Battling the Best Man: A Harmony Falls Novel, Book 2 (Crimson Romance) (13 page)

“About what?” He nipped at her lips.

“Being wanted.” She nipped back.

He chuckled. “I can fix that.”

His hot mouth covered hers, filling her with the woodsy scent of cologne and the fresh taste of mouthwash. His arms locked around her waist, fusing their bodies together, so tight she could barely breathe. And she thanked every higher power in the history of humankind, because this was what she came for: Mind-numbing sex.

Was it too much to hope the numbing could be permanent?

“Come on,” he said, his wet lips brushing back and forth across hers. “Follow me.”

He grabbed her by the hand and led her out the other side of the living room to a dark hallway. Her heart thrashed. Her mouth burned. But her mind remained pleasantly blank as she watched his powerful strides. Somehow, she had the presence of mind to set the wine bottle on a table as they passed, before he tugged her inside the first room on the right and closed the door.

She blinked against the darkness. As odd as it was to be standing in Will’s bedroom, she wasn’t going to change her mind about being here. If she weren’t here, she’d be home alone…or at the nursing home, where Fran gave her the stink eye, her father was half the man he used to be, and her mother treated her with painful disregard.

“I’m not going to run,” she said, smoothing her hand along his forearm. “You didn’t have to close the door.”

“I know. That’s to keep the dog out, and to do this…” He charged her, wrapped her in an embrace, and spun her around until her back hit the door.

“Dramatic,” she breathed.

“Drama has nothing to do with it,” he said, lips dragging up and down the side of her neck. “It’s about leverage.” He shoved hands behind her until he gripped her bottom and lifted.

Straddling him, Kory expected a joke about her lack of physics prowess. Nothing but slow, wet kisses came from Will’s mouth.

This was new. This was nice. Kory dropped her head against the wooden door amid a rush of lusty anticipation. She’d never been ravished against a door. She opened her eyes as Will continued the thrilling assault on her throat, lowering his mouth to the scoop of her tank top where he could kiss and lick the tops of her breasts. With his body hard against hers, he held her in place, ratcheting her desire.

“
I
want you,” he whispered. “Whenever. Wherever.” He lifted his head until they were nose to nose and he was staring into her eyes. “You call me anytime you need to be convinced.”

• • •

By the time Will was finished with Kory, he’d thoroughly convinced her twice.

“More please,” she whimpered.

He laughed against the smooth skin of her belly, planting kisses as he continued upward until he found her mouth. This was beyond perfect, if there were such a thing. Waiting so long to take things this far was a crying shame, because now their time was finite.

Rolling to his side, Will cradled her to his chest, breathing her in, pushing out thoughts of real life. The longer he lay there, the more he was overcome by the oddest sense of right. Kory belonged here. He couldn’t pretend it was forever, but right now? Definitely.

Molly whined from the other side of the bedroom door.

“Hold that thought,” Will said, not exactly sure which one of them he was talking to.

He pushed off the bed and into his boxers, glancing back as he crossed the room. She sprawled naked and smiling across his bed. Talk about winning.

Opening the bedroom door, his chest puffed with satisfaction, and he patted Molly’s head, leading her outside. Hot and sticky air surrounded him as he settled on the top step to watch the dog waddle around her usual patch of yard. Only the dissonance of crickets kept him company as she slipped in and out of the shadows. His mind wandered back to Kory. She was in his bed. The urge to hurry Molly was strong, but it died on his lips as a thought chilled him. She’d been here before Kory, and if he were being honest instead of overly optimistic, he could admit Molly would be here after her, too.

For the first time in a long time he preferred to be overly, blindingly optimistic. He meant what he’d said in that bedroom. He wanted Kory. Whenever. Wherever. But what did that really mean? It would be a lot harder to keep a promise like that once she returned to Chicago.

“Hey.”

He turned his head to see her on the other side of the screen door. She was out of his bed sooner than he wanted her to be. Disappointment added to his bewildering introspection.

“Sorry,” he said, facing Molly and her geriatric pace. “She takes longer than most dogs.”

The screen door creaked behind him, and the cold metal barely touched his back.

