A Night of Misbehaving (4 page)

Georgia returned to the surface and stood, her damp brown hair cascading down her shoulders. She wiped the water dripping from her face and braided her hair loosely to the side.

He pushed the strong, nameless emotion lodged in his throat aside and whispered, “You’re beautiful.”

She raised an eyebrow with a wicked grin on her closed lips. “Do you always know what to say?”

He swam closer to her, hovering like a shark in the ocean. “Why do your compliments always come across as an insult?”

“Maybe that’s the idea, Sexy Dad.”

“Come again?”

“That’s your nickname at the school. Apparently the other moms always find you sexy.” She ran her finger up his arm, and he licked his lips. The modest touch sent a jolt through him, and beads of sweat slicked his forehead.

“But you aren’t like the others.” He caught her hand and kissed her knuckles, staring at her hungry eyes. “You’re Super Mom.”

With a gasp, she withdrew her hand from his. “Is that what they call me?”

Insistent, he took her hand in his again, fingers intertwined. “That’s what I call you,” he whispered and looked down to see her perky breasts puckering under the water. Caressing her wrist with his thumb, he noticed her unsteady pulse. He’d disciplined his body to endure hardcore workouts and challenging triathlons, but damn it if he could dodge the need to take her.

She paled. “Why?”

“The Yahoo group for class parents? The endless organic recipes?”

She laughed, the warm, hearty sound vibrating inside him. “See, you know how to turn a compliment into an insult, too.”

“It seems we have more in common than you think.”

…

Georgia smiled. Again. She had never imagined feeling this…intimate. They were naked in the pool, and their conversation made her feel more exposed than the lack of clothes.

“This is fun,” he said. “We should do this more often.”

“I don’t know.” She played with the water, making small waves with her palm. What did
this
mean? The skinny-dipping? The date?

“Sometimes you have to take one day at a time, Georgia. Not impose rules on yourself.” His voice was lighter than a leaf. She raised her chin and stared at him. Oh, if only he didn’t have that delicious expression on his face, deep dimples, and promising eyes. If only…

Goose bumps raised on her arm. “Isn’t that what tonight is about? Forgetting the rules?”
At least for me.
“Unless…this is your typical Saturday night?” She caught her breath.

“No. I haven’t dated much since my divorce. I wanted to focus on Grace, and she had a hard time in the beginning.”

“I’m sorry.” Ella had mentioned something about Grace getting in trouble with the teacher a couple of times in the past, but Georgia had never given it much thought. “It must have been difficult for her to grasp everything.”

“She’s doing better now. Stacey is dating, and in a way it helped Grace see that although we’ve moved on emotionally, we’re both still her parents.”

“Hopefully it doesn’t confuse her even more,” she muttered. A harmless remark, though from the sobering expression on his face, it contained a dose of criticism. She swallowed hard. “I mean, seeing her parents with other people,” she tried to add, her words losing energy toward the end.

“Kids are very adaptable. And we’re both very careful. I wouldn’t introduce just anyone to Grace.” There was a touch of defensiveness in his voice. Uh oh.

She ducked her head. “I know. Sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

“Is that the excuse you use not to let men close to you?” he asked. The honesty in his voice was like salt on an untreated wound. She inhaled what seemed like all the oxygen around her.

“I’m on that website, aren’t I? It’s not like I’m hiding.”

He shook his head and pursed his lips. Water dripped from his hair and face, and her body tensed like she was in a bad job interview.

“You’re on the website, too,” she accused, but he simply raised an eyebrow and smiled. Smiled! She swallowed. “I don’t want to get her all excited about someone and then have that guy disappear from her life.”

“Like her father?” he said with nonchalance, observing her for a few seconds in silence.

She ran her fingers through her hair, buying time to escape his scrutiny. Discussing relationships with a man she wasn’t in a relationship with certainly wasn’t in her agenda. Although… He leaned toward her and squeezed her shoulder. The encouraging touch prompted her to stare at his handsome face.

