Читать книгу The Taste of Romance Collection - Maureen Child - Страница 52

Seven

Then he kissed her.

As the trickle of water splashed over their entwined bodies, he kissed her long and deep, losing himself in the taste and feel of her. When she parted her lips under his, he took the kiss deeper, tangling his tongue with hers in a frenzied dance of need and want. Here it is, he thought wildly. That amazing jolt of passion that he’d never felt for anyone else. The elemental, nearly primitive need to touch and take and have.

Only with her. Only with Penny.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, her breasts sliding against his chest. He ran his hands up and down her body, the slick feel of her skin beneath his hands a match held to the dynamite crouched inside him. “Damn, you feel good.”

“You, too,” she whispered. “Blast it, you, too.”

He smiled against her mouth. She didn’t want to want him, he thought. But she did and that was good enough. Colt turned her so that her back was to the water tumbling from the narrow, outdated showerhead. She looked up at him as the hot water landed on her shoulders to roll down her body in rivulets.

“Colt—”

“Let me touch you,” he whispered, sliding one hand down from her breast. His fingertips trailed along her rib cage and down over her abdomen.

She shivered, closed her eyes and hissed in a breath. “I don’t know...”

“I do,” he said and kissed her again as he dipped first one finger and then two into her tight, wet heat.

She gasped and clutched at him, hands grabbing at his shoulders. Her breath came fast and shallow, small puffs against his skin. He touched her deeper, stroking her intimately until she rocked into his hand, reaching for the climax he was pushing her toward. His thumb moved over the heart of her, that one nub of sensation that fueled the fire inside her until it became a raging inferno.

She spread her legs for him, welcoming his touch, his caresses. Then she slid one hand from his shoulders, down the length of his body until her long, delicate fingers closed around the hard length of him. Then it was Colt’s turn to hiss in air and tremble under the onslaught of too many sensations.

“That’s cheating,” he said softly.

“All’s fair—you know.” She groaned as he stroked her again, rubbing the core of her harder while his fingers delved deeper inside her body.

He took her—and she took him. Her fingers moved on him until it was all Colt could do to keep his feet. His vision blurred as completion roared toward him. But he wouldn’t do it. Wouldn’t surrender to what she was making him feel. Not until he’d seen her shatter in his arms.

It didn’t take much longer.

He kissed her hungrily, allowing her to feel everything he felt. He wanted her to know what she was doing to him. Her breath quickened. She tore her mouth from his. Her eyes went wide and wild and she shouted his name hoarsely as her climax slammed into her.

Colt held her close until the last of her tremors had passed. Only then did he think about himself and the fact that his body was aching for the same release she’d just experienced. Then Penny looked up into his eyes and smiled. Her grasp on him tightened and he surged into her hand. Her thumb moved over the tip of him and that sensation nearly sent him over the edge. His self-control was unraveling. Fast.

No other woman had ever affected him like Penny could. From the first moment he’d met her, there had been an electricity between them. A single touch was all it took to shower them both with sparks that they could find nowhere else. Everything about her was...more. She excited him, infuriated him and aroused him more than he would have believed possible.

But when he came, it was going to be inside her. He pulled away from her only long enough that she was forced to stop rubbing and stroking him, though the action cost him. Aching need clawed at him and he read new desire in Penny’s eyes, too. They had always been explosive when they came together and it seemed nothing had changed since he’d last seen her.

“That’s it,” he muttered. “Bed. We need the bed.”

“But we shouldn’t—” Her mouth might be saying no but her eyes were shouting yes.

“Is it safe for you to have sex?” he muttered thickly, saying a silent prayer that she would say yes again.

“They said as soon as I felt ready.”

“Please tell me you’re ready.”

“Boy howdy.”

He grinned at her quick response. Dropping his forehead to hers, he muttered, “We’ll be careful. You can be on top. You set the pace. That’s my best offer.”

“I’ll take it.” She swallowed hard, reached behind her to turn off the water, then allowed Colt to pick her up and carry her out of the bathroom and into her room.

The bed was narrow, but Colt didn’t care. All he wanted was a damn flat surface. He flopped onto the mattress and watched as she climbed up to cover his body with hers.

