“Oh. Right. I forgot you mentioned having a brother.” He thumbs out a pattern on the steering wheel. “I just now realized I know hardly anything about you.”
I turn the key and cut the engine. “Now is just as good a time as any to learn.”
He glances around before leaning toward me. “What do you have in mind?”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kiss him lightly. He tastes of minty toothpaste, fresh. Nipping at his lower lip, I wrap my hands in his T-shirt and tug him closer.
“Let me show you. I’m an action kinda girl. Less talky-talky, if you know what I mean.” I glue my body to his as I kiss my way up his throat and work my way to his mouth, where my initial light kiss gives way to something more fervent.
Eager to take this further, I fumble with the door handle, finally releasing the latch as we pull apart to catch our breath. We nearly tumble out through his door but Brinn’s quick reflexes right us.
Taking his hand, I silently lead him up the stairs and into my apartment. The soft kitchen lamp I left on gives the living space a warm and inviting glow, but this is not my preferred destination. Instead, I continue through the laundry room and out the garage entrance, which dumps us in the backyard.
I lead him to the pool and push him into a deck chair. The dewy air around is a mix of salty beach water and the fresh droplets from the river.
“Sit.”
Finding the matches on the table by touch alone, I light one hurricane lamp, then another, and finally a third before I come to stand in front of him.
“Jayne and I went to a place called the Ocean Deck and danced most of the night—”
“The Deck,” he says.
“I beg your pardon?” I step closer.
“Locals call it the Deck. If you’re gonna live here might as well blend in.” He snakes out his hand to cup my calf, his thumb stroking the vines and flowers, causing my knees to wobble.
“Good to know. What I was saying is with all that dancing I worked up a good sweat and a refreshing swim would go a long way right now.” I lift my sweater over my head and toss it to the ground.
“Right now? You want to swim right now?” he asks while staring at my breasts. “Lord, those are magnificent.”
I step closer and stand in the space between his legs. “Can you help me with my bra?”
His gaze makes a leisurely journey from my chest to my face. Without breaking eye contact, he reaches behind me and deftly releases the clasp.
The smoothness of the move catches me off guard so I laugh. McRae’s skilled. His lips twitch but go still when he returns his focus to my breasts.
The air is warm, as summer is in full force, yet my nipples gather as soon as his eyes drop to them.
“Jesus. I was going to tell you we shouldn’t do this again,” he says and bends to take one in his mouth.
“What a stupid idea that is.” The quiver in my voice belies my boldness, as one touch from him and I’m pliable, bending to his demands.
“I agree.” His head lowers, trailing kisses down my stomach before he dips his tongue in my belly button.
My shiver is joined by a moan as I make quick work unfastening the buttons on my shorts. I step back and he looks up at me with such longing and desire I feel like the center of the universe. After wiggling out of my shorts and underwear, I step back between his legs and straddle him. With our faces nearly touching, I flick out my tongue and lick his lower lip. He cups my rear with one hand and the back of my neck with the other and presses his lips to mine. Our tongues collide and I get lost in the haziness that is McRae and my sheer desire to be with him. To have him touch me. To exist.
It’s a kiss that sets the bar and when we pull back, we’re breathing heavily and my vision is blurry. I don’t want to do it right here.
Correction, I want to do it but not in the small deck chair when a larger one awaits us on the other side, so I gather what’s left of my wits and slide off his lap.
“I’m the luckiest S.O.B in the entire world. Either that or someone has sent you here to torture me.” He rakes a hand over his face.
“Come on, McRae.” I run my hands down his arms, stopping at his elbows to tug him toward the pool.
“What about your landlord?” He nods to the house.
“You just now thought of that?” I’m not surprised he’s having a hard time living in the moment. But it’s a good sign it’s taken him this long to ask the question.
He shrugs sheepishly. “You’re a bit distracting. Chaos.”
“I can be quiet if you can.” I pull him to his feet.
“We can take this back upstairs. That’s your place right?” He tugs me toward my apartment.
“Uh-huh. It’s here and it’s now.” I lift the hem of his T-shirt and with his help pull it over his head in one swift movement.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
Clearly, I need to amp up the distraction factor. Ironic how I get attracted to a guy who spends most of his time thinking with the wrong head.
“Stop, would you, and just live. Enjoy this moment.” I step into the light and gesture for him to come on.
“Are they gun-toting people?”
I shrug.
“’Cause I don’t want to be a ninety-year-old man with buckshot embedded in his ass,” he says while looking over his shoulder at the house.
“At least you’ll have a keepsake from this night.”
“Come on, Josie.”
“You come on.” I’m standing at the edge of the pool and beckon for him to follow. When he takes a step forward, a sign of his commitment toward tonight, I step back and drop into the water like an arrow plunging downward, smooth and sure. When I surface, I smile and notice he’s come to the edge.
“Wait,” I say.
“What?” He quickly turns and looks back at the house, positive someone is coming out.
I laugh. “You can’t come in until you take your shorts off. Birthday suits only.”
With his thumb on his jeans, he pauses, the internal struggle playing across his face.
“Come on, I’m waiting.” My voice is throaty from the anticipation. In one swift movement, he strips from his jeans and plunges in the water. After he breaks the surface and shakes water from his eyes with a quick flick of the head, he pierces me with a look full of need and primal lust.
My insides quiver with eagerness as I flow into his arms. No words are required. The neediness in our touch says it all. We entwine ourselves; his large hands support me. I cup his face as we explore each other’s mouths, and when we pause, reeling, I rub my thumb down his cheek and trace the path that is normally creased with worry or heavy thought but is now smooth and relaxed.
“You’re so high strung,” I whisper and wrap my arms around his neck.
“I’m driven,” he says, skimming hot kisses up my neck.
I straddle him and nip at his earlobe, which elicits a moan from him so I do it again. His large hands cup my butt, pushing me hard against him. Slowly he walks us to the steps of the pool and rests me against them. When my breasts break the water, he bends his head to take one nipple in his mouth, sucking me in.
Forgotten are my family woes, doubts, and insecurities. The harshness of the world is lost and I wallow in the fuzzy softness we create.