“Look, I’m not saying men suck. I’m sure some of them don’t. All I’m saying is I’ve become wary, and with Ella everything has a bigger magnitude. It’s different for me. You and Stacey share Grace’s custody. I don’t have that luxury; I have to think long and hard before bringing just anyone into our lives.”

“I understand you must be selective. But dating someone doesn’t make you less of a mom.”

“It doesn’t,” she said truthfully. “Since when am I in therapy?” She splashed him, desperate to lighten the mood.

He dodged the droplets coming his way. “I’m not out there to hurt you or to be an ass. I want to get to know you better. And not just tonight.”

“Why?” Her toes curled.

“Because my old man kept telling me to believe in luck, and I never did. After meeting you, and tossing that coin…I feel pretty lucky to be here with you,” he said, and the wave of red across his cheeks almost brought her undone.

She nipped her lower lip, surprised by the heat throbbing between her legs. Yet again. “I’ll think about it.” She’d have to have a long talk with Alice to make sure her friend would be okay with it. Although now, just for one night…the thought of succumbing to the reckless need pulsing through her veins was as enticing as the moon shining above them.

Silence lengthened, the awareness of their nakedness cutting to her core. The gleaming intensity in his eyes, the motionless state of his body, the long breath he drew like he clung to every shred of control not to launch at her, chipped away any lurking doubts.

Tension crackled between them.

“Georgia.” He uttered her name in a growly voice.

Her heart dissolved, and she closed the remaining distance between them, treading water until her hardened nipples brushed against the hairs roughening his chest. This was it. She was about to throw caution to the wind and have sex with Sexy Dad. Would she really go through with it? What if sleeping with him ruined the connection they’d found?
I’m taking my chances. I’m pulling the wild card, too.

She ran her fingers through his wet hair. Brent lowered his head, his mouth finding hers, delving his tongue inside her without mercy. All of her throbbed. The contrast of his tongue against the cold air brushing her skin was too much. With a tortured moan, she arched against him, her body rumbling. A deep groan escaped his lips.

His hard-on pressed against her belly, and she couldn’t resist grabbing him. Oh, yes… His cock pulsed in her hand, growing harder when she tightened her grip. His breath rushed out in a hiss. She licked her lips and clasped his length, her blood vibrating in her veins.

He shut his eyes and threw his head back, his face a mask of concentration. She increased the rhythm, but before continuing her exploration, he stopped her. “If you keep touching me, I won’t last long. And the first time I climax, I want to be inside you. But I don’t have any condoms with me.” He brushed strands of hair from her face and stilled, the rest of his body matching the stiffness between his legs.

“I have them in my purse, but that’s in your car.” She threw her head back and let out a long sigh, willing sanity back. To her surprise, he outlined her chin with the tip of his tongue, and she startled. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking care of you, sweetheart.”

He dove in the water and looped his arms under her knees, and resurfaced, water rippling from his face. It registered that he was carrying her out, but his intentions became clear when he positioned her close to the edge. Her toes curled over the rough surface, and he stood on the metal ladder.

Dripping water, she quivered, the cold cement grazing her back. Hovering over her, he began a pattern of small kisses on her neck and shoulders. She squirmed, thrusting her fingers in his hair. He nipped her tingling breast, and she gasped. The scrape of his teeth on her nipple sent a delightful hum between her legs.

She parted her legs, and he lowered his body, bringing her close to his face.

“Brent…” she called, part begging, part demanding.

“I’ve wanted to taste you since we danced together.” He planted kisses on the tender inner area of her thighs, tracing invisible circles on the back of her knees with his fingers. She pressed her teeth hard into her lower lip, trying to manage the overwhelming spasms tingling her every time his lips came closer to her sex.

Instinctively, she tried to clamp her legs together, scared of the kind of pleasure that lay between them. But he persisted, this time shifting his attention to her aching sex. He blew his hot breath on her sticky thighs, and she reached for the metal rail and grasped it. Brent licked and stroked her folds, the circular movements blurring her vision.