She was so small-boned. So delicate. So damn sexy.

“Wait,” he ground out. “Condom.”

“Yeah, because it worked so well before,” she said wryly.

He snorted. “Good point.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she told him. “I’m covered.”

“Best news I’ve heard all night.” He lay back again and clamped his hands onto her hips.

As she went up onto her knees, he took a breath and held it. She looked like some warrior princess from ancient tales of Ireland. Her dark red hair streamed wetly across her shoulders to lay across the tops of her breasts. Her green eyes flashed with intent and her pale skin shone like the finest porcelain. She was damned magnificent and he wanted her more than his next breath.

* * *

Penny trembled from head to foot. This was a bad idea and she knew it. But there was no way she could stop now. She had to have Colton King inside her again. She needed to feel the thick, hard length of him filling her body completely. She’d worry about tomorrow when it reared its ugly head. For right now, she was going to live in the moment. This one, amazing, incredible moment—she was going to take everything she could from it.

“You just going to torture us all night?” he asked, his voice a low, throaty growl of contained passion.

“That’s the plan,” she murmured, gaze locked on his as she slowly lowered herself onto him, taking him into her body inch by glorious inch. Penny watched his ice-blue eyes flash with heat and the last lingering whisper of reason in her mind faded away.

She knew this was stupid. She knew nothing had changed. Colt still wouldn’t stay. They had no future. But for this one perfect moment in time she was going to forget all of that.

She’d wanted him, needed him, missed him and now he was here. In her bed, looking at her as if she were the only woman in the world. Desire quickened, her breath came faster and feverish bubbles of expectation rose inside her. She moved on him, felt him catch her rhythm and move with her and she surrendered to the inevitable.

Colt King was the only man she would ever want. Damn it, the only man she would ever love and this might be all she ever had of him. How could she possibly deny herself what she found only with him?

She took him deep and when he was fully sheathed inside her, she sighed a little as her body stretched to accommodate his. Excitement rippled through her system, lighting fires that had been simmering for nearly two years. What she’d had with Colt would never truly be extinguished. One touch from him and those flames had erupted and consumed her in an inferno of sensations. It had been like this between them from the start.

They fit so well together it was as if they had been meant to find each other.

She rocked her body on his and heard his swift intake of breath. Penny trailed her fingers across his chest and down, loving the feel of his hard, muscular body beneath her hands. Dark hair dusted his chest and trailed down his abdomen. The muscles in his arms flexed as he reached up to cup her breasts in his palms. Sighing with the intense pleasure soaring inside her, she tipped her head back and gasped as his thumbs slid back and forth across her hardened nipples.

Penny’s head tipped back and she felt the cool slap of her still-damp hair against her skin. He touched her and she spun out of control. He moved inside her and she only wanted more.

Her body ached a little as she moved on him, but that tiny pain was lost in a dizzying parade of feelings that had nothing to do with discomfort.

Darkness crouched outside the window and a soft wind rattled the tree limbs against the side of the house. Inside, though, it was all heat and magic and straining breathing and racing hearts.

Penny felt the lost time without him in her life melt away until only this one moment existed. The passion she remembered roared up stronger, sharper, more overpowering than before and she gave herself up to it. Staring down into his eyes, she moved on him, loving the feel of him sliding in and out of her body. He filled her so completely, the slightest movement created a friction that left her breathless. Again and again she moved on him, setting the pace, watching his eyes flare with heat and desire. Her blood pumped fast and furious, until it became a roaring in her ears, shutting out every other sound. An exquisite, oh so familiar tingle of expectation began to build deep inside her.

Colt’s hands moved over her body, touching, exploring, tantalizing her with more and more sensations. He moved beneath her, picking up the rhythm she set and meeting her at every stroke, pushing them both faster and higher.

She groaned, braced her hands on his broad, muscled chest and raced to meet the climax that was hovering just out of reach. She climbed the peak in front of her quickly, desperate to reach the top and then tumble off the other side.

“Come for me, Penny,” he whispered and his voice was a caress on every raw nerve ending. “Come for me. Let me watch you fly.”

Throat tight, air strangling in her lungs, she was almost there, her body alive and simmering with want. Need. Her eyes flew open, locked with his, and when the first tremor shuddered inside her, she raced to meet it.

