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“You’re so fucking hot. Do you know that?”

She didn’t flinch under his scrutiny, already more confident
than she’d been earlier. She was a quick study and so sexy he didn’t want to
think about morning coming.

The only coming he cared about was her, over and over again.
With some of his own thrown in for good measure.

“Honestly?”

“Yeah, honestly. I’m barely out of you before I want in
again.”

“Feeling’s mutual.” She ducked her head so that her hair
curtained her cheek. “I feel guilty,” she admitted.

“About what?” He wouldn’t acknowledge the most likely source
of her guilt. The hell he would. “Enjoying sex? You Catholic or something?”

“Or something. Presbyterian, though I haven’t been to church
in years. But no, I meant I feel kind of guilty that it’s so good with you.
Because maybe I wasn’t giving my all in my marriage.” She held up a hand when
he started to argue. “I know I could’ve been all over him and it wouldn’t have
kept Lon from leaving if he wanted to.”

“What if you wanted him to leave? Doesn’t that count?”

“Speaking of sexy, your growl is very much so.” She gave him
a smile as she sifted through the mat of dark hair on his chest. “Our love life
sort of went into a slow decline and I tried not to notice it wasn’t the way it
should be. I figured sex wasn’t a big deal in the scheme of things. Not worth
divorcing over.”

“Wars have been fought over less.”

“True. But I loved him. Or I did once, back when he loved me
too. Or I thought he did.”

“And the sex always sucked?” Jeff shook his head and
snatched her wineglass to take a long drink. “Man, women put up with a lot.”

“No. In the early years, it was good. But he got bored with
me, I think.
We
got bored.”

“So instead of completely sucking, it was just crappy.” He
lifted an eyebrow as she laughed. “Am I wrong?”

“How was I supposed to know how sex could be? I didn’t have
many lovers to compare with and my girlfriends usually didn’t share the
down-and-dirty details. As long as I came, I figured it was good enough.”

“Talk to my sister. She even tells our mom how many times
she got it the night before.”

Karyn grinned and took back her glass of wine, refilling it
from the bottle between them. Their snack also consisted of a bowl of fat green
grapes and wedges of some kind of smelly cheese he’d never tried before.
Watching her eat it definitely stirred his lust, if not his appetite.

“So your sister.”

“Yeah, Daisy.” Better to talk about her than Karyn’s ex.
“She’s kind of a wild child. Reforming.”

“Sleeping with a married man doesn’t sound like a step
forward.”

He heard no censure in her tone. “I agree. Though I may need
to reform as well. Since my unblemished record’s now fucked too.”

She didn’t smile. “You wondered why I felt guilty. There’s a
good reason. I shouldn’t have drawn you into my mess, even unintentionally.”

“I’m not a child. And I wasn’t drawn. I came willingly.” He
grinned at her quirked lips. “Very willingly, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“I haven’t.”

“Nothing to feel guilty about. You’re separated.” His voice
hardened. “He’s with another woman, the latest in a long list apparently. As
for me, I’ll do some volunteer work and that’ll even up my karmic debt.
Especially since volunteering would probably drive me batty in under a week.”

“Why’s that?” She picked up a grape and peeled it with one
short fingernail. “Not a fan of giving of yourself?”

“Not particularly. I’m also not a fan of people. Books are
much less trouble.”

“Yet you charged into a complicated situation to save your
sister.” She licked the fruit with the tip of her tongue and all thoughts of
volunteer work and karmic debt disappeared.

God, she was sexy. And he was in really big trouble.

She picked up her wineglass and sipped, her gaze lingering
on his. “Shows how much you love her,” she continued.

“Yeah. So you can guess how much I wanted to rip off your
ex’s balls and shove them down his throat when I found out they were sleeping
together.”

She choked on her mouthful of wine. “How old is she?”

“Twenty-two.” Jeff grabbed another piece of cheese just so
he had something to chew. He would’ve preferred nails but it would have to do.

“He likes them young.”

“You can say that again.” He popped a grape in his mouth and
reached for the wine, drinking straight from the bottle. Screw it. She might as
well know who she was dealing with if she was sleeping with him. “Sorry,” he
said when he caught her stare. “I’m not Mr. Manners.”