She clasped her hand over his head, grabbing his hair. He inserted a couple of fingers inside her and intensified the rhythm. The stirring climax started in her core and quickly spread through her every fiber, overpowering her. A loud, guttural cry left her lungs and filled the night.

Chapter Five

“So this is where Sexy Dad lives,” Georgia said, heels clicking loudly on the dark hardwood floor. Recessed lights shone on the expensive furniture—a blend of glass, leather, and stainless steel—with enough kid toys spread out to remind visitors he lived with one, half of the time. “But where does he play?”

Holding her from behind, he pulled her hair to the side and glided his tongue along her neck, triggering her nerve endings. She pushed her hips against his hard cock, and a soft moan escaped her lips. There was no more waiting. No more downplaying the solid, hard desire moistening her sex and scorching her blood.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” he whispered in her ear, then ran the tip of his tongue on her earlobe, nipping the bottom. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

A wave of empowerment swept through her. “Then you’d better show me,” she said low, her voice carrying the weighty craving brewing inside.

Swiftly, he turned her around and cupped her face. A shiver zapped down her spine. He kissed her, his tongue tasting hers, and with melded mouths, he scooped her up in his arms. Stumbling against furniture, between husky whispers and gasps, they managed to make it to his bedroom. Just like the rest of his luxurious condo, his room was spacious and airy, with wall-to-wall glass and views of Lady Bird Lake. The lake seemed far below them, but then, everything did, apart from the full moon shining outside, casting pools of pale light on the carpet.

He flung her across his big bed, and she propped herself on her elbows and thrilled at the hungry look in his eyes. He pulled her dress over her head and started to kiss her bare skin, first applying small pecks on her neck. The more south he went, the more passionate and wet his kisses became.

He glided his tongue over her tight nipple, painfully slow at first, then repeated the movement with the other breast. She wove both hands in his hair, guiding him, and gripping him harder when a small ball of pleasure threatened to burst inside her.

“You’re gorgeous,” he said coarsely and raised his head to look at her.

“You’re not bad yourself,” she said, pretty sure that was the understatement of the year. She rolled away from him, sat up, and basked in his beauty. The contours of his handsome face, the ridges of his muscles shifting when he moved. The eyes…dark and deep.

“Show me how I affect you,” Georgia said.

“It starts here.” He took her hands to his head, and she threaded her fingers through his smooth brown hair. “There’s barely any oxygen in my brain.”

She brushed her lips against him. He leaned toward her, but she pushed his chest, prompting him to lie down on the bed before he could kiss her. She straddled his waist. “Then here.” He directed her hand to his heart.

The unsteady beating under her palm triggered a burning sensation in her skin. His gaze held hers, the promise in his eyes almost making her forget to ask for more.

“Then?” The huskiness in her voice revealed her need.

“There.” With a quirk from his lips, he upped his eyebrow and cocked his head to his…cock. She scooted down his body, her eyes within a breath of his throbbing, deliciously long length.

She glided her tongue over the head of it a couple of times, grazing her teeth slightly till she felt both his hands in her hair. He pulled and pushed her, each hand going at an opposite direction like he wasn’t sure what to do. Well, that had to be a good sign.

She finally took his length in her mouth, sliding it in and out, savoring his salty skin mixed with a hint of chlorine, and inhaling the scent of arousal. Glancing his way, she caught him watching her, his eyes smoky and dark. He moaned roughly. Loudly. His legs slightly shaky.

Brent pulled her up and laid her on her back, a gleam of anticipation in his eyes. Getting off the bed, he popped open a drawer and fetched a foil packet, tore it apart with his teeth, and rolled the condom on his shaft.

With a sealing kiss and fingers intertwined with hers, he drove himself inside her, and she could almost feel his heart beating over hers. Perhaps it was just the sound of her own heartbeat fleeing her body and invading the room.

She arched herself to him, wanting—no, needing—more of the thrill devouring her. Withdrawing his mouth from hers to plant kisses on her face and neck, Brent groaned and increased the pace. He thrust in and out of her, each time harder and deeper. She dug her nails in his shoulders, wanting more, faster, stronger. Moans flew out of her mouth.