Colt shifted one hand to where their bodies were joined. His thumb caressed that one spectacular spot and as he watched, Penny shattered into a million jagged pieces.

Her mind was still spinning, her body still buzzing when she felt his body explode into hers. She heard his guttural shout, felt the tension in him coil and then release as, locked together, they crashed into oblivion.

* * *

A short while later, Colt rolled out of the cramped bed, pulled on his jeans and left her sleeping, curled on her side. He stared down at her, his gaze tracking the curves of her naked body, and hunger grabbed him by the throat again. She was beautiful. And amazing. And dangerous.

He laid the faded, flowered quilt over her, then slipped out of the room. The house was quiet. Too damn quiet, if truth be told. He wasn’t used to this. The world he lived in was noisy, crowded and rushed—a place where no one got too close and he could move through crowds of people without ever being touched by any of them.

It’s the way he liked it, he assured himself, as he quietly checked on the twins, then moved through the darkened house like a caged tiger looking for the easiest escape. He found it as he walked through the kitchen, opening the back door and stepping into the smartphone-size backyard.

He pulled in a deep breath of the cool night air and held it inside, hoping that it might swamp the fires still raging within. Naturally, it didn’t, and he was left to burn as he took a seat on the steps and stared up at the sky.

Colt was still trying to come to grips with what had just happened. Being with Penny had rocked him right down to his bones. He was used to desire. Used to slaking that desire with whatever woman was handy. What he wasn’t used to was what happened to him with Penny.

Over the last couple of years, he’d convinced himself that the memories he carried of his week with Penny were exaggerated. That no one could be that amazing. That the...connection he felt with her didn’t really exist. Well, those lies had just been smashed.

His heart felt like a jackhammer in his chest and his mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts he couldn’t sort through.

Sex with Penny was staggering. No other way to put it or think of it.

Stars spilled across the blackness and a quarter moon looked like a child’s teeter-totter. Child. The twins’ features swam into his mind and he felt himself tighten up. Thoughts of sex dissolved as he considered the reason he was here. Those two kids deserved better than this cramped, too-short-for-real-people house. They were Kings. He could admire Penny for all she’d accomplished on her own, but now that he was in the picture, things were going to change.

He was putting his own life and business on hold to be here for Penny and the twins, but that couldn’t last. He had places he had to be—Mount Etna, to be specific.

That thought quickly spiraled into another and from there, his brain raced with ideas. A slow smile spread across his face as he considered one notion in particular. Hell, he could go to Etna this week. And Penny and the kids could go to Sicily with him. The twins could see some of the world—never too young to experience different things. Then Penny could take photos of his BASE jumps to be used in advertising and that would help her business.

Smiling to himself, he nodded thoughtfully as the plan came together.

* * *

“You must be out of your mind entirely.” Penny stared at him the next morning, astonished at what he’d just said.

Colt spooned more yogurt into two waiting mouths and flicked her a glance. “Not at all. This is perfect. I get my work done, you get some advertising for your business and the kids get to fly on a private jet. A win all the way around.”

Shaking her head, Penny grabbed her cup of coffee and took a long drink, hoping that caffeine would give her the strength to deal with Colt. She’d awakened that morning alone in her bed, and though she was disappointed, she hadn’t been surprised. Colt wasn’t the snuggling kind of man and she knew it. And still there was a flicker of pain when she was forced to acknowledge that he was keeping a distance between them—even after what they’d shared.

But this was nuts.

“You can’t really expect us to go to Sicily with you.”

“Why not?” He shrugged, wiped Riley’s mouth with a paper towel, then shoveled more yogurt into her. “We’ll give it another week. You should be good to go by then.”

Was it really so easy for him? Just make a decision and go? She had responsibilities. The twins to think of. A business to build. A house to take care of. Which she told him.

“The house will be fine. The twins will be with us,” he looked at her again. “As for your business, it’s at a standstill and you know it. I looked into your files this morning while you were sleeping. You’re barely covering expenses.”

