Back for You (7 page)

Thea felt all gooey just thinking about it. “Better.
Way
better.
He definitely rocked my world.”

Lexi pouted. “I am
so
jealous right now.”

Thea laughed. “You should be. If sex was an Olympic event, Cain would be
the gold medal winner, hands down.”

Lexi took a huge swig of her beer while she digested that piece of
information. “I need to find me one of those. Cain got a twin brother?”

“Nope.”

“That’s a damn shame.”

Lexi looked so thoroughly bummed, Thea laughed. “Don’t forget, this is
the guy who dumped me ten years ago. He looks good, is a genius between the
sheets, but once you get past all that, he’s totally unreliable for the long
haul. No matter how great the sex is, he’s not exactly a keeper.”

Lexi snorted. “Who said I’d want to keep the man? I just want a piece of
all the amazing sex going on around here.”

“Well, if I hear of anyone who qualifies, I’ll be sure to send him your
way.”

“Please do. It’s been way too long since I went on a date. I need to find
me a man.”

Thea commiserated, but her mind was already elsewhere. Everything she’d
learned about Cain didn’t change anything. Even feeling the way he claimed he
did back then, Cain had still left her. He’d thought of himself and his own
needs first. Not her. So, when she came right down to it, his coming back now
didn’t change much. Being hot for him was one thing, feeling anything more than
that was another. There was no way she could ever trust he wouldn’t just up and
leave again someday. Because of that, she could never trust him with her heart
again either.

An unwanted feeling of sadness washed over her that she and Cain couldn’t
have the whole deal—hot sex, love, commitment. But there was no point in
dreaming, so she shook it off and instead focused on the positive. And there
was a positive because she
could
trust him to satisfy her sexual needs.

And that’s just what she was going to do. This was about her and what she
wanted. Hell, the sex was spectacular, so why stop now. “You know, great sex
isn’t everything, but it sure is fun when you’re getting some.”

Lexi groused. “I wouldn’t know.”

“You’ll find someone, you’ll see.”

Lexi sighed. “Maybe. So, what’s your game plan?”

Thea would do what she’d always done when it came to men. “I’ve decided
I’m going to have a good time with Cain. Emotionally, I’ll keep my distance. No
relationship or lovey-dovey nonsense. This is just going to be about sex.
I’ll
be the one in control.”

Oh yeah. She’d wring him out and use him as her own personal sex toy
until he started to bore her like every other guy she’d ever gone out with had.
And when she was done, she’d walk away fully satisfied, with her heart intact.

Four hours later, Thea had closed up the bar for the night and was now enjoying
herself immensely.

Cain’s lips sizzled their way along her neck, dallying at the
super-sensitive spot just under her ear. The one only he seemed to know
existed.

Delicious shivers tripped down her spine, and she gasped as the delicious
fluttering settled way down low, heating her core to blazing-hot life.

Thea marveled at her body’s quick response to Cain’s simplest touch. Any
other guy would have had to work a
lot
longer and a lot harder to get
her this worked up, this fast. No wonder she’d missed being with him so much.
It also explained her eagerness for more than leisurely kisses on modestly
exposed places on her anatomy.

She
wanted
to savor the way Cain made her feel, to concentrate on
the sensations coursing through her body, but she found herself wishing he’d
hurry up and get to the good stuff. Like
now
.

His tongue teased her flesh. She whimpered. “Cain?”

He kissed her lobe. “Hmm?”

She squirmed suggestively in hopes he’d take the hint, but he continued
his lazy exploration, apparently oblivious to her current raging needs.

Maybe he needed a bit of motivation, something to make him move to second
base. She dropped one hand and cupped the impressive bulge in his jeans. It
leapt at her touch but nope, he ignored her silent urging and continued
nuzzling her ear, nipping her lobe, tracing the shell of her ear, all of which
felt wonderful but… “You’re deliberately torturing me, aren’t you?”

He smiled against her skin. “Um hmm.”

“Bastard.”