“You don’t say.” When he set the bottle down, she surprised
him by lifting it to her mouth. She dribbled a little liquid down her cleavage
and he had to adjust his cock—and his earlier estimation.

He thought he’d seen her at her sexiest before? Hell no.
That
move just won.

“Better from the bottle,” she decided, emptying her own
wineglass. She let the glass fall to the mattress between them as she went back
to the bottle for another hit.

“You trying to kill me?” He speared a hand through her hair
and dragged her closer, covering her lips with his before she’d had a chance to
swallow. Cheap red wine—which she hadn’t complained about and had even smiled
over—spilled into his mouth and he groaned as her tongue chased it. “I want you
again,” he said, meeting her gaze.

“About time. It’s been at least an hour.”

He dropped his forehead against hers. “Would it be inappropriate
if I again commented on your ex’s stupidity?”

“No. Comment on that all you’d like.” She plucked a grape
off the platter and fed it to him. “Your sister’s probably cute, if she looks
like you. Though I have a confession.”

“You like girls?”

“Ha ha. No. I didn’t think you were cute at first.”

Jeff grabbed his chest and fell onto his back, nearly
toppling the rest of the grapes. “No! Anything but that. You didn’t think I was
cute? How can you say that, you shrew?”

Her giggle threaded through him as sweetly as the cheap wine
and left an even better aftertaste. “It gets worse. I thought you were…”

“Ugly? If so, you warmed up pretty well.” He tweaked her
nipple, smiling as it beaded from his touch. “And continue to do so.”

“Not ugly, no. I thought you were like me. Attractive, but
sort of average.”

“Average,” he repeated, blinking until she came more sharply
into focus in the soft light cast from the bedside lamp. Her hair tumbled
around her face, framing her warm brown eyes and pink cheeks. “
Average?
”

“I don’t think you’re average anymore. I think you’re—” She
stopped, took another gulp of wine. “Yummy.”

He had to laugh. “Me or my cock?”

She glanced down at the member in question and back up at
his face. “Truthfully? Both.”

He grinned. “Christ, I think I love you.”

Chapter Five

Jeff eased back, noticing that she’d stiffened.
Way to
go, stud.
“Metaphorically speaking,” he added carefully.

“I know. It’s just been a long time since anyone’s said they
love me, metaphorically or otherwise.” Karyn pushed aside the plates and the
wineglass between them and curled against his side, resting her head on his
chest. “I’ve never had an affair before.”

“Never?”

“No. Lon was my third lover. We met the summer before
college. The first two guys were my high school boyfriends. I figured some
things improved with time.” She circled his nipple with a blue nail. “And they
did, before the sharp and irreversible decline.”

He bit off a laugh. “When will the divorce be final?”

“Don’t know. I haven’t looked at the papers yet.”

Now
he
stiffened. Even knowing he didn’t have a right
to react that way didn’t stop him. “Why not?”

“I’m not sure.” She sighed. “Think I’m a little drunk. Feels
lovely.”

That was all well and good. Yay for her. But there was still
that minor matter of her divorce papers to discuss. “You’re not going to fight
it, are you?”

“The divorce? No. Of course not. Do you think you’d be here
if I planned to?”

“I don’t know.” There came that damn prim edge to his voice
he hated.

He’d heard himself use it when Shelley said she’d found
someone new and wanted a trial separation. He’d also used it when Hilary had
spouted a variation of the same and told him she didn’t mind staying married to
him but wanted to “explore” other relationships too.

By and large he wasn’t a fan of marriage.

“I’m not a cheater. If I was, do you think I would’ve waited
for you to text me to suddenly realize it?”

“No, probably not.” He rubbed her shoulder in wordless
apology.

“My God, I’m dense,” she said, jerking up to a sitting
position. The grapes tumbled out of the dish, rolling all over the bed. Neither
attempted to gather them up. “You texted me to try to get me back with my
husband so he would leave Daisy alone.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

She frowned at his admission. What did she expect? Some
fancy lie? Not the way he was built. “Doesn’t sleeping with me defeat that
purpose?”

“Pretty much,” he said again, tracing his fingertip around
her full dark pink lips. Sexy lips that shouldn’t be frowning but smiling. Or
engulfing his cock, one incredible inch at a time. “Daisy’s on her own now. I
sure as hell don’t want you back with him anymore.”

