Just Desserts (13 page)

She licked her mouth and let the sweetness glide over her tongue. “Perfectly warm. Delicious.”

He poured sauce over the two slices of pie. While he went to set the pot back on the stove, Sadie filled her fork with pie and swirled it in the sauce.

“Your cheeks are all pink,” Quinn said as he picked up his plate.

“Long day. I’m feeling, ah warm.” She ate the forkful of pie but a slip of caramel drizzled down her bottom lip. She tried licking to get at it.

Quinn whisked it away with the pad of his thumb.

She licked it off.

He took a bite of his pie. “You do have a cold shower to use.”

“Don’t remind me.”

His stainless steel fork clanked against the ceramic smiley-face plate. Sadie ate methodically to keep calm. She was distinctly aware that her face had flushed and every time she glanced at Quinn the temperature in the kitchen seemed to rise. It began to feel like a sauna. “I think I need a splash in a pool or something.”

He set his empty plate on the counter next to the sink. The sound echoed in the subway-tiled kitchen. “It’s muggy outside.”

“You’re right about that.” She glanced down at his trousers and wondered if it was the precise tailoring or his hipbones, which accentuated his lean, flat stomach. Her last swallow of dessert almost stuck in the back of her throat. “It’s warm. You’re making me warm. I don’t think I need a pool, but a pool boy.”

“Oh, really?” He arched his brow and grinned. The parenthesis around the slight curve of his mouth tempted her.

Before she could lick the crumbs off her plate, Quinn grabbed it and went over to the sink where he washed their dishes.

Sadie gathered her hair in ponytail fashion to clear it away so she could rub the back of her neck. “Ow.”

“What hurts?” As he rolled down his sleeves, he stepped up to her.

“Nothing. Damn hair is caught in my dress zipper.”

“I don’t want your hair sent into fiery damnation. Let me help.” He stood behind her and swept most of her hair over one shoulder. “A few wayward reds are tangled in the zipper. I’ll save them.” He tugged and slowly unzipped her dress. He stopped just above her bra strap and brushed the strands of hair off of her back. “Better?”

Sadie shivered. “Uh huh.”

He tightened the space between them and kissed the deep spot between her neck and collarbone. “Anything else I can help you with?”

He stroked her bare back with his fingers. Sending more shivers through her. This time she felt a crop of goose bumps on her arms. “Ah. I think I need to show you my cabana.”

“As your pool boy, I will follow your directions. But first I have to fix your bikini top.”

“Wha—?”

He unzipped her dress to the small of her back and pushed it down and off her arms. He popped open her bra and slid the silky straps just down to her elbows. She clenched her fists.

As he kissed her shoulder, he let the rough pad of his thumb graze across her nipples. He turned them to nubs with one hand and with the other he freed her arms of the straps. Her bra dropped onto the kitchen island. He growled in her ear, “Topless.”

She turned to face him. “Thanks for liberating me.”

“Anytime.” He slid his hands up and down the curves of her bare waist. As he kissed her, he swept his tongue across her lower lip. “Sweet.”

She clutched his waist. The soft wool fabric felt nice under her palms; she wanted it against her stomach. She pulled him tight against her hips and felt his erection. “Wow. Quick Draw McGraw.”

He chuckled in her ear. “And that would be why
you
will rarely see me in a suit. You do something to me. Jeans help. My first choice, anyway.”

He pushed her dress down to her thighs. She wiggled to shimmy out of it and let it drop to the floor. Sadie draped her arms over his shoulders and let her aching breasts press tight against his cool shirt. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He carried her out of the kitchen. “Which way?”

“Down the hall. Can’t miss it. I painted my door with chalk paint.”

He used his knee to bump her door open and laid her on the bed. “Where’s the chalk?”

“On the vanity.”

He grabbed a piece and left her room for a long second.

She sat back onto her bed and folded over her duvet. The red paper lantern next to the bed gave her room a soft glow. She hopped up and quickly straightened the window blind.

Quinn came back in, kicked off his shoes, and scanned her room. “Homey.”

“Thanks. You must be special. I’ve never let anyone in here. It’s my sanctuary.”

“I’m honored, but I can’t say what I have on my mind is even close to honorable. Do I need any extra equipment?”

