“You know I’m not the town manager, right? Everyone’s where they’re supposed to be for the night. If there’s an emergency, that’s what nine-one-one is for.”
“Right.” He groaned and checked his own phone, then the pager from the fire department. “There’s a good chance I’ll get some kind of call tonight.”
She set her phone face down on the nightstand, then stretched out one long leg for the always sensual moisturizing process. Ordinarily he loved watching her smooth lotion into her skin. He’d even helped her with it a few times.
But right now, he wasn’t in the mood. Something was off. He was off. He wished he’d never brought up the “plus-one” invitation. He’d bumped against one of her walls and it didn’t feel good.
He went to the window to close the blinds, and noticed that Holly’s bike was gone. Right—she was spending the night at the Blue Drake with the seniors. “I didn’t see Holly once today.”
“Doesn’t she have that Indigenous Arts class on Tuesdays?”
“Right. Is it Tuesday? Jesus, I lost track. Have you noticed anything off with Holly? I think something’s bothering her and she won’t talk about it. You know how much she loves to vent. Has she said anything to you?”
With one knee bent so she could reach her calf, Kendra shot him a cautious glance. “Why would she say anything to me?”
So she had. And Kendra didn’t want to betray her confidence.
That was good news. At least Holly was talking to someone responsible, someone other than her fellow teenagers.
“Why not? She likes you.”
Kendra shrugged one slim brown shoulder. “I think that’s thanks to my free burger for every ‘A’ policy at Alvin’s.”
He stretched out next to her, his towel still firmly wrapped around his hips. He didn’t want to get distracted by lust right now. Something had shifted between them since the shower. He thought about how she’d been powering down her phone when he walked in.
Had someone reached out to her that she didn’t want to talk to? Someone from London, perhaps?
Keeping his tone as casual as possible, he said, “Have you heard anything more from Dominic? Any more moves on the chessboard?”
The pink tip of her tongue peeked from between her lips as she focused on the sleek brown length of her shin. “I don’t really know what he’s up to.”
Which didn’t exactly answer the question.
“So you talked to him?”
Her sharp glance made it clear she wanted him to back off. “I had one phone conversation with him, but he made no sense, and I haven’t answered his texts since then.”
His stomach dropped. So Dominic was texting her. That was the kind of thing that happened during “rebounds,” right? The former partner sometimes reappeared. Sometimes they wanted to get back together. Sometimes they actually did get back together.
And sometimes, like with Gretchen, the ex-partner married someone else, got pregnant, and lived happily ever after.
He really needed to know what was going on here. He wanted to know where he stood, but he couldn’t push her right now. She’d made that clear.
She put the cap back on her body lotion and tossed it onto the nightstand. In a quick move, she climbed on top of him, her thighs straddling his hips. “I can think of about eighty-five things I’d rather talk about than Dominic.”
“That’s a very specific number.”
“Well, forty of them are those respected elders you rescued today.”
He shaped his hands around the taut curves of her waist. “That was a community effort. I can’t take credit.”
A flash of annoyance crossed her face. “Don’t you ever take credit for anything? You don’t always have to be humble, you know.”
“I’m not being humble. The whole town pulled together, you know that. Fuck, I wasn’t even the one on the aerial putting out the flames.” He frowned at her, which was the last thing he wanted to do to the goddess perched on his thighs. “I take credit all the time.”
“Okay, let’s hear it. Take credit for something.”
He slid his hand between her legs, into the soft nest of her sex. “I made you come in the shower just now.”
She spread her thighs just a little farther apart. He’d take that as a “continue, please.”
“I put you in charge of Operation Respected Elders. I’ll take credit for that.”
“Um, thanks, but I kind of stepped into that myself.” Her hands went to his towel and worked at the knot until it eased open. His cock was already half-hard just from the sight of her naked, still-damp body over his.
“So that wasn’t me, sending everyone to you with their questions? And letting the board members know that you were handling logistics?”
“Fine. But it’s kind of funny to take credit for delegating.”
“Why? Isn’t that part of being a leader? You have to know who’s the right person to handle what task, assign it to them, and inspire them to do a good job at it.”
Her eyes swept up to meet his. The soft light of the bedside lamp made them shine. The lines of her face relaxed, all irritation gone. “That’s a really good point, Jaybone. You’re an excellent leader.”
“Why do you sound so surprised? You’re the one who told me I should go for the job.”
“Yes, because…because you’re trustworthy and hardworking and smart and I thought you deserved a promotion. I didn’t think about you being a good leader because you’re not a hard-ass. But you are a good leader.”
She ran her hands down his chest, her fingertips lightly stroking wherever they found a ridge of muscle. If she was trying to distract him from her compli-sult…well, it was working.
“Feels like there’s a lack of compliment in that compliment,” he murmured.
She traced a path to his lower belly, where skin untouched by sun reacted with a shiver. His cock was already rising to meet her hand.
“That was not a compli-sult. You know I’m your biggest fan.” With perfect timing, she curved her hand around his erection. It responded with instant, full-throttle arousal.
“Talk about someone’s biggest fan…”
She giggled as she stroked him lightly, keeping a loose grip around his still-hardening member.
He arched his hips up and yanked the towel out from under his ass. He didn’t want anything getting in their way.
Even as hot desire flooded through his system, something kept bugging him.
Kendra still underestimated him. Just because he didn’t play the blowhard didn’t mean he wasn’t a good leader. In fact, from his perspective, it made him a better leader. He tried to lift up everyone who worked for him. He wasn’t a bully and he always tried to be fair.
Why didn’t Kendra see all that?
But when Kendra lifted herself onto her knees and brought his hand to her sex, everything else fled from his mind. At least she didn’t underestimate him in bed. She knew how quickly he could get her revved up. That orgasm in the shower had been just a little teaser.
He stroked through her tender folds, focusing on the little nub begging for his attention. God, he loved getting her turned on. He loved watching her eyes glow and her chest rise and fall as her breathing sped up. He loved watching her nipples harden. Feeling them harden was even better, so he lifted the hand that wasn’t buried between her legs to her breasts.