He chuckled, and gave her a quick nip on the neck, his hot breath adding
to the shivers already racing out of control throughout her body. “What’s the
rush?”

What could she say? She couldn’t tell him she didn’t want to feel all
soft and mushy like she was right now. She wanted to have sex. She wanted it
hot and raw. She wanted it down and dirty, and she wanted it now. “The rush is
that I want you inside me. Now.” She squeezed his cock for good measure.

He groaned. “Believe me, darlin’. I want that more than you can imagine.”

“Then what’s the hold up?”

He pulled back a bit. “Impatient little thing, aren’t you?”

“I guess I am.”

He caught her gaze as his fingers traced down her neck and collarbone, skimming
across her nipples. Even through her clothing, they tightened as the backs of
his fingers danced across the sensitive tips over and over until she was hot
with longing.

After what felt like an eternity, he started slipping one button free on
her light blue sundress. Then another. And another. Finally, he took her breast
into his large hand, kneading, and kissing, and sucking the soft mound, working
her flesh, working
her
, into a needful, wanting, shivering frenzy of lust.

His hot breath turned her insides to liquid while his tongue dipped into
the shell of her ear. Under her dress, his other hand squeezed one ass cheek,
pressing her closer, tighter, harder into his erection. Sensation lapped
sensation until she could hardly stand it, the overload sending her pussy into tingling
spasms of joy, as he whispered wicked things into her ear. And she wanted to do
every single one of those wicked things with him.

 “We need to take this upstairs to your place. We need a large bed and
hours and hours of uninterrupted time.”

Oh God
yeah
. The sooner they got started, the better. “Excellent
suggestion.”

And then she realized something. If they stayed here at her place, she
couldn’t leave whenever she wanted and short of kicking Cain out of bed, she’d
be stuck with him for the whole night. Which would lead to all kinds of very
dangerous couple-like stuff. Stuff she needed to avoid if she was going to have
any chance of keeping her heart intact.

It all but killed her to stop Cain’s delicious assault on her body, but
she didn’t have any choice. Going upstairs
so
wasn’t happening. There
was another, much-better-for-her, option.

She took a deep, shaky breath and pulled back, forcing a light, breezy
smile she didn’t feel. “Why don’t we take a nice little stroll and head over to
where you’re staying? I could use some fresh air after being stuck in the bar
all day. Besides, anticipation is half the fun.” Yeah, and maybe if she repeated
those words often enough she’d begin to believe them.

Cain blinked, then narrowed his eyes as he studied her. She got the
uncomfortable feeling he knew exactly why she suddenly wanted to go for a walk.
She was all ready with a quick come back but he never voiced any suspicions he
might have had, he just shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

Oh.

Her stomach muscles relaxed, and she heaved a mental sigh of relief,
surprised by how nervous she’d been about the prospect of him staying the night
at her place and all the potential problems that entailed. “Let me grab my
purse.”

Before she could move, he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her
with long, sweet thoroughness until she was regretting in a big way having to
wait to take things further. But she knew what he was doing and wasn’t falling for
it. She could tough it out.

She broke the kiss and extricated herself from his strong arms with a
fair bit of difficulty. “You’re not playing fair.”

“Who said I had to play fair?”

She evaded his grab. “I do.”

He didn’t say anything, but his self-satisfied grin told her he knew he
was getting to her.

“Oh, shut up.” With that, she led a chuckling Cain out of the bar.

As it turned out, it was a gorgeous, clear summer night. Perfect for a
midnight stroll. They headed toward the bed and breakfast, and before she knew
what he was about, they were walking hand-in-hand like they always used to do.

The whole thing felt so good, and yet way too familiar, taking her back
to a time when they’d been as close as two people could be. A time when walking
hand-in-hand had led to marathon make-out sessions and talk of love. A time
when she’d trusted him like she’d never trusted anyone before. Or since.

She tried casually extricating her hand from his, but Cain refused to take
the hint, and before long she was caught up in lively anecdotes from his
travels around the world. By the time they got to his room, they were laughing
and joking as if the past ten years had never happened.

