Thank God.
Awkwardly, Kyle undid his tool belt and pushed it aside. Then, as if of one mind, they reclined on the bed and shifted until they were lying down. She felt so good—smelled so good—and he had a hard time finding the line between past and present. He’d always been drawn to Sydney, and apparently, the years hadn’t changed that.
There was nothing rushed about what they were doing—which wasn’t his usual style. This was a lazy exploration—two people getting reacquainted—and he had to admit that it was a major turn-on.
Slowly, her hands raked up into his hair and he took that as his cue to deepen the kiss. He nipped at her bottom lip before letting his tongue gently tease at hers and then he was lost. There was no longer anything lazy about what either of them were doing, and he was more than okay with the change.
Sydney tugged at his hair as he moved his body over hers. When he settled between her thighs and she wrapped her legs around him, the sound she made was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. He wanted to get closer—hell, he wanted to get naked and inside of her—but he knew that wasn’t going to happen right now. So instead, he focused on feeling her—from her soft lips and warm skin to all those amazing curves he’d been trying his damnedest to ignore and forget.
Not possible.
With her legs around him, he didn’t have much room to move, but his hands itched to touch her everywhere he could reach. He started by caressing her cheek and then slowly skimmed down to cup her breast. Beneath him, her back arched, and he took a moment to tease and tweak her nipple through the fabric of her shirt and bra.
I’m definitely coming back for more of that…
Next, he reached down and gently squeezed her hip before letting his hand move beneath her so he could grab her ass because…yeah, it was pretty spectacular too. Hell, everything about her—her face, her body—was making him crazy no matter how badly he wanted to deny it. Sydney Albright was pure temptation, and he couldn’t believe he was here with her and getting another chance to be with her. It didn’t matter how many years had passed; he’d never forgotten her.
Never.
Maybe this was unfinished business or remnants of lust from their youth—or maybe it was nothing more than two people venting their frustration in a sexy and physical way. No matter what the reason for them currently being tangled up together, he was exceedingly grateful.
He broke the kiss because he wanted to kiss more of her—starting with her spectacular breasts. He couldn’t wait to see them, touch them, taste them. Sydney had always had an amazing body, and it seemed like it had gotten even better over the years. His hand snaked under her shirt as he kissed his way down the slender column of her throat. Kyle heard her breathy sigh when his hand moved the cup of her bra aside.
Like warm silk…
Yeah, that was his thought when he began to gently knead her breast. Slowly, he began to move down her body until he could slide her shirt up, and once he did, it only ratcheted up his arousal all that much more. She was stunning and sexy and he wanted to do everything to her at once—touch her, kiss her, lick her, taste her—all of it. Sydney whispered his name and he growled as he lowered his head and took her nipple in his mouth. With his tongue swirling and her writhing, Kyle was getting harder by the second.
On and on it went—they alternated between him kissing her breasts to diving in for another taste of her lips. It was heaven. At some point—because he had no idea how long they’d been at it—his hand slid down to the button on her jeans. His fingers toyed with the button and when she didn’t protest, he took it as a good sign. Slowly, her zipper went down, and he couldn’t wait to slide his hand inside where he could…
Ding dong!!
Sydney froze and so did Kyle’s hand.
“Um…” she said as she pulled her top back down.
“Maybe they’ll go away,” he whispered.
Ding dong!!
“Or not,” she murmured.
Kyle rolled off of her and watched as Sydney straightened her bra and zipped up her jeans. She was out of the room before he could even stand up because…yeah…he needed a minute to let things…settle down.
Off in the distance, he heard her open the front door. “Jake, hi! I wasn’t expecting to see you today!”
“Oh, shit,” he muttered, racing from the room. He saw his boss standing in the doorway and prayed he didn’t look as freaked out as he felt. “Hey, Jake!” he called out and hoped he didn’t hear the weirdness in his voice. There was no way he wanted to share that he was just getting over a raging hard-on or how his arrival had interrupted one of the hottest make-out sessions he’d had in years.
Yeah, so not the thing to share with his boss.
Looking over her shoulder at him, he could see the slight flush on Sydney’s face. Stepping forward, he was careful not to touch her.
Jake’s easy smile proved he didn’t notice anything amiss as he stepped inside. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and see how everything’s going.”
The nervous laugh was out before Kyle could stop it. “In the neighborhood. Good one.” He grinned, and when he noticed everyone was looking at him oddly, he clarified, “All our current jobs are here in Magnolia, so…you know…of course you’d be in the neighborhood.”
“Ah. Gotcha,” Jake said, glancing around. “So, what are you working on today?”
“Oh, um…” Sydney began. “Kyle just finished up the rec space for Haley downstairs.”
“Rec space?”
Sydney looked at Kyle and then back at Jake, but before she could speak, Kyle knew he needed to step in. “Yeah, the rec space for Haley,” he repeated and motioned for Jake to follow him down the stairs. “It was really a quick project and it looks great, don’t you think?”
Off in the distance, he heard Sydney’s phone ring and almost sagged with relief that she wasn’t following them down. At the bottom of the stairs, he took a step back so Jake could inspect the space.
It was the longest three minutes of his life.
“This all looks great, Kyle, but…correct me if I’m wrong, this wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Uh…yeah. I know.” Scrubbing his hand along the back of his neck, he let out a long breath. A quick glance up the stairs showed that Sydney was out of earshot and he knew he needed to come clean. “Look, I know the downstairs wasn’t part of the plan, but…she asked, and it seemed really important to her, and so I did it. I know I should have run it by you first, but it’s not going to take anything away from the budget.”
Jake studied him hard for a moment. “Want to explain how that’s possible?”
Another glance to make sure she wasn’t coming. “I paid for it,” he said evenly.
“Excuse me?”
Nodding, Kyle went on, “Yeah. I paid for all the materials and I planned on working overtime to even out the hours.”
Jake’s expression never wavered. “Why would you do something like this?”
Good question…
“It didn’t seem like a big deal. No major demo was involved. It was all cosmetic.” He paused, feeling mildly uncomfortable. “It seemed important to Sydney and something that would help Haley.” Another pause. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it, but…I don’t know…I just figured I’d make it all work out.”