“Shouldn’t you have been honest with me?”

“I wasn’t dishonest.” He locked his jaw and glanced at the
ceiling. “All right, you win. I should have spelled it out.”

“Is this when I get pissed at you and our booty call ends?”

He tried not to laugh as he took in her serious expression.
“Up to you.”

She trailed her fingernail down his stomach, following the
dark, unruly line of hair to his groin. “Don’t think I’m done with you yet,”
she said, scratching his skin enough to let him know she hadn’t forgiven him
despite what she said.

Worked for him. Annoyed sex could be even better than
happy-go-lucky sex.

“Want to fuck?”

Her brows drew together. “You’re very single-minded, Jeffrey
Maddox.”

“I am. How do you want it?”

She gave him a hint of a smile. “Good.”

“You ask a lot,” he said, rolling out of bed. “Ever done it
from behind?” He grinned at her quizzical look. “On your hands and knees, I
mean. We modified it earlier to fit the accommodations.”

“Your ability to roll with the punches is admirable.” She
shrugged. “A couple times. All I remember is sore joints.”

“You’ll like it this time.”

“If not, can I get my money back?”

“No refunds here.” He tugged on her hair, pleased that she laughed
so readily. “Satisfied every time’s the Maddox motto.”

“What a relief. I think I forgot to get a gift receipt.”

After replenishing his supply of condoms from the package on
the floor, he came back to her and motioned for her to flip over. “Show me that
ass, sweetheart. Time for another new experience.”

He expected her to balk, maybe even to suggest another
position altogether. But she didn’t bat an eyelash as she capped the wine
bottle, set it aside and rolled over onto all fours.

“There’s something else I’ve never had,” she said as he
knelt between her legs and stroked a hand up her silky-smooth back.

“What’s that?”

“An urge to fuck a really rude guy,” she said, throwing him
a glittering smile over her shoulder. “Or should I say fuckingly rude?”

He laughed so hard he had to press his face against her
spine to catch his breath. “Since we’re sharing truths, I’ve never liked
someone so much, so fast,” he said when he could speak again.

“Does that mean anyone or just women you’re attracted to?”

“Both.”

“Hmm. Guess it’s obvious I like you too. Rude and all. Then
again, Oscar the Grouch always was my favorite Sesame Street character. You
don’t happen to live in a trash can, do you?”

“Close. King Street, third floor walkup. Living room,
bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and tiniest damn balcony you’ve ever seen.”

She bowed her head to brace it on her folded hands. “Least
you aren’t green.”

“No, but my balls are turning blue.” He whistled at her new
pose. The perfect supplicant, waiting for her pleasure. “You really work for
me, Karyn Allison.”

“Happy to hear it. And ditto. Now please…” She trailed off.
“Please fuck me, Jeff.”

Not a demand she had to make twice.

Jeff rubbed his hands over her supple skin and sucked in a
breath as she arched. There was something so alluring about a woman’s—
this
woman’s—creamy back, especially offset by her wavy dark hair. She was sensual
in the extreme and so beautifully fragile. But not weak. She had an inner
strength he doubted she even gave herself credit for. She might bend, but break?
Not Karyn.

He slid on the condom, eager to have her snug heat
surrounding him. “Let me in.”

She surprised him again when she spread her thighs wide,
rocking her hips while he circled his cock over her entrance. Damp flesh
greeted him, dragging a moan from his throat the farther he sank.

“Better hold on,” he managed, waiting until she’d gripped
the sheets in her delicate hands, silver rings flashing, before he started to
move. “You’re about to learn about rude, annoyed sex.”

“Are we annoyed?” she gasped as he pushed deeper, grinding
into her with hot, incessant friction.

“Even if we’re not, pretend.” He drew back and pumped into
her, forcing her body to accede to his invasion. She stretched around him
gloriously, her tight sheath enveloping him over and over. Too much. He
wouldn’t come before she’d caught up with him, but she’d have to get a move on.

Fast.

“Touch yourself,” he said, gripping her hips tighter. He
didn’t want to bruise her but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to help himself. She
felt fantastic. “Make yourself wet.”