Sadie laughed and fell back on the bed. “Nope. We’re good to go.”

He unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and laid it across her floral boudoir chair next to the vanity.

She got on her knees and lifted his T-shirt and un-tucked it from his trousers. His stomach exposed, she kissed his navel and the few hairs traveling south.

He stripped his T-shirt off his back, then clutched her shoulders and gently pushed her back down on the bed. “Your panties are pink. With tiny red hearts.”

“Yes they are. I am never without pink…or white underwear.”

“Except when you’re with me?”

“Only you.”

He leaned down and kissed her. His lips taking over, she barely had time to catch a breath. He left her lips and sighed in her ear. “You make me…” He nipped her earlobe and kissed her cheek. His hand slipped under her panties and he squeezed her bottom.

She arched her back to close the space between their hips.

Quinn dropped his head between her breasts and swirled his tongue tortuously slowly around her nipple. She grabbed a fistful of his hair with one hand and clutched onto the duvet with the other.

He left one breast, kissed her collarbone, and came down to the other, flicking his tongue over the nub. Then he took her nipple between his teeth and pulled lightly, and then softly sucked it.

She inhaled carefully while caressing his back. The pulse in her core quickened and vibrated. Her pink panties became damp.

He suddenly stopped.

She swallowed hard.

He stood at the end of her bed and pulled off his trousers. “Light on or off?”

“On.” She perused his muscular thighs, accentuated by the tightly fitted boxer briefs. His tip, peeking from the waistband, needed to be rescued. She crawled up to him and slipped her hands around his bottom and pushed the black briefs down to free his erection.

“Thank you.” He stepped out of his underwear and kneeled on the floor. He ran his hands through her hair and kissed her forehead.

She kissed the blond hairs below his belly button and touched his chest. “You’re welcome, pool boy. Now you have to do as I say, and kowtow to my every command.” Sadie laid flat on her tummy.

He stretched out beside her, propped on his elbow; he kissed her forehead. “What do you want me to do first?” His fingers tapped impatiently on her butt. “If I had my say, I’d get rid of the pink hearts.”

She rolled onto her back. “Be my guest.”

He let out a low whoop.

“Score one for the hot cabana boy.”

He kissed her bellybutton and slid his fingers under the panties at her hips. He straddled her ankles and glided her underwear down and over her feet. She stretched her arms over her head.

He gazed down at her. “You’re beautiful.”

Her cheeks grew hot.

“You’re blushing.”

“You’re falling down on the job. You’re supposed to cool me down. I’m hotter than hell, sweetie.”

“I know.” He caressed her thighs and tenderly spread her legs apart. Then glided two fingers between her crease.

She moaned.

He laid his head on her stomach and she wrapped her legs around his back. He slid his fingers inside of her and massaged her deep and rhythmically with her heartbeat. She moved and writhed her hips only by his command. Her breath caught in her lungs. A thin layer of sweat began to form between their bodies, melting them sweetly together.

He kissed her. Without so much as a pause, he embraced her and lifted her up. She gasped and fell on top of him as he fell back on the bed.

She straddled his waist and let his hard on stroke her crease. She caressed his hips with featherlike strokes. And then his ribcage. His stomach rumbled.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” He clutched her butt and drove his penis inside her.

“Feel better?” she whispered.

“Almost.” He thrust himself deeper.

She collapsed onto his chest and listened to his heartbeat as he pounded into her. She clung to him as he thrust deep within her. Pleasure surged through her entire body.

He squeezed her butt and lifted her up then slowly let her descend back down on him. The pressure demanded her to let out a long low groan. She held her breath as he lifted her again, this time he held her at bay and let the tip of his hard on tickle her clit. When she thought she was about to explode, he gently entered her and kissed her breasts.

She moaned and licked his nipples. “You’re a tease.”

They rolled over together with her on her back. He wouldn’t let her catch her breath. Grasping her wrists over her head, he nuzzled her neck. “Not anymore. Especially with you.” He bore down on her.

When she crashed, her senses dizzied her. She hugged him and clung on to steady her wearied body, but her soul and heart were intact.

They spooned under her duvet and she listened to his steady breath as he fell asleep. His skin was cool and his arms, like weights, held her safe in his embrace. She kissed the yin yang on the back of his wrist.

