01 - The Heartbreaker (41 page)

Which was why this bride and the feelings she inspired shocked him. Though Kendall wasn’t
his
bride, that didn’t change the proprietary way she made him feel. The notion didn’t worry him as much as it would have if she was sticking around town.

Refocusing on his task, he released first one tiny button and then the next, revealing porcelainlike skin. She had a long graceful neck and an incredibly smooth back, one he wanted to kiss, as he trailed his tongue down her spine and tasted her, inch by delectable inch.

“Oh, that feels better already,” she said on a long exhale that bordered on orgasmic in tone.

If he wasn’t already damp from the heat, he’d have broken into a sweat. He leaned down, inches from acting out his fantasy, when she reached up and unwittingly swept some strands of hair off the back of her neck. Rick couldn’t resist temptation further. As he inhaled her fragrant scent, his lips whispered across her silken skin that was warm from the heat, damp from the humidity.

She trembled and let out a soft sigh, but she didn’t pull away nor did she deck him. All, Rick figured, a
good sign that got even better when she turned her head and let her lips touch his.

His eyes closed as she answered his unspoken request, letting him taste her for the first time. Her mouth was warm, soft, and giving, feeding a hunger so strong it threatened to consume him. His heart hammered hard in his chest and his palms began to sweat, ridiculous for a nearly thirty-five-year-old man who’d kissed his share of women, but his reaction to this one had been intense from the start. He touched his tongue to her lips and fire leapt between them, the flames engulfing him from inside and out, but before he could seek entrance to her moist mouth, she broke the kiss.

She hung her head down and didn’t meet his gaze. “Sorry but it’s awkward.”

And here he thought she’d been willing. “You didn’t exactly say no,” he said, feeling as though he’d been punched in the gut.

She sat up straight, looked at him, and blinked in surprise. “I didn’t.” Her eyes opened wide as understanding dawned. “You thought I meant the kiss was awkward? Oh, no. The kiss was amazing.” An uneasy smile flirted across those lips. “But my position was awkward. Uncomfortable. Sort of like this conversation.” She shook her head and a flush rose to her cheeks. Then she grabbed the back of her neck and began a steady massaging of muscles that had obviously been twisted during the kiss.

Ridiculously relieved, he laughed before realizing how much he’d cared if she rejected him. “I’d offer to massage the kinks but I think we’d get in more trouble.”

“And as an officer of the law you need to stay clear of
that kind of
trouble
?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief, her subtle meaning clear.

“Not during my off hours.” The words escaped before he could stop them.

She let out a laugh. “I do like you, Rick Chandler.”

“Feeling’s mutual, Ms. Sutton.” He grinned. Damn but he could get in deep with this woman. And wouldn’t
that
solve his current problem?

A relationship with Kendall would force his mother and the myriad women she sent after him to back off. Kendall’s unusual arrival would definitely spark gossip. The more wary women in town would steer clear until they knew whether Rick was involved with the newcomer, while the more brazen ones, like Lisa, needed a blatant, can’t-miss message. A message like Kendall, her pink hair, and wedding dress.

Not that he thought for one minute Kendall would go along with his insane idea to pretend they were involved in order to keep the women from Rick’s door. He didn’t even intend to suggest it, but he had to admit the plan had been a fun one while it lasted. “We still haven’t gotten you out of that dress,” he said at last.

“I’m right here waiting.”

He grit his teeth and finished the buttons on the dress with minimal fuss and conversation, focusing solely on his task and not the increasingly bared skin on her back.

He paused when his fingertips finally reached her waist. “How about I give you some privacy and you take things from here?” Because the next step would mean he’d be pulling down the top of the dress and revealing her bare breasts for view. It would mean he’d work the material lower, over her legs and then—

“That would probably be best.” Her voice stopped his daydream just in time.

“I’ll leave the door open.” He stepped toward the exit. “Yell if you need anything.”

“Will do.” She shot him a grateful smile.

“Good. Good.” Rick slipped out, escaping before he could indulge further in any need, be it his or hers.

