His eyes were starbursts of blue, his jaw like a piece of granite. Joseph had thick eyebrows that a girl would have to pluck, a tiny mole on his earlobe, and a mouth that looked absolutely capable of sin. She would put that mouth to good use. Since he seemed up for it.
“How old are your kids?” she asked, taking another bite, even though she really longed to lick his neck.
He sucked in a deep breath, his gaze lowering to her mouth. “Five and eight. Both girls.”
Tennyson set the waffle on the edge of the counter and looped her hands around his neck. “You’re very good at this game, you know.”
“What game?” he asked, trailing a finger over her lower lip. She realized he’d wiped away a smudge of peanut butter just as he sucked his finger into his mouth.
His action made her go a little weak at the knees.
“This game we’re playing. The one where we pretend that we’re not trying to get into each other’s pants,” she said, dropping a tiny kiss on the pulse point of his neck.
Joseph inhaled sharply, and she leaned back with a shark smile.
Then he turned the tables by stepping forward so his body touched hers in all the right places. “I thought that was subtle foreplay. If you’re done with that, we can get on with the obvious foreplay. Wait, do you have some nongirly soap? I have to go in to work later, and I don’t want to smell like a field of flowers.”
She lifted onto her toes because he was tall. Pressing her lips against his lightly, she whispered, “So smell like me.”
He may have growled or something equally hungry sounding, but she didn’t have time to think about that because he was all over her, his mouth taking hers, hands on her ass pulling her to him, and it felt incredible. The man knew his way around a kiss and a woman’s body. He was very competent with his pat down, too. If she were prone to wearing weapons, he’d have found them right off the bat.
Tennyson was so wrapped up in Joseph taking her breath away that she didn’t comprehend the phone ringing until it started a second round.
“Joseph,” she murmured against his hair. “I have to get that.”
“Mm?” he groaned against the sensitive flesh of her neck. One hand had already dipped into her shorts and cupped her bare backside, while the other had crept around to invade the tight elastic of her sports bra. Her nipples were hard, her panties wet, and she hadn’t felt this good in a year. Maybe two years. Could be three.
“The phone. It’s my mom’s ringtone, and I have to answer.”
He lifted his head, his blue eyes heavy with desire. “Seriously?”
“Like, yes. Just let me grab my phone, make sure she’s okay, and we can take this to my really big shower with the dual heads.” She kissed his chin and untangled his hands from her body.
Her mother was on her way to spend the weekend with her and attend the bridal shower. Bronte was also coming up to join them that evening, and that night they were having a girls’ night in, watching old movies and drinking wine. Loretta O’Rourke was perfectly capable of driving in from Texas by herself even though Tennyson had tried to buy her a plane ticket. In the words of her mother, it was “too much money and too much of a hassle,” but her mother was also a terrible driver and prone to getting lost. And she never called two times in a row.
Tennyson scooped up her phone and went back into the kitchen. She hoped Joseph wouldn’t change his mind. He stood with his back to her, staring out the window over her sink. Her abandoned waffle teetered on the edge of the counter.
“Mom?” she said when Loretta answered.
“Oh, hey, I can’t remember if I’m supposed to wear a dress. Because I didn’t pack one. I just drove through Tyler and remembered a cute little store I once shopped at, and it reminded me to ask you. But it’s probably too late because I won’t have time to go shopping. Well, maybe your sister could take me if you’re otherwise engaged.”
“You don’t need a dress. But you’re okay, right? I mean, you never call me twice in a row.”
Joseph turned to her, his mouth curving into a sexy little smile. Maybe he was waiting to see why she’d pulled away and answered the phone. Maybe now he understood why she had to answer. She was a good daughter, and maybe that was somewhat sexy, too? Or maybe just responsible enough to show Joseph she wasn’t a selfish rich bitch looking for a boy toy.
Because she wasn’t.
Well, maybe she was looking for a boy toy.
Her mother made a contrite sound. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but it felt very important for a few minutes because I don’t want to disappoint Emma and Andrew. And I suppose I’m a bit bored. This is such a long trip. What are you doing?” Loretta asked. Tennyson could hear Air Supply singing in the background.
Should she say I’m doing Officer Rhett?
Probably not.
Her mother was devoutly Catholic and not approving of casual sex. Committed sex she had no problem with. In fact, Loretta was a big proponent of experimentation. She’d once sent Tennyson some really strange sex toys from an “intimate” party she’d attended with her friends. Tennyson hadn’t known whether to send a thank-you note or check on her father.
“Um, I’m cooking breakfast,” she said, gasping a little when Joseph’s lips grazed the back of her neck.
“Mm, you taste salty,” he whispered in her ear.
A little shiver ran down her spine as he slid his hands under her top, crossing over her stomach and bringing her back against his front.
“You don’t cook,” her mother said in her other ear.
“Um, well, I am boiling water,” she managed, closing her eyes as his fingers started delicious slow circles working up to her sports bra. His mouth was doing wonderful things to her neck.
“For what?” her mother asked, sounding genuinely intrigued.
“Uh, just some, uh, tea,” Tennyson said as Joseph slid his hands beneath her bra and palmed her breasts. She hadn’t been super into guys messing with her breasts since she’d had the boob job, but the way he plucked her nipples and made little noises against her neck was driving her crazy. She couldn’t think straight. She couldn’t even think curvy.
“You drink tea?” her mother asked. “I never knew you liked tea.”
Joseph ground his hips against her ass, and her knees went a lot weak. His soft laugh against her skin made her smile.
“I don’t. Mom, I’m just going to be straight with you. You don’t need a dress, and I have to go because there is a policeman here who has to interrogate me.”
“Body search in progress,” he growled into her ear as he spun her around. Tennyson grinned at him. The spark in his eyes made her happy. Very happy. Because she was almost certain that Officer Joseph Rhett was about to make her day. In a non–Clint Eastwood way.
“Oh my stars, are you in trouble?” her mother asked, her voice going all high and panicked.
“I hope so,” Tennyson said, laughter escaping her. “I hope he realizes what a bad girl I’ve been and maybe even uses his handcuffs on me.”
“Tennyson Marie O’Rourke, you better be joking with me,” her mother said.
Joseph was now working his way down her neck to her chest. His hands were busy, too, and she may have sighed as he did something that wasn’t a standard pat down.