Outrage and embarrassment tangled inside her, convulsing into tight knots that felt like balls of ice in the pit of her stomach. Not only had he delved into her bank account and her bills, he’d snooped through her business. He’d riffled through her records and all he’d seen was the bottom line. He hadn’t noticed the hard work, the hopes, the dreams.

“I can’t believe you did that,” she murmured, then laughed shortly at her own naïveté. Of course he’d intruded. Of course he’d stuck his nose into her business. Look what he’d done to her life!

The night before, she’d allowed herself to forget just how wide a gulf separated them. She’d indulged her senses and put her logical self on the back burner. But now Sensible Penny was back in charge.

Keeping her voice light so the twins wouldn’t pick up on any tension, she focused a laser glare on Colt. “My business isn’t any of yours.”

“Wrong,” he said easily. Then before she could argue, he continued. “I’m not looking for a battle here, Penny. I’m just saying, your business could use a good boost—and taking pictures for King’s Extreme Adventures would give you that.”

She slumped back in her kitchen chair. Sunlight fell through the windows and lay across the table and the old oak flooring. “Yes, because nothing says ‘I’ll take great pictures of your toddler’ like doing a photo spread of an insane man jumping off a volcano.”

A wry grin touched his mouth briefly and she felt the punch of it to her middle. But she wouldn’t be seduced again.

“Colt, I didn’t ask for your help and I don’t need it.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.”

“But mine is the only one I’m concerned with.”

He sprinkled a few Cheerios onto the twins’ tray tables and finally turned to meet her gaze squarely. “I’m offering you a job. It pays well. And,” he added with a slow smile, “there are other benefits.”

That swirl of something hot and wicked punched her low again and even melted a couple of the ice knots. But enough of them remained to keep her on course.

“We are not taking the babies on an excursion to a volcano. And no,” she added, “I don’t want to take pictures of you risking your safety, much less have my children witness that. Do you want them scarred for life?”

He snorted. “I don’t remember you being so squeamish. When we met you were into sports photography. You wanted to travel the world, capturing danger and excitement with your camera.” Shaking his head, he looked at her quizzically. “Now you’re happy to take pictures of suburbia? What happened to all of the big dreams?”

“I became a mom,” she said, trying to make him understand, though she doubted he ever would. “Plans change. Dreams change.”

Her words were soft but powerful, and he acknowledged that with a brief nod for her. Then Colt looked at the twins and she watched his features soften and his eyes warm. She knew that his children had reached him in a way she’d never been able to. But she also knew that this time in her cottage was a blip on his radar screen. It didn’t matter how much he cared for the twins.

Colton King, as he’d told her himself, was not the staying kind.

* * *

Friday morning, Rafe King from King Construction was at Penny’s house bright and early. Colt was glad for the distraction. Since his brilliant plan had been shot down the day before by Penny, the two of them had been staying out of each other’s way. Which wasn’t easy in a house no bigger than a good-sized garden shed.

Carrying two cups of coffee with him, Colt strode out of the house and met his cousin as he climbed down from his truck.

“Coffee.” Rafe grinned as he reached for it. “You always were my favorite cousin.”

“And your wife’s my favorite cousin-in-law.” Colt looked past Rafe into the cab of the truck. “Did Katie take pity on me and send cookies?”

Rafe’s wife, widely known as “Katie King the Cookie Queen,” ran her own business out of her home while taking care of their daughter, Becca, and their newborn son, Braden. She also baked cookies for the legions of King cousins who adored her.

“Nice to see you, too,” Rafe said wryly. After taking a sip of coffee, he reached into the truck and came back out with a white bakery box stamped “Cookie Queen.”

Colt made a grab for it but Rafe whipped it out of reach. “Not for you,” he said, and seemed to enjoy the moment. “Katie sent these to Penny. Along with her commiseration on being involved with a King.”

Scowling, Colt pointed out, “Doesn’t say much for you, does it?”

“Nah,” Rafe said with a grin and a shrug. “She likes me.”

“Great.” His gaze locked on the pastry box. “What kind?”

“White chocolate macadamia.”

“That’s just mean,” Colt said.

“My wife’s good.”

