder. ”I”ll drink this,” she held up the glass, ”if you add these events to your calendar.”
Theo took the file silently and read it over. It was a copy of his calendar for the next two months. All of his usual weekly meetings and events were on there, but she had shuffled a few evenings around to add in an outdoor movie night, the Northfield carnival, and Fourth of July fireworks along with a few other local events. Aside from the carnival when he was kid, he hadn’t had the time for any of these events. There always seemed to be something else more pressing, or Neal had him scheduled to attend something that attracted an older demographic.
”What did you take off my calendar?” he asked.
”I didn”t get rid of anything. I just managed your time more efficiently, which is what you hired me for, right? Come on. This is fair. If I’m going to train for a race, you have to agree to experience the magic of a small-town summer.”
”Okay. I’ll go,” he said, surprising himself. He grinned. “That was a great tagline, by the way. ‘Experience the magic of a small-town summer.’ You sure you didn’t major in marketing?”
“I majored in beer pong,” she said with an eye roll. But then, “Really?” she asked, a pleased smile spreading across her face.
He pushed the glass toward her. “Yes. Now drink up, Red Hot,” he said.
She put the straw in her mouth and sipped the green juice. She kept her eyes on his and sucked slowly. When she pulled the straw away, she licked her lips and grinned. “You just wait. I am going to make this your best summer ever.”