“Just to talk, Geoff.”
“All right.”
“Okay, then. Well...” She stepped back to Corbin. “I’ll let you go.”
Corbin almost laughed when she latched onto his arm and hauled him into her house. She closed the front door with a click, slid the lock into place and gave him a blinding smile.
Wary of that quick mood switch, Corbin asked, “You’re grinning...why?”
“Because you were so nice. You trusted me to handle it and I appreciate that. As you just saw, Geoff can be an ass, but for some reason, he’s currently being a very sad ass and I’m glad you didn’t pile on.”
“If he’s sad,” Corbin said, still not convinced that anything the other guy did was genuine, “it’s because he’s only now realizing what he lost.”
“Me?” Ivey asked.
“Yeah, you.” With his hands on her shoulders, he stepped up against her. “Makes me almost feel sorry him.” Or not. He knew Geoff wouldn’t give up, and in fact, it was kind of creepy the way he’d just shown up.
If Corbin hadn’t been there, would Ivey have let him in? He hoped not. “So...you’re calling him tomorrow?”
She put her small cool palm to his jaw. “Yes, because apparently I need to make things clear one last time.”
“Like?”
“Like I’m no longer interested, I’ll never again be interested, and while I’ll be polite when we run into each other, I have no intention of hanging out with him.”
That did a lot to put Corbin at ease. “Good.” He leaned in to kiss her, but suddenly Maurice twined around his ankles. He paused to acknowledge the cat. “Hey, bud, did you miss me?”
“Wow.” Ivey smiled down at her pet. “He never greets guests.”
Maurice was smart enough that he probably hid when Geoff was around. Kneeling down, Corbin scratched under his chin. “Yeah, we’re pals, aren’t we, Maurice? Sorry, my man, but I didn’t bring Daisy.”
Maurice gave him an accusing stare, then sauntered off.
“Oh man, now he’s going to pout.”
Corbin grinned at her. “I love the relationship you have with your cat.”
“Me, too.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “Let me grab him a toy to keep him occupied, okay? I’ll be right back.”
He watched as Ivey opened a cabinet and took out a soft cloth fish, a ball and a squeaky mouse. Maurice looked away when she put them by his front paws.
Propping a shoulder to the wall, Corbin grinned at her efforts as she tried to entice the cat with the squeaky mouse. Finally it worked. Almost reluctantly, Maurice batted the thing, then glared at it as it bounced away, squeaking several times. He stared, twitched his heavy backside, then lunged after it.
Hurrying back to Corbin, Ivey grabbed his hand. “Come on.” All but hauling him down the hall, she drew him into her bedroom and closed the door.
Trying not to grin, Corbin asked, “In a hurry?”
“Of course I am.” She stared at him with a frown. “Aren’t you?”
There couldn’t be another woman like Ivey Anders. “Yes.” He closed the space between them. “I’ve wanted you from the first minute we met.”
“Same.” She slid her hands under the hem of his shirt, then up and over his chest. “I knew you would feel like this.”
The touch of her small, capable hands ignited him. “Like what?”
“Perfect.” Going on tiptoe, she pressed the shirt up until she bared much of his chest.
She brushed her lips over his heated skin and Corbin burned even more. To make it easier for her, he jerked the shirt over his head and tossed it aside.
“Mmm,” she responded. “You are absolutely delicious.”
Choking on a laugh, Corbin fingered the hem of her shirt. “How about we have some equity here?”
She flicked her gaze up to his. “I probably should since I went to the trouble of digging out my prettiest underthings.”
“Tease.” He kissed her thoroughly, his hands in the bouncing mass of her hair, and when she melted a little, he stroked a hand over her waist, under her shirt and around to the small of her back. “You have the softest skin.”
Eyes closed, head tipped back, she asked, “Compared to what?”
With another soft laugh, Corbin kissed her throat and eased the shirt up. He could just imagine what she’d say if he told her again how good she smelled, or how her deeper breathing affected him. Wanting her naked, needing to touch her all over, he pulled her shirt up and off.
The bra she’d bragged about was pale pink lace, sheer enough to expose her already tightened nipples. He levered back to look at her. Her shorts rode low on her hips—and what gorgeous hips they were. Generously rounded, they provided a nice contrast to her smaller waistline.
Without him asking, she pushed down the shorts and stepped free. Striking a pose, she said, “See? All matchy-match.”
He wanted to joke with her, but he couldn’t. He was too turned on.
“Your turn,” she prompted. “Equity and all that.”
“Yeah, no problem.” With haste, he toed off his sneakers, unsnapped and unzipped his jeans, then pushed them carefully past his erection. No sooner had he tossed them to the end of the bed—where the condom in his pocket would be handy—than Ivey was against him, kissing him hungrily, her hands on his rear.
Okay, then.
Taking her boldness as an invitation, he paid her back in kind, opening his broad hands over her lush backside, pulling her in close against him. They both groaned softly at the contact.
He was kissing her, losing himself a little, when suddenly her bra loosened. Looking at her, he realized she’d been busy, reaching back with one hand to open the closure so that the bra cups slipped.
She licked her lips and, watching his face, shrugged the straps over her shoulders and let it drop between them.
Overwhelmed with her honest need, he brought a hand around to her left breast, caressing her, weighing her in his palm. “You are so beautiful.”
“My boobs?”
No, she wouldn’t get a laugh from him this time. “All of you, Ivey. Every single inch.” He moved his thumb over her nipple. “I’ve never wanted another woman as much as I want you.”
She drew in a shuddering breath...and skimmed out of her panties.
He should slow her down, but he couldn’t. Not this time. Later, he’d show her how satisfying it would be to savor their time together, but now he wanted her too much.