The wedding gown hung from her waist as Kendall stared at her flushed reflection in the mirror. She wished she could blame the heat but knew her response to Rick’s lips on her flesh, his strong hands on her bare skin, was responsible.

She hadn’t expected him to kiss her, but the sexual tension humming between them couldn’t be missed. Neither could the bond created over understood grief. Add to that he’d been stripping her out of her gown, for God’s sake. How much more of an intimate act could there be? When his lips had touched her skin . . . her body shook now with the memory, her nipples puckering at the remembered sensation.

Kendall didn’t normally “do” brazen. But she’d needed to see his face and so she’d turned her head—and met his lips with hers. The kiss had rocked her world. He was so sexy he melted her insides with one look. So strong and sure he protected with a touch. He made her feel wanted. And in doing so, he answered a need she hadn’t known still existed.

She’d always been the displaced child that no one wanted. And though Brian had desired her, he’d never given back emotionally. Their relationship had been a bargain. He’d gotten her the modeling jobs she needed
to pay for her aunt’s care and she’d pretended to be his girlfriend to help him through a transition period after a breakup. Though their fake relationship had turned into a real one, she’d never connected with Brian.

Not like she had with Rick. One kiss and she’d felt more than a physical pull. Enclosed in the small bathroom with Rick had been a confinement of a different kind. A sensual kind. The kind she’d like to explore further.
Why not?
The surprising thought flashed through her mind.

So did the answers. She’d ended her engagement to Brian and a huge phase of her life just a few short hours ago. Though she hadn’t been in love with him, the whole ordeal had been traumatic. Though the dizziness had already passed, she splashed cold water on her face, then she shook her head and wrapped her icy, wet hands around the back of her neck for shock value.

She couldn’t be thinking clearly, not if she was tempted to indulge in a romantic interlude with a virtual stranger. Yet he felt like anything but. After all, she’d seen the desire in his eyes, felt the tremor in his calloused fingertips. Kendall wasn’t normally into affairs or quickies with men she barely knew, but Rick Chandler, his goodness and strength, his openness and giving, not to mention his sexiness, tested her resolve.

She changed out of the dress and reached for her casual clothes, leaving the bridal trappings on the floor in a discarded heap. The wedding was in her past. The open road awaited her in the future. Though it’d be wonderful to indulge in some T.L.C. and though Officer Rick Chandler might seem like the perfect man for the job, it wouldn’t be fair to him.

She couldn’t use him that way, no matter how good he made her feel. A man who lived in one place, who valued stability, and who was a family friend, was hardly the man to pick for an affair, assuming she was ready for one. Which she wasn’t, she assured herself.

Too bad her body made a mockery of that promise. She straightened and started for the other room, steeling herself against the chemistry she couldn’t control or deny.

Rick paced outside the bathroom so he could hear the thud if the heat got to her again and Kendall passed out cold on the floor. He was thankful when minutes later the door opened and she walked out, but gratitude evaporated when he got a good look at her newest getup, taken from the small suitcase he’d brought in for her earlier.

A pink floral cutoff T-shirt showcased her flat, bare stomach, while a pair of frayed cutoff white shorts hugged her hips and revealed her rounded curves and long legs. She was perfectly proportioned, making him want her more than he had before. Something he hadn’t believed possible.

But as spectacular as she appeared, it wasn’t her body he couldn’t take his eyes from, but the frilly garter still hugging her thigh.

“What’s wrong?” She glanced down. “Oh. Oh!” She blushed an amazing shade of pink that matched her hair. “I was rushing and forgot.”

She bent down to remove the accessory, sliding the elastic over those long legs. Legs he could envision
wrapped around his waist as he made love to her over and over again.

“Got it.” She lifted her head and met his gaze. “You seem fascinated by this thing. Want to see it up close?” She dangled the blue and white lace midair.

And according to tradition be the next to marry? “Hell no.” But he was too late. She’d already tossed the garter through the air, leaving him no choice but to catch it or let it drop onto the dusty, hardwood floor. Resigned, he grabbed for the offending object.

“Good catch!” She clapped her hands in approval. “I’m impressed.”

“Just tell me tradition doesn’t work if the bride never said
I do.
”

A wry smile touched her lips. “You’re afraid.” She let out a loud laugh.