The sneaky devil knew what he was doing, which reminded Thea just how
dangerous he could be. But that was okay, she could handle it. All she had to
do was keep things light. A challenge she was more than up to meeting.

The Victorian bed and breakfast where he was staying was by definition
old-fashioned, but when she stepped into his room, she was struck by how out of
place a big strapping guy like Cain looked with the old-world décor surrounding
him. Lace doilies dotted the room, a comfy quilt was turned back on the
plush-looking bed. All of it felt warm and homey. In fact, the entire place
looked like it was taken straight from a Victorian movie set.

She tossed her purse on the antique dresser closest to the door. “I
wouldn’t have thought you’d be comfortable staying in a room like this. Why
didn’t you stay at the Holiday Inn?”

He shrugged. “I’m sick of cold lifeless hotels, and Mom’s apartment is
too small for me to stay with her. This place at least feels homey. It’ll do
until I get my own place.”

And what a good reminder that he didn’t actually
live
here in
town. There was absolutely nothing keeping Cain in Forsythia Falls. He could pick up and leave at any time. And more than likely would once he got bored
with life in their little corner of hicksville.

And with her.

Cain felt the frosty chill emanating from Thea the second it happened. He
knew what had caused it too. She didn’t believe he was in Forsythia Falls for the long haul, and he didn’t blame her. But all the words in the world weren’t going
to convince her he was here to stay. The best thing he could do was show her.
Use what he had at his disposal to keep her close.

 Sex could be a powerful tool. Since it was the only thing she’d agreed
to having between them, he had no qualms about using it without mercy. In fact,
he’d enjoy every second of it, and make sure she did too.

He stepped in close behind her and swept aside her long red hair, enjoying
the silky strands as they ran through his fingers. Nuzzling the exposed downy
skin of her nape, he breathed deep of her unique scent mingled with the citrusy
perfume she wore. He loved how she smelled, always fresh and clean. Sexy as
hell.

And that’s all it took. That’s all it ever took.

A delicious tingling zipped down his spine like an arrow headed straight
for his groin. Every cell in his body sang with the joy of being this close to
her again, and all at once, tasting her soft skin was imperative.

As he nibbled his way up to her ear, he felt gooseflesh break out under
his lips, and he smiled in silent satisfaction, knowing he’d succeeded in
distracting her from her thoughts. That he finally had her undivided attention,
had her fully focused on him. On them.

He nipped the lobe of her ear and the delicate skin just below it. Sliding
his hands down her arms, circling her waist, he pulled her flush against him,
relishing how good, how
right
she felt in his arms. He knew she felt it
too, her shivery response setting his blood racing, and his skin on fire. “I
missed you today.”

Her breath scattered into a weak giggle. “We’ve been together almost the
entire day.”

He reached up and cupped her breast, kneading the soft plump flesh filling
his palm. “Correction. We were
beside
each other, which I thoroughly
enjoyed. But you were too far away.” He let her feel his already burgeoning
erection, but stayed on topic. “We make a good team, don’t you think?”

She turned and looked askance at him, her brow arched in surprise. “I
guess we’re okay. In a work setting.”

A thrill of triumph burst through him at her unexpected admission. “I enjoyed
watching you work. I was very impressed with how efficiently you run the bar.
You’ve turned into an impressive businesswoman.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. She ran a tight ship, knew everything that was
going on, and handled problems in an authoritative manner.

“Thanks, I’ve worked hard at it.”

“It shows. And you know what else is hard?” He nudged her with his erection
again. “My cock has been pining for you since this afternoon.”

She grinned up at him, her expression turning playful. “Pining? We can’t
have that.” She reached behind and grasped his ass with both hands, squeezing
him with surprisingly strong fingers, pulling him closer to her body. “It’s a
shame the bar was so busy today. I would much rather have been doing this all
day.”

“Me too.” He raced to undo the buttons on her sundress, even more
impatient than he’d been before. “Although, you may have been right about the
delayed gratification.”