“That she is.” Colt looked at Rafe and thought about it. Not that long ago, Rafe had been as determinedly single as Colt was and yet now he was happily married to a great woman and had two kids. He thought about taking a step back just in case commitment was contagious. On the other hand, he was already hip-deep in familyland, wasn’t he?

“How’s Katie and the new baby?”

Rafe’s grin got wider. “Amazing. He’s gorgeous and Katie’s...even better than amazing. We’re gonna have a big party for the christening. You and Con’ll be there, right?”

“Absolutely.” Colt had been to more christenings in the last few years than he had in all the years before. But every King birth was celebrated. Every new member to the family had to be welcomed with a barbecue and lots of food and laughs.

Which reminded him, he should talk to Penny about introducing the twins to the rest of the Kings. Not that they could have a King-size party at the cottage. They’d never be able to shoehorn everyone in. But they could hold it at his place. God knew there was plenty of room.

Funny, he’d never realized before that the house he bought three years ago was really meant for a big family. He’d thought at the time that it was a good investment. It still was, of course, but now he had to wonder how Penny and the twins would like it there. It would be better for them, he thought. More room. Big yard. Close to the beach.

He gave his head a hard shake. Seriously, he was beginning to worry about himself.

Rafe asked suddenly, “So, how’s your new baby? Wait a minute. Babies.”

“Not exactly new,” Colt said. “They’re eight months old.”

“Right.” Rafe leaned against the truck. “Con told me. That couldn’t have been easy.”

“No, it wasn’t.” And it wasn’t getting any easier, either.

He was feeling nothing but conflicted about this whole situation. He wanted those kids happy and safe. But to keep them that way, he knew that he couldn’t stick around. He couldn’t be here, let them learn to count on him only to risk letting them down when they most needed him. The thought of not being there to hear their first words or to watch them learning to walk tore at him. The thought of never seeing Penny again hit him much harder than he wanted to admit.

But there was no place for him here in this tiny house with a family. Because to stay would mean that they would come to depend on him. And he would, eventually, let them down. Hell, that’s the one thing he could agree with Penny on. She was worried that he would disappoint his children—and so was he.

“How you doin’ with all of it?”

“I’m all right.” And not interested in talking about this. Even with a cousin. “Really appreciate you moving on the roof this fast.”

“Not a problem. Anything for a King.” Rafe shot a look at the roof on Penny’s cottage and frowned. “That roof’s in sad shape.”

Hell, most of the house was in sad shape. He knew Penny loved it, but he had to wonder if the real reason she was living there was because it didn’t cost her anything. The rooms were too small and the twins were going to outgrow it soon. There was no room for them to play and with only one bathroom, things were going to get ugly at some point.

And why was he suddenly thinking about things like that? When did he ever do future planning or worry about yard size or whether a roof was going to make it through another winter? What the hell was happening to him?

Scowling to himself, he muttered, “Check for termites too, will ya? I’ve got a feeling this place is a buffet lunch for the damn things.”

“Okay, I’ll get the ladder off the truck, do an inspection, then come find you.”

“Like I said, I appreciate this.” Colt took another sip of his coffee and tried to put aside the disturbing Suburban Dad thoughts.

Rafe grinned. “What’s family for?” He handed over the box of cookies. “Here. Take these in to Penny. I’ll see you both in a bit.”

“Okay. How soon can you get started on the work?”

“Typical King,” Rafe mused. “Why were we all born impatient?”

“Just lucky, I guess.” Colt shrugged.

Nodding, Rafe said, “Let me take a look and some measurements. Check for termite damage. Once we’ve got that I can lay out the plan for you. But I can have a crew here by Monday if that’s what you want.”

“The quicker the better.” He couldn’t leave until he knew that Penny and the kids were going to be safe and as comfortable in this tiny dollhouse as it was possible to be. And he knew that with Rafe and his brothers’ company on the job, the work would not only be done fast, but well.

With King Construction handling the work, he could assure Penny everything would be taken care of the right way. As for Rafe—he and his brothers ran such a successful construction and contracting business that they seldom had to go out on calls themselves. But the Kings were always there for family, so it didn’t surprise Colt at all that Rafe had shown up personally.

So, if the Kings were always there for family and he was planning on getting out of his kids’ lives as fast as possible, just what kind of King did that make him?