“I’m a cop. I’m not afraid of anything,” he said. But if that was true, then why was his heart hammering hard in his chest and his breath coming in short, uneven gasps?

“Okay, no fear. But you do look like you’re about to be sick.” She came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Her touch shot straight through him and he enjoyed the feeling more than was prudent.

“Anything I can do?” she asked.

He eyed that damn garter. “You can answer the question.”

“Since I never got married and technically I’m not a bride, I’m sure the garter is harmless. Feel better?”

Hardly, he thought. Her fingertips still touched his shoulder, searing his skin through his department-issued navy T-shirt. His gaze dropped to her incredible body
again. “You look a lot more comfortable,” he said, changing the subject.

She grinned. “Amazing what getting rid of that albatross of a dress will do for you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “A woman who shares my views on marriage? Impossible.” He couldn’t imagine a female who’d shake at the sight of a wedding dress. But this was Kendall and she was unique. No wonder she appealed to him.

“Are you telling me you’ve never met an independent woman before?”

“Not in this town. They all seem to be on the marriage plan.”

Her eyes grew wide, her curiosity evident. “There have to be some women who want to remain on their own. Free to do what they want, when they want.”

“Is that your M.O.?” he asked.

Kendall nodded. Rick had pegged her well. “I’m a transient,” she said with a grin.

“Why?”

The answer lay in her past. By moving from place to place, she didn’t allow herself to become too attached to anyone or anything. But she didn’t think Rick needed or wanted to know her personal hangups, so she shrugged lightly and said, “It’s all I know.”

“Your childhood.” He obviously remembered hearing of her past. “But there’s no need to move around now. Did you ever consider putting down roots?”

“Not in this lifetime.” She’d been there, she’d done that, Kendall thought. “I just spent two years in New York City to be with Aunt Crystal and cover her nursing home bills. It’s time to put me first.”

He nodded in understanding.

“Why don’t we sit?” she suggested.

“This is the best you’ve got.” He gestured to the couch with drop cloths covering it as well as the other furniture in the guest house. It had been so long since anyone stayed here that she obviously had her work cut out for her—even for just a temporary visit.

She joined him on the beige-covered sofa. “Sorry I can’t offer you a better, cleaner place to sit.”

He shrugged. “No big deal.”

“So tell me about the Stepford wives.” She changed the subject back to him.

He chuckled. “It’s really not that bad. It’s just that my mother’s been ill and she’s got this notion that it’s time for her sons to settle down and give her grandchildren.” He sobered at the mention of his mother’s health. “Now she’s launched an all-out campaign and the single women in town are only too happy to participate.”

She recalled Pearl’s words earlier about his mother lamenting her grandchildless fate. Obviously there was more to it than that. “Poor man. All the women in town throwing themselves at you.” She clucked her tongue, though a part of her was actually jealous she wasn’t the only one who found this guy incredibly sexy. Not that she had any desire to marry and settle down, but she could see why those women who did found him the perfect catch.

“Trust me it’s a lot tougher than it sounds considering I’m not interested.”

“I’m surprised you’re telling me about it.”

“Oh, you’d hear about it soon enough. Especially after Pearl gets through letting everyone know about you
and your grand entrance.” He ran a hand through that gorgeous, dark hair. “You’ll be branded.”

Kendall started to laugh, remembering how Rick had carried her over the threshold to the tune of Pearl’s humming “Here Comes the Bride,” in between chiding Eldin and using his back as an excuse to avoid marriage. Kendall would have mentioned that Eldin seemed anxious to put a ring on her finger, but she sensed Pearl had a mind of her own. Just like Rick’s mother, apparently.

But Rick wouldn’t find this situation amusing, so she clasped her hands and tried for sincerity. “No one could possibly believe you’d gotten married without letting anyone know.”

“They just might considering it’s happened before.” His eyes clouded over, memories obviously pushing at him and making him uncomfortable.

He’d been married. Eloped, it seemed. No wonder he resisted his mother’s marriage push now. She leaned forward, surprised beyond belief. “Do tell.”