He flicked her clit with one deft finger, and she no longer fought the building climax. Clenching her legs around him, she shouted his name and let the currents of pleasure rip through her. The contours of his face tightened for a moment, and a satisfied smile took over his features, relaxing them one by one.

“This is what you to do me,” he whispered with labored breath.

Sex wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be good, great, excellent. This was…complete physical connection. Soul surrender. Soul surrender? No. It couldn’t be. Or could it?

A warm, small kiss on her nose woke Georgia slowly. Covering her yawn, she turned her head from side to side on the plush pillow. Another kiss, this one on her breast, prompted her to rub her eyes open and shift on the bed.

As soon as her vision focused, the sight of a bare-chested Brent sent her blood to a low simmer.

“Morning,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.

She chewed on her bottom lip and let her gaze slide down his body as she noticed the upward curve of the sheet. Realizing she was naked, too, she yanked the sheet to cover herself, her pragmatism fighting her longing to go a second round. Oh, make it the fourth round.

“I have to pick up my car at the bar and go home.”
And get Ella from Mom’s
.

She turned away, knowing her determination would fade if she faced him.

“Soon.” He spooned her, the hardness of his cock finding its nest between her thighs. He pulled her hair, stretching her neck toward him, and started a trail of kisses that sunk her resolve like quicksand.

She writhed, pushing her body against his, engulfed by the bubble of awareness surrounding them.

“Time to make you mine,” he whispered, then turned her on her back. His? Her heart raced. Certainly, he meant sexually?

He tossed the sheets to the side and spread her legs apart with his hands, his fingers drawing a pattern on her thighs. She bucked against him, and with his eyes fixed on hers, he gave her a long, deep thrust.

“Yes.” The response for a question that wasn’t even clear flew from her lips. “Yes,” she repeated, as he began to move in and out of her, each time taking her to the brink of a climax about to unfold. About to explode.

He gave her an open-mouthed kiss, and she clung to him, her nails scratching his muscled shoulders, her sex clenching shamelessly around his cock. With a husky growl, he intensified the rhythm, and she nipped his lip. Yes. To this man, she could give way more than just one night.

Her cry of release filled the room, the convulsions taking her to a mindless place where the throbbing between her legs reverberated through her entire body. With one more thrust, he followed her to the vortex of pleasure.

They lay side by side, their heaving breaths turning into short pants, then sighs. Warm intimacy blanketed her like the silky sheets rumpled on the floor. She kissed his shoulder and gathered her strength to sit up. “Now I really should get going.”

“I’ll drive you to the bar so you can pick up your car.”

“Thanks. Can I shower?” She gathered whatever was left of her strength and surged onto her feet.

He gave her a long, promising once over and winked. “I’ll go downstairs to fix us something for breakfast.”

Georgia looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Get a hold of yourself, woman
. The silliest of smiles spread across her face, along with a shade of pink that covered her cheeks. She ran a comb through her damp hair and shook her head.

Her stomach fluttered. Why did the feel-good sensation she experienced with Brent last even when they were apart? Well, not that far apart. Sounds of pots and pans clashed in the kitchen, and she smiled again.

She wiggled into her dress, then turned on the blow dryer and dried her roots. As she turned it off and placed it in the drawer she’d found it in, the cordless phone rang. Taking it with her, she headed downstairs. Maybe it was his daughter. By the time she made it to the empty kitchen, she heard the sound of the doors to the backyard slam shut. The answering machine on the countertop picked up and she heard Brent’s masculine voice and another one, right after his.

“Hey, man, how was last night?” the voice on the other side of the line asked with a snicker. “Did you nail that lady from preschool?”

With knees buckling under her, she sought solace on the edge of a chair.

“Gotta say, buddy, you owe me one. Okay. Call me later,” the man continued before the quick buzz of the phone. She blinked. She’d been played. For some weird reason, Brent had told someone he was meeting her, obviously not in a respectful way.

She dashed upstairs, and with trembling fingers, gathered her purse, a numbing sensation replacing the feel-good one.