“That’s okay.”

He looked up to find Kory fully dressed.
Great.
Not only was she out of his bed, but she was leaving. He looked away again. Of course she was leaving. She got what she came for.

Will Mitchell was Kory Flemming’s booty call. If it weren’t so pathetic, he’d be laughing.

Fran’s gloomy prediction from earlier in the day made an unwelcomed appearance in his already crowded mind, and he reminded himself he was getting what he wanted, too. So what if Kory was using him in and out of bed? After the way he’d treated her in high school, it was the least he could do. Besides, it was by no means torturous penance.

Rolling back his shoulders and holding his head high, Will braced for her goodbye. He’d take another shot at her tomorrow.

“You want some cake?” she asked instead, her warm hand splaying between his shoulder blades.

It was probably pathetic to feel relief, but he felt it just the same. It spread from the spot beneath her hand through the rest of his body until it loosened his arm enough for him to reach up and wrap around her wrist, not wanting her to leave even if it was only for cake.

“In a minute,” he said. “Sit. Talk to me.”

She skimmed past him, until she was standing on the patio, and he had no choice but to let go. “About what?”

He inhaled and exhaled, searching for something to keep her there. By his side. Where he swore he didn’t need anyone. It was the strangest internal war he’d ever waged. He just never realized how lonely he was until tonight.

“How’s work?” he asked.

Her bold brow rose. “Fine.”

“How’s everyone treating you?”

She wrapped arms across her chest. “There are factions of dissenters, but it doesn’t matter. I told you that. I’m there to do a job, not make friends.”

He nodded, admiring her focus and sensibility, but wishing everyone would cut her some slack whether she needed them to or not. The happier she was, the easier her job would be. The easier her job was, the more likely she was to linger.

He knew wishful thinking when he saw it, so he attempted to keep things professional, as professional as one could keep things while clad in boxer shorts, post-sex. “So what’s your next step…job-wise?” he asked.

Her face had a way of crunching and letting him know she was on to him. “Are you asking as the man I just slept with or as my boss?”

Her gutsy sass made him grin. “Both.” They both had different reasons for asking. The man she slept with was more interested in
how
she answered. Was she content enough to hang around? On the other hand, her boss was interested in whether or not her next step would be profitable.

Molly wandered onto the patio, slow and steady, and Kory reached out, placing a hand on the dog’s head. “I’m going over to Valley Hospital tomorrow to talk to doctors and patients, hoping to drum up some business. Being hands-on seems to suit me. Who knew?” She nodded, and her eyes widened until they sparkled in the patio lights. If he wasn’t mistaken, her lips hinted at a smile.

She had contentment over the job?
Check.
Petting Molly wasn’t hurting her mood either and the dog had the same calming effect on him.

“So you’re adding liaison to your job description?” He dropped down a couple steps so he could reach Molly, too. She lifted her head so Will could scratch beneath her chin.

“Why not? My dad’s progressing. The home isn’t full yet, so I have time on my hands. I plan to be aggressive when it comes to new admissions.” She petted Molly in long strokes from head to tail.

He liked her drive, but if he were keeping track of all the things he liked about Kory, her ease with animals would be even higher on the list. Accidentally-on-purpose he slid his hand along the side of Molly’s head, hooking his index finger around Kory’s pinky.

“You’re an amazing woman, and I’m so happy you’re here.”

Kory opened her mouth, and then closed it.

The thoughts were probably better kept to himself. She looked shocked, maybe even scared. The grim line of her lips repeated a familiar facial expression from high school. She wasn’t used to sincere compliments from him, so he tried to blame her reaction on the lack of experience. But then she shook her head, and a sense of doom squeezed his chest.

“Will, this is not...we’re not…together. I’m not staying.” The last three words were delivered matter-of-fact as she lifted her hand away from his and crossed her arms over her breasts again. “This is just some no-strings-attached fun.”

It felt like more than that. But she was so damn sure she knew better than him.

The age-old desire to best her kicked in. “I bet I can convince you to stay,” Will spouted without thinking.

There was more head shaking. “Don’t make this into another competition.”

“Why not? We thrive on that, don’t we?”