When she had first noticed the symbolic tattoo, she’d admired its simple beauty before almost splashing coffee on his iPad. But he hadn’t noticed, because he was looking at her. Actually, he had been looking through her. She might have been his waitress, to start, but not anymore.

Chapter Fifteen

“Is it morning?” Quinn asked, as he draped his leg over her hip.

Still spooning, Sadie wiggled back against him. “Late morning. I think.” She rubbed the sleep-crust out of her eyes and looked at her phone sitting on the bedside table. “Almost noon.”

“Can I be your pool boy for the rest of the day?” He pulled her against his bare chest. His warmth seeped into her skin.

“Would you be my handyman first?” She turned toward him and nibbled his earlobe. “If you fix my hot water heater, I’ll let you take a long hot shower with me.”

There was a soft knock on the door. “Rise and shine, sleepyheads,” Ellen said from the hallway. “You two need to clean the kitchen. And here’s something for your reading pleasure.”

Sadie heard the something, like a magazine or a newspaper, skid across the bedroom floor. “I’m glad I’m home.”

“Told you so,” Ellen teased.

Sadie shook her head in confusion. “My roommate can be cryptic. Guess that’s part of her archaeology gene pool.”

Quinn opened his eyes. “All I heard was the word pool.”

She took a pillow and bopped him with it. “Come on. You need to be handsome and handy to live up to my standards.” She sat up and perused the length of his back and slid her hand over the muscled dimple on his bare butt. “You aren’t hiding a pair of overalls in that Porsche? Are you?”

“Hon. If you don’t stop now, your water heater is not going to get repaired.” He flipped over onto his back, stretched, and tossed a pillow at her.

She dodged aside and it flew past landing on the floor.

“Hey, I love cold showers.” He rubbed his palms together. “Maybe we should take one together right now.”

“No way.” She jumped off the bed and rummaged around in her dresser, to quickly get dressed. She put on her U of C tee shirt.

“Nice view.”

“Not much to look at out the basement window.” She slipped on a pair of black leggings.

“That isn’t what I’m talking about.”

She turned to see him admiring her.

“You’re hopeless,” Sadie said.

“Yep.” He freed himself of her gratuitous amount of frilly bedding and let it spill off the bed.

When Quinn stood, he towered in her small compact bedroom. But he maneuvered around naturally and his birthday suit was as sexy as his dress suit.

Sadie forced her line of sight to concentrate on his stubble. She wanted to push him back down on the bed and kiss him all over, but the thought of a cold shower stopped her pursuit for more passion. “What do think? Will I be able to take a hot shower sometime today?”

He pulled on the boxer briefs then slipped his tee over his head. “Probably. If I can’t fix it, I can install a new one. How many units are in this building?”

“Four.” She stepped away from her flowery chair to let him retrieve his trousers.

“I’ll see if Jake is around. Get him to help me.” He slipped on his pants and then put on his shirt. He buttoned the shirt but didn’t bother to tuck it in. “I’ll give you a call later. Let you know when I’ll be back with my tools.”

“Sounds good.” She arched her eyebrow. “How exciting. Do you have a tool belt?”

“Sweetie. Better not keep tempting me. I undress faster than I dress.” He swiped his keys and iPhone off the vanity. Kissing her cheek, he slipped his hand under her leggings and squeezed her butt. “I never realized how delicious dessert could be.”

She kissed him voraciously.

When they came out of the bedroom, she glanced back at her door. DO NOT DISTURB was scrawled on it with chalk. “Nice.”

She watched him as he walked down the hallway.

At the end of the hall by the entry door he stopped and shook his hips. He pointed to his butt. “This is all yours, Sadie.”

“You are so bad.”

“I know.”

Quinn left and Sadie’s stomach did a flip flop. She wondered how the hell she’d finish anything, much less her thesis, with this man in her life.

She closed the door and turned around. A lacey black bra smacked her in the face. “What the heck?”

“I think it belongs to you.” Ellen said and then threw Sadie’s dress at her. “I don’t wear black.”

“Oh right. Sorry.” Sadie felt her cheeks heat up. “I hope we didn’t wake you or keep you up last night.”