She managed to make it back to the kitchen and didn’t spare but a glance at the round breakfast table, complete with place settings for two. Brent flipped a couple of pancakes on the top of the stove and turned to her. The smell of eggs and orange juice only made her unsettled stomach worse.

“Fresh tomatoes. Grace convinced me to plant some in our pitiful backyard.” He picked up the vegetable and sliced it on the board. “I was thinking, maybe this Friday we could take the girls to the park together.” His hand stalled, and he studied her expression.

Without uttering a single word, she walked up to him, each step cursing her latest bad decision.

“Too soon?” He shrugged and returned his attention to the cutting board. “No pressure, just a playdate.”

She folded her arms and stared at him.
Why?
“Someone just left you a message, Brent.”

“I heard the phone ring, but I went out back to grab the tomatoes.”

“A guy who asked you if you nailed the uptight lady and that you owe him one.”

The easy smile disappeared from his lips, and he loosened the hold on the knife and placed it on the granite countertop.

Her heart pounded in her ears. “I assume he was talking about me?” She pushed past the pain lumped in her throat.

“Fuck. You weren’t supposed to find out this way. I’m not sure where to begin.” With hands on his waist, he paced in an invisible circle, ducked his head, and stared at the floor. She was about to ask again, her nerves unsettled, when he lifted his head, jaw clenched and eyes searching hers. “It wasn’t me you were supposed to go out with last night. It was Carl.”

She took a couple of steps back and rubbed her forehead.
Carl?

“My business partner. He was bragging about meeting you last night, and when I saw your picture…I asked to go instead.”

“Why?”

He leaned against the countertop and folded his arms. “He’s a sleazeball. Trust me on this; he doesn’t belong anywhere near you.” He cleared his throat. “I also knew where you worked. A.W. is one of the companies on my list to pitch a corporate wellness program I’ve drafted. I think it will really help people. Carl was against it, and if he knew you worked there, he’d only have made things worse. He can’t keep his mouth shut.”

The pieces of the puzzle formed in her head. The slight discrepancy of his description. Light brown hair versus dark-blond hair. The realization slammed into her with the intensity of a jackhammer.

He jammed both hands in his pockets and shrugged. “The main thing is that Carl’s a man-whore. Believe me, taking his place was—”

“A favor? I’m charity to you?” Bitterness latched on her every syllable.

He shook his head, letting out a long sigh. “The right thing to do.”

“Really? The right thing so I’d have you on my good side and recommend you to the board?”

He stepped toward her, but she jerked away. A bob made its way down his throat, and the pulse on his neck possibly had its own zip code and Facebook account. “That was part of the initial plan. Sleeping with you wasn’t premeditated.”

She produced a nervous laugh. “Ha! You expect me to believe that?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “Based on the awesome night we had, I hope you do. I’m very sorry I misled you, Georgia.”

She bit her lower lip until it hurt, her heart contracting. Damn it, she should not have slept with him. “What was your plan, exactly? Hang around until I agree to your business proposal?”

A defiance he wasn’t entitled to flickered in his eyes. Did he really challenge her to believe him?

“No. After spending time with you, I can’t explain it…but I decided not to pitch to A.W. anymore. I wouldn’t want to put you in that position.”

“How convenient you tell me now, after I found out.” She picked up her bag from the console and clenched it in her hand, wishing it was his neck. A wound opened in the depths of her soul, one she knew was different than the other times she’d been let down. Never had she trusted a man so quickly. Brent had made her believe it could be different this time around. She swallowed the acid in the back of her throat.

“When I walked into that restaurant, my goal wasn’t to deceive you. I wanted to buy you a drink and build some rapport to be able to tell you about the wellness program in person. Some innocent networking, nothing more. Then I saw you…and something changed. I thought we owed it to ourselves to see where this might lead. I want to be with you. I want to get to know you.”

“The only place this is leading me is out the door.” Sooner than he’d expected her to, for sure. She strode past him to get to the foyer, but he seized her wrist.