“Chicago is different. There are things there I can’t get here. I promise you, it’s one time you won’t win.”

Will grunted and stared beyond her into dark space. Him? Not win? Never.

“Challenge accepted, Dr. Flemming,” he said as he stood. “Now, let’s go eat cake.”

• • •

No matter how gorgeous a shirtless Will looked wielding a plate of equally tempting chocolate cake, Kory knew she should leave. She didn’t want to blur the lines any more than they already were. She also didn’t want to be embroiled in some idiotic competition over whether she stayed in Harmony Falls or went back to Chicago. There was no contest. Chicago would win. She’d worked too hard to get there.

Those thoughts clouded her mind enough she reached out and accepted the plate he was offering, only to regret it seconds later. Was she losing her sharp edge? That couldn’t happen. And if it was, it was only happening because she had too much time on her hands. In Chicago she barely had time to breathe, let alone get mixed up with a man.

She should’ve given the plate of cake back, or set it down, and she tried, but her arm wouldn’t cooperate. It seemed like such a shame to let good dessert go to waste. And the wine? Someone had to drink that, too.

Kory accepted the glass without protest. With her hands as full as her head, she settled on the couch, watching Will cut a piece of cake for himself. The thick, corded muscle in his forearm flexed as he slid the knife back and forth, and for a moment she just enjoyed the view, remembering how his muscles felt beneath her hands.

“Eat,” he said, drawing her attention back to the cake on her plate. “Rumor has it this is the best cake in Harmony Falls. What do you think?”

As though she were in a trance, she raised a forkful to her mouth. Rich, cold fudge melted on her tongue, prompting an eye roll and whimper.

Will sat, grinning and adding to the decadent moment. “Lives up to its reputation, huh?”

She nodded. “Who made it?”

“You won’t believe me,” he said, chocolate kissing the corner of his mouth.

“You?”

“No. Probably even less believable. Charlie Cramer.”

Kory set her fork on the plate and picked up the wine to wash down the sweetness along with her surprise. She was still getting used to Alice’s brother providing this town with anything other than misery from his alcoholic past. “Wow.”

“Yep. I want him to open a bakery on Main Street. He says he’s not staying in Harmony Falls, but we’ll see. I have a plan to convince him.”

Interesting. Will was trying to convince Charlie Cramer to stay in Harmony Falls, too. Slowly, Kory’s worried stomach settled. The reason Will wanted her to stay was clouded by the fact they were sleeping together, but after hearing she wasn’t his lone pursuit, she was reminded this was about more than her—when it came down to it, Will’s family mission to stabilize Harmony Falls’ population and economic decline was his top priority.

They ate. Molly curled at their feet. It was a companionable silence, interrupted only by more thoughts. If Will ultimately wanted her in the name of Harmony Falls’ success, then she was off the hook as far as affairs of the heart were concerned. She was also sure to win the non-existent challenge he’d accepted on the patio. Once the nursing home was in shape and she found a suitable replacement, he’d let her go without a second glance.

See? No worries
, she thought, despite a fresh upset in her gut.

“You’ve got something right here,” he said, touching his thumb to her bottom lip, but then he pulled away, set his plate on the coffee table, and slid closer. “On second thought…” He licked the spot where his thumb had been, and without hesitation, Kory set her plate aside, too, opening her mouth for his kiss.

Staying or leaving, she was here now. She wasn’t going to waste this.

Time
did
fly when Will was having fun, and Kory was his choice entertainment. Days turned to weeks with Will more and more convinced she needed to stay. But convincing her wasn’t going to be easy.

He’d accepted a lot of personal and professional challenges in his high-achieving life, but throwing down the gauntlet where Kory and Chicago were concerned might have been his most foolish yet. Still, he couldn’t back down. How would that look? Worse, how would that feel? He wanted her here for as long as he could keep her, which was foolish, too. No matter how many times he told himself it was good for business, it was even better for his personal life.

Will enjoyed her—in and out of bed, which was a novelty for him. While there was no shortage of women around town who wanted to sleep with a Mitchell, women who really understood him and